CHAPTER 1: The world anew 1/2
[SYSTEM PROMPT]:
"Do you wish to return?"
Yes. [ ]
No. [ ]
...
[SYSTEM PROMPT: Secondary Notice]
"Warning: No response detected. Failure to comply will result in automatic soul retrieval protocol."
…
[SYSTEM PROMPT: Final Notice]
"Last warning. No response received."
"Auto return sequence commencing in 3… 2… 1…"
A low hum echoes through the darkness. Fragments of light begin to flicker, weaving across the endless black.
[SYSTEM ANNOUNCEMENT]:
"The return of the player will now commence."
"Good luck, traveler. May your path be lightened, and your burden be forgiven. May we meet once you awoke into the world anew."
In the endless void, where time held no meaning, a warrior known as Osmosis floated in silence. His body or what was left of it drifted like dust on the surface of eternity. He felt no pain, no warmth…Only stillness..
He had accepted his death. The cost of balance, the cost of destroying the dungeon core….It was the end for the Silent king.
But then…A sound…A whisper that didn't belong to this plane.
???: "Please….protect...my family.."
The voice trembled. Fragile and desperate. echoing through the abyss like a ripple in still water. Osmosis' eyes slowly opened, faint silver light flickering within them.
Osmosis: "Who…who's there..?"
he murmured, his voice like a memory of sound. Not the kind that frightens, but the kind that is silent..
The darkness around him began to stir. A single light bloomed in the distance. It was small at first, then growing brighter, warmer, until it pulsed like a living heart. Osmosis reached out instinctively.
The closer he moved, the more the abyss peeled away, layer by layer, until only the light remained blinding, burning, yet somehow... gentle..
???: "Protect… my family…"
The voice came again. It was weaker. Now fading like a gentle breeze.
Then, BOOM!
Hospital Room Present Time:
Osmosis gasped, lungs filling with air as if he'd been drowning for centuries. His body jerked upright, the sound of a flatline monitor cutting into a shrill beeping tone.
Sweat drenched his face. His heart raced. His vision blurry.
He blinked, fluorescent lighting. White ceiling. The sterile smell of medicine.
And voices. muffled, distant.
Nurse No.2: "Doctor! He's awake! The patient's awake!"
He turned his head slowly. His reflection in the side mirror. He was pale, unfamiliar, fragile. Not the gray eyed King of Silence, but a boy, young, bruised, his wrists bandaged, and tubes attached to his arms.
???: "What…the fck is this…?"
he muttered. His voice it wasn't his. It was softer, higher.
Memories that weren't his own began to flood in. A storm of pain, fear, laughter twisted into screams.
Students shouting. Lockers slamming. Cold water. Tears. A rooftop…
and then silence.
He clutched his head, groaning as images seared through his mind.
[Memory Integration Detected…]
Previous Vessel Identity: RAYNE HIROSAKI.
Age: 17
Cause of deaths: Self-inflicted
Psychological Trauma: Severe Bullying.
Body Status: Stabilized
Soul Synchronization: 67%... 88%... 100%.
The monitor beside him flickered briefly. Static coursing through the screen before going still again.
Osmosis exhaled slowly, the memories settling into place like sand after a storm. His grayish eye dulled to a blueish hue.
???: "...Rayne Hirosaki, I guess ill take on that name.."
He stared at his bandaged wrist, tracing the faint mark of where life had once left this body. Then, faintly, he smiled, not with joy, but with grim understanding.
Rayne Hirosaki?: "So that's what you meant…I'll protect your family and this world they live in…I promise"
He looked out the window, sunlight creeping over the horizon, warm and gold. The kind of warmth the abyss could never show..
Moments Later..
A nurse entered, startled to see him awake.
Nurse No.3: "Y-you're conscious! You've been out for two days! We thought…"
Her words faltered when she met his gaze. There was something ancient behind those blue eyes. Something that shouldn't belong in a 17 year old boy.
Nurse No.3: "I'll call your relatives to tell them you have stabilized….please stay put on the mean time"
Rayne Hirosaki clenched his hand and muttered.
Rayne Hirosaki?: "If this world gave me another chance…then I'll cherish it no matter what"