The world didn't return all at once.
At first, it was only the sound, the faint crackling of leaves beneath his feet and the whisper of the wind running through cracks in the broken walls.
Then came the heat, warm and harsh, kissing his skin.
Omen opened his eyes. For a moment, everything was white.
His mind spun as light was poured into his vision like a flood.
He tried to move his head, but even the smallest shift sent a sharp ache through his temples.
It was still too bright for him, far too bright for someone who had lived his entire life in darkness.
The boy lifted a trembling hand, shielding his eyes. "What… is this?" he muttered, his voice low, almost scared.
The ruins around him were no longer swallowed by the blood-red moon he had seen before.
Instead, they glowed under the fierce rays of daylight.
The throne room, once covered in mist and shadows now stood exposed and every fracture, every broken column was finally visible in light.
And then he looked up.
Above the endless blue sky hovered not one, not two, but three blazing spheres of fire.
Their flames burned in different shades, one crimson, another azure, and then finally silver, hanging motionless in the heavens.
The boy remembered that his tutors from the Light Clan had spoken about this long ago.
'The Sun,' they had said, 'was the celestial fire that breathed life into the world.'
But seeing not one but three of such balls of fire, Omen almost couldn't believe it.
The brightness stabbed at his sight, and his vision blurred with tears.
Yet he simply couldn't look away.
"So that's…what the sun looks like," Omen whispered, his voice trembling with awe. "Three of them…"
He stood there, still and silent, letting the light wash over him.
The boy's black hair shone faintly under the sunlight, his fair skin reflecting its warmth.
His blush, azure like eyes, blinked with life as if the world itself was being reborn inside them.
The ruins looked completely different now.
In the light, it weren't just ruins, it was almost like a graveyard.
Massive walls stood half-broken, their carvings erased by time.
The ceiling above the black throne was collapsed halfway, letting the sunlight spill through like rivers of gold.
And Lilith…
Omen blinked, looking around. She wasn't there.
The place where she had stood before, right beside the throne…was empty.
"Lilith?" Omen waited. No answer. Only the echo of his voice bouncing off the stone pillars.
His chest tightened as he stepped down from the throne's stairs, his shoes crunching softly on the cracked marble.
Dust rose with every step.
"Lilith!" he called again, louder this time. "Where are you?"
The sound of his voice felt too small for the world around him. He walked past fallen debris, past the twisted remains of statues that once might've been gods or kings.
Every step made him more uneasy until finally, he saw her.
Near one of the outer pillars, standing in the sunlight.
Her figure was thin but tall, her pale skin almost glowing under the sun's light.
Her hair, black as night flowed down her back, contrasting sharply against her skin.
Two crimson eyes stared into the sky, reflecting the suns' light like twin rubies.
Something black and cloudy, almost like dark smoke that refused to fade, wrapped loosely around her chest, covering just enough to seem natural yet strange, as if the darkness itself was clothing her.
Below, a black rigged skirt fluttered in the warm wind, and at her lower abdomen glimmered a blue jewel, bright and mesmerizing that embedded into her skin like a living ornament.
She looked ethereal.
Beautiful, yes, but in a way that was haunting.
Omen slowed his steps, staring at her in silence. It took him a second to realize what she was doing.
She wasn't moving.
She was just…staring at the sky.
He followed her gaze to the suns again.
Maybe it wasn't just him.
Maybe she hadn't seen them in a long time either.
And before he could speak, her soft voice cut through the silence.
"Where had you gone?"
He froze.
For a second, he thought that he had misheard her. But when she turned her head slightly, and when those crimson eyes locked onto him, clear, curious, and full of something he didn't expect, he couldn't believe it.
After all, how could an npc character have the conscious to know that he had logged out of the game?
"W–what did you say?" Omen stuttered.
"I asked," the girl said slowly, her voice as smooth as water, "where had you gone?"
The 17 year old boy simply stared at her, stunned.
He had thought the game would restart right where he left off. That when he logged back in, everything would reset, just like any other game.
But this…
She knew he'd left.
She remembered…
"You…you knew I wasn't here?"
Lilith tilted her head slightly, her expression unreadable. "Of course. You disappeared right after we came outside that cellar…One moment you were standing there, and the next…you were gone.
I waited for you."
Her words felt a little strange.
Omen swallowed hard, still trying to make sense of it.
"I…had to go," he said finally, choosing his words carefully. "Something pulled me out."
Lilith blinked, her red eyes glinting with intelligence. "Pulled you out?"
"Yeah. Let's just say… I had things to take care of."
There was a pause.
Then, to his surprise, she nodded, almost like she understood.
"Well," she said softly, turning back toward the suns, "you're back now."
Omen walked up beside her, the warm air brushing against his skin. "Yeah," he said quietly. "I'm back."
They stood like that for a while, watching the endless sky.
For the first time, Omen felt something calm settle inside him.
After a moment, he broke the silence. "So… where to now?"
Lilith lowered her gaze, then reached into the black mist that floated near her waist.
Her slender hand slipped into thin air and came out holding a small, ancient-looking scroll.
"I found this," she said, unrolling it. "While you were gone, I searched through my ring and found quite a few useful things, including this space pouch on my waist."
Omen leaned closer, his eyes following the faded lines and strange symbols drawn across the black fog like pouch when he realised the awkward shift in the girl's posture, only now understanding that he had been staring at the girl down there for too long–
"It's just a pouch that has storage space inside," Lilith explained, trying to hide her embarrassment.
"This ruin, the one we're in is marked right here." She pointed at a faint mark near the edge. "There's a city nearby. Not too far if we travel by foot."
"A city?" Omen repeated, feeling a sudden rush of curiosity.
Lilith nodded. "Yes. If this map is correct, it should still exist."
He smiled faintly, the excitement flickering in his voice. "Then what are we waiting for?"
Lilith's lips curved just slightly, the closest thing he'd seen to a smile from her yet. "You're too impatient."
"Maybe," Omen said, rubbing the back of his neck. "But if there's really a city out there…I wanna see it."
That's what he told her but in reality Omen was also excited about meeting other players in the game and wanted to know if their experiences in it were as absurd as him or not.
As for Lilith, her red eyes lingered on him for a moment, still embarrassed about what had happened a few moments back.
"Very well," she said at last. "We'll leave soon. But be warned…not all who walk under the suns are alive."
The boy frowned.
"What do you mean by that?"
Lilith turned her gaze towards the far horizon and the wind grew harsher, carrying with it a strange, distant sound, like metal clashing faintly in the air.
Her voice dropped to a whisper.
"You'll see."
***