After I ate, I wandered to the stream to drink.
The water was cold, a little muddy, but as long as it was drinkable, I didn't care. I cupped my hands and drank deep, the ache in my throat easing just a little. My stomach still twisted, but for the first time since arriving here, I didn't feel like I was dying.
Then I heard it.
Clack.
A slow, scraping sound—like metal dragging against stone.
Footsteps.
Heavy. Measured.
Something was walking nearby.
I turned, just slightly, heart slowing into a dull, hard thud.
And there it was.
The Forsaken.
"It was the same kind of creature I saw on that first night. Pale skin. Warped armor. But now, it wasn't walking away. It was coming for me."
It stepped out from the trees, towering and inhuman—its wax-like flesh stretched tight over bone. Armor fused into its body like it had grown there. And across its back…
A sword. White as bone. Humming with something that didn't belong in this world—or mine.
I backed away slowly.
It tilted its head.
It knew.
It felt me.
I gripped my crude spear. Useless. But it was all I had.
I had a choice: run and hope it lost interest, or stand and fight.
I'd run before.
This time… I couldn't.
I circled behind a tree, watching it. Its movements were slow, but heavy. Like every step took effort. I noticed a slight limp. Maybe it was wounded. Maybe that was my only shot.
[Passive Skill Activated: Stealth Lv.1]+10% EvasionFootsteps silenced
I crept closer, keeping to the shadows. My fingers trembled. The air smelled like rust and ash.
Then its head snapped toward me.
It didn't see me—it sensed me.
I lunged before I could think.
The spear hit its leg… and snapped in half.
It roared, spinning, its blade already unsheathed.
I rolled away, but not fast enough.
Pain bloomed across my side like fire.
Warmth trickled down my hip.
Blood.
My blood.
It had slashed me.
Not deep enough to kill—but deep enough to slow me down.
I forced myself up, biting back a scream. My hands were slick with dirt and blood.
I grabbed a nearby rock, jagged and heavy, and flung it at the thing's face.
It flinched.
I dove forward, desperate, reaching for the sword on its back.
The metal burned my palms—cold and hot at once—but I didn't let go.
I pulled.
[Weapon Acquired: Forsaken Blade]
: HighAffinity: ???
Corruption Resistance Required
It shrieked and lunged.
I swung wildly.
The blade felt wrong in my grip—too heavy, too alive—but it cut.
Once. Twice.
Its chest tore open. Black ichor sprayed the ground.
One last strike—and it collapsed, twitching.
Silence returned.
I dropped to my knees, gasping, the sword still clenched in my shaking hand.
Blood soaked through my shirt. The cut burned like hell.
But I was alive.
[Level Up: 2 → 3]+Stat Points GainedSkill
Unlocked: [Adrenaline Surge Lv.1]
I had a weapon now.
Not a toy. Not a broken stick.
A blade forged in death.
The sword was still in my hand.
I didn't even remember deciding to hold onto it—my fingers just refused to let go. My breath came in sharp, shallow bursts, and every time I inhaled, pain radiated through my side.
The slash was worse than I thought.
Warm blood soaked into the waistband of my pants. My shirt was already ruined from earlier, but now it was slick and heavy with red. The moment I tried to stand, my legs buckled.
I needed to stop the bleeding. Fast.
Dragging myself to the stream, I dipped a strip of fabric into the water and pressed it to the wound. It stung like hell. I gritted my teeth, digging my fingers into the dirt so I wouldn't scream.
The cut wasn't deep enough to need stitches, but it was jagged. The Forsaken's sword hadn't just sliced me. It tore.
[Wound Detected]
Status: Bleeding – Moderate
-5 HP every 10 minutes
First aid recommended
I tore more fabric from my clothes and wrapped it around my waist, binding it as tightly as I could. The bleeding slowed, but I could feel my energy draining.
I needed rest.
Shelter.
Time.
But my body wasn't the only thing that felt off.
The sword I'd taken still pulsed faintly in my hand, like it breathed. It was heavy—not just in weight, but in presence. Like holding it pulled something from me.
I set it down beside me and exhaled.
[Corruption Level: 3%]
Warning: Prolonged exposure may affect mind and stats.
Suggested Action: Resist or Cleanse
Corruption?
