> ❖ Core Anomaly Detected
> Threat Level: [???]
> Estimated Level Range: 30+
>
> ⚠ RECOMMENDATION: RUN. HIGH-LEVEL MONSTER DETECTED. ⚠
Raiyan didn't need to be told twice.
The system's message wasn't decorative. The moment he read the word "Run," his body moved before his mind could form any rational thought.
Instinct screamed.
He turned on his heel and bolted.
Branches snapped underfoot. Leaves whipped past his face. The forest became a blur of colors and shadows. Raiyan didn't care where he ran — only that he was not going to die in this forest, not after everything he'd already gone through.
The monster behind him hadn't shown itself, but its presence was suffocating. He didn't need to see it to know it could kill him with a glance.
> ❖ Pursuer Approaching — Distance: 190m
>
> Vital Signs: Elevated
> Fatigue Level: Rising
>
> Soul Instinct Feedback: FLEE.
The ground trembled. It wasn't an earthquake — it was footsteps. Heavy, deliberate, and unnatural. Something big — too big — was stalking him.
A roar tore through the forest.
Not an animal's roar. It was wrong. Like something hollow and echoing, filled with static and fury. A fusion of beast and machine.
"Shit," Raiyan gasped, dodging around a massive root. His foot caught a rock. He tumbled, rolled, and came up limping, but didn't stop.
His shoulder screamed with pain from earlier. His hoodie was torn. His lungs burned.
But he kept running.
He had to.
He wasn't a warrior. Not yet. Not even close. Whatever had found him wasn't some level 2 gremlin. It was a predator — and he was prey.
> ❖ Fatigue Level: Moderate → Severe
> Warning: Long-Term Sprint Will Result in Collapse
>
> Stamina Remaining: 17%
He veered off the trail, pushing through thick brush and sliding down a muddy slope. Trees blurred past as he tumbled, scraped, cursed. A branch sliced his cheek. His arm twisted wrong on a landing.
Still — he got up.
> ❖ HP: 39/100
> System Sync: 53%
>
> Location: Unknown Region — Outside Gremlin Territory
The forest around him began to change. The trees grew taller here, older. Their bark shimmered faintly. The grass glowed with a cold bioluminescent blue. Everything looked surreal — ethereal — like a place untouched by man.
The monster didn't follow into this section.
The tremors faded.
No more roars.
Just his own ragged breathing, and the buzzing in his ears.
> ❖ Pursuer Status: Stationary
> Range: 0%
>
> Threat Temporarily Evaded
Raiyan stumbled forward a few more steps, knees wobbling, vision tunneling. He couldn't feel his fingers anymore.
Then everything crashed in at once.
Fatigue.
Pain.
Fear.
And finally — darkness.
His body gave out. He collapsed face-first into the glowing grass.
> ❖ SYSTEM NOTICE:
> Host Unconscious
> Initiating Passive Core Preservation
> Monitoring Vitals...
> Locating Nearest Civilized Settlement…
---
❖ ...Unknown Time Later...
---
Light.
A soft crackling sound — fire?
And warmth. Real warmth.
Raiyan's eyes fluttered open slowly, lashes sticking together. For a moment, he wasn't sure if he'd woken up at all — maybe this was some kind of afterlife, or dream state.
Then came the pain in his shoulder.
"Ohh yeah," he groaned, shifting slightly in what felt like a… bed?
The ceiling above was made of rough-cut wood. The walls were stone and timber. A small lantern glowed near the far corner, casting orange light across a modest room.
Blankets covered him. A wooden frame creaked beneath him when he moved.
He was… inside?
Then the door creaked.
Someone entered — a silhouette carrying a tray.
A girl's voice spoke, soft and curious.
"⸺⸺⸺⸺?"
Raiyan blinked.
He couldn't understand a word.
"...What?"
The girl tilted her head, clearly puzzled, then tried again, slower.
"⸺⸺ra tinolu veska nomiru."
