The dark, unforgiving abyss consumed me. An eternity seemed to pass—or perhaps no time at all. Then, rebirth.
I found myself in a familiar place—the space where I dictated the story. But something was different. I remembered. The Flesh Moon. The Knight of the Dying Sun. The Usurper's battle against God. And… my conversation with the world.
"You have a mission."
The words echoed in my mind, an unshakable command. If this was truly another loop, then I had nothing to lose. Even if I wanted to ignore it, I couldn't.
I looked down at myself. My form—once hypothetical, an abstract concept made of thought and will—was changing. Something deep within twisted, pulled, solidified. Arms once insubstantial turned to flesh. A heart beat within my chest, blood coursed through fragile veins, and for the first time, I felt the raw bite of cold gnawing at my skin. The sensation was overwhelming, a symphony of discomfort.
Then, I fell.
The impact was jarring. Not as an omniscient observer, but as something real. My body—a body—crashed onto damp earth. I gasped, my lungs seizing, my throat burning as it filled with air. My hands clawed at the dirt beneath me, raw and trembling.
Then, a light.
Through the dense foliage, past gnarled trees that whispered with the wind, I saw it—a village. A sanctuary of flickering warmth against the dark.
I staggered toward it, my bare feet scraping against unseen thorns and jagged stones. Each step sent sharp jolts of pain up my legs. So this is pain... I knew of it before, but never like this.
I reached the first house, a modest wooden structure. Raising a weak fist, I knocked.
Silence.
Then, the door creaked open just a sliver, revealing the wary eyes of a man. He looked me over—naked, shivering, unknown. Suspicion hardened his features.
"What do you want? And why the hell are you naked in this cold?"
His tone was sharp, but there was a flicker of something else—hesitation.
I swallowed, my throat dry.
"I… I'm sorry to bother you,"
I said, my voice strange even to my own ears.
"Could I shelter at your home? As you can see, I am in a peculiar situation."
His expression darkened.
"I don't recognize you. You're not from around here, are you?"
"N-no, but if—"
Before I could finish, he slammed the door shut. His voice came through the wood, ragged and final.
"Can't help you."
Frustration clawed at me, but I had no choice. I pressed on, my body trembling, my skin raw from the wind's relentless touch. The pain in my feet worsened, each step a lesson in suffering.
I knocked on another door, this one belonging to a larger house. A different man answered, peering out with weary eyes. He refused me as well, but at least offered some direction.
"If you head south, there's a city,"
He muttered.
"They might take care of you there."
His words carried no kindness—only indifference. Still, it was something.
Before leaving, I scaled the fence of a nearby home, my stiff fingers fumbling as I pulled down a set of clothes hung out to dry. They were too large, hanging awkwardly on my body, but it dulled the cold.
I did not wait for dawn. With nothing but the stolen garments on my back and the mission forced upon me, I turned south and disappeared into the forest.
Darkness swallowed the forest, its depths obscured by an abyssal black. I could barely see my own hands in front of me. Then, a howl—piercing, drawn-out—shattered the silence. Leaves rustled all around, unseen shapes shifting in the gloom.
And then, pain.
Fangs tore into my arm, a sharp, numbing agony spreading through my flesh. So this was the mortal experience? Wandering through the night, half-naked, only to be mauled by some unseen beast? Was this how my story would end?
No.
I refused to relinquish. I had to see this experiment through. The Usurper had wielded my body against God himself—there must be a way for me to tap into that latent power.
I tried to focus, to reach for something deep within. But before I could grasp it, another set of fangs sank into my leg, ripping me from my thoughts and sending me sprawling to the ground. There was more than one. Their teeth clamped down with monstrous force, one of them nearly tearing my arm from my body.
Then, something within me stirred.
A voice—familiar yet distant—spoke.
"What do you think you're doing?"
The voice slithered through my mind, soaked in mockery. I had heard it before—felt its presence lurking beneath my thoughts. But now, it was directed at me.
"I knew you were there. I need to know how to use the power."
Laughter, low and venomous.
"Power? You can barely stand."
A pause, then something almost like curiosity.
"Why did you incarnate yourself?"
Fangs tore into my leg, ripping me down into the dirt. My vision blurred from the pain. I felt the Usurper watching, waiting for an answer.
"Because I had to."
I swallowed the blood in my throat.
"If I am bound to this story, then I must understand it."
"Understand?"
A scoff.
"You spent eternity above it all, weaving fate like thread, and now you crawl in the dirt, bleeding like the rest of them? What a pitiful thing you've become."
Another beast clamped down on my arm. A sickening crack. The pain was unbearable.
"I will survive. No matter how many loops it takes."
Silence. The weight of his presence coiled around me, no longer amused—watching. Then, a whisper, laced with something unfamiliar.
"…What did you just say?"
A shift in the air, as if the world itself had paused. The Usurper's voice returned, lower, edged with something darker.
"You shouldn't remember that."
Something changed. The amusement was still there, but beneath it—hesitation.
"Hmph. That means something went wrong. And I hate not knowing why."
I clenched my teeth, blood pooling in my mouth.
"Then help me."
A pause. Then, the amusement crept back in.
"No."
A chuckle.
"I'd rather let you die."
Another wave of pain, white-hot. My body was failing. But then, just as my vision darkened—
Cold steel formed in my palm. A sword, impossibly sharp, humming with something unnatural.
"Fine. If you're so determined to crawl, then crawl. But don't think for a second I'm doing this for you."
A sword materialized in my one functioning arm, solid and cold. Instinct took over—I drove the blade through the skull of the beast above me. A sickening crunch, then stillness.
Now I could see them. Wolf-like creatures, their eyes gleaming in the dark. Three of them. No—two now.
I swung again, severing the head of the one gnawing at my leg. The blade sliced through flesh and bone like air, impossibly sharp. Too sharp. This weapon was not of this world.
The last creature whimpered, stepping back. Its glowing eyes darted between the lifeless husks of its packmates before it turned and vanished into the blackened depths of the forest.
Silence.
I forced myself up, every movement sending fresh waves of pain through my body. I didn't know where I was going—I just moved.
Then, through the thick tangle of trees, I saw it.
Lights.
A city, distant but real, glowing against the night.
Hope.
I dragged myself toward it, my steps slow, unsteady. The moment I reached the city gate, my body gave in.
I collapsed onto the cold stone pavement, darkness swallowing me whole.