Each step I take echoes with unnatural clarity in this silent forest. No birds sing, no branches creak—only the sound of my ragged breathing and the frantic beating of my heart remains. Sunlight struggles to filter through the twisted branches, creating patterns of light and shadow that seem to move when I'm not looking directly at them.
Then I feel it.
A hum.
Not in my ears, but in my bones.
A vibration I recognize instantly, even though I had only ever experienced it through headphones: the distinctive sound of a hollow, a monster from the game.
My body reacts before my mind does. Cold sweat soaks my back as I cautiously advance toward the clearing.
There, upon the black grass that undulates as if breathing, hovers the shadow. It is not an absence of light, but an active presence, a being of pure darkness with multiple eyes that blink with a bluish glow.
"Feralescent Shade. Level 1."
The words emerge from my player memory.
"Initial encounter in the tutorial forest."
"Certain death without a weapon."
And I am completely unarmed.
The creature slowly turns toward me, its blue eyes opening like sharp blades.
"It can't be," I murmur, but my legs tremble, acknowledging the truth.
I swallow with difficulty. My player mind activates automatically: "Circular attack pattern, vulnerable from behind, can be distracted with objects..." But I have no controls, no interface.
When I step back, a dry branch cracks under my foot.
It's all the creature needs.
It lunges at me, its form stretching impossibly, its mouth opening into an abyss of teeth that should not exist.
Two instincts clash within me: the one to flee, and another, deeper one. I'm not fast enough, I have to prepare myself... think, think...
The impact knocks the air from my lungs, but then it happens.
It's not an attack, it's a reaction.
Something in my chest activates—a wave of energy surges from me, pushing the creature back with just enough force to buy me a few vital seconds.
I fall to my knees, gasping. My vision blurs as a burning pain courses through my veins.
"My echo!" I gasp, recognizing the sensation despite never having felt it before.
The shadow recovers too quickly, its eyes blazing with renewed fury. I can't defend myself like that again—I don't even know how I did it.
I dodge by instinct, rolling aside just as a dark claw whistles past where my head had been. I run without looking back, dodging treacherous roots as the creature emits a sound like twisting metal.
Then I see it: a half-buried stone structure, a sanctuary I remember from the game.
I dive toward the entrance just as the shadow charges again. A faint glow emerges from the stone arch, revealing a familiar rune that keeps the creature at bay.
I collapse onto the cold ground, trembling with adrenaline and exhaustion.
"I'm inside the game," I whisper, and the words taste like both truth and madness.
Tears fall without me being able to stop them. Are they from him, the player who always dreamed of this? Or from me, the one who has to live the nightmare?
When my breathing has calmed enough, I see the object in the center of the sanctuary: a Residual Echo Stone, identical to the one from the tutorial. My hand trembles as I take it, feeling its familiar vibration.
Echo Fragment: Minor Shard of Shadow (1/3)
The knowledge surfaces in my mind, clear and instinctive. Three Fragments form a complete Echo. One ability. Just one can be obtained in the entire tutorial region.
This changes everything. In the game, this was just flavor text. Now, it's a lifeline. A single, measly ability—that's all this world would grant a newcomer before throwing them to the wolves.
I'm not ready for this. My body can barely hold itself up, and my core echo... that power that just saved my life... is sealed and unstable. Absorbing a fragment now could shatter me.
But here is the definitive proof, cold and heavy in my palm: this world is real, its rules are brutal, and I am trapped in it.
With the stone in my hand, I look around in the sanctuary's gloom. Two lives, two consciousnesses, one shattered body.
I don't know who I am, I don't know what awaits me, but one thing is certain:
I must find the other two fragments. I must claim that single, pitiful ability this tutorial offers. It's the only way to survive long enough to understand the rules of this world before it decides I'm a mistake that needs to be corrected.