As Kevin's back slide down the rough bark of the tree, his body throbbed everywhere. Every breath scraped like sandpaper in his chest. Wounds everywhere. His fingers, still sticky with someone else's blood, trembled as he wiped them on his pants.
"One day," he muttered to himself, voice hoarse. "Just one day in Atlas… and I've already fought beasts, wolves, ants and people."
He let his head fall back against the trunk and exhaled slowly. The weight of exhaustion made the world sway. His hand opened, revealing the rings he had collected. Nine in total. They clinked softly together as he examined them through half-lidded eyes.
Storage rings.Or… supposedly storage rings.
He slid one onto his finger. Nothing. No glow. No magic spark. No sudden knowledge flooding his head.
"Alright," he mumbled. "Maybe this one's broken."
He tried another. Then another. Soon, all nine rings decorated his fingers like he was some desperate noble trying to flaunt wealth he didn't own.
Still nothing.
Kevin pinched the bridge of his nose. "Are these even storage rings? Or did I just loot a bunch of useless jewelry off dead men?"
He took a breath and decided to ask the system."How do I open a storage ring?" he asked aloud.
The system remained annoyingly silent.
Kevin gritted his teeth, opened his Status tab out of frustration—then froze.
Name: Kevin Morrell
Age: 19
Gender: Male
Mark: Misfit
SoulLink: 2 / 13 (Beggar)
Soul Fragments: 3 / 200
Soul Origin: Unknown
Shadow: Black Rabbit
Storage ring
Kevin blinked.
"Oh you sneaky—" he chuckled. "There you are."
He tapped the storage ring entry. A new window materialized, showing:
300 gold coins
540 soul fragments
1 mask
Men's clothing
Kevin whistled under his breath. "Not bad."
He tapped the soul fragments and the mask. Both materialized in front of him—the mask clinking against the ground, the soul fragments shimmering faintly like crystallized smoke.
He called out. "Rabbit. Come eat this. It's tastier than corpses."
A ripple of shadow stirred beside him, and the Black Rabbit emerged, its red eyes glowing faintly as it sniffed the pile. Without hesitation, it began crunching on the soul fragments.
Kevin dropped the mask beside him—planning to give it to Sallie. "You're hiding your face from now on," he murmured to himself. "No way we're showing the world your lifeless face."
He then removed the remaining storage rings from his fingers and began sorting through them. One by one, he linked each ring to his own system, withdrawing their contents—gold, weapons, precious stones, and most importantly, soul fragments. Nearly two thousand fragments in all.
He fed every last fragment to the rabbit, who devoured them with unnerving enthusiasm.
"Damn," Kevin muttered. "You guys were walking treasure chests. Someone's paid you well to kill people, huh."
Three of the rings turned out to be normal jewelry. Useless.
He tossed them aside. "Garbage."
The remaining items all went into a single storage ring. He admired the haul for a moment—almost proud in a twisted way.
"What a loot," he murmured.
He looked at the Black Rabbit, "Enough fragment to push you right into Fallen category."
The system continuously chimed.
"Congratulations. You obtained Soul Fragment."
Like spam messages appearing continuously, until—
"Congratulations. Your shadow's core soul is full."
"Ascension is in process."
Kevin turned toward the rabbit just in time to see darkness engulf it. A cocoon of mist wrapped around its body, pulsing like a heartbeat. After few moments, cracks formed along its surface, and then—
A claw tore through.
Kevin stood up instinctively.
Another claw. Then an arm—longer now, humanoid but covered in blackened sinew. The creature stepped forward, ripping its way out of the cocoon. Its legs still resembled powerful rabbit hind limbs, but its torso stretched, broadening into a humanoid frame. Its head was sharp and elongated like a rabbit-shaped helm, eyes burning red, leaking wisps of black mist.
Finally, the system declared—
"Black Rabbit ascended to Fallen."
The creature cracked its neck, shadows swirling around its limbs like drifting smoke. It said nothing—only resumed eating the remaining soul fragments as if the transformation had been nothing more than a nap.
Kevin stared, stunned. "Holy… damn."
He felt safer instantly. With a Fallen guarding him, even ambushes felt less threatening.
His body finally gave in. He slid down the tree again, eyes heavy.
"For now," he whispered, "just… rest."
And he fell asleep.
A gentle warmth brushed across his face—soft, warm light that forced his eyes open. He groaned and shielded his eyes with one hand.
But when he moved, he realized his head was resting against something warm. Something soft.
He blinked.
Celize looked down at him, her expression soft, eyes gentle. Morning sunlight framed her like gold.
Kevin stared."Am I in heaven?"
Celize smiled, cheeks tinting pink. "I'd be happy to be with you in heaven, my hero."
Hero.
His heart thumped—just a bit.
Then reality slammed back when he noticed Sallie standing a few feet away, silent as a statue, and the Black Rabbit already tucked back into his shadow.
Kevin cleared his throat and forced himself upright. No kissing. Not now. Not with an undead mage watching like a judgmental gargoyle.
He reached for the mask he had set aside earlier and handed it to Sallie."Put it on," he said.
She obeyed without a word, slipping it over her face. The dark mask melded well with her now shadow-tinted robe.
Kevin turned to Celize. "Where to?"
Her smile faltered. Sorrow washed over her features. "To the caravan."
Kevin nodded.
The walk back was quiet—too quiet.
The closer they got, the heavier the air became. And when the trees finally parted, the devastation hit like a punch.
The entire plain was stained red.Wagons burned to blackened skeletons.Bodies lay scattered—guards, attackers, all mixed.The morning breeze carried only the scent of ash and blood.
Celize walked ahead of him with trembling steps.
She found Brandon first.
She fell to her knees, hands shaking as she touched his cold, stiff face. Then she broke. Softly at first—then with the raw, unfiltered grief of someone who had lost her last pillar of safety.
Kevin looked away, giving her the space she deserved.
He walked the perimeter instead, spotting the bodies of attackers. Methodically—almost numb—he stripped the rings from their fingers. Twenty-three rings total.
He tried putting them in his storage ring but failed."Huh. Can't put storage rings inside another. Makes sense."
He pocketed them instead.
After a long while, Celize rose to her feet, wiping tears from swollen eyes. She tried to lift Brandon's body, but her arms trembled, and the weight almost toppled her.
Kevin caught her.
"Let me," he said quietly.
Celize choked, voice thick. "I want… to give them proper burial."
Kevin nodded. "Then we will."
And so they worked together, gathering the fallen soldiers. Kevin tried to do it alone, but Celize refused to stand aside. Even as her limbs trembled, she carried what she could, grief fueling her movements.
Meanwhile, Sallie and the Black Rabbit dragged attackers' corpses into a separate pile, dropping them carelessly like sacks of grain. The rabbit no longer tried to eat them, maybe, perhaps full, perhaps simply uninterested.
When all the soldiers were lined up respectfully, Celize lit a flame from a shard of flint and tinder. The fire caught, spreading in a gentle wave. She knelt and prayed with soft words carried by the wind.
Kevin knelt beside her, striking his dagger into the earth in silent respect.
When the flames finally died down and smoke drifted into the morning sky, Kevin stood and looked at Celize.
"Where to now?"
Celize turned to him, eyes no longer soft—now hardened by grief, resolve, and a quiet fury.
"To avenge them," she whispered.
Kevin smiled faintly. "Then I'll help you."