After his brutal victory against the Guardian, Winlife collapses, half-unconscious. His breath is short, his body broken but still standing... A heavy silence settles in the cave, only disturbed by the dripping of his blood onto the stone.
Winlife: (thoughts)
I... I'm still alive?
He manages to take one step, then another. Every movement is torture, but he advances, slowly, determined, his eyes fixed on the exit.
Winlife: (staring at the exit)
It's not my time to die yet... But why did he want me dead already? Oh, right... the chicken. Granted... a very big chicken. But it's still a chicken, isn't it? No big deal...
Suddenly, a voice echoes in the empty space, majestic and terrifying, coming from nowhere.
Mysterious Voice:
That's where you're wrong... human.
Winlife: (surprised)
Who... Who said that?! Who's talking?!
A blinding light splits the cave ceiling like a divine rift. The ground trembles slightly. Three immense silhouettes appear in the glare: the Divine Guardians, imposing, majestic. Behind them slowly descends a superior entity... a God.
The God is unreal. His body seems made of condensed light, and his voice resonates without opening his mouth.
God: (resonant voice)
You have devoured the sealed flesh. Broken the ancestral seal. You have just risen above your condition... and that is forbidden.
Winlife: (on the ground, exhausted)
What is this nonsense... I just wanted to survive...
Guard 1: (impassive)
So this is the anomaly.
Guard 2: (sarcastic)
He looks like trash. Is this the scourge that worries the gods?
Guard 3: (severe)
Tharnel! Igrex! Respect the presence of the divine Mornak.
Tharnel: (kneeling)
My deepest apologies, Your Eminence...
(straightens up, hard look towards Winlife)
Let's get back to you, human. By devouring this sacred beast, you broke the balance. You should never have touched that flesh.
Igrex:
You have become an anomaly.
Loreus: (coldly)
You will therefore be erased.
Winlife: (panicked)
Erased?! No... no! Listen, I had no choice! I was attacked by monsters, I had to survive! I didn't know that... that chicken was a living seal!
Igrex: (furious)
Silence, human! Who authorizes you to address the Divine?!
He extends his hand and projects a wave of divine light. Winlife raises his arms to protect himself, convinced he will die... Silence. A dense smoke invades the area.
But when it dissipates... Winlife is intact.
Tharnel: (staring at him, speechless)
...
Winlife backs away, trembling. Then, a luminous circle appears under his feet. An unknown energy pulses around him.
Winlife: (surprised)
What is this thing...?
Tharnel projects a projectile of dark energy. The explosion hits the circle... then disappears, nullified.
The ground vibrates again. The rift in the ceiling reopens, and the Divine Mornak slowly rises towards it.
Mornak: (calm, icy voice)
Mortal... I am Mornak, God of Eternal Judgment.
I heard your prayer... and I detected no lie. You are sincere...
Winlife sketches a smile, exhausted... But Mornak continues:
...But that changes nothing. You broke the seal by devouring the beast. An irreverent act... punishable by your life. In return, you inherited a power—nullification. I also see something else in you... a chaotic symbol. You are a danger to this world. You must be locked up. Guards, take him away.
And with those words, Mornak disappears into the rift.
Winlife: (out of breath, groaning)
What kind of messed up world is this... I just wanted to survive...
Loreus: (icy gaze)
You are an anomaly. We must erase you.
In a flash, Loreus disappears... and reappears in front of Winlife, his hand clenched around his throat.
Loreus: (lifting him into the air)
This is not your world, human. You are just a parasite.
Winlife struggles, in vain. His vision blurs, his breath cuts off... In his last moments of consciousness, he sees himself chained by luminous chains, dragged towards the rift, towards an unknown destiny...
A few minutes later,
Thick darkness. Smell of damp rock. Silence.
Winlife: (thoughts, confused)
I... am I still alive? Where did I fall this time...
He opens his eyes with difficulty. The ceiling of the cell is invisible, swallowed by the shadow. The air is heavy. Strange. Unreal.
He slowly straightens up. The floor is cold, smooth as glass, yet made of stone. He leans against an invisible wall... or perhaps just an energy boundary.
Then a soft voice breaks the silence, almost surprised:
Female Voice: (surprised, almost incredulous)
What is this...? A boy?
Winlife flinches. He immediately straightens up, tense, ready to strike—although half-broken by pain.
Winlife:
Who is there?!
A silhouette emerges from the shadow, a few meters away. A girl, sitting, calm, looking at him cautiously. She seems young, barely older than him. Her voice is soft but distant.
Winlife: (grimacing)
How long have you been here?...
She: (without moving)
Longer than you. You move a lot, even unconscious.
(observing Winlife)
You're the first human boy I've seen here. I thought this cell only received beings with inhuman forms... or special cases.
Winlife: (cautiously)
Great... I'm an anomaly even in prison. Wonderful.
(looking around)
By the way, what is this place? Another trap of the gods? Or just... hell?
She:
Neither. We are in the Crypt. A prison built between the planes. Here, neither time nor light work as they do elsewhere.
She pauses.
You should never have survived a confrontation with a guardian. But here you are.
Winlife: (suspicious look)
How do you know that?
She: (studying him)
I don't think I'm the only one who heard the rumor: an anomaly survived a guardian. What's your name?
Winlife: (hesitating for a moment)
That name again, anomaly, you can call me Winlife. And you, what are you? A prisoner or an illusion like the rest?
She: (slightly offended)
A prisoner. For a long time. And no, I'm not an illusion. If I were, you'd already be screaming.
He stares at her for a few seconds. Then, he sighs, leans against the wall, and slowly sits down.
Winlife:
Okay. Fine. A real girl, a real wall, a real cell. I get used to things quickly, I guess.
She: (after a pause)
Why are you here?
Winlife: (gaze turned towards the void, bitter)
I ate a chicken.
She stares at him, confused.
Well, okay... it wasn't a real chicken. It was a kind of... sacred monster. A living seal, they said. And boom, here I am. A gift from fate.
She: (fascinated despite herself)
You ate... a seal? You should be dead.
Winlife:
I've been told that already. Thanks for the reminder.
She: (staring at him intently)
You don't look like a chosen one. Even less like a sacred condemned one. Yet... you are still alive.
Winlife:
I didn't ask to survive. I just tried not to die in a forest full of monsters. And now I wake up in a cell, with a girl looking at me like I'm a rare animal.
She: (frankly)
That's exactly what you are. A rare animal.
Winlife: (smiles, despite himself)
Yeah... I guess so. What's your name?
She: (without looking away from the darkness)
It doesn't matter here.
Winlife: (ironic, trying to lighten the mood)
Oh, I see. The mysterious type... fine. I'll call you Sofie then. (Sharp smile despite the pain in his muscles)
She: (slight smile)
If it helps you keep your sanity, do as you wish.
After a slight silence
Winlife: (looking around)
Is there a way out?
She:
Not really. But sometimes, the guardians open rifts to test certain prisoners. No one comes back. And those who stay... change.
A silence settles. Less heavy than the previous one. He watches her for a moment.