Percy awoke to silence.
Not the peaceful kind — the kind that felt like the world had stopped breathing.
His room was dim, lit only by the pale morning light bleeding through a cracked window. Dust drifted in the air like ash, suspended between moments.
Around his wrist, the ribbon Elira had given him — her final gift — had loosened in the night. He retied it slowly, fingers trembling.
Today was the day.
The Curse would come at noon.
Percy always woke at six forty. Not because he wanted to — but because routine was the only thing Certis hadn't stolen from him.
Most mornings, he slipped out of the orphanage and wandered the town until the ache in his chest dulled. Certis and his lackeys made sure he never lingered. But today, Percy wanted something different.
Today, he wanted to feel like someone worth remembering.
He sat up. The mattress groaned beneath him. His black hoodie clung to his thin frame, damp from the orphanage's ever-present humidity.
His jeans were faded. His shoes still wet from yesterday's rain. He didn't change. What was the point?
He moved to the mirror — a shard of glass nailed to the wall. His reflection stared back, half-swallowed by shadow.
Black hair, silky and untouched by sleep. Pale skin, smooth and unmarked. No blemishes. No scars.
But the stress lived deeper.
His eyes were the most striking.
The right — a void-like grey, dark enough to swallow light.
The left — turquoise, shifting with the air, like a storm waiting to break.
He looked tired.
Beautiful, maybe. But he didn't feel it.
People complimented his eyes. Certis called him a hetero freak.
Today, Percy didn't care.
If he died in the Rebirth Trial, it wouldn't matter. Not to Certis. Not to anyone.
He stepped into the hallway.
The orphanage was quiet.
Peeling wallpaper lined the walls. The lights flickered like they were afraid to stay on.
Percy kept his head down, footsteps soft. He slipped through the basement — his secret exit.
The administrators always scolded him for going down there. But Percy liked the quiet. The escape.
Outside, the world moved without him.
People rushed to jobs. Coffee shops buzzed. Children clung to backpacks.
Percy walked, searching for something luxurious. Something warm. Something that didn't feel like survival.
Then he saw it.
The Devoción Café — humble, elegant, with windows that glowed like lanterns in the morning haze.
He stepped inside. The door chimed softly.
"Good morning," came a voice, gentle and bright. "Welcome to the Devoción Café."
Her voice was soft, like velvet brushing against morning light. She had brunette hair that shimmered like polished mahogany, and eyes the color of spring leaves.
Percy blushed.
"G-good morning," he muttered.
He hadn't expected to be the only one here — especially not in a place this elegant. It felt like stepping into someone else's life.
He took a seat. She handed him the menu, her fingers brushing his for a moment too long.
The menu was a constellation of unfamiliar names — coffees and drinks he'd never heard of.
Percy wasn't like the girls at school who chased coffee trends like butterflies. He didn't care for foam art or seasonal blends.
He chose the Devoción Cascara. It sounded like something rare. Something worth remembering. He paired it with artisan pastries that looked too perfect to eat.
She returned to take his order.
After he spoke, she lingered. Her gaze settled on him like dew on glass.
"Wow," she said, smiling gently. "Your left eye is so cool."
Percy blushed again, looking down.
"T-thanks."
She walked away, and his heart thudded like a drum in a quiet room.
'That's the first time anyone as beautiful as her gave me a compliment' he thought.
And he smiled — a soft, contagious smile. The kind that made the air warmer.
Time passed slowly. She returned with the coffee she'd made herself.
Percy scratched his cheek, eyes flicking around the empty café.
"Uh… hey, why are you the only one in here?"
She paused, then smiled — a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.
"Because this is my final request… before I enter the Nightmare Realm today."
Percy blinked.
"Oh."
He turned back to his coffee, but he saw it — the tremble in her hands, the way she kept checking her watch.
She was afraid. Just like him.
That comforted him in a beautiful way.
She sat across from him, resting her palm against her cheek. Her skin was smooth, glowing in the morning light.
"So," she asked, "what brings you here this early?"
Percy sipped his coffee, eyes darting.
