Chapter 2:First Breath of Power
Peter woke up in the shade of a tree, in a forest that seemed ancient and certainly more populated with poisonous creatures. After quickly assessing his surroundings, he had some ideas about where he might be in the Ether, as there were only three large forests in the areas discovered by humans.
After ensuring multiple times that the area was safe and that nothing was attacking him right now, he immediately focused his thoughts on discovering what powers his entry into the Path of Awakening had granted him.
A moment later, runes in a language unknown to him appeared in the center of his vision. Soon after, one of the most revolutionary inventions in human history—an implant that allowed basic translation of Ether runes and communication via the internet, though not within the Ether itself where satellites could not reach—translated the text before his eyes:
[Welcome to Ether. Your story begins now. Find the nearest human citadel to return home.]
Moments later, another message followed:
[The pages of your journey begin to turn.]
After reading these messages, Peter attempted to summon his status window.After several failed attempts, new runes appeared:
[Name: Peter][Rank: Awakened][Innate Ability: Eye of the ?Dead(?) God]
[Attributes]:– [Death Walker]
[Elements]:– Darkness– Shadows
Peter frowned slightly. The translator seemed to struggle with certain fragments of text. Still, some things were clear. His elements were Darkness and Shadows.
But what truly drew his attention was his Innate Ability.
Eye of the Dead God.
The name alone made his pulse quicken.
He focused on it.
After a brief flicker of distorted symbols, a description appeared:
[Eye of the ?Dead(?) God]
[Description]:[Once a god (?)died, his eye remained open — an eternal wound in reality. It sees still. It remembers. And now, it watches through you.
This Innate Ability grants the bearer an unnatural perception that distorts time, shatters deception, and reveals the hidden threads of fate itself. It is not sight in the mortal sense—it is insight, intrusion, and inevitability.But sight is never passive.The more you see, the more the world sees you back.]
Peter's breath caught in his throat.
He blinked.
Then read it again.
"What... the hell?!" he whispered, the sound swallowed by the forest.
A god that died...? An eternal wound in reality?
His thoughts raced.
This isn't normal. This can't be normal. How rare is something like this? Is there anyone else with an Innate Ability even remotely similar?
As if in response to his spiraling thoughts, the world around him shifted.
The wind moving through the leaves slowed—no, not slowed. He was perceiving it differently. The subtle tremor of branches. The minute twitch of insects beneath bark. The faint displacement of air behind him.
Everything felt… closer.
Sharper.
It wasn't that his body had grown faster.
It was that he sensed things before they fully happened.
Intent preceded motion.Movement revealed itself a fraction of a heartbeat early.
His reflexes followed naturally.
Peter swallowed hard.
This wasn't just enhanced sight.
It was awareness forced beyond mortal limits.
The implications settled heavily in his chest. This wasn't simply useful—it bordered on impossible.
His master had always said power demanded payment.
But this…
This felt like theft.
Like he had taken something that never should have belonged to a human.
For a long moment, he simply knelt there in silence, listening to the forest breathe around him—while wondering if something, somewhere, was listening back.
Was this luck?
Or was it a curse wearing the hollow smile of a gift?
He would have explored the thought further, but reality intruded. He was still alone in an unfamiliar and dangerous region of the Ether. Philosophy could wait.
Survival could not.
If I'm lucky, maybe I'll leave the Ether today, he thought, forcing himself to push aside deeper analysis of the Innate Ability for later.
Spotting a narrow path not far from his position, he rose to his feet and approached it cautiously. Once there, he turned south and began following it carefully—
Until a sound shattered the forest's uneasy calm.
Shouts.
The clash of weapons.