A translucent silver-colored window materialized in front of Sezel. His crimson eyes widened, this was just like looking at a game's status window.
Sezel rubbed his eyes, I think i am seeing things, he blinked a couple of times. I guess not.
But this was all real, he was not in a game, he was inside his soul. Standing inside his Spirit meridian, an existence as real as the blood coursing through his veins.
Sezel reached out to the window, trying to touch it. But his eyes widened as his fingers slipped right through it.
The touch was nothing, yet it made his heart stutter and race, a lightning bolt of wonder slicing the hollow in his chest. For an instant, both terror and exhilaration surged within him, dancing on the edge of his nerves.
Wow, this is amazing. Is this how Slayers feel? Pretty game like i would say.
He steadied his breath, it was not the time to be excited, he wanted answers. His crimson gaze traced the window's script.
The top of the screen showcased his name, carved in golden colors. He started from the top and as his gaze swept over the whole thing. His heart sank with each word, or rather the whole thing became more dark.
[Name - Sezel]
[Spirituality Rank - 0]
[Category - Legendary]
His breath caught, a jagged gasp escaped his lips. Category? What kind of sick joke is this? I mean yeah i have bad haircut, but that doesn't mean i am a beast.
Only Spirit beasts were divided into category. What was it doing there in Sezel's information?
Sezel swallowed the glob in his throat, a dry pain coursing through his body. He forced his gaze downward, clinging to a flicker of curiosity.
[Fable - Master of Death]
[Type - Gold]
His pupils contracted, heart faltering, "A golden fable." he whispered, his mind spiraling into chaos, this was more confusing than soothing. How is this possible? I have a golden Fable and a Rank 0. Is this a paradox or am i being filmed for a prank?
He noticed a downward arrow—could fate get any more interactive? He tapped it, trembling.
[Fable - Master of Death]
[Tier - 1 - Rising]
[Evolution points - (0/10,000)]
Sense had stopped making sense ages ago but now, it laid bare in front of him, each revelation shattered coherence, and amidst all the dystopian questions and thoughts there was a faint echo, questioning him, questioning his existence.
Was he even a human? Was he alive? Could it be that he had died and now lived as a monster mimicking his past self?
His enthusiasm, if there ever was any, evaporated. Yet he pressed on. After all, this was his destiny—drawn from choices, shaped by survival, painted in blood and darkness.
Then his ability stared back at him:
[Ability - You are the being who defied death. Death is your forte. Your audacity has swayed the God of Death, you have been recruited as the Master of Death. You have the authority to order the dead and use their powers.]
He frowned, baffled and almost insulted. Order the dead? What am I, a graveyard manager? Golden fable, they said—should've come with fireballs, or world-bending might, not graveyard management skills.
He sighed, "Maybe it's unique in its own way."
His eyes caught another description written below the ability, What's that?
[Mission - You were helped by the God of Death now you live as his retainer. Find the God of Death and pay off the debt by serving him.]
"What?" A gasp tore from his lips, a shiver lancing down his spine. He could feel his throat run dry.
What is this? What is this supposed to mean? his mind reeled, burning with questions he didn't understand. Beneath the sarcasm, genuine terror gnawed, that sent his pulse thundering.
The world had just turned upside down. Everything felt wrong, a golden fable, Rank 0 and the worst parts, the category and the mission.
This is just bullshit. Sezel squinted his eyes. He was in an internal turmoil, he felt tremendous joy that he had received a golden fable no less, on the other hand he felt terrified. He wanted to accept it and discard it too at the same time.
He stared at the glowing silver screen in front of him, breathing heavily, I can't discard it can I?
Whatever it was, it was his truth, the truth of his existence and there was no way he could deny it.
He inhaled sharply, closing his eyes, then opened them again reading the whole screen once again, dread coiled even tighter as every word sank deep down.
Maybe that was what the teacher meant when he said no one escapes the will of the Spirit Realm. Or maybe the REAL jailor here was the so-called God of Death.
Sezel wondered, mind whirling. The mission was about a God—not the Realm itself
Is this mission thing even related to Spirit Realm?
Sezel was even more confused, he never believed gods even existed but this thing clearly mentioned a god had helped him. As he was pondering over his chaotic thoughts, A wild idea hit him: the girl who helped him in the pond, maybe she was the God of Death.
Of course she was. She has to be. Girl saves dying orphan. Turns out, she's Death herself handing out backstage passes to the afterlife.
But it was just an unverified theory he made himself out of what he could think of, and it had nothing to back it up, along with that his knowledge about the Spirit realm was limited.
Suddenly, a flicker of movement caught his eye, a shadow darting near a gnarled, obsidian tree at the plain's edge. Sezel spun, gasping, heart lurching. Impossible. The Spirit Meridian was his soul's sanctum, inviolable by others.
This place is inside my soul how can there be anyone else.
A shrill whistle pierced the void, resonating in his ears. Sezel's eyes fluttered open, blinking against the classroom's harsh light, he was out of his Spirit meridian, still sitting in the classroom. Captain Raelion stood at the front, a cryptic smile curving his lips.
Sezel glanced around, some students looked excited, others unmotivated. His heart still raced, the window's words were etched into his soul.