The rain kisses my skin like it's afraid to wake me.
Each drop falls too slowly, as if the world has forgotten how time works. The ground beneath me is frozen stone, leeching warmth from my bones, yet I welcome it. The cold is honest. It doesn't pretend.
Blood slips from the wound in my side, dark and steady. I know it's killing me. I know I should be afraid.
I'm not.
There is no pain—only a weightless calm, like floating just before sleep.
So this is it.
I've always been alone. No family waiting. No name worth remembering. I don't mind dying here, tucked away in some narrow alley the world already forgot. No one will look for me. No one ever does.
"So peaceful," I murmur, a faint smirk touching my lips.
Then the silence snaps.
"What the hell do you want from me?" My voice cracks as it echoes into nothing. "There's nothing left. Haven't I suffered enough?"
The rain vanishes.
I jolt awake, gasping.
Again.
How many times has it been now? Ten? Twenty? I've lost count. Every death feels real. Every ending fades into another beginning.
When will the last one stay?
"Hey, kid."
I freeze.
A man stands a few paces away, cloaked against the cold. His breath fogs the air. His eyes are sharp, alive—real.
"You alright?" he asks. "You look half-dead. You'll freeze out here. Nothing but mountains for miles. Nearest town's a long ride."
My heart slams against my ribs.
This is new.
This is the first time I've seen another person in any Vigil.
"Yes, sir," I say carefully. "I… don't know how I got here. I just woke up. But—could I ride with you? Before night falls?"
Before the beasts come.
He studies me, then smiles, easy and unguarded. "Hop on."
The ride lurches forward. The world moves again.
"What's your name?" he asks.
"Asher."
Something soft flickers in his expression. "That means blessed after hardship."
I almost laugh. "My mom named me that. Thought it'd change my luck."
It didn't.
I don't tell him the truth—that this place isn't real. That this is my first Vigil. That most people don't get more than one life inside it.
That when you die here, you usually die out there too.
No one knows where the Vigils came from. Just the Voice—a whisper that crawls into your skull and tells you you've been chosen. The first Vigil is forced. After that, survival earns you a choice.
Those who live become The Touched.
Mine is broken.
Every death resets the world. Every pain lingers. I've been torn apart by beasts, gutted by strangers, frozen until my lungs burned empty. I'm so tired of dying.
"So," I say quietly, watching the horizon darken. "You never told me your name."
"Kaid," he replies. "I'm Endowed."
Endowed—survivors of their first Vigil. Ranked by strength. Kaid's new. I can feel it.
"You know we'll be attacked soon," I say. "Night's close."
Kaid doesn't slow. "Then I'll make sure you live."
He shrugs off his coat and hands it to me.
"Wear this."
The fabric is thick, heavy with warmth.
"Berserker hide," he says. "Killed it myself."
My breath catches. "Ancients are rare. Even for the Unmarked."
"Doesn't matter," he says. "Keep it. Survive."
I hesitate—then pull it on.
For the first time in countless deaths, I don't feel cold.
"Kaid, I see a cavern ahead."
He stopped immediately, lifting a clenched fist. After a moment, he nodded.
"We'll stop here for the night. No fire. Nothing that attracts beasts."
That was fine with me. Ever since the vigil began, I'd noticed something strange—I could see in the dark. Not clearly, but enough. Shapes. Movement. Shadows that shouldn't have been visible.
Something useful, at least.
Then a growl rolled through the cavern.
Low. Heavy. So deep it rattled my chest.
I saw it even in the darkness—a massive silhouette stepping into view. It had to be twenty feet tall, its hunched form scraping stone as it moved. Dead creatures littered the ground behind it, torn apart and half-eaten.
Guess it was hungry, I thought.
Kaid's voice was barely a breath. "Asher. Stay quiet. Don't move. And under no circumstances do you panic."
He pressed a small vial into my hand.
"Rub this oil on yourself. If it smells us, we're dead."
I did exactly as he said, smearing the thick substance over my arms and clothes. As I did, a bitter thought crept in.
All this trouble just to survive… why?
There was nothing waiting for me back home. If I could die right now, I would—but this damned vigil wouldn't let me.
The creature shifted.
It turned toward us.
The oil must've come too late. It had caught our scent before we masked it.
Kaid stiffened, jaw tightening as he bit his lip. He could hear it now too.
"Asher," he whispered, "don't make a sound. Let it pass. If it comes to it… I have my sword."
The thing leaned close.
So close its breath washed over me in hot, rotting waves. Saliva dripped from its gnashing jaws, splattering onto my leg. My muscles screamed at me to move—but I stayed still.
Even if I died and came back, I thought, he wouldn't.
After everything Kaid had done… I couldn't let him die with me.
For now, I wouldn't let myself die.
Ten minutes passed.
Then twenty.
The creature lingered, pacing near our hiding place. Kaid's eyes flicked constantly, his grip tight on the sword hilt. He was anxious.
Then it howled.
The sound ripped through the cavern—and something answered.
Hellhounds.
I recognized them from the stories. Awakened beasts. Pack hunters. Fast. Brutal.
"Kaid," I whispered, panic creeping in, "it attracted hellhounds."
"Shit," he muttered.
From the darkness, they came—red eyes blazing, bodies low and coiled as they slammed into the giant creature. They attacked together, tearing chunks of flesh from its legs and sides.
The giant roared, swinging wildly. One hellhound was crushed under its fist. Another was ripped in half and devoured mid-fight.
Blood sprayed stone. Screams echoed. The cavern shook.
Despite their numbers, the giant was tiring. Blind in the dark, wounded, slowed.
The fight didn't last long.
Four hellhounds lay dead. Only the alpha and one packmate remained.
They began to eat.
Twenty minutes later… the alpha's head snapped up.
Its eyes locked onto us.
My heart dropped into my stomach.
The alpha signaled the other, and they stalked forward.
Kaid stood instantly, drawing his sword.
"Asher—run."
"No—"
"Run!" he hissed. "They can see in the dark. If you're spotted, I'll hold them off."
I ran.
My legs moved before my thoughts could. I looked back as I went, watching him fight—watching him lose.
The packmate went down, but the alpha was relentless. Faster. Stronger.
I turned around.
Not again.
I sprinted back just as Kaid collapsed to one knee.
He was missing an arm. His stomach was torn open. One knee bent at an impossible angle. His sword slipped from his hand.
Only the alpha remained.
Kaid coughed, blood spilling from his mouth.
"Why the hell are you here?" he snarled weakly. "I told you to survive."
I grabbed the sword.
The hellhound lunged.
I met it head-on.
Steel sliced through fur, bone, and spine. The blade tore upward and the alpha's head separated cleanly from its body.
It collapsed at my feet.
A voice echoed in my mind—only mine.
Hellhound slain.
Classification: Awakened Class.
Reward acquired: Hellhide Armor (Inscribed Class).
Item bound to soul.
The sensation burned briefly—then vanished, sinking deep inside me.
Kaid didn't see it.
I dropped to my knees beside him, vision blurring.
"You're gonna be okay," I said desperately. "I can fix you. You can't leave me."
He smiled—soft, tired, peaceful.
"I'm glad," he whispered, "that you stopped running… and chose to live."
"No," I begged. "You need to live. Just stay awake. I'll get help—"
"It's the end," he said gently. "But I'm happy… I saved you."
He coughed once more, then continued, voice fading.
"Promise me… you'll live your life to the fullest. Don't accept death so easily… like it means nothing."
"I promise," I cried. "But you have to see me live it—or it won't matter."
His eyes closed.
The voice returned.
Asher — one of the Chosen, Rank: Touched — has passed his first Vigil.
He chose to live.