Chapter 1 – The End, and Everything After
I always figured dying would be louder.Screaming, sirens, someone crying my name—something cinematic. Instead, it's just the sound of rain against cracked asphalt and my own heartbeat going quiet.
Figures. Even dying doesn't give me a break.
The air tastes like iron and smoke. My body's folded somewhere under what used to be a delivery truck. The smell of gasoline burns my throat. I can't move my legs. My right arm's gone numb. I stare up at the streetlight swinging overhead and wonder if that's supposed to feel poetic or just pathetic.
A car crash—of course. Not a heroic blaze of glory, not a final stand. Just another statistic.I worked a night shift no one cared about, delivering packages that weren't even mine, trying to earn enough to cover rent I'd already missed twice. Then the universe just decided; that's enough for you, buddy.
There's something almost funny about that.
Rain keeps falling, blurring the world until everything looks watercolor-soft. My breath rattles. My vision goes tunnel-narrow. Somewhere far off, someone's yelling for help. Maybe for me, not like it matters.
I knew I was dying, I always knew I would die someday but here I am. Dying today.
I try to laugh, but it comes out as a gurgle.So this is it. My grand finale. Alone. Poor. Ordinary. I never got the dream job, or the girl, or even a decent Friday night. My funeral playlist's probably just going to be the sound of my landlord breaking down my door.
I should be angry, but mostly I'm tired.It's unfair… but what can you do?
My thoughts drift—maybe from blood loss, maybe from the kind of detachment you get when you realize nothing you do now matters. I start thinking stupid things. Like maybe if I'd been some saint or a virgin, I'd wake up in another world with a cute goddess offering me a "second chance."
If only.
The streetlight flickers one last time, and the world goes dark.
It's cold. Not the way metal or winter feels cold, but the kind that seeps through you—like the world forgot what warmth is supposed to mean.
***************************************************
I open my eyes.
No asphalt. No twisted wreckage. Just an endless white fog. I'm lying on something soft and glowing faintly, like mist turned solid. My body doesn't hurt anymore. My clothes are gone, replaced by a faint shimmer that clings to me like dust.
Am I dead? Probably. But there's no fire, no angels, no judgment line.Just silence.
"...Hello?" My voice echoes, too loud in the emptiness.
No response.
Of course. Even the afterlife ghosts me.
I sit up, and the fog parts. Shapes form—tiny orbs of light pulsing in slow rhythm, like heartbeat signals in the dark. Each one flickers a different color. I don't know how, but I feel them. Each light hums with emotion—grief, hope, anger, love. Raw and unfiltered.
It's like standing in the middle of a thousand souls, all whispering at once.
Then a voice—not quite a voice—threads through my head.Neutral. Mechanical. Female, maybe.Calm in a way that makes my chest tighten.
[Initialization Complete.][Host soul identified: Farein Vale.]
Wait. Farein? That's not—No, it is. I don't know how I know, but the name fits. Slides into me like it's always been there.My name. Not from before. From now though, my name is Farein.
I blink, trying to find the source of the voice. but there's nothing, just white.
[Soul Reconstruction: Successful.][Worldline Alignment: 87% complete.]
"What does that even mean?" I mutter. "Is this some kind of dream? Heaven?"
[...]
The silence that follows feels deliberate. Like it's thinking about whether I deserve an answer.
[Good luck, Farein.]
Before I can respond, the ground—or whatever I'm on—vanishes.The world folds inward. The fog becomes color, the color becomes pain, and the pain becomes light.
When I open my eyes again, I'm lying on my back in grass so green it looks fake.
The sun's warm. Birds sing. Wind carries the scent of earth and water. The sky's an impossible shade of blue, too perfect to be real. I push myself up slowly, half-expecting to find my body broken again. But everything works. My limbs are leaner. My skin's unscarred. My reflection in a nearby puddle is... me, but better.Sharper features, clearer eyes, no dark circles from endless shifts.
So either this is heaven, or someone hit "new game+" on my existence.
