The last thing Kael heard was static.
Not screams.
Not impact.
Just—
crrrrkkkk—
Like reality itself buffering.
Then darkness.
When he opened his eyes, the sky was wrong.
Too blue.
Too clean.
Like someone had erased every imperfection and forgotten to put it back.
Kael didn't move.
Didn't panic.
Didn't question.
He just stared.
"…Not a hospital."
Good observation. Truly groundbreaking.
He pushed himself up slowly.
Grass.
Real.
Wind.
Also real.
And yet—
Something felt off.
Like the world was… watching.
[Initializing System…]
A translucent screen appeared in front of him.
There it is. The cliché arrives right on schedule.
Kael sighed.
"Of course."
[Welcome, User.]
[Assigning Class…]
The screen flickered.
Paused.
Glitched.
[ERROR]
Kael blinked once.
"…That's new."
The message distorted violently.
Letters warped, twisted, broke apart.
Then reformed.
[ENTITY NOT FOUND]
[ATTEMPTING REASSIGNMENT…]
The air grew cold.
For the first time since waking up—
Kael felt something close to unease.
[WARNING]
[UNREGISTERED EXISTENCE DETECTED]
"…Yeah," he muttered. "That sounds like a you problem."
Silence.
Then—
The system changed.
[Initializing Alternative Protocol…]
[Abyss System Activated]
Everything went dark.
Not just his vision.
Everything.
Sound.
Air.
Existence.
Gone.
Then—
Something looked back.
A presence.
Ancient.
Hungry.
Endless.
And it spoke.
"You are not meant to exist."
Kael didn't flinch.
Didn't hesitate.
Didn't even pretend to be scared.
Instead—
He smiled.
"Good."
The darkness stirred.
"Why?"
Kael's eyes sharpened.
Cold.
Focused.
Alive in a way they hadn't been in years.
"Because if I'm not supposed to be here…"
A pause.
"…then I get to break whatever put me here."
Silence.
Then—
Laughter.
Low.
Echoing.
Not human.
"Then break it."
The world returned.
Violently.
Kael collapsed to one knee, breathing heavily.
The sky was still too blue.
The air still too clean.
But now—
A second screen hovered in front of him.
[Abyss System Initialized]
[Skill Acquired: "Glitch"]
Kael stared at it.
Then exhaled slowly.
"…Alright."
Somewhere far beyond the sky—
Something noticed.
And it wasn't happy.