"I'm also attending the Rebirth Trial today," he said, cheeks warming under her gaze.
Her face lit up.
"Then I'm glad it was you who came in first. Let's both do our best and come back alive, okay?"
She poured herself a cup. And for the first time in years, Percy sat and had a real conversation with a girl.
When he finished his meal, he reached for his wallet — withered, torn, crushed by Certis and his shadows.
He stood up preparing to leave and pay his bill.
He pulled out his money.
"Oh no, please," she said, raising her hands. "You don't have to."
Percy looked at her, confused.
"Why not?"
"I couldn't," she said. "It's on the house today. After all, today could be our last day alive. I can at least do one last good deed."
But to Percy, just talking to her was already a good deed.
"Well… is there anything else you want?" he asked, refusing to take kindness without giving something back.
If a man was gonna pamper himself, he thought, he might as well pay for it.
She tilted her head.
"Well, you never told me your last request. So how about paying by telling me that?"
Percy looked into her eyes — deep, elusive, like dusk wrapped in starlight.
He hesitated. He'd never really thought about it. He expected to die.
Final requests were made by those entering the Nightmare Realm — wishes whispered to the world, in case they never returned.
"I only asked for my body to be buried next to my family's," he said, voice flat. "And for a willow tree to be planted beneath our graves."
She frowned, stepping in front of the door with a playful smile.
"That's not a good request. I won't have it! Make a new one — one I can fulfill. It can be anything!"
"Anything?" Percy echoed in his mind.
He looked at her — from top to bottom. Then to the side, blushing.
"A photo," he whispered.
Percy had never had a girlfriend. Never had female friends. Girls avoided him — that ominous, gloomy aura he carried like a shadow. No one spoke to him at school. He preferred it that way.
She chuckled, warm and golden.
"Okay!" she said, standing beside him.
Her perfume reminded him of autumn — pumpkin and spice, blending perfectly with the café's aroma.
She lifted her camera.
"Okay, say cheese!"
Percy stood too far away, only half of him in the frame. She moved closer, their shoulders brushing. The camera clicked.
He was blushing, flustered. She laughed.
"Look at your face — it's priceless," she teased.
Percy grunted, shoving his hands into his pockets.
"I'm outta here."
"Wait!" she said, grabbing his arm. "You never got the photo!"
She pulled out a marker.
"We've been talking so long, I never got your name!" she said, smiling with those eyes that seemed to hold galaxies.
"My name is Rain," he said blankly.
"Okay, Rain."
She wrote their names on the photo, the date, a smiley face, and a heart. She handed it to him.
"Let's meet again, Rain, okay?"
Rain looked at the photo examineing her name
"Yeah, sure Ariel" he said, smiling that soft, contagious smile — the one that made the world feel a little less heavy.
He walked out of the café, eyes wide, face red.
"I actually had a conversation with a beautiful girl for an hour," he whispered, walking along the sidewalk.
And for the first time in a long time, he smiled — not because he had to, but because he wanted to.
He had made a promise.
And now, he had one wish.
To see her again.
Percy wandered the city until the clock whispered eleven-thirty. The streets blurred past him — faces, voices, motion. But then he saw one face he wished he hadn't.
Certis.
"Oh, there you are," Certis said, glaring down at Percy like a shadow swallowing light.
"Let's go, freak."
Certis turned and walked ahead.
Percy followed, his steps quiet, uncertain.
"Uh… where are we going?"
Certis groaned.
"You really are clueless, aren't you?"
He sped up. Percy matched his pace, but stayed behind — always behind.
"We're going to the Entity Hunter Quarters," Certis said, voice low. "To prepare for our trial."
Percy glanced at the photo in his pocket. His chest tightened.
"That time already, huh…"
They walked in silence. Ten minutes of awkward quiet. Percy noticed Certis wasn't trying to make make fun of him. Not today. He seemed… mature. Like the weight of the day had finally reached him.
"We're here!" Certis said, stopping abruptly. Percy bumped into his back.
They entered the building.
A receptionist looked up, her eyes tired but kind. She reached for the radio.
