Blood left a rusty flavor in his mouth.
Aiden Cross sprawled across the icy rock slab, sight foggy, plating torn wide like cracked wood. That hall - once proud, full of big speeches - now just hazy gold beams mixed with mocking grins. Footsteps tapped near, steel soles dragging on polished stone. Noise oughta fade out, yet each thud banged behind his eyes.
"You did well, Aiden," a familiar voice said above him, smooth and lazy. "You killed every enemy who dared to touch this kingdom. Shame you were too loyal to see the real threat."
Aiden squinted hard. Above him loomed Prince Kael, decked out in gleaming white plate - pristine, as if he'd skipped the fight entirely. Just past, highborn men and armored warriors looked on with crossed limbs and smirks playing at their lips, silken outfits clean, no trace of soot or gore.
Aiden struggled to rise. But his arms shook - then gave out. "Why... did you do this?"
Kael cocked his head, like he was mulling over something tricky. "You had value before - now you're a risk."
A figure moved from behind the prince. Not smiling this time - Lady Seris stood there, blonde hair catching the light, eyes once soft but now sharp like glass. She studied Aiden, face blank. No kindness showed. No sorrow either. Just quiet planning in her stare.
Aiden's chest squeezed - sharper than the cut from the blade. "Seris... didn't you mention..."
"I said many things," she replied calmly. "You were always easy to guide. Loyal dogs are like that."
Chuckles spread through the room.
Aiden gripped the rock tight. His pulse thudded loud at first, then softened, grew distant. He'd battled - not just enemies, but fear itself - fighting for home. For peace among ruins. Season after season of conflict dragged on. Round after round of bloodshed stacked up. Year upon year trusting it meant something - even if that meaning cost him everything.
A steel boot slammed against his ribs, pressing down on the gash. As it dug in, Aiden choked - his sight blurred, fading at the sides.
The captain of the royal guard smirked down at him. "You were strong, Cross. Too strong. People whispered your name more than the prince's. We can't have that."
A blade lifted over Aiden's head, shining under the glow inside the hall.
"So," Kael said lightly, "this is where your story ends. Take pride—you died for your king."
The knife dropped fast.
Pain shot through. Then the light faded.
Silence.
A moment passed - total silence. Not a noise. No air moving in or out. No sense of shape or form. Only void, wide and heavy, as if pulled under a black ocean with no surface above. He stayed still, expecting... he wasn't sure. Punishment maybe. Blazing pain. Or just eternal night.
Yet suddenly, he picked up the sound.
[Ding.]
A sharp, glassy ring sliced the emptiness.
Aiden scowled - maybe. His face? Numb, everything numb, yet awareness hit, like an idea drifting through darkness. Then came another noise, steady but cold.
[System initialization complete.]
[User found: Aiden Cross.]
[Status: Deceased.]
Deceased.
"So this is what dying feels like?" he wondered. His words vanished without a trace. Silence swallowed everything - no sound bounced back, just emptiness stretching forever.
Another chime.
[Error detected.]
[The user's spirit won't let the shutdown go through.]
A fury rose within, sharp and sudden. Visions tore across the dark - Kael's quiet grin. Yet Seris stared blank, unfeeling. Then pressure: the captain's heel pressing hard on his ribs. Their mocking voices echoed. Even now, they'd breathe easier knowing he was gone.
Refuses.
Yes. He refused.
He wouldn't believe it was over just 'cause they were standing over him. He wouldn't buy that he'd died like a loyal pet for people who didn't even see him as real.
Sour feelings have built up past breaking point
[New path unlocked.]
[Unique Title acquired: The Dead Man.]
Light cut into the dark.
Aiden jerked awake - each breath hit like a spark in dry grass. Air clawed down his throat, sharp and hot. His chest seized, then he gagged, mouth flooded with something sour and heavy. Rolling sideways, muscles tight, he coughed hard. Gobs of blackish fluid shot out, hitting the rock floor with a wet slap.
He was flat on his back, breathing hard, staring up with wide-open eyes.
A roof hung low over his head - gray, split wide open, near enough to touch. Just an ancient room built from rock blocks. Moist air sat still, thick with grit and rotting traces. His fingertips pressed into the floor beneath - bumpy, icy, lopsided.
He was... alive?
No. Not alive.
He stood there, listening - hoping - for a beat. A sign. Just once. No pulse. No rhythm. Just breaths slipping in, automatic. Like his body forgot to stop.
His hands trembled when he lifted them up. Pale they looked, nearly white, with thin blue lines underneath - like icy streams under snow. Scars that should've been there weren't. That long cut from fighting, back then. The burnt spot near his left hand. All vanished.
He rose slowly into a seated position. Moving felt off - not heavy enough, almost gliding, like his body lost its old mass. Instead of armor, rough black fabric hung loosely on him.
He looked around.
Stone slabs lined up in rows. Inside dusty niches, old candle stumps clung to rusted metal stands. Not a royal hall - this place felt dead. Cold ground. Burial air.
He swallowed. "Where…?"
[Ding.]
A flash of blue lit up the space ahead. It zipped through the open area just there. Light popped into view right before his eyes.
A see-through screen popped up, hovering just a bit away from his eyes. Words lit up on it, sharp and pale.
[Welcome, User: The Dead Man.]
Aiden stiffened. Yet his breathing drifted into the air like a thin mist. Still, the panel stayed right there.
