At dead of night, veiled in the mist, the moonlight pierces through, revealing a three-edged structure protruding beneath in the barren, shallow waters.
It lies within, dwelling in an eternal sleep.
Above its surface, dewdrops form, running down through its concrete seams; they trickle down, splashing onto a husk.
Plop.
It's cold, cold enough to make it shiver awake, like a spark igniting its senses. The dweller within breathes and feels a sensation, blood gravitating at his feet.
In each breath, he felt the need scratching its throat.
As he exhaled from the top of his lungs, he felt his warm breath deflect at his face, gradually warming his cold and exhausted body.
He blinked and saw that nothing had changed; there was only darkness. Wondering where he is, as all he could see was endless darkness pressing in from every side, confined by tight walls.
He alone could not move, could not breathe, and could not see.
Pitter-Patter…
Instantly, it rained, scattering drops of liquid above him noisily as it entered through the small crevices.
A sound surged through him—one he had convinced himself he would never feel again.
He yelled, "It hurts!"
Triggering a loud hiss of noise rushing towards his ears, numbing him.
Numb, he found a strange comfort in the cold as it slowly enveloped him. In an abrupt moment, he felt his lower back shake, and he felt water splattering.
In apprehension, He squirms and inhales the last breath he can take as the water fills the confined space.
Fully submerged, he opens his eyes, squinting in pain, and sees a brief beam of light cast upon his visage.
As he saw the light, he was relieved by the sight of it, as he then suddenly felt its lower back move, dispersing his breath in panic.
It felt scaly and heavy, akin to a leg, shifting as if part of its being.
He gasped for air, but greeted in blues[1], quenching his thirst as it gradually filled him with water, tempting him to rest in eternity.
But he refused; alone, he refused to die. Again.
He leaped up and felt the solid surface against his skull. He wasn't done, as he felt a nudge, he pushed with his whole body in constant motion.
Again and again,
A sudden strength surge through him. Restless, as he is, he pummels through the enclosure, lifting it open; he then extends his arms, emerging like a spring within a box.
Whilst his head is against the ground, he coughs and gasps for air. Rains fall upon him as he then blinks both his eyes.
He was mesmerized by the sheer darkness of the atmosphere, having seen light not long ago.
Suddenly, he screams in excruciating pain as the giant lid closes on him, pressing his lower half.
In instinct, he pulls himself out.
In each gradual pull he takes, it scrapes, peeling his skin off, making the heavy weight more concerning as it presses on him, slowly, making him half a man.
Blood escapes through his stomach, and in his mind, he questions Is this it?
With nothing left to pull, a miracle happens: the lid opens, flinging him out onto the ground, and he escapes, finally out of the confines.
Crawling out at the shallow ground, it lay headfirst to rest, feeling the shallow waters with its left cheek against the damp ground.
Breathing heavily, he then lies flat on his back and lets out a sigh of relief, gazes at the sky above, and still sees absolute darkness.
He wonders why—questioning whether he had been blind from the very beginning—and why he feels as though he is going to die.
'Again'?
As the rain gradually stops, the moonlight pierces through, revealing its crescent moon.
He watches it enfold before him.
"Where is the cloud, the dark cloud that makes it rain?" He said.
There were no dark clouds that could facilitate a downpour, just the everblack colors stretching endlessly above.
As if the moon were causing the rain to pour down.
"Is this… a dream?" He said in confusion.
The experience felt too vivid to be a dream, yet too surreal to be reality.
Various thoughts raced through its mind: questioning whether he was really dead, and if this was the afterlife.
The mystery of his own identity loomed large, a puzzle waiting to be solved.
With no way to answer it, he gets up, looking down upon his flimsy legs, and sees, in the corner of his eyes, a visage of a woman.
A woman in white, complexion as fair as white as a canvas, smooth like porcelain, her black hair, darker than ink, cascades down like rivers.
It felt ominous as it found the surroundings, finding no one present.
"A ghost," He yelled, then he tailed and ran.
As he swayed his arms in motion, he saw his arms as slender as twigs and felt an inexplicable weight, heavy and akin to a leg, attached behind.
"A tail," He yelled, as his eyes widened.
As in front of him, waves of water gather below him, forming a pillar as tall as he is. He gazes his eyes away and dodges to the left.
It instantly appears, shifting in the same direction that its eyes are upon. It goes up to the sky, and subsequently returns.
Splat!
He covers his head with his arms.
It splashed with a bang, then suddenly went silent, as if nothing had happened.
Shivering in the unknown, he glances over to see it between his arms —a pillar of water as tall as him, inscribed in white.
It piques his curiosity, despite an underlying sense of danger.
With both his eyes on the panel, he saw a familiar text written on the pillar and instinctively read it. Written in white letters, he reads.
"Welcome, Ye Xin ♂ ?" He said in confusion as he read it.
Confused, as he could read the written text, especially at the word Ye Xin, which felt like the panel referencing him, but he couldn't help but wonder why nothing came to mind.
Suddenly, the pillar rippled, revealing another text.
Ye Xin ♂ /█/ Lvl. I
HP: 10/10 Stats: Normal
Mind: 22/30 Stamina: 09/15 RP: 10
STR: 10 AGI: 5 DEF: 3 INT: 12
◙: |Survivor|5| Inventory: [][][][][][][][][][]
↓Maximise↓
He said, "What's this? Survivor as in a refugee?"
In a strange yet familiar way, he then pressed the arrows below the survivor on the panel.