Still nothing.
> ❖ LANGUAGE MODULE BOOTING...
> Local Dialect Detected: Myrian Low Speech
> Translating...
>
> Initializing Neural Filter... Complete.
> Language Sync: 87% → 100%
> Communication Enabled
Suddenly, her next words became clear.
"Hey. Can you hear me now?"
Raiyan blinked. His head throbbed a little — like something just slotted into place behind his eyes.
"...I… yeah."
The girl let out a small breath of relief.
She stepped closer, placing the tray on a small wooden table. She looked about his age — seventeen, maybe — with shoulder-length ash-brown hair tied in a braid, and soft green eyes. Her face was plain but kind, with smudges of herbs along her sleeves and apron.
"You've been out for a full day," she said. "You were barely breathing when I found you. I thought you'd die for sure."
"I nearly did," Raiyan muttered, wincing as he tried to sit up.
"Don't," she said quickly, placing a hand on his chest. "You're still healing. Your body was overworked. And your core nearly burned out."
Raiyan's expression tensed. "Core?"
She tilted her head. "Your system core. You're synced, aren't you?"
He nodded slowly. "Fifty-three percent."
Her eyes widened a bit, but she nodded. "That explains how you're still alive."
She handed him the tray — a bowl of thick stew, a spoon, and a cup of warm water.
"Eat. Slowly. Your stomach might not like you right now."
Raiyan took the bowl with trembling fingers. The smell alone made his stomach clench — warm, earthy, with hints of spice and root. He hadn't eaten in what felt like days.
He took a spoonful and nearly cried.
It was simple.
But delicious.
"Thanks," he muttered between bites. "I'm... Raiyan."
"I know," she said, smiling slightly. "You mumbled it in your sleep."
He blinked.
"Oh."
"I'm Lera," she added. "My mom's the village herbalist. You're in our house — Elm's Hollow. South end of the Moonfang Forest. And you're lucky, by the way. Another hour out there and you might have been something's dinner."
Raiyan's hand twitched reflexively toward his dagger — but it wasn't there. She noticed.
"It's fine. Your weapon's safe. I didn't touch it."
"I believe you."
She nodded, satisfied, then pulled a stool closer.
"So. Want to tell me what a half-dead boy with no aura and half a shirt was doing collapsed on the border of Gremlin territory with a Core pulsing like a beacon?"
Raiyan set the spoon down and took a deep breath.
"I... don't know where to start."
"The beginning, usually."
He chuckled weakly.
"I died."
Lera paused. Her eyes flickered.
"…Reincarnated?"
He nodded.
She didn't laugh.
Didn't call him crazy.
She just said, "System-born, then. Figures."
Raiyan blinked. "You believe me?"
"Where do you think most of the Old-Willed came from? People like you show up every few decades. Soul-marked. Pulled from another life."
"Why?"
"No one knows," she said. "Some say the world's breaking. Some say the Architect is rebuilding it using pieces of other realities. But most people don't ask questions."
Raiyan leaned back, overwhelmed.
His fingers curled slightly.
He didn't know how to respond.
But the weight in his chest eased.
Someone believed him. Someone *understood*.
He wasn't alone.
> ❖ Quest Update:
> [Prologue II: Awakening Begins]
>
> Survive — Complete
> Rest and Recover — In Progress
> Explore Elm's Hollow — Optional
> Discover Lera's Secret — Hidden Objective
He frowned.
Wait. Lera's secret?
Before he could think further, she stood.
"I'll let you rest," she said. "Eat. Sleep. You'll need your strength if you plan to keep your soul intact in this world."
She turned to leave, then paused at the door.
"Oh," she added, glancing back with a small, amused smirk. "If you scream in your sleep again tonight, I'm dumping a bucket of water on you."
And with that, she left.
Raiyan stared at the door for a while.
Then looked down at his hands.
Still shaking.
But alive.
For now.