A young man woke up lying on a grassy plain. He had pale skin and black hair that fell to his eyes. His eyes felt rested, as if he had just awakened from a long slumber.
"Where am I?"
He sat up and scanned his surroundings. There was nothing—just a vast expanse of grass, with no trees in sight. The sky above was peaceful; the clouds drifted in seamless, smooth motion.
The grass was soft but cold, and a gentle breeze blew across the entire field, carrying a sweet scent with it. His hair flew with the wind, revealing sharp, dark pupils.
"It's so peaceful." His voice was calm. He stretched his arms out over his head, then fell back onto the grass.
As soon as he lay down, a calm voice echoed in his mind:
Hello, fellow Deceased.
A blue screen with a white back ground
His eyes widened. "Deceased? I'm dead?" His mind became fully entangled. "What is happening?"
The words on the screen changed:
Right now, you have two options.
1. Get tortured forever and never reincarnate.
2. Come to the Abyss.
His body trembled. "Tortured forever?" His gaze shifted to the second option. "The Abyss?"
New lines replaced the old:
In the Abyss, you will slay beasts of souls to get stronger and regain your memories, earning the right to return to your world.
His heart thudded, and a drop of sweat rolled down his cheek.
'Deceased... get back my memories and return to the world where I died.'
A smile formed at his lips. "Well, I'm not going to get tortured forever, so I'll fight for my memories."
The screen glowed and displayed another message:
Please provide a new name.
"A name?" He clenched his fist. "If I died before, I guess my body was supposed to turn to ashes," he then scratched his head, "but Ashes doesn't sound right for a name."
He sat for a while, playing multiple names in his head, and eventually stuck with one.
His eyes glowed as he spoke. "My name shall be Asharion."
Understood.
You will receive your first memory upon completing your first Soul Trial.
"Soul Trial? What's that?"
He sat up, leaning back on his arms. "Hey, voice in my head—can you explain what that is?"
Good luck.
His eyes widened. "What do you mean! Good luck? I don't even know what to do!"
The peaceful landscape cracked and disappeared right before his eyes.
He now stood in a pitch-dark void, neither falling nor flying; he was just there.
'Too many unexplained things are happening.'
His ears twitched at the sound of slow footsteps behind him.
"Oh, young deceased—you noticed me quickly."
Ash turned to see a mirror image of himself standing before him. He forcefully showed no reaction, making the image in front think that he is not weak.
'Now who is this... and why does my body tell me to fear him?'
"You're not shocked about seeing yourself in front of you?" the image said, flexing Ash's body.
Ash smirked. "Can't show me your true self, huh?"
'So that's how I look?'
The figure laughed. "You catch on fast, young deceased... but I'm not here to compliment you. I'm here to tell you what's happening to you right now."
Ash smiled on the inside but didn't show it.
'Finally, I can get some information.'
The figure waved his hand in an upward motion, forming two chairs—one for him and the other for Ash.
He then took a seat. "Please, help yourself."
Ash slowly fell back onto the chair. It was hard and not comfortable, but he still sat in a position that made him look fearless.
"Before you start, can I ask any questions?"
"No." He then gazed at Ash seriously. "You have died and lost every single memory of your past life, and have been brought to the Abyss—the realm of lost souls."
'That explains why I was called a deceased.'
"The voice you heard in your head before is called the System, your personal companion."
He paused for a second. "The Abyss is not kind—filled with betrayals and deaths. A life full of pain and agony."
He then leaned back in his chair.
"That's all you need to know. Now I'll send you to your Soul Trial, where you shall face your first soul beast."
"Wait, what? That's all the information I get?"
He panicked and placed his hand on the image's shoulder.
Cracks began to form on the image's face. The figure slowly raised a finger to his lips in a mock silence gesture before disintegrating into many shards right in front of Ash.
Ash crushed some shards in his hands in anger. "You can't send me to kill a beast like that."
'Shit, he left too soon.'
The same blue screen then appeared in front of him:
Welcome to the first trial.
Deceased: Asharion
You have one hour to kill the soul beast in your room.
Failure to kill the beast leads to your death.
'What? I have one hour to kill a beast? That doesn't seem that hard... and if I don't kill it I'll die.'
He chuckled, 'Haven't I already died?'
His body trembled from what his ears picked up—a group of huffs coming from behind him.
'Wait, you said I had to kill one beast. Why can I hear multiple breaths?'
He slowly turned around.
He was in a beautiful monument with many white pillars placed throughout the room. The roof was very high up—impossible to reach with a single jump. In the middle of all the beauty stood a huge three-headed dog, each head blazing with a blue flame mane.
Ash took a step back but got blocked by a white pillar. He started sweating.
'How will I be able to kill this beast?'
"System! Help me!" A dead silence filled the room—no one replied to his cry.
'You shit! You could have at least given me a weapon to fight.'
He took a deep breath and blew out through his mouth. "Well, there's no point in complaining now."
He pulled his hair back and looked at the beast in front of him. It stood motionless, its eyes piercing deep into his body. But it didn't attack—it just stared at him with its jaws wide open.
'It seems like it doesn't want to attack me.'
He called out to the system in his mind, but this time he simply willed it to open.
A black screen appeared in front of him. His face twitched a bit in shock. The trial timer was already counting down.
"What! It's already been two minutes?" He looked at the huge monster. "And this thing still hasn't attacked me..."
"Well, it looks like I'll get attacked as soon as I take a step, so I can do whatever I want until then."
Ash stood there leaning on the white pillar for twenty whole minutes before standing up straight and thinking of a way to kill it.
He lightly punched the pillar behind him.
'Well, hopefully these pillars break.'
His dark red pupils glowed as he smiled. "Let's start, you fucking beast."