But of course it didn't work.
"Maximise?" He said dubiously.
As he said the word 'maximise', the panel compacted into a ball of water again.
It then resumed its previous behavior, but in larger quantities. Xin crossed his arms and covered his face, bracing himself.
As it surged forth, Xin felt his fatigue catching up to him, and as it transformed into a transparent panel, it revealed more details.
Health points: 10/10, Mana points: 06/10
Ye Xin ♂ /█/ Level. I
Status: Wet, Cold
Mind: 21/30 Stamina: 09/15 Raising Points: 10
Strength: 10, Agility: 5, Defence: 3, Intelligence: 12
Skill: Aqua Ball |Mastery. Basic|
◙|Survivor| |5| Inventory: [][][][][][][][][][]
↑Minimize↑
As Xin reads the text, he already knew what he needed to, then took a glance at his lower.
"This isn't me!" He yelled.
It wasn't the same; Xin looked down and then realized the ghost he thought was actually him was, in fact, his reflection, which reflected mainly in the shallow waters.
"Minimize," Xin said.
Unsurprised, this time the panel reduced itself and made a splash.
"Mind: 20/30. It really does reduce the mind." Xin happily said.
He questions, what will happen if his mind goes to 0?
Suddenly, he shuddered as a warm wind brushed against his neck; subsequently, a large quantity of sultry liquid poured down endlessly, flowing down to his feet.
Xin looked back and saw a large creature with a wolf's face, its neck as tall as a giraffe, its plumage resembling that of peacocks, wings twice the size of its body…
Before him, it stared and howled.
Howl!
Sending a loud sound that reverberated through his body.
As it ominously stared, he saw its pupil gradually enlarge.
"Shit! Shit! WTF is that!" He yells in panic, sweating profusely. "Aqua ball."
It awkwardly floats towards the creature. It caused it to become wary and inquisitive; it surrounds the ball and sniffs before spreading its wings to display its might, ferocity, and malice.
Waiting for a window of time to escape, Ye Xin then darted away from that monstrous thing to anywhere at once.
Meanwhile, as the ball awkwardly floated, it somehow hit the creature as it flapped its wings, absorbing the water through its thick feathers.
At a great distance, it became apparent that, just suddenly, it became too quiet. The thought of the silence felt eerie to Xin, as it was so different from the chaos he had just escaped.
Slowing down in a row, Xin looked back over his shoulder, expecting it to be close behind him.
But as he glanced behind, the distance surprised him, seeing it struggle to flap its four wings, and he laughed inside as it moved away.
He suddenly felt an intense fatigue, causing him to fall into the shallow water in the barren area.
Again, Ye Xin fell asleep.
…
A silhouette of a tall figure stands in front, said, "Onyung rdlo! AkewUp!
The silhouette gradually fades in, revealing a man's face wearing a blue, knee-length, full-sleeved tunic —a servant's attire.
With each gibberish word it uttered repeatedly, it gradually became lucid.
A spacious room, with a large bed in the middle, a young man asleep.
"Young lord! Wake up." The servant repeatedly said calmly as he caressed his hands.
He, the young lord, woke up, gazing blankly at the ceiling.
The servant then lifts his back as if it were a figure made of glass; he then takes off his clothes, revealing a bandage from head to toe.
His blood was visibly seeping through, pouring out a minuscule, thick blood staining the bandage black and red.
The bandages were too stained with blood and dirty, the servant removed them, line by line, pulling the blood-stained bandage and peeling off the excess skin.
He trembled as he grunted in pain. It revealed his bare skin, scabs, and scars, his skin shed all over like dandruff.
With a wet cloth, the servant washes him gently. Each touch made the young man shiver and grit his teeth.
Still, he bravely withstood it all, then stood up and spread his arms outward.
Proud, the servant starts bandaging the young lord's body with his hand adorned in jewelry, and shakes off the young master's clothes.
Clothes that were unfit for a young lord, frizzled threads stuck out of them.
The servant pulls out a purse from his pocket and opens it.
Thud!
As he opens it, a heavy thud sounds as a chest hits the ground.
It opened deliberately, revealing a fine set of clothes.
After which, he takes and then dresses the young lord, and finally wraps him, covering his eyes in white bandages.
As the wind gusts enter through the windows and blow the curtains, allowing the light to pass through them, it emanates a sense of nobility with his clothes.
In awe, the servant whispered, "blind and deaf, but yet you are a noble."
As he then walked closer, he caressed the young master's hand and wrote,
"Follow me… Your father… Calls you…"
The Young man stood up and walked with his servant, assisting him.
Outside the room, a castle with a wooden exterior stood, striking yet daunting.
Its roofs are adorned with brick tiles, windows constructed from paper and wood, and intricate carvings that enhance the red and brown motifs, blending seamlessly with nature.
Positioned outside the pavements, they stand with their weapons in formation, like statues. Heavily armored, their ominous presence alarms the servant.
-[2] Out of nowhere, in just a second, the space before them shatters, creating a void from which a looming figure exits, emitting a bad omen.
All of them started to kneel and began breathing synchronously in his presence, except the young master, who—
[1] It simply means suddenly waking up underwater or opening your eyes, as you are then underwater and in danger of drowning.
[2] Once you're in this part of the chapter, you'll notice a glaring issue: "What does this connect?" Umm, lovely reader, this is a part where you'll learn what the following part is—just a glimpse of the future. Ciao! ;) -A3D10313