The antiseptic sting of the hospital hit first.
Then came the pain — sharp, searing, alive.
Shiva blinked against the blinding white light overhead. The hum of machines buzzed somewhere nearby, each beep a reminder that he was somehow still here. Alive.
Unfortunately.
His ribs ached like broken glass every time he breathed. His right arm felt heavy, wrapped in bandages thick enough to choke a bull. For a moment, he almost wished the bastards had finished the job.
Aparna's face flashed in his mind — her smile, her last scream — and the world blurred again. Her father's voice echoed, cruel and righteous. The memory twisted in his gut until all that came out was a shaky laugh.
"Guess I really do have bad luck," he muttered, voice hoarse.
The monitor beeped faster, like it was mocking him.
Then something flickered in the corner of his vision.
A faint green glow, hovering above his chest like a ghostly reflection. He froze. The glow pulsed once, then expanded into a transparent screen — lines of text scrolling across it.
[System Initialization Complete]
[Welcome back, Shiva.]
Status: Alive (barely)
Error: Heartbeat ceased for 2 minutes, 47 seconds. Resurrection protocol engaged.
Warning: Resurrection cooldown – active (364 days remaining).
Would you like to open your Status Window? (Y/N)
He stared at it, mouth slightly open.
"…Either the pain meds are premium grade," he whispered, "or I just got patched by a cosmic software update."
The screen didn't respond to sarcasm. Figures.
"Fine. Y."
The glow brightened, and lines of neat green text filled his vision.
Name: Shiva
Age: 24
Profession: Blacksmith (Apprentice)
Level: 1
HP: 22 / 100
Stamina: 22 / 60
Focus: 90 / 100
Luck: …Error Reading Value.
Skills:
[Forge Mastery] Lv.1
[Precision Focus] Lv.1
[Pain Tolerance] Lv.2
Titles:
The One Who Returned
System Note: "Try not to die again. The universe is running out of retries."
Shiva blinked. "Cute. My system comes with attitude."
He tried to sit up — pain lanced through his ribs, forcing a grimace. His heart hammered. The words 'Resurrection protocol engaged' kept replaying in his head.
So it wasn't a dream. He really died.
And somehow… came back.
He laughed again, though it sounded more like a sob. "Aparna… I made it back. But you…"
He clenched his fists, ignoring the screaming pain. The world outside might have been a wasteland ruled by empires, but right now, only one thing mattered — finding out why he was alive… and who decided to bring him back.
Somewhere deep in the system interface, the green glow pulsed again — and for a split second, it turned red.
[System Alert: Hostile Energy Detected Nearby]
[Quest Generated — "Escape the Hospital."]
Reward: Survival.
Failure: Death (again).
Shiva sighed, cracking a small, bitter grin.
"Back from the dead five minutes, and it's already trying to kill me. Figures."
He swung his legs off the bed, every muscle trembling, and stared at the flickering door light ahead.
"Alright then," he muttered, voice low. "Let's see what round two looks like."
End of Chapter 1