Noen sat hunched over by the hospital bed, the rhythmic, soul-crushing beep-beep-beep of the heart monitor the only sound filling the sterile room. His mother laying there, surrounded by a jungle of tubes and wires that seemed to be the only thing keeping her soul anchored to the earth.
The door swiveled open, and a doctor walked in, clutching a stack of medical reports. He looked exhausted. "You are Mr. Cain, right?"
Noen jumped to his feet, his eyes bloodshot. "Yes, that's me! Any updates? She—she's been like this the whole night! Tell me something!"
The doctor sighed, looking down at his papers. "We had to place her in a medically induced coma. And unfortunately, I have to inform you, Mr. Cain... we don't know if we..." He paused, struggling to find a professional way to say it. "...if we can keep her with us."
Noen felt the floor drop out from under him. He collapsed back into the plastic chair, burying his face in his hands.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Cain," the doctor continued softly. "But at this point, we can guarantee absolutely nothing regarding your mother's recovery."
"WHY NOT ME?" Noen suddenly roared, his voice cracking with a mix of grief and fury. He slammed his fist into his own forehead as hard as he could, the dull thud echoing in the small room. "WHY HER? SHE DIDN'T DO ANYTHING! IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN ME!"
The doctor stepped back, startled by the raw explosion of emotion. "I... I'll leave you alone for now." He beat a hasty retreat, the door clicking shut behind him.
Noen stared at the closed door, his expression one of pure horror before he collapsed inward again. "Everything... it's all because of me." He looked down at his hands—the hands that had killed monsters, the hands the world called "Superstar." They were shaking uncontrollably. "I alone did this... I'm the one to blame!"
He raised his hand to strike himself again, desperate to feel a physical pain that could match the hole in his chest, when suddenly—
Ping.
A familiar, semi-transparent window flickered into existence.
"FUCK YOU!" Noen hissed at the air, swiping the notification away with a violent motion.
But the window popped back up instantly. He swiped again. It reappeared, hovering inches from his nose. Noen growled, his teeth bared. "Man, what is it?! Leave me alone!"
The System window began to glitch violently again, the pixels stretching and tearing. Digital question marks swarmed around the borders like flies. Noen squinted, trying to decipher the jagged, flickering text.
[Y??OUR?? MOTHER?? W??I?LL DI??E. CL?ICK H?E?RE T? AC?ESS RE?SCUE MI?SS?ION.]
Noen froze. His heart hammered against his ribs. The fury returned, but this time it was directed at the screen. "My M-Mom is going to die? How does this System even know that? And what is this..."
With a trembling finger, he tapped the word H?E?RE.
A second window tore open next to the first, glowing with an unstable, dark energy.
[M?iss?ion: Ki?ll Azhuron, The Last Calamity.] [Rewards: R?ecove?ring your m?oth?er, ... and ???] [Tel?epo?rtation in 20, 1?9, 18, 17...]
Noen bolted upright, knocking his chair over. "Wait, what? What's happening now?"
He looked back at his mother. She was so still, so fragile. The machines kept up their steady, indifferent rhythm. Beep. Beep. Beep.
"I can save her..." he whispered.
[3, ?2?, 1, ....]
"This Azhu-guy is practically already dead," Noen snarled, closing his eyes.
When he opened his eyes again , the sterile white of the hospital was gone, replaced by a heavy, oppressive atmosphere that tasted of ancient dust and ozone.
He was standing at the base of a colossal temple that felt like it belonged to a forgotten age. It sat atop a massive stone platform, surrounded by stairs that descended into a thick, swirling mist—steps that seemed to go on forever, leading down into an infinite abyss.
Noen looked up at the structure itself. The temple had seen better days. the stone was cracked and weathered, and massive, rusted iron chains—each link the size of a car—bolted the building to the platform, as if the temple itself might try to float away or escape. It wasn't exceptionally tall, but it radiated a sense of dread that made the hair on Noen's neck stand up.
"Another one of those teleportation things," Noen muttered, his voice sounding small against the vast silence of the peak.
He flicked his wrist, the blue light of the System reflecting in his eyes. "Inventory!"
[INVENTORY:]
{DUSKFANG} {-} {-} {-} {-} {-} {-} {-} {-} {-}
Noen reached into the shimmering interface, his fingers closing around the familiar hilt. He pulled Duskfang out, the dark blade humming as it caught the dim, ethereal light of this strange dimension. He spun the dagger in his hand a few times to get used to the wieght of it again, before swiping the inventory closed.
"Whatever is waiting for me in there..."
Noen stopped. A stray tear from the hospital room still ran down his cheek. He wiped it away aggressively with the back of his hand, his grip tightening on his weapon until his knuckles turned white.
"I will win! I..." He paused, his voice cracking for a split second before turning softer. "I have to."
Noen took a few cautious steps forward, but stopped right in front of the entrance. He stared into the dark maw of the temple, the weight of his mother's life pressing down on his shoulders. After a final moment of hesitation, he stepped inside.
The massive stone door behind him slammed shut with a finality that echoed through the structure.
Inside, it was pitch black. Noen couldn't see a single thing, not even the blade in his hand. But then, the darkness was violently torn away. Everything turned a blinding, brilliant white. The light was so intense it felt physical; Noen had to squeeze his eyes shut, his heart hammering against his ribs.
Then, a voice boomed, vibrating through his very bones.
"Choose your ARENA!"