The walls shook, the ceilings collapsed, the earth roared.Light poles fell like dominoes while the rain beat down relentlessly.The streets were pure chaos; the ground vibrated underfoot, and the old houses collapsed one after another as if they were made of paper.
The air was choked with dust.People's screams formed a symphony of absolute despair, taken straight from a macabre nightmare.
It was hell.A nightmare drowned in rain.
After eight seconds of chaos, the tremor finally stopped, as if someone had forcibly stabilized it.What once had been a "neighborhood" was now nothing more than a graveyard of rubble, filled with blood, bodies and cries.
From within the ruins, a salaryman—barely a man at this point—rose, staring at the scene in despair. His jade-green eyes reflected horror and pain. His voice was completely gone. His body was covered in wounds, and his shoulder was dislocated.That desperate symphony made him fall to his knees when he saw that everything he knew had collapsed like a tower.
He walked with difficulty, stumbling through the debris, held back by the pain and the blood flowing from his shoulder. Staggering, he searched for survivors.
Among the ruins, he found an alley where a few houses were still standing. There he saw a small girl crying for her mother like a baby. Her voice was broken, and she had a few minor wounds.
Looking closely, he realized she was the little sister of his best friend, and he called out to her with hope:
"Mary! Is that you?!" he shouted, trying to get her attention.
The girl turned around, recognized him, and ran toward him yelling his name.
"Fares, help! Mom is trapped inside the house!"
She ran without stopping, but Fares noticed a streetlamp about to fall and lunged toward her.
"Mary, look out!" he cried, throwing himself forward and pushing her out of harm's way.
But…
"A man cannot receive anything without giving something in return."
He saved her—yes… at the cost of taking the full impact of the falling pole on his back.His body hit the ground as if gravity had suddenly doubled. A scream of pain filled the air as he felt his spine crack, his lungs crushed, and pierced by his own ribs. A choked cry mixed with the collapse of several houses.
The girl watched in horror as her friend vomited and suffocated on his own blood.All she could do was scream to the sky while the rain drenched the boy's face.In his final moments, he tried…
"Fares!" she cried, desperate.
Fares was about to lose consciousness, but in his effort to save her, he held on tightly, shielding her with his body despite the pain consuming him.
The pole had destroyed his back, but he wasn't going to let her go.He wouldn't lose someone important to him… not again.
Seeing the girl's state, he tried to comfort her with a nearly fading voice:"Everything's gonna be okay… don't cry…" he whispered, unsure if he said it for her or for himself.
Before hearing what the girl was trying to say, he fainted, still protecting her from the falling debris.
An hour passed before the rescuers arrived. They saved most people, but Fares couldn't hold on any longer.The pain and despair shattered him… and he simply went out, without a sound, after being taken to the hospital.
"Was I ever this lucky?" he whispered with a drowned laugh in his subconscious, as he sank into the darkness.In the end, only one word echoed inside him:
"Just… wish… a second chance."
Even facing death…
A wish.
A longing that could no longer stay silent.It screamed from the deepest part of his soul, like a fire refusing to die.It was so strong, so true, that not even death could ignore it.
And in that abyss between the end and the beginning, when everything seemed to fade…
That wish persisted.
A single word, clear as the moon that once shone on him:
"Second… chance."
Submerged in that darkness, floating as if trapped in a limbo, the boy drifted as everything around him was pitch black and his body felt like it was falling endlessly.
"Am I really dead? Pathetic… I always was…" he thought, bitterly.
But he couldn't continue, because a light filled the void, blinding him.He covered his face with his hands; the light was far too intense.After two minutes that felt like an eternity, the brightness finally softened. He opened his eyes with curiosity and confusion.
He was no longer in that limbo.The morning light caressed his skin, and giant leaves covered his naked body.
Around him, an impossible landscape: bushes shaped like pine trees with thousands of leaves, trees so tall they scraped the sky, the cries of birds stranger than anything he had ever heard.The air was dense, charged with something he couldn't name.The world seemed alive… but wounded too, breathing with difficulty.
"Where am I? Why the hell am I naked? Why are the plants so damn huge? Is this even possible?!" he thought, panic rising.
Then, a floating screen with RPG-style visuals appeared in front of him, making him fall backward with a scream.
"Damn it, almost killed me from the scare," he muttered, breathing fast.
The system cut through his thoughts with a metallic voice that echoed in his mind:
Congratulations on opening the system!Reward: You have obtained 15 talents.
Inventory: noneLevel: 1Skills: none
STATS:Strength: 1Speed: 1Defense: 1Intelligence: 1Endurance: 1Magic: 1
M Amount: 2000 / 2000
Talents: points used to increase your stats.Example: Strength.
Fares froze completely.In disbelief.
That was a game system.
"Huh…?" he whispered.
Suddenly, a bitter, almost hysterical laugh escaped him.His face twisted with despair.
"WHAT?! IS THIS A DAMN RPG LIKE THE ONES MY FRIENDS PLAY?!" he shouted, eyes wide open, madness and confusion mixing on his face.This isn't funny… I just thought I died. Wake me up, this isn't fun! he thought, trembling.