"I've got two more incoming for you, Lane," she said.
A grunt crackled through the speaker. "Alright."
She smiled at them — soft, pitiful. Sympathetic.
"I assume you're here because your about to be bestowed your Curse?"
"Yeah, I'll be fine, so don't pity me with that smile of yours," Certis said, smirking. "You should be pitying this sorry weakling over here though."
He pointed at Percy.
"Huh?" Percy blinked, silently retracting his earlier thought that Certis had matured.
The woman led them outside the detention center — a facility with a room full of pods.
She explained the process:
After the veteran's speech, they'd enter the cryo pods. The pods would transport them into the Nightmare Realms.
The pod was a spawn point — a tether to reality.
If they died, it became their final resting place.
No retrieval. No return.
Percy swallowed hard. The thought of dying in an unknown world pressed against his ribs.
They entered the room. Certis scoffed and walked off, leaving Percy alone.
Percy looked around.
Somber faces.
Some prayed.
Some curled into themselves, as if shrinking might save them.
Percy sighed and sat beside his pod. He closed his eyes.
"Hey!"
A voice called out. Then — a soft touch on his shoulder.
It sent a shiver down his spine. He yelped, too loud, too startled.
Eyes turned.
Percy covered his mouth, face burning.
"Uh… yes?" he said, voice muffled by his hands.
He looked up.
It was her.
The girl from the café.
Ariel.
And somehow, she looked even more beautiful than before — though only three hours had passed.
"Oh… it's you," he said, lowering his hands.
He glanced to his left. Certis, three pods down, was staring at him — disbelief etched across his face.
The girl sat beside Percy, smiling.
And for a moment, the room felt warmer.
Percy could feel Certis's thoughts like static in the air.
"This freak is sitting next to a girl?"
'What's a beautiful girl doing talking to that freak? " Percy smirked a little at the thought of Certis being jealous of him.
Percy glanced sideways. Ariel was close — too close for comfort, especially for someone he'd met just three hours ago.
"Soo how have you been?" Percy asked her with an awkward expression.
"Great I'm still scared though for some reason meeting you this morning really helped me!" she said, brushing her brunette hair behind her ear.
Percy blushed.
But the moment shattered as the veteran's voice crackled through the mic.
"Hello everyone. My name is Lane. I'm a Soul Enforcer-rank Entity Hunter — your veteran. And I, for one, hate speeches. So let's make this quick."
Percy thought he looked like a bum— the tattered brown cloak hovering behind him like a storm cloud.
'This guy is a veteran hunter?'
Percy thought.
"Before I say anything important… happy birthday." The veteran announced
A hush fell. Some teens cried quietly.
Percy didn't cry. But it stung — spending the first hours of his birthday preparing for a trial that would most likely kill him.
"Now then," Lane continued, "let us begin before the Wisp decides to interrupt us."
"Let's begin with the simplest route: if anyone here is bestowed the Cursed route, find allies in the First Nightmare Realm there are plenty of them. Avoid the Japanese mainland there are high ranking entities hoarding the place once called japan. Explore the rest of the realm layered over our world."
Japan had been swallowed whole thirteen years ago. Percy's mother vanished in that crisis.
"Once you find allies, help each other clear the trial. There will be countless Hunters across the land. You may even find a Sovereign Campaign team. Any questions?"
Silence.
Lane's eyes softened, but he moved on.
"The Purified route," he said. "By far the most difficult."
"Your objective: slay a Holy Exile."
"You'll find them in the Holy Lands — floating castles connected by bridges and staircases. Holy Exiles were once part of the Holy Familia. They exile followers who break their rules, granting them power… and turning them into mindless slaves."
"They're frail. Hollow-eyed. A red dot glows in each eye. Their mouths spill black liquid. Do not let it touch you. It will convert you."
Lane tapped his pen against the desk.
"Your best bet as a Purified Star-Crossed is to find allies."
A young man stood up.
"H-Hey! Why don't you give us an Exterminator's Kit or something? We need a fighting chance!"
Others joined in.
