Kaen stood motionless in front of his hotel room window, staring at the translucent interface floating in the air.
Through this mysterious interface in front of him, he could observe the magnificent sunset. It was a sublime golden orange, but there was something disturbing about it. The golden orange began to take on shades of red, as if the world itself knew that ruin and blood would consume its lands.
But for Kaen, it had a different meaning, that red dye reminded him of his nightmares.
The interface had appeared a few minutes earlier. Without warning. Without explanation. Just... there.
══════ [Systeme Detected] ══════
[FIRST TRIAL–AWAKENING RANK]
Objective: Kill an Awakened beast.
Reward: ???
Time limit: Unlimited.
Status: PENDING.
Then a second notification:
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]
"Host detected. Assimilation in progress...
Abnormal potential identified.
Assessment protocols initializing.
First attempt available.
Do you accept?"
[YES/NO]
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His fingers paused in front of the "yes" for a good moment.
'Should I accept?'
And even what I accept? Is it a trap set by the bastard who sent me here?
Why do I always overthink things? At this point, does it really matter?
I have absolutely nothing left to lose!
He clicked YES.
The mysterious interface disappeared as mysteriously as it had arrived.
A long silence followed.
Kaen stood in front of the window, looking at his reflection, looking not at himself but at Kaen, a stranger.
If I succeed in this attempt...
The thought remained unfinished. He didn't know how to complete it.
Power? Revenge? Meaning?
All of the above and none of the above.
He just needed... something. Anything to fill the void that had consumed him since that night in the cellar.
For the first time since his arrival in this world, a spark lit up in his heart. It wasn't hope; he had abandoned that long ago. But now he had a path to follow, something resembling a goal.
The system gives me a target, something on which to vent all my frustration that has been pent up for a long time.
Much better than drowning in memories and a revenge that I cannot even carry out at the moment. Revenge must be a goal, a motivation, not an obsession.
He turned away from the window and looked at his space ring lying on the table. As a nobleman, he was supposed to carry weapons.
The irony did not escape him.
He approached a ring lying on the table. It wasn't a normal ring, but exactly like in fantasy novels, a space ring. Dozens of weapons of all kinds littered the ground in a second: swords, daggers, clubs, spears, bows.
He stared at them with empty eyes.
In my previous lives, I would have killed to get my hands on one of his weapons. Selling them would have brought in a colossal fortune. Now I see them scattered on the ground, but I look at them as if they were trash.
"Ah, the rich," he muttered bitterly. Then, with a hollow laugh: "Damn it. I can't even insult them anymore. I'm one of them." The realization left a bitter taste in his mouth.
how easily he took money for granted, with the ease with which he threw "money" on the floor
"I'll take them all, why choose?" he decided flatly. "They might as well be put to good use."
He put the weapons away as easily as he had taken them out.
"Let the hunt begin". he whispered
Even he found what he had just said cringeworthy.
Kaen dressed in simple combat clothes, refusing to go out in his noble attire, which was so uncomfortable.
He left the hotel through a side entrance, moving like a shadow. Drawing attention was the last thing he wanted.
The forest was so vast that he could not see its end. Its grandeur has always inspired fear and mystery.
He entered the forest with quiet determination, motivated solely by the desire to prevent the end of the world.
Kill a beast. Become stronger. Move forward.
One step at a time. That's all I can handle.
Above the hotel, Elisabeth floated in the night sky, enveloped in a violet aura that rippled around her. This aura seemed to bend the laws of reality; spatial fissures could be seen.
Her ruby eyes followed her brother's silhouette as she disappeared into the forest.
He moves again. Finally.
His expression remained cold, but something changed behind his eyes—relief, perhaps. Or concern.
She had watched over him during his childhood. Every day. Every night.
Watching him deteriorate.
Watching him become an empty shell.
And unable to do anything about it.
I thought I had lost him forever after our parents died. Then he lost his memory, and paradoxically... he started moving again.
A bitter smile touched his lips.
If someone had told me that amnesia would save him, I would have arranged it myself.
The thought didn't bother her as much as it should have.
She reached out toward the forest.
"Be careful, little brother," she whispered. "Get stronger. But don't die."
I won't always be able to save you. But tonight... tonight I'll watch over you.
She vanished into the space cracks that her aura had created.
Kaen ventured deeper into the forest, moving without any real strategy.
Why did I rush? I should have planned ahead, gone ahead as a scout, and set traps.
He thought back to the words that man had said to him.
"You'll find out someday, maybe, if you manage to survive today."
He clenched his fists so tightly that his nails dug into his flesh. The pain was enough to bring him back to reality.
A noise was heard behind him.
Kaen turned around abruptly.
And a huge boar appeared out of nowhere, enraged, its ivory tusks pointed directly at him.
Instinct took over.
He took a spear that he pulled out of his space ring.
Bad idea.
The impact was violent. The spear barely deflected the charge. Kaen was thrown backward and hit a tree with such force that he broke his bones. His breathing began to quicken, and blood started to flow from his mouth.
Pain.
Sharp. Real. Grounding.