I stand, wobbling a little, and look around. I'm in the middle of a forest. Towering trees spiral upward, bark glowing faintly like veins of light. The leaves hum with a quiet vibration, and when the wind moves, they sing—a low, crystalline chime that sets my heart beating faster.
It's beautiful.And terrifying.
Because nothing this beautiful stays safe for long.
"Alright," I say to no one. "If this is reincarnation, I'd like to officially thank whatever cosmic intern signed off on it. Great job. Ten out of ten scenery. Just... maybe throw in a manual next time?"
Silence.
Then, faintly—
[System Boot: Active.]
A translucent screen flickers into view in front of me. Words bloom across it in gold.
Welcome to Eryndor.Emotive Synchronization: Pending.Status: Dormant.
My heartbeat quickens. "So it is a System..." I whisper. The word feels right on my tongue.It doesn't reply.
Figures.
I swipe at the air. The panel shifts.
Attributes Locked.Core Awakening Required.Directive: Seek the Resonance Gate.
"Great. A quest with no map." I sigh. "You're really setting me up for success, huh?"
[...]
I swear I feel it pause, like it's holding back a comment.
I take a few tentative steps forward. My bare feet sink into moss that glows faintly at my touch. The forest hums, like the world itself is alive and paying attention. Every sound—birdsong, wind, leaves brushing—feels amplified, vivid. My pulse syncs to it. I feel... aware. Hyper-present.
Alive, in a way I never did before. But I also feel vulnerable, I'm naked in a forest on an unknown world. Surprisingly I don't feel like freaking out. I'm calm. I've comply accepted this new situation I found myself, I need clothes, food, water, shelter... if I can find a village or city I can save those issues but then I need to worry about money, and if they would even let someone in when their nude...
Then the world reminds me where I am.
A rustle.Low growl.Eyes gleaming amber from between the trees.
"Of course," I whisper. "A New world with a system equals a tutorial boss. Couldn't just let me enjoy the scenery."
The creature steps into view—a wolf, but bigger. Its fur ripples with black smoke, eyes burning like molten metal. Each step it takes scorches the grass beneath.
I freeze. I don't have weapons, skills, or even shoes.My brain screams run, but my legs won't move.
[Threat Detected.][Survival Protocol: Instinct Override.]
A rush of heat surges through me. My body moves before I think. I duck under its leap, adrenaline pounding. My palm hits the earth, and a flash of red arcs out—a pulse of energy, pure emotion. Anger. Fear. Desperation.
It slams into the wolf like a hammer.
The creature yelps, crashing into a tree. Smoke scatters. My vision flickers—status lines stutter into existence.
[Skill Created: Instinct Pulse.][Emotion: Survival Drive → Output: Force Burst.][Energy Depletion: 67%.]
"What the hell was that?" I gasp, staring at my hand. My skin's glowing faintly, a pulse still thrumming beneath.
The wolf twitches, snarls weakly, then dissolves into motes of dark light.
[Entity Vanquished.][Reward: Strength +1.][Note: Not bad for your first breath.]
I blink. "Did you—wait, Note? Are you... joking with me?"
[...]
The silence feels smug."Oh, I see. Sarcastic system. Great. Just what I needed."
[Acknowledged.]
It's not exactly laughter, but I swear I feel amusement through the words.
I take a shaky breath, heart still racing. The world feels sharper again—colors, scents, the warmth of sunlight filtering through branches. My hand still glows faintly. Whatever that was, it wasn't a fluke.It came from me. Power.
A system that reacts to emotions.A body that channels fear and will into strength.A voice that might be more than code.
I don't know what Eryndor is, or why I'm here. But as I stand in the quiet aftermath, chest heaving, something inside me settles. For the first time in years, I'm not running from failure. I'm starting from zero again—and somehow, that feels like freedom.
I look up at the trees, at the light breaking through their canopy, and exhale. "Alright, Eryndor. Let's see what you've got."
The screen flickers once more, text rolling across the air.
[Directive Update: Proceed to the Academy of Resonance.][Orientation Commences: Two Days.][Good luck, Farein.]
The light fades, the breeze shifts, and somewhere beyond the treeline, a bell tolls.