"…I'm hallucinating," he muttered. "This is—"
[System online.]
[Integration complete.]
New windows popped up, one after another. They covered parts of each other without warning.
[Status.]
[Quests.]
[Skills.]
[Inventory.]
Every term buzzed softly, almost like an order ready to take flight.
Aiden just stood there, frozen. Sure, he'd come across tales about old relics, spooky objects, or rumors of forgotten powers trapping spirits. Yet what sat before him? Something different - almost alive - a device built from glowing ideas. It hummed faintly, shifting like breath held too long.
"What are you?" he breathed.
The panel flickered.
[Designation: System.]
Help you rise, strike back when wronged, get full control. Not just survive - push ahead no matter what stands in your way
A single thought stuck - more intense than anything else.
Vengeance.
His hands balled up tight. That moment - when it ended - came back clear, now he had touch once more. Their eyes. The way they grinned. How calm they looked.
If this was crazy, then it felt oddly useful somehow.
"Fine," he said, voice low. "Show me my status."
The pop-up bar stretched out.
[Name: Aiden Cross]
[Title: The Dead Man]
[Race: Undead (Bound Soul)]
[Level: 1]
[Strength: 7]
[Agility: 6]
Endurance: zero - heart's not beating
[Magic: 10]
[Resentment: 100/100]
Aiden's eyes narrowed.
"Undead," he muttered. "Bound soul."
That's why there was no pulse, his skin felt icy, his muscles stayed weirdly still. He wasn't breathing life. Not really. Some force pulled him up from below, shoved him into this empty shell.
A shape hung before his eyes - almost like a cruel twist on holiness.
He let out a short, humorless laugh. "You brought back a corpse and gave it a menu."
The system just ignored his sarcastic remark.
A fresh alert popped up instead.
[Main Quest unlocked: Vengeance of the Dead.]
You must make them pay - the ones who got you killed
[Primary Targets:
Prince Kael Varion.
Lady Seris Elwood.
– Captain Darrin Holt.]
[Reward: ???]
Failing means your soul gets wiped - gone forever
Aiden went still.
Forever gone - no trace left behind. Not merely dying. Not simply blackness. Total nothingness.
He shut his eyes briefly. Cold from the rock under him crept into his frame - whatever passed for bones these days. Dread climbed his back, not as fast as before life slipped away, yet still present.
Relive life though you're gone. Chase those who killed you - otherwise, fade into nothing.
Some choice.
His lips twisted. "You really know how to motivate someone."
He blinked awake, then rose up slow. Legs wobbling - still kept him upright. Each tiny step he took, those System screens didn't shift, just hung there, tied to his spirit, not his skin.
A message popped up again. Yet another alert showed up right after.
[Starter Skill unlocked: Deathbound Instinct (Passive).]
Your body doesn't rely on air, meals, or sleep like before - pain feels distant, fear barely registers; focus sharpens whenever revenge is near
There it was - the odd quiet. He felt the terror deep down, yet somehow muffled, like behind glass.
He stared at his white hands, moving each finger one by one. "Guess I'm just a tool these days."
Silence answered him.
Aiden moved ahead. Around his bare toes, dust rose up. Beyond him lay the crypt - long, dim, lined with racks full of brittle bones and rotting cloths. Way at the back, a slim stair climbed out of sight, lost in blackness.
Overhead, that's where everything lived.
Overhead lay the realm which once rejoiced at his passing.
Another step forward. Cold crept into the air, yet no tremor ran through him. Focus tightened in his mind. Distant drops tapped overhead, while old wind slipped through gaps in the rock.
After that - just barely - hear a low sound. Not far off, some feet moving. People talking.
Aiden stilled.
The sound of steps got louder, bouncing off the stairs. Clanking metal came closer, slow but steady. Light from a flame danced ahead, painting warm tones on the stones below. Dark shapes moved along the walls, shifting like they were alive.
Someone was coming.
He checked his stats once more. Just level one now. Empty-handed, basically. Not a single weapon on him. Zero protection either. Zombie or not, one wrong move - and he's sliced up for sure.
The System chimed.
[Optional Quest detected: First Blood.]
[Goal: Take down a trespasser.]
[Reward: Experience + Basic Skill Shard.]
A faint, chilly grin pulled one side of Aiden's lips upward.
"Perfect," he whispered. "Let's see what your 'System' can really do."
He stepped closer to the flat rock nearby. On top of a worn-out body, covered in grime, rested a blade eaten by rust. His fingers closed around the handle. At first it stuck, locked in place by years of rot - then suddenly came loose, sending up bits of debris.
The blade had gone blunt, broken along bits of its edge - yet it stayed metal. He flipped it in his palm. Not heavy. Known.
The sounds became sharper all of a sudden.
"…down here, I'm telling you. The priest said they heard something."
"You think a corpse got up and went for a stroll?" another voice replied, mocking.
Aiden slipped into the dark space behind two columns, pressing against the icy rock, blade held close to the ground. He didn't have a heartbeat - yet tension wound tight in his chest, just like before a storm hits. One breath. Then another.
He passed away on his knees before them.
He refused to drop to his knees once more.
The first flicker of light hit the crypt's ground. Footsteps showed up, followed by limbs, after that silhouettes of soldiers in armor moving down, clueless that the corpse they'd ditched long ago was right there, hiding, ready - a wraith with a knife, a system craving carnage.