Golden didn't remember falling
One moment, his fingers brushed against something warm and impossibly soft—
and the next, the world vanished
Cold
That was the first thing he felt
Not the sharp, biting cold of pain, but a deep, sinking chill that wrapped around his body like water. His thoughts drifted slowly, heavy and disjointed, as if they didn't fully belong to him anymore
Am I… alive?
The sound of thunder echoed in the distance. Or maybe it was something else. His ears rang, the noise dull and distorted.
Golden tried to move
His body didn't respond
Panic flared instantly—but it was weak, smothered, like a flame starved of air. Even fear felt tired
Fragments of memory surfaced
Lightning
A blinding white glow
Heat against his skin
And then—warmth
Something had touched him
Not roughly. Not violently
Gently
Golden's eyelids fluttered
Light seeped through the cracks, soft and pale. When he finally managed to open his eyes, he was met with a sky still stained violet—but calmer now, quieter
The battlefield was gone
The black stone beneath him was cracked, scorched, but silent. No thunder. No roars. No divine presence pressing down on his chest
He was lying on his back
Breathing
Golden froze
Breathing…?
His chest rose and fell slowly. Carefully. No fire. No tearing pain
His heart slammed against his ribs as awareness returned in full force. He lifted his head just enough to look down
The wound was still there
A long, ugly slash across his chest—
but it wasn't bleeding
The flesh around it shimmered faintly, as if stitched together by threads of light that hadn't fully faded. The pain was dull now, distant, like an old bruise instead of a fatal injury
Golden stared
"…I'm alive."
His voice cracked. Saying the words out loud made his throat tighten
He survived
A shaky breath escaped him, half a laugh, half a sob. His hands trembled as he pressed them against the healed wound, afraid it might open again
It didn't
Relief crashed into him all at once
Then came the aftershock
His body suddenly felt heavy. Exhaustion dragged him down like chains. His limbs burned, muscles twitching uncontrollably. His head throbbed as if something had been torn out of him
Golden curled onto his side, gasping.
That wasn't free…
He didn't know how he knew—but he did.
Whatever had saved him hadn't simply healed his body. It had taken something else. Something deeper
A faint sensation lingered in his chest. Not pain. Not warmth
An emptiness
Like a candle that had burned too brightly, too quickly
Golden squeezed his eyes shut, trying to steady his breathing
I almost died
The realization hit harder now that the danger had passed. His body began to shake—not from cold, but from delayed fear. Images replayed in his mind: the Cerberus's claws, the pressure of its presence, the certainty of death
He pressed his forehead to the ground.
"…I was so stupid."
No powers. No system. No guarantee.
Just luck
And even luck had demanded a price.
Golden lay there for a long time, staring at the violet sky as it slowly darkened. Somewhere far away, something roared—but he didn't move. He didn't have the strength to
Eventually, one thought rose above the rest.
I can't survive like this again
Not by gambling. Not by praying.
If this world was going to keep throwing monsters and miracles at him—
Then he needed to change
Slowly, painfully, Golden pushed himself upright
The forsaken world had spared him once
It wouldn't be kind enough to do it twice.