The bridge wasn't supposed to exist.
Stone shouldn't just hang in nothingness, floating above a blur of purple nebula like someone had spilled the galaxy beneath me.
But it stood, cracked, aged, held together by the arrogance of a miracle.
The bridge stretched forward into the void, too long to see the end, too narrow to allow mistakes.
[FLOOR 2]
I felt the tiniest of pressure behind my eyes, the white text floating in the corner of my vision.
What am I even doing here? I have to see this through now.
No noise. No wind. Just the quiet pressure of the system watching me breathe.
I took a single step, the sound echoing throughout the infinite purple.
Then I saw... it.
At the far end of the bridge. A human, no— a shadow, twitched in small pulses, like a puppet being controlled by something I couldn't see. Every twitch felt delayed, like the creature was lagging behind its own body.
Its head was tilted down, facing the bridge... until it wasn't.
Tch.
Its neck snapped upward, too fast, looking straight at me.
It waited.
My body stiffened in place.
[ENTITY DETECTED: ARMLESS]
Level 2
Threat Level: Lethal
The words flashed invasively in my vision, but I didn't look away this time.
Level 2?
A lower level than me. That means I should be able to take this thing, right?
Think.
DON'T panic.
My fingers curled around a pebble on the bridge, small enough to hide in my palm. The stone bridge was littered with them—fragments, chips, bits of ruin.
I flicked my wrist and tossed it far to the side.
The sound echoed once,
Then the armless lunged towards it instantly, full body jerking like a glitching animation, legs slamming against the stone. Each impact cracked the bridge hairline cracks, like the stone was terrified too
The way its legs bent was anatomically impossible — and somehow it didn't slow it down at all.
Okay... okay.
So, it chases sound.
If I ran now, it would probably hunt me.
My lungs slowly loosened, a plan forming in my mind.
I crouched carefully, fingers brushing over cold stone, gathering two more pebbles—smooth, flat, perfect for throwing.
Don't screw this up.
I tossed another stone behind it,
A CRACK slicing through the quiet.
The armless snapped to it so violently its whole spine bent backward, legs flailing in a horrific, disjointed rhythm.
Then—a soft tearing sound.
A slit formed along its jaw, then widened... stretching, splitting downward along its neck.
Stone dusted off the bridge, sucked toward the "mouth" like it was inhaling.
It bent down, pressed its face into the rock, and bit.
CRUNCH.
A chunk of stone—hard, ancient, impossibly dense, vanished between those vertical teeth collapsing into powder that spilled from its throat like grey smoke.
My stomach flipped.
Yeah... getting grabbed by that thing would not be good. This is just a level 2.
Focus.
I tightened my grip along the second pebble, my pulse thudding.
I needed another throw. This one had to pull it closer to me— close enough that I could close the distance before it would react. If I missed, I wasn't going home.
And with a sharp inhale—
I flicked it forward, letting it bounce once a few paces in front of me.
The crack echoed.
Twitching, the armless sprinted toward the noise in a full, bone jerking lunge.
tck...CRACK.
The armless snapped again, and its mouth opened again, but close now. I could see it.
Rows of uneven calcified teeth.
Then again—
CRUNCH.
I didn't think—my feet moving towards the being.
The moment it dipped its head, I rushed forward, gripping the biggest chunk of stone I could find—heavy jagged, perfect for one violent swing.
Please let this work.
I raised the rock over my shoulder, and with all of my strength, slammed it down with everything I had.
The impact made a sickening, hollow crack, the shock running shot up my arms, numbing my elbows instantly, like I'd punched concrete with bare bones.
The armless crashed into the bridge sideways, part of its skull caving inward—but it didn't fall.
It turned.
Too fast.
Finally, locked on to its prey.
"Oh—shit—!"
I stumbled back, helpless.
There was no time.
I couldn't outrun it.
I couldn't overpower it.
I was going to die.
Again.
The thought didn't even feel dramatic... just inevitable.
Isn't there something I can do?
TCK-tck-tck
My vision flickered.
Anything? Anything at all?
That's when I saw it.
[RESONANCE VISION - ACTIVATED]
A burst of static split across my sight, and suddenly—
The world split into two overlapping timelines — one where I lived, one where I died
A ghostly afterimage.
An echo.
Where its head would be a second from now.
Where it planned to bite.
Where I'd die.
I moved without thinking.
Ducking left, the air split beside my neck as its jaws clamped shut on where I had been.
Teeth shredded the empty space.
My hand acted on its own, swinging the same jagged stone upward, and jammed it into the open slit.
The armless convulsed.
The jaws clamped down, biting the rock instead of me. But this stone was bigger, and I didn't let its mouth close. I brought my other hand to the stone, pushing the creature to the ground, mounting it.
The stone dug deeper, ripping the slit wider as it choked on the force.
I screamed—half panic, half rage—then shoved forward with everything I had.
The rock punched through.
A wet pop filled the air.
The creature collapsed, twitching once... twice...
Then not at all.
My hands wouldn't stop shaking.
[ENTITY DEFEATED]
[+87 EXP]
-LEVEL UP!-
[FIRST KILL BONUS]
...
[+150 EXP]
-LEVEL UP!-
…[LEVEL 5 ACHIEVED]
My breath came out in ragged, broken pieces.
Before I could even celebrate being alive, another notification flashed:
[ NEW SPELL UNLOCKED]
Kinetic Blast (Common)
Archetype: Typeless
Effect: Releases a short-range invisible force from palm.
Potency: Low
Mana Cost: Minor
Chant: None Required
My shaking hand lifted as the faintest ripple of translucent force shimmered along my fingers.
"Oh… oh my god… I actually…"
Then the bridge groaned beneath me.
And somewhere deep in the purple void—
Tck tck tck.
The same disgusting sound, crawling along the stone as if searching for me.
Not another one... please don't be another one.