A deserted island somewhere unknown in the Sonia Sea.
The waves crashed against the sandy shore, bringing all kinds of marine debris, such as the remains of a ship that seemed to have had bad luck during a heavy storm; the fate of the people on board was clear due to their completely unrecognizable condition.
Along with the wreckage of this vessel, a young man was washed ashore by the waves. His features were those of a typical Loenese, although his slightly curly black hair denoted his mixed blood. This young man's skin was pale, as pale as that of a dead person, because that's what he was; the young man did not have a single glimmer of life in his body.
Or at least that was the case.
Suddenly, the young man's body began to convulse; this lasted a few seconds before he suddenly opened his eyes, which clearly reflected intense shock, confusion, and fear.
The young man quickly composed himself, only to stop halfway before beginning to vomit large amounts of water; this lasted a long 30 seconds before stopping.
"What the hell—where the hell am I?"
He looked around in confusion. Sand, the sea, the wreckage of a destroyed ship; none of this was familiar to him; he was supposed to be in... in.
"I... What was I doing?"
Suddenly, a sharp headache struck him, as if every nerve in his brain had been struck by lightning. Unknown images began to appear in his mind.
A young man living with his family, his father losing his job due to a law that had been approved, leaving his family without a source of income. Shortly thereafter, that family fell into ruin due to illness; everyone died except the young man. Some time later, with nothing to lose, the young man decided to set out to sea, inspired by stories he had heard about pirates and adventurers who embarked on all kinds of adventures, acquiring treasures and riches. But unfortunately, the young man fell into a trap and was captured by pirates involved in human trafficking. The ship on which he was being transported was hit by a furious storm and finally sank, drowning all the pirates and people on board, including the young man.
Truly, a tragic life.
"Don't fuck me..."
The young man, or rather, the person who now possessed his body, muttered with a deep sense of terror. This was because in the boy's memories, he had identified certain elements that were eerily familiar to him.
"Sonia Sea, Berserk Sea, Loen, Intis, Feynapotter... I'm in the damn Lord of Mysteries."
The Lord of Mystery, where being born with a slightly higher spirituality than a normal person could trigger a tragedy; taking a wrong turn during a nighttime stroll could lead you to become the victim of some deranged person's advancement ritual. Hearing or seeing something you shouldn't could drive you mad or bring you a fate worse than death, and drinking a glass of water had a greater than zero chance of summoning some kind of evil god or cursed existence.
"Death, corruption, spirits, monsters, gods, secret organizations, this place is a playground for all kinds of monstrosities."
And for some unknown reason, he had ended up transmigrated into that world.
"This is very, very bad. How the hell did I even end up in a place like this?"
He was unable to remember anything beyond him lying in his bed about to do something; beyond that, many other aspects of his previous life were blurry, with several fragments missing.
"At least I still remember my name... yes, it was Lewis. Other than that, I forgot a lot of things about the plot of Lord of the Mysteries."
This was actually something he was grateful for; while he didn't remember much, he did remember some important points, such as that phrase that kept echoing in his head.
"The more one knows, the easier it is to fall into madness."
In this world, simply possessing certain knowledge was enough to drive one mad; if one was too curious or reckless, one could end up dead without even knowing how.
All these reasons only served to deepen the fear in Lewis's heart, leaving him numb; he didn't know what to do, he was stranded on a desert island somewhere unknown in the sea. Even if he managed to get out of there somehow, then he would have to survive all the horrors that this world hid; he couldn't just avoid them, since he already had some knowledge about them, so he would naturally attract trouble.
"No, wait, wasn't that the Law of Convergence of Beyonder Characteristics? I'm not a Beyonder, so maybe it's okay, but this world has all kinds of twisted ways of bringing trouble to people."
Should he become a Beyonder to be able to withstand the things this world would throw at him? Which of the twenty-two paths should he choose?
"I don't even know how I'm going to get off this island, and I'm already thinking about which sequence path I should choose..."
His mind was in chaos; he was confused, his body ached, his mouth was dry from all the seawater he had vomited, he was close to dehydration, and he was hungry; he was in a state where he couldn't think or stay focused on anything.
"Let's find a direction... yes, I should look for shelter or a source of water first."
With a goal set, Lewis struggled to his feet and pushed his battered body deeper into the island, searching for any resources he could use to ensure his survival. But unfortunately, after a brief search, he found absolutely nothing; the island itself was quite small, just a piece of land floating in the sea.
Tired and too weak to continue, he lay down on the hot sand, facing the sun's rays that were slowly beginning to lose their intensity. After a few moments of silence, he muttered softly.
"System... status..."
However, nothing happened, no matter how long he waited.
"I guess not... Seriously, what kind of transmigrator am I? Klein has that mysterious gray fog and other benefits; even Roselle transmigrated as a noble, but I don't even have a system or status bar, and I appeared in the worst possible place."
After complaining for a long time, he finally managed to release some of his stress, calming down a little. He let out a deep sigh and let his gaze wander across the starry sky. The crimson moon hung high above, coloring everything with a faint reddish hue. But unfortunately, his mental state was not suitable for enjoying such a strange landscape.
"Am I going to die?"
The mere idea terrified him, even though he knew that there was life after death depending on which god you believed in. However, this only worked if you were a believer in one of the seven gods and if the corresponding burial was performed. He did not belong to this world, so he did not believe in any of them, and naturally, there was no priest here to bury his body. Would he become a spirit anchored to this island for eternity?
As all kinds of pessimistic thoughts about his fate ran through his head, he suddenly saw something move out of the corner of his eye, something coming from the sea. He quickly turned to see what it was, and what he saw left him petrified.
A humanoid fish-like monster stared at him with its large, bulging eyes. Its skin was greenish and slippery and covered with thin but durable scales.
"Murloc..."
The word escaped Lewis in a whisper.
The murloc and Lewis stared at each other without either of them moving a muscle. The difference was that Lewis wasn't moving because his body had been paralyzed by fear; he had never before encountered anything remotely similar to the monster in front of him, while the murloc was simply analyzing its prey.
After a few more seconds, the murloc suddenly lunged at Lewis at a speed greater than one would expect from an aquatic creature. In little more than a few moments, the murloc was in front of Lewis, ready to use its sharp claws or teeth to tear him apart completely without him being able to do anything to defend himself.
Time seemed to freeze. Lewis watched as the murloc's teeth slowly approached his body. Completely desperate, he suddenly felt something growing inside him, a sinister and infinitely deep sensation. Without even being aware of what he was doing, he drew on that sensation, making it stronger.
The murloc's teeth finally reached Lewis, but instead of the delicious blood and flesh he expected, he found hard, onyx-black armor, which his teeth, capable of piercing the bows of ships without difficulty, failed to leave a single scratch on.
Looking completely confused, the murloc looked up, encountering the terrifying image of a demon with three twisted horns, long silky white hair tied in a ponytail behind his head, and armor that made him look like a general from the depths of hell.
The murloc felt a terrible fear when he saw this sudden demon appear while he was just trying to hunt prey. He quickly tried to get away, but before he could even move an inch, the demon moved first. With bewildering speed, he swung his armored fist, hitting him hard in the face. His head was instantly shattered, scattering his brains and fluids as he fell dead on the spot.
The scene fell into absolute silence. Lewis looked at his hand, which was now covered in black armor, and then placed it on the murloc, which lay unrecognizable on the ground. After a few long seconds of silence, he finally managed to say a sentence, but his voice came out distorted and terrifying, as if he were a real demon.
"What the hell?"