I'm going to die.
The thought came with a strange detachment.
Again.
The boar turned, its red eyes burning with animal rage, preparing for another charge.
Kaen's body moved before his mind could follow. He rolled to the side—just barely—as the tusks tore into the earth where he had been standing.
'This can't go on. I'm going to die.' I'm really going to die. And maybe... maybe that's okay. Maybe I should just di...'
NO.
His refusal came from the depths of his being.
Not like this. Not killed by a fucking pig.
In my previous life, I was killed by the hand of a god. You think I'm going to be killed by a pig? You're dreaming.
His mind crystallised with sudden, reckless clarity.
He made the spear disappear and raised his hands, palms open. A wild, desperate smile spread across his face—the smile of a man with nothing left to lose.
The boar charged.
Kaen didn't resist—he used the momentum, letting the impact throw him backward—
Summoning the spear in midair—
Positioning it precisely—
The boar, too massive to stop, impaled itself on the blade.
The creature's weight drove the spear through its heart.
It collapsed. Dead.
Kaen hit the ground hard, gasping for breath, his ribs screaming.
But alive.
"Ha... haha..."
A broken laugh escaped him. Not one of triumph. Just... disbelief.
I'm still alive. Why am I still alive?
Then—
DING. DING. DING. DING.
"You have completed your quest."
The notification sounded distant, unreal.
ERROR. ERROR. ERROR. ERROR.
Kaen's eyes widened. "What—"
Quest cancelled.
System restarting.
Alternative confirmed.
Opening the first trial.
The world turned white.
Then black.
Then nothing.
Elisabeth appeared right next to Kaen, his body badly damaged, covered in blood and bruises.
She lifted him carefully and flew toward the hotel.
You're a little dumb, you are a handsome little idiot.
In Kaen's mind—
Darkness.
No walls. No sky. No horizon. No light.
just darkness echoing endlessly
He walked—or thought he was walking. His feet touched something solid, but his eyes saw nothing.
A test?
A mechanical voice rang out:
"You are entitled to three hints. But the rewards will be reduced."
Kaen's first instinct was to accept. Take any help offered.
But then—
There are no shortcuts to gaining strength. On earth, those who revolutionized history were not the smartest or the strongest, but the craziest. Those who dare to attempt the impossible even in the face of death.
"I don't need hints," he said, his voice hoarse.
"Very well, dear guest."
The obscurity settled around him as if she were going to swallow it
Kaen continued to advance further and further, at least attempting to find some kind of light.
What is this testing? Endurance? Willpower?
Hours passed, days perhaps, and still no trace of any lights.
The silence was heavy, so heavy that he couldn't even think normally.
But he still tried to think and was enlightened.
What looks like darkness is just the absence of light. If there's no sound, it's because there's no air. If there's no feeling, it's because there's no body. The answer is nothing.
But how can you stop thinking in absolute nothingness?
Then, a crazy idea came to his mind:
Kill yourself, if you are not alive, there is no reason to think anymore.
Without hesitation, he smashed his head against the invisible floor.
Once.
Ten times.
Fifty times.
Each blow broke something inside him—barriers, defenses, the walls between conscious and unconscious.
Blood ran down his face. Real or imagined, he couldn't tell.
On the 118th blow—
Everything stopped.
His subconscious died.
Once again, he woke up in an unfamiliar environment.
He turned his head to see what was happening around him.
He found himself in a white room, and three spheres floated above him.
Two massive ones—one red, one white—colliding at their center.
At the point of impact pulsed a tiny purple sphere, vibrant, and even though she was smaller, the aura she emitted was no less than that of the other two.
"What... is this?"
The spheres resonated with something deep within him. Recognition. Belonging.
"Awakened form a core," explained the System's voice. "Mana, aura, or ether."
"But you have three."
"Why?" Kaen whispered.
ERROR. ERROR. ERROR. ERROR.
The spheres disappeared.
Darkness shallowed him once more.
When he opened his eyes again, he was standing in a vast black space filled with blurry presences—shadows of things he couldn't understand.
But one figure stood clearly in the center.
A man.
Terrifying. Beautiful. Inhuman.
White hair cascaded down to his knees. His face was perfect and evil
His eyes were closed—yet Kaen felt them watching him.
Six wings spread out from his back: three draconic, with black scales. Three angelic, pure white.
Above his head floated a black halo, vibrating with an unknown energy
Kaen's breath caught in his throat.
Why does this man look so much like the one who murdered me?
"Who... are you?" Kaen whispered.
The man did not open his eyes.
But his closed eyelids turned toward Kaen—
And smiled.
FORCED DISCONNECTION. FORCED DISCONNECTION. FORCED DISCONNECTION.
Kaen fell unconscious.
This time, he dreamed of nothing.
══════ [Systeme Notification] ══════
[FIRST MISSION COMPLETED]
Rewards:
– Soulbound Weapon [UNLOCKED]
– Awakening Level Reached
– Formation of 3 Cores [COMPLETE]
– ???
– First Trait Acquired:
– "Nothingness"
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