Awareness came silently.
There was no white light. No angelic voices. No warm or peaceful sensation like the stories I'd read. There was only cold, heavy, and the smell of wet earth that stinged my nose.
I opened my eyes with difficulty.
A pale gray sky stretched overhead. Clouds hung low, moving slowly, as if lazily. There was no sun. There was no warmth. Just an empty sky that felt distant and uncaring.
I wanted to move my hand.
It hurt.
The pain radiated from my fingertips to my shoulder. It felt like hundreds of needles were stabbing my muscles and bones simultaneously. I groaned softly, barely making a sound.
"..."
The sound didn't come out. My throat was dry.
I swallowed. There was no saliva. My tongue tasted bitter and rough.
Slowly, I lifted my head slightly and looked at my own body.
Not my body.
These hands were thin, covered in old scars. The nails were dirty, some broken. The skin was tanned from too much sun exposure. The clothes I was wearing were just tattered rags torn in several places. The musty smell of old sweat lingered.
I tried to remember.
My memory was disjointed. The last thing I remembered was… exhaustion. A life with little meaning. Days that just went by. Then darkness.
Now I was here.
My head suddenly throbbed violently.
It wasn't just any pain. It was like something was being forced inside.
Fragments of memories that weren't mine poured in without permission.
A boy. Skinny. Alone. Sleeping on the edge of the forest. Stealing scraps of food. Beaten by adults for being a nuisance. Hungry. Very hungry.
The boy's name emerged clearly.
Kurohane Retsu.
He had no parents. No home. No one.
He died of starvation.
My chest felt tight.
I wasn't sad. Nor angry.
It was like facing a cold, unchangeable fact.
"I'm inhabiting the body of a dead person," I thought.
The conclusion came calmly, without panic.
What made me react was something else.
My stomach.
It felt like it was being squeezed from within. The pain was sharp, making me curl up involuntarily. I clutched my stomach with both hands, my breath coming in short gasps.
Hungry.
Not just any hunger. This hunger makes my mind go blank and my vision darken at the edges.
I tried to sit up.
My body barely obeyed. It took a few seconds before I managed to prop myself up on one hand. The ground beneath me was soft, cold, and wet. Mud clung to my palms.
I sat still, catching my breath.
The forest surrounded me.
Tall trees stood close together, their trunks dark and mossy. Broad leaves covered the sky, dimming the light. It was quiet, too quiet. There was no bird call. Only a gentle breeze rustled the leaves.
I was alone.
No roads. No buildings. No sign of human life.
I chuckled, my voice hoarse and barely audible.
"Alive again… but still alone."
I don't know why that phrase came to me. Maybe it just fit.
That's when something appeared in my vision.
It wasn't in the air. It wasn't actually visible to the eye. More like… it felt inside my head.
A transparent panel.
STATUS
Name: Kurohane Retsu
Race: Human
Cultivation Level: None
Condition: Severe Hunger
Body Status: Weak
Death Threat: High
I stared at the panel for a long time.
There was no sound. No lengthy explanation. No cheerful tone.
The panel just… existed.
"I understand," I thought.
I don't know why, but I felt like this panel wasn't trying to help me kindly. It was simply presenting the facts.
And the facts were simple: I was about to die.
I tried to speak.
"…System?"
My voice came out soft, almost a whisper.
There was no response.
A few seconds passed. Only the sound of the wind.
I sighed.
"Silence is fine, too."
The panel changed slightly.
Available Skills:
• Gluttony (Partially Locked)
Gluttony.
The word felt heavy. Gluttony. Devouring. Taking without a care.
I didn't know what it did. There were no buttons. No instructions. No warnings.
I stared at the forest before me.
If I kept sitting here, I would die.
I struggled to my feet. My legs trembled. Every step felt like lifting a heavy weight. I walked aimlessly, following only my instincts to keep moving.
The ground in the forest was uneven. Many tree roots protruded. Several times I nearly fell.
My vision began to blur.
"I'm too weak," I thought.
Several minutes of walking felt like an hour.
Then I heard a sound.
Movement in the bushes.
I stopped.
My heart beat faster. This body was remembering something. A fear deeply embedded in the memories of its previous owner.
A monster.
I swallowed hard.
The bushes moved again, and from within emerged a small creature. It was the size of a small dog. Its fur was a dull brown. Its eyes were red and unfriendly. Its mouth bore small, sharp fangs.
A low-level monster.
Retsu's memory recognized it. This creature often preyed on small animals… and lone human children.
My hands trembled.
If I ran, I might survive… for a moment. But hunger would kill me.
If I fought back, I might die now.
I stood still.
The monster stared at me. Its head tilted slightly, then it hissed.
It prepared to leap.
I didn't dodge.
I didn't have the energy to.
I simply raised my right hand, reflexively.
As the creature leaped, the world seemed to slow down.
Something moved inside my chest.
It was dark.
Not a frightening dark. More like a bottomless pit.
A word came to my mind, clear and calm:
Gluttony.
My hand touched the monster's body.
There was no explosion. No loud noise.
The creature stopped moving instantly.
Its body was drying rapidly, like an old carcass drained of all its moisture. A thin black light emanated from its body and entered my palm.
The monster fell to the ground, dead.
I gasped, took a step back, and almost fell.
My stomach, which had felt like it was being squeezed, felt warmer.
I wasn't full yet.
But the pain was lessening.
The panel reappeared.
Gluttony: Successful
Energy Increase: Low
Condition: Temporarily Stable
I stared at the monster's carcass.
There was no blood. No wounds. It was like it had been erased from within.
"I killed it," I thought.
No guilt.
No satisfaction.
Just a feeling of emptiness... and a slight relief to be alive.
I sat on the ground, my back against a tree. My breathing was heavy, but steady.
The wind blew gently.
Leaves fell, falling one by one onto the wet ground.
I closed my eyes.
For the first time since waking, I didn't feel like I was going to die in the next few minutes.
I opened my eyes again.
The forest was vast. Dangerous. Inhospitable.
And I was alone in it.
The panel said nothing.
There was no encouraging voice. No one gave me direction.
"I have to move," I thought.
I stood up again, this time with a little more steadiness.
My steps were still slow, but they had a purpose.
I didn't know where I was going.
I didn't know who I would meet.
But one thing was clear.
If anything stood in my way—
be it a monster, a human, old, young, male, or female—
I wouldn't hesitate.
I had already died once.
I didn't intend to die again just because I hesitated.
With slow steps, I walked deeper into the forest.
Alone.
And this world wasn't waiting for me.