Where am I?

Screams pierced the darkness.

— "Aaaaaaaarg!"

— "Heeelp!"

— "Please, stop, don't do this... Please!"

A macabre symphony of suffering and fear echoed through the void.

Ryan, lying in an empty space, furrowed his brows. His eyelids trembled, and despite his unconscious state, his body instinctively reacted to the cries of distress.

— "Hmm... cries of despair..." he murmured, eyes still closed.

At first, the voices were indistinct, as if coming from a distant nightmare. But as the seconds passed, they grew clearer, more intense. They were getting closer.

A wave of panic overwhelmed him. His heart pounded furiously against his chest. Then, unable to bear the suffocating sensation, he abruptly opened his eyes.

Silence.

An absolute silence.

Ryan blinked, perplexed. The screams had vanished as suddenly as they had appeared. He was alone...

completely alone.

— "Where am I?"

He slowly sat up, inspecting his surroundings. A cold shiver ran up his spine as he realized where he was.

He stood on a rock, floating in the middle of an ocean of blood.

The crimson liquid stretched endlessly, rippling slowly under a nonexistent breeze. There was no shore, no landmarks. Just an infinite, thick sea, its shimmering surface seemingly concealing unimaginable horrors.

His breathing quickened. A mix of fear and confusion twisted his stomach, but he forced himself to stay calm.

— "This is a dream… A nightmare."

He took a deep breath, lifting his head.

What he saw froze every muscle in his body.

The sky was not a sky.

It was a sea of flames, an inverted ocean of blazing red, where whirlpools of fire swirled and devoured one another. And at the center of this suspended hell floated a colossal eye.

An eye without eyelids.

An eye that watched him.

Ryan felt his breath hitch in his throat.

The celestial entity's iris seemed like an infinite spiral, sinking into the abyss of something indescribable. There was no benevolence, no malice in that gaze—just a cold, unfathomable presence. A force that saw everything.

— "Shit… Where am I? Am I dead?"

His trembling whisper was barely audible, but the moment he uttered those words, the ground beneath him cracked.

A sinister crack rang out.

Ryan didn't even have time to react.

The rock shattered into countless pieces, and he fell.

But he did not plunge into the ocean of blood.

No.

He was falling... through the air.

The void swallowed him, and in the blink of an eye, the scenery changed.

He crashed onto a hard surface, but no pain struck him.

Struggling to his feet, he scanned his surroundings.

What he saw was worse than anything he had imagined.

A city. Or rather, what was left of it.

Shattered buildings, ruined streets, flames licking the carcasses of overturned cars. The sky was blackened with thick smoke, and the metallic stench of blood was so strong it burned his throat.

The world around him was in ruins.

Then, his gaze was drawn to a blinding light.

And when he looked up… he saw it.

A humanoid creature, floating in the sky, bathed in a white light.

But that light was anything but warm.

It was cold, merciless, absolute.

The being made one move.

Just one.

And the entire planet disintegrated.

Ryan screamed.

The end had come.

— "Aaaaaaah!"

Ryan's eyes snapped open, his body trembling from the surge of adrenaline. He gasped, struggling for air as if he had just surfaced from a nightmare too real to be mere illusion. His heart pounded violently, each pulse echoing in his head.

A chilling sensation crawled down his spine as he noticed the dampness clinging to his skin. He was drenched in sweat.

His gaze darted around the dimly lit room. The sharp scent of antiseptic stung his nostrils. It didn't take him long to understand where he was.

— "A… hospital?" he murmured, pinching his cheek.

The slight pain confirmed his fear. He was awake. This was real.

He ran a hand over his sweat-drenched forehead, trying to organize his thoughts.

— "That means… I survived the portal…" He frowned. "But more importantly… how did I survive?"

Images flooded his mind—the ocean of blood, the sky ablaze, the being of light annihilating an entire planet.

— "And what the hell was that nightmare…?"

He brought a trembling hand to his head. It had felt too vivid, too detailed… That wasn't just a dream. It was something more.

A noise pulled him from his thoughts.

— Clack.

The hospital room door creaked open. Two figures stepped inside.

One of them was familiar—Daniel, one of the few companions he had met during the raid. The other was a man in a black suit, a badge pinned to his chest.

The suited man spoke first, his tone calm and professional.

— "Good morning, Ryan." He took a step forward. "I'm Anthony, an agent from the Protectors' Association. I'm here to ask about what happened inside the portal."

Ryan blinked, caught off guard.

— "What?!"

He had assumed that someone had saved him, that they would explain to him what had happened. But from the looks of it… no one knew.

— "I… I don't remember anything. Sorry."

Anthony raised an eyebrow slightly but showed no hostility.

— "I see…" He sighed before adding, "Then, if you don't mind, may I measure your rank?"

Ryan nodded without hesitation.

— "Yeah, sure."

Anthony pulled out a small device and pressed it against Ryan's palm.

— Beep.

A screen lit up, displaying a single letter.

[Rank: F]

The agent studied the results before giving a small, thoughtful nod.

— "Hmm… Everything seems normal."

Yet despite his words, Ryan could tell Anthony wasn't fully convinced. And he understood why—when he had fallen into the portal, the Association had detected an immense surge of mana. A level of power that couldn't possibly come from a mere fleeting portal.

But with no evidence, Anthony could only assume the energy had come from the portal itself—not from Ryan.

After a few seconds of silence, the agent continued:

— "To put it simply, you accidentally entered a fleeting portal."

Ryan said nothing.

— "And after some time, as the portal began to dissipate, you were expelled."

Ryan frowned slightly.

That doesn't make sense.

A fleeting portal, by definition, was one without monsters or danger—just unstable and short-lived. So why did it feel like he had lived through hell inside?

He could have asked. He could have challenged the explanation.

But something deep inside him told him that would be a bad idea.

So he kept his doubts to himself.

After a brief exchange of formalities, Anthony left the room, leaving Ryan alone with Daniel.

His friend approached the bed, arms crossed.

— "You sure you're okay, man?" Daniel asked, watching him carefully.

Ryan took a deep breath before forcing a smile.

— "Yeah… Just a little shaken."

Daniel raised an eyebrow but didn't push further. Instead, he reached into his pocket and pulled out an object, handing it to Ryan.

— "Here. Your phone."

Ryan took it, examining the device. The screen was damaged, cracked in several places, but still functional. He powered it on, feeling a small wave of relief as it lit up.

Seeing that there was nothing urgent left to discuss, Daniel straightened up, shoving his hands into his pockets.

— "I gotta go. I'll see you at the academy, Ryan."

Ryan simply nodded.

Once Daniel left, a deep silence settled in the room.

Ryan lowered his gaze to his phone, but his mind was elsewhere.

That nightmare… that vision…

What was it?

And more importantly…

Why did he feel like it was only the beginning?

The silence reigned in the hospital room.

Ryan stared at the