But no answer came.Only the murmur of that strange world…A world wounded a thousand years ago, now receiving him as though he belonged there.
The air was heavy.Every breath felt like inhaling invisible dust.A faint burn spread across his chest, and his instincts flared instantly.
"Gas…? Something toxic…?" he muttered, stepping back.
Then he saw it.
To his left, between the massive trunks, something moved.A huge, quadrupedal shape advanced with a calmness that didn't match its size.
A deer…Or something that had once been one.
Its eyes glowed crimson, like living embers.Its twisted horns curled back like those of an ancient ram, heavy and deformed, shaped like a demon's crown.Its body was massive, layered with abnormal muscle; its back easily reached three meters high.Its breathing made the air tremble, a contained roar echoing between the trees.
Fares froze.Every fiber in his body screamed at him to run, but something kept him still, watching.
The air vibrated again.Stronger.The ground trembled beneath him.The deer growled—a low, metallic sound, as if dragging chains—and in a blink, its gaze changed.
No longer calm.But hungry.
"What… what the hell…?"
And then the monster charged.
The impact was like an explosion.Earth erupted as the creature's hooves shattered the ground.Fares barely managed to turn and run, stumbling over roots as thick as logs, jumping between giant leaves and fallen branches.
The roar chased him, an echo so loud it chilled his blood.
"No, no, no! This isn't happening!" he screamed, gasping.
Every time he glanced back, the deer was closer; its red eyes cut through the forest's green haze.The ground shook with each step.The air was so dense it felt like running through water.
Suddenly, a massive branch fell in front of him, blocking the path.He turned right and saw a moss-covered slope.He slipped, tumbling through wet leaves and stones, but the monster kept chasing him.
His breathing was frantic, and a metallic voice echoed in his head:
Warning: Heart rate exceeding limits.Stress level: 98%. Risk of collapse.
"What the hell is THAT too?!" he shouted as the system tormented him.
The roar returned—closer.In the distance, he saw a river and sprinted toward it, but froze when he got there.
The bottom was invisible; the water so clear it revealed impossible creatures—monsters straight out of a Resident Evil nightmare.He skidded and turned right, just as the deer crashed into the river.
The impact shook him.He took advantage of the moment and kept running.
His feet burned.Every step was fire, his body boiling inside.The air slashed his lungs like cold blades, but adrenaline kept him moving.He didn't think—he just ran downhill, following the riverbank, tripping over wet stones and branches that scratched his legs.
His heart pounded like it wanted to break free.The world blurred; only his breath and the distant roar existed.
The heat became unbearable, his skin burning from the inside out.Then, the metallic voice returned:
Warning: Heart rate critical.Adrenaline level: 340%.Risk of imminent collapse.
Fares gritted his teeth, gasping in desperation.
"Shut up!" he roared, drenched in sweat, vision blurry with fear.
But his body stopped responding.His muscles tightened; his heartbeat hammered against his skull.The ground tilted, the forest colors blended, the sound of water warped…
And before he could react, his body simply collapsed.His knees buckled, and he fell, panting, throat burning, vision fading.
The last thing he heard before blacking out was the roar of the deer…and the river's whisper, as if the world itself breathed with him.
Fares rolled down the slope, crashing against a rock.A dry crack—like a bone breaking—echoed in his skull.Air burst from his lungs, and he lay there, trembling, as the roar approached behind him.
The monster leapt at him.Hooves sent stones flying, the air shook with a roar so loud it rattled the trees.Fares barely lifted his head, seeing the reflection of those red, murderous eyes coming closer.
Then, the sound.
Not a roar.Not a strike.A sharp metallic whistle cutting the air.
An iron pick flew from the forest, slicing through the air with surgical precision.It pierced the Deerdentono's chest, lifting it off the ground like a rag.The monster twitched, released a hollow sound and fell limp, eyes still open.
Silence returned—but not relief.
From between the trees, walking slowly, a tall man appeared.Reddish-brown hair. Iron-gray eyes.Almost two meters tall, his presence heavier than death.
He approached the corpse and, without looking at Fares, withdrew the iron pick with a flick of his hand.The metal dissolved, flowing like liquid, returning to his body.
Only then did he speak, in a calm, almost bored voice:
"If you're going to run… do it with direction, not fear."
Fares tried to reply, but darkness swallowed him before he could speak.
End of Chapter 2.
P.S.: Hello my beloved English-speaking people, Lonhiin here, presenting myself with love and—most importantly—imagination.These past few months I've been doing better; Lonhiin has revived and is coming back with more passion than ever, haha.Well, I've just created my IG account @Lonhiin and also a Discord account. I have a surprise for you that will come out between December 25th and 31st, hehe.Now, I have a big announcement, so I'll be brief (applause out of nowhere): I'll be releasing 5 to 6 chapters each month (I can't promise I'll always keep that up because I have a lot to do, but at least I'll publish between 3 and 6).This Christmas I'm on fire, and I'm learning to draw. If this gets support, I'll make a manga, but I'll continue with the novel format because I love writing (and I get lazy when it comes to drawing).
I love us so much
chau