"You want us to die, don't you?" a girl sobbed.
Lane slammed his pen down. The room fell silent.
"You think we haven't tried that?" he said, voice cold.
"Grow up."
"As of today, you are forced to become adults. This is the cruel reality of our world. We cannot help you — only guide you."
"Find allies."
"Having a team is everything. No one fights alone. Not even with Spiritual Trademarks or even Aspects!"
The room quieted. The teens sat down, eyes wide.
Lane sighed.
"Now then… we don't need to talk about the other two routes, do we?"
No one answered.
"The Chosen are… chosen. Simple as that. They're naturally gifted. Their future awaits."
"As for the Soulless…"
A wave of fear swept the room.
"The only advice I can give the Soulless is: try to survive."
Certis stood.
"I have a question."
Percy didn't look at him. If he was going to die, he'd rather look at Ariel to have her face etched into his memory.
"What exactly happens to the Soulless?"
Lane's eyes narrowed.
"The Soulless are unknown. They're not sent to the First or Second Nightmare Realm. Humanity hasn't found the portal to the Third. They may be sent to one of the remaining three realms… but no one knows really."
Certis nodded and sat down.
The air grew heavy.
"Looks like your time is up," Lane said. "Everyone, prepare to enter your pods."
Movement. Tears. Silence.
Ariel turned to Percy.
"Well… I guess this is goodbye for a while, isn't it?"
Her smile was the most beautiful yet. But her eyes — they held sadness. Loneliness. Regret.
"Y-Yeah… I guess it is," Percy whispered.
She turned and entered her pod.
He entered his pod.
He had planned to give up. But now… he wanted to survive.
To keep his promise.
To take Ariel out for coffee sometime.
The Wisp appeared.
[ Hello, Star-Crossed! I am the Wisp, here to bestow upon you, your curse using the Great Wheel of Misfortune. ]
People begun their Cries and Screams.
[ I will now announce the routes for each of you before teleportation. ]
The wisp grinned with its purple teeth show as it's sharp purple eyes narrowed. It was like something out of a game or Webcomic.
The wisp begun its branding process.
Most were Cursed.
After he stopped naming the cursed Percy held his breath. 'Maybe I'm Purified' he thought.
Ariel was announced as Purified. Percy felt an unsettling feeling in his stomach and really hope she would survive even if he didn't care if he lived or died.
After the purified we're named Percy was nervous for awhile but...a slight smirk appeared on his face.
'I knew I'd be Chosen. It's about damn time something good happened to me. '
The wisp looked at him seemingly trying not to laugh with a humorous grin that stretched across its entire face teeth showing.
But only one Chosen was announced.
Certis.
A light engulfed him.
[ Incredible!— No Glorious!]
[ We decreased the chance of the Chosen route for this group on purpose, yet you still managed to receive the chosen route Astonishing! ]
[ Star-Crossed Certis, you have been bestowed a Spiritual Trademark: The Sun God. ]
Shock rippled through the room. Lane was speechless.
Certis opened his pod, face serious.
[ But there's more! For proving the Wheel wrong… ]
[ Star-Crossed Certis, you have also been bestowed a Spiritual Aspect: The Curseless Prince. ]
Awe. Silence.
Teleportation began.
The wisp turned to Percy with a giant humorous smile.
[ Now as for you....]
[ Star-Crossed 'Rain,' you have been bestowed the Soulless route! ]
Percy's smile faded. A bead of sweat slid down his cheek. As horror was painted onto his doll like face.
Lane's face turned from awe to horror as well.
[ To the Star-Crossed taking your First Nightmare Trial today — it's time to be reborn. Good luck. ]
The Wisp's pieces flew to their wrists wrapping tightly around their dominant wrist, as the wisp dispersed from the room.
A portal opening beneath Percy.
Certis looked at him — a rare softness in his eyes.
His lips moved.
Although not being able to hear him.
Percy assumed his lips worded.
This is it, huh? Goodbye, Rain.
Percy fell.
Through light. Through silence.
[ You have entered the Land of the Forgotten!]
The Wisp bracelet chimed.