Mors felt as though he were drifting through a silent void, weightless and suspended in endless darkness.
The last thing he remembered was being screwed over by a Heavenly Curse.
'A Heavenly Curse? Am I doomed before even stepping into the Expanse?' The thoughts tumbled through his mind in a frantic spiral.
He forced himself to calm down and stay still. Panicking wouldn't help. All he could do now was wait for something to change.
Moments later, a runic panel shimmered into existence before his eyes.
[ You are Awakening! Brace yourself, Forsaken Mors. ]
Before he could process the message, a violent surge of agony detonated in his chest.
Kh…!
A soundless cry forced its way up his throat. His hands flew to his chest, fingers digging into fabric as an unfamiliar presence began forming deep within his heart.
With every passing second, his body felt stronger, his mind sharper, his soul clearer.
The agony twisted into something almost euphoric, a raw surge of power that words could never truly capture.
Slowly, the intensity began to fade.
Mors exhaled shakily. He knew what had just happened. They had covered this in school countless times.
His Aether Core had formed within his heart, a metaphysical organ that would allow him to circulate and refine Aether. The first step into true power.
More panels surfaced in the void.
[ You have Awakened! ]
[ Your Aether Core has fully formed. ]
[ Aether Core: Stage I ( Awakened ) ]
[ You have Awakened your Aspect! ]
[ Aspect: 'Druid' ]
'Hmm… that's actually not bad. At least I didn't get screwed over with the Bard Aspect,' Mors thought, releasing a quiet sigh of relief.
The early Stages for support Aspects were brutal. He would have been forced to rely on others from the start, and with a Heavenly Curse hanging over him, that would have been a living hell.
Still…
'What exactly did Constellation of the Black Wild mean?'
He didn't know whether to dread it or welcome it. Heavenly Curses always carried boons. The harsher the curse, the greater the power it granted.
At least, that was the theory.
The knowledge Earth possessed came only from the rare few who had undone their curses and chosen to return.
Most of them had never been particularly ambitious, which meant the knowledge they brought back was limited and often incomplete.
One thing he knew for certain was that no two Heavenly Curses were ever the same, and neither were the Boons they bestowed.
While he was busy contemplating just how fucked he was, new panels flickered into existence.
[ You have entered the Aetheric Expanse. ]
[ All Forsaken from Earth have been transferred to Hexgyre – First Ring. ]
[ Survive… and the Expanse will remember you. ]
A brilliant light tore through the void and swallowed him whole. Mors was pulled toward it, his consciousness fading as everything went black.
♢ ♢ ♢ ♢
After what felt like an eternity, Mors groaned and finally opened his eyes. He was no longer in his home. Instead, he lay in a white courtyard surrounded by gigantic trees that towered like ancient pillars.
It felt like a courtyard carved out from the heart of a forest.
Sunlight filtered through the thick canopy above, breaking into golden shards that painted a scene almost unreal in its beauty.
Mors took a deep breath. The air was crisp and clean, nothing like Earth's polluted atmosphere. He could sense something flowing through the trees, the soil, even the air itself.
It was Aether, pure and abundant.
"Oww…"
A soft groan snapped his attention to the side. A girl around his age was stirring, slowly pushing herself upright.
Mors looked around and realized he was not alone. Thousands of people lay scattered across the courtyard, all just beginning to stir.
He stood and stretched. If what he had learned was right, a guide should appear any moment now.
Almost as if answering his thought, the tree at the front of the courtyard began to change. Its bark rippled, and something emerged from within the trunk.
A woman stepped out.
Her hair was a light shade of green, her skin pale with a faint emerald hue, and her ears long and pointed. Vines and flowers formed her attire, coiling around her body like a living dress.
Mors couldn't help but stare. She radiated a beauty unlike anything on Earth, exotic and faintly dangerous.
"A Dryad…" he whispered.
The woman's voice rang out, calm and resonant.
"Greetings, Earthlings. I welcome you to the First Ring. I trust your predecessors prepared you with the rudiments of what lies ahead. Thus, I shall speak only of what you must know—"
"Kyaa! You fucking pervert!"
Before she could continue, a girl's scream shattered the clearing.
Mors turned toward the commotion, his lips twitching.
A brown-haired boy stood several paces away, completely naked, frantically trying to cover himself as the girl behind him glared in furious disbelief.
Around them, the crowd recoiled, faces twisting with disgust and secondhand embarrassment.
Mors sighed inwardly. 'This is what happens when you ignore the basics.'
Everyone else wore simple, practical clothing, the kind permitted during transfer. Mors himself was dressed in a black turtleneck beneath a long coat, loose dark pants, and sturdy boots.
During the passage from Earth to the Expanse, only casual attire could cross over. No armor. No artifacts. No accessories. Not even a ring.
The boy must have transferred wearing nothing but a full suit of armor, assuming it would count as clothing. Whether he had misunderstood the rules or simply overestimated his own cleverness was anyone's guess.
The Dryad's expression did not change.
She snapped her fingers.
Roots burst from the ground and coiled around the boy's waist and thighs, weaving themselves into a crude yet functional garment.
The murmurs quieted.
She continued as though nothing had occurred.
"You stand within the Tenth Sanctuary, Decimus. Within these walls, violence and transgression are forbidden. Those who defy this law shall be expelled."
Her gaze swept over them, serene and utterly uncompromising.
"I trust you comprehend what awaits beyond these borders."
A wave of tension rippled through the gathered Earthlings. Many swallowed visibly.
Mors remembered the lessons.
All Earthlings were sent to the Erden Continent within the First Ring. Across its vast territories stood ten Sanctuaries, each a bastion against the wilderness.
Newly Marked were assigned to one at random.
Each Sanctuary was immense, rivaling the greatest megacities Earth once boasted. But beyond their walls lay a world of untamed Aether, monstrous beasts, forgotten ruins, and relentless danger.
To be expelled was to be abandoned to death.
The Dryad's voice carried on.
"You may register at the Forsaken Hall. There, one of my kin shall instruct you further."
As she spoke, roots shifted across the courtyard floor, parting and weaving into a clear passage. Living arrows formed from twisting vines, pointing the way through the forest.
She turned toward the ancient tree from which she had emerged, then paused.
"And heed this well. You may not remain within these walls forever. The First Ring is perilous, yet it is also rich with power, relics, and revelation. Many among you desired this world, even knowing the cost of your curse."
Her emerald eyes sharpened slightly.
"Do not mistake it for a game. Such folly will cost you more than your life."
With that, her form dissolved into bark and vine, merging seamlessly back into the tree.
Silence lingered.
Mors watched with an unreadable expression. Hiding within the Sanctuary had never been an option. His Heavenly Curse would erupt in roughly thirty years.
'Traveling through trees like that… damn, that's convenient. I wouldn't mind getting something like that.'
He blinked.
'I'm a Druid. That might actually be possible.'
He exhaled slowly and summoned his status.
A translucent panel unfolded before him, visible only to his eyes as its contents arranged themselves in cold, orderly lines.