He studied the pitch-black shard. It was strangely beautiful, almost hypnotic. And with the slightest squeeze—
It shattered.
Dust exploded out, lighting up as it spun around him like a miniature tornado. The wind kicked up, pushing the lifeless bodies back across the floor. The light spun faster and faster until actual words started forming right in front of him.
[Seal of Endless Rebirth.]
[Do you accept the trial for the throne?]
[Yes / No]
He froze. He rubbed his eyes a few times, half-expecting the words to disappear.
But they didn't.
Then the voice chimed in, assuring him that he hadn't lost his mind yet.
'It's okay, Shiro. Just touch yes.'
It said it casually—like it had been expecting this the whole time.
A normal person would have freaked out after seeing glowing words floating in the air. But it said it calmly, like this was just another ordinary day.
And now that he thought about it, he hadn't really freaked out about the giant snake either. Or the hunters.
That thought made his stomach twist.
Suspicion crept in. Not the it's-trying-to-kill-me kind. More like the it's-leading-me-somewhere kind.
And the more he thought about it, the clearer it became.
It was the mysterious voice in his head that had pushed him to train. Again and again—even when all Shiro wanted was to just get out of the well.
His hand trembled as he reached out.
"I know you're hiding something from me," he whispered. "I don't know why, but everything that's happening doesn't feel like coincidence anymore. It all feels planned. Like I'm just a character in someone else's crazy story—and nobody bothered to tell me the rules."
His voice dropped to something fragile, almost nothing. Tears burned at the corners of his eyes.
"I don't even know who you are, or why you've helped me all these years… but I trust you. Even with my life. Which, honestly, feels like a terrible decision—but here we are."
The voice didn't say much.
'Thank you, Shiro. I promise—I'll get you out of this place.'
He wiped the tears from his eyes, still sniffling, but a spark of excitement peeked through, brightening the mood just a little.
"Then we can eat every kind of meat curry there is."
The voice laughed.
'We'll eat until our stomachs explode.'
Shiro shook his head rapidly, and without a second thought, he pressed it.
The ground split beneath his feet. Then everything around him began to shatter—like the world had been drawn on glass and someone suddenly decided to smash it.
Everything just… fell.
The hunters dropped into the void, the chamber crumbled away, and he was the only thing left.
No sound. No walls. Just empty space.
Like he'd been erased from existence.
"What… what is this?" he muttered.
No answer.
He waited for the voice to say something stupid—but nothing. He called out, louder this time.
Still nothing.
It was just him and his own overly exaggerated thoughts—the worst possible company. Those fools ran in circles, crashed into each other, and made him more panicked than he already was.
His heart started pounding. The silence felt huge.
"Hey—this isn't funny!" he screamed.
The words tore away from him, then slammed back into his ears, bouncing endlessly through the void. Over and over. Louder each time—like the emptiness was mocking him, repeating his fear just to hear it break.
The echo swelled until it hurt. He clamped his hands over his ears and took off running.
It didn't help.
The sound slipped through anyway—inside his head, inside his chest. He never realized how annoying his own voice was until now.
"Stop it," he begged.
The void answered back. Louder.
He ran faster, hoping he would eventually reach an end. Or at least get away from the noise—away from himself, away from whatever this place was.
But there was no end. The nothing stretched on forever, and with every second his mind spiraled deeper. Thoughts piled on top of each other, tripping over themselves, until he couldn't tell fear from panic anymore.
The noise grew unbearable—growing even louder—
And then—nothing.
Everything went quiet. Too quiet.
Now the silence felt wrong.
As if the void swallowed everything. He couldn't even hear his own voice. His thoughts went silent too, and only the faint buzzing of emptiness remained.
He kept running, now trying to outrun the silence—but his legs gave out, dropping him to his knees.
He looked around, and for a moment it felt like the darkness was closing in on him. His breathing turned uneven, his chest tightening.
Instinctively, he curled into a ball, arms wrapping around himself the way he always had before meeting the voice, trying to convince himself he wasn't alone.
'Shiro… can… you… hear… me…?'
The voice crackled through the emptiness, broken and buzzing—like a dying radio.
He slowly uncurled himself and lifted his head. His once-lifeless eyes suddenly lit up.
He ran toward it—purely on adrenaline.
And as he ran, trees rose from the ground, dense and unyielding. Then the sky took shape overhead, the world reshaping itself right before his eyes—like he was watching the world being created from nothing.
'Shiro, you okay?' the voice came back.
He didn't answer. He couldn't. His body went still, breath ragged, fingers twitching as his heart beat started to drown everything else out.
The ground started to shake, and for a moment he thought he was going to be thrown back into the void again.
But that didn't happen, and the tightness in his chest eased just a little.
Instead, something more ominous occurred that left his jaw hanging—a gigantic castle was rising out of the ground. He just stared—eyes wide—as it kept climbing higher and higher.
The world shook. The trees behind him swayed, as if something terrible was on its way.
And once the castle reached its full height, it basically owned the horizon. The sun tried to shine over it—but the light just died on contact.
Yet behind him, the sun still shone beautifully. It looked like the world had been sliced in half—one side day, the other night. Like two paths were waiting for him to choose.
He took a step toward the path that led into the dense forest. It looked less creepy and ominous than the giant nightmare castle.
As he took a step forward, the world spun—until the castle was in front of him. He tried again, and just like before, the world spun.
He let out a long frustrating sigh.
"Why bother even giving me choices if you're going to pick for me?"
The voice just chuckled.
"Glad you're enjoying this," Shiro muttered.
Since the universe clearly made the choice for him, he moved forward.
The gate creaked open on its own, letting out the kind of groan old bones make—like it hadn't been touched in forever.
He felt… welcome. In a creepy way. Like even the doors bowed to him, which his ego appreciated a bit more than he liked to admit.
Like the main gate, the castle door opened on its own. Without hesitating, he stepped through.
He walked down the hallway with his mouth slightly open, amazed by what he saw. Statues were everywhere. Men and women.
He shook his head, instantly regretting the words—men and women. Even thinking it left a bitter taste in his mouth.
They looked like kings and queens… maybe even gods. Frozen in stone, untouched by time, yet radiating a presence that felt divine.
He moved past them one after another—at least a hundred. Stone saints crouched on either side of the hall, frozen in their holy poses. He glanced between them, wondering which idiot had carved such serious expressions… because, honestly, he wanted one of himself.
"How do I get one of myself?" he asked the voice.
The voice snickered.
'When you die, we'll carve you one.'
Shiro snorted.
"Yeah, write this on the plaque: 'Objectively the best-looking one here.'"
'Eh… top twenty at best,' the voice said casually.
Shiro gasped dramatically.
"Top—what? You parasite. Just wait. Once I hit puberty, I'm going to be stupidly handsome."
The voice chuckled. 'I'm just teasing you.'
It paused for a second.
'I've watched you grow all these years. One day, you'll be so handsome people won't be able to look away.'
It spoke softly—too softly.
His footsteps came to a halt. Even he didn't fully believe that. But there was something wrapped inside those words—warm. Steady. The kind of warmth that made him feel… looked after. Almost like being held.
That tone… that was new but familiar, like he'd heard it before. It made something twist in his chest.
At the same time—unknowingly—the grand parade of statues came to an end.
In front of him waited a massive black door.
He couldn't wait to see what was inside—and he didn't hesitate. If the outside looked like this, then the inside had to be even more magical.
Without a second thought, he pulled it open. For something so heavy, it yielded the moment he touched it.
And before him stood a throne.