What the hell was that supposed to mean?
I shoved the thought away and leaned against a rock, breathing through the pain. Every inch of me ached. My side throbbed with heat. My eyes burned.
But I was alive.
And I had a weapon now.
Even if it came at a price.
I rested for a while, listening. No footsteps. No monsters. Just the water flowing past the rocks, and the faint hum of wind moving through the trees.
I needed to be smarter.
I couldn't just survive. I had to plan ahead.
Food, water, shelter, defense.
I glanced at the Forsaken's corpse.
What else could it give me?
I dragged myself closer and searched the body. Beneath the black, twisted armor, I found a pouch—old, cracked leather. Inside: three jagged coins, a vial of dark liquid, and a folded scrap of paper with strange symbols I couldn't read.
[Item Acquired: ??? Coin x3]
[Item Acquired: Unlabeled Vial]
[Item Acquired: Fragmented Map Piece – 1/5]
It wasn't much. But it was something.
And something was always better than nothing.
Later, I found a small hollow beneath the roots of a fallen tree. Just big enough to crawl inside. I covered the entrance with branches and curled up with the blade beside me.
My side still burned. I was shivering again.
But for the first time since I got here…
I felt like I was beginning to understand this world.
Not just survive it.
Adapt to it.
[New Trait Unlocked: Survivor's Instinct]
Increases detection of threats, resource awareness, and mental resistance.
I closed my eyes, blade in hand, wound bandaged, and whispered to the dark:
"I'm not dying here."
Not tonight.
----
The sword wasn't just heavy.
It was wrong.
Even as I trained with it, gaining strength and familiarity, a cold pulse beat beneath its surface, like it was alive. Or worse, like it remembered where it came from.
Every night since I claimed it, my dreams had been broken. Twisted. Filled with flickers of black armor and screams I didn't recognize.
I didn't even know if they were mine.
Still, I carried it.
Because in this world, power was survival. And this blade was the strongest thing I had.
But the more I used it, the more I noticed the whispers.
Not in words—but in feelings.
Hunger.
Restlessness.
An urge to fight that wasn't always mine.
I stood at the base of the ruined tower again.
Closer this time.
The air was thick here, heavier than the rest of the forest. Magic lingered—old and cracked, like a song half-forgotten. The strange glyphs etched into the stones shimmered faintly when I stepped closer, and the sword on my back thrummed in response.
[System Notice: Ruined Outpost – Ward Breach Detected]Artifact Resonance: CorruptedWeapon: Bone-Fused Blade – Status: TaintedCleanse Attempt: AvailableWarning: Purification failure may result in backlash.
I hesitated.
I didn't know what backlash meant. But if this sword kept digging into my mind, I might not last long enough to find out.
I knelt near the base of the tower, where a flat stone hummed beneath my palm. I placed the blade atop it. The second it touched the stone, a light burst upward—red and seething, like a wound opening to the sky.
The pain hit instantly.
Not in my body.
In my head.
A thousand fractured images: Forsaken marching through ash. Cries of something ancient buried beneath metal. Chains. Fire. A gate. A voice without form, whispering in a language I wasn't supposed to understand.
And then—resistance.
[Cleanse Attempt Initiated…]
Purifying foreign entity…
Success Rate: 31%Proceed?
I clenched my fists.
"I don't want your power if it costs me."
I accepted.
The stone cracked beneath the blade.
A surge of light—this time pale blue—poured upward, meeting the red in a violent clash. Sparks rained down. The sword shuddered. My skin burned where it touched my back. And for a moment, I screamed—
[Cleanse Successful]Curse lifted:
Mindbind Fragment removed
Weapon Reforged: White-Forged Greatblade
Damage: Medium
Bonus Effect: Devour on Kill (15% chance)
Durability: 60%Lore Fragment Unlocked
I collapsed backward, gasping for breath.
The sword lay beside me—lighter, cleaner, still deadly, but no longer whispering.
And in my system log, something new appeared.
[Lore Entry: The Forsaken Are Not Born. They Are Forged.]
I stared at those words for a long time.
So that's what they were.
Not monsters.
Victims.
Just like us.
I didn't know what scared me more—what the sword used to be...
...or what it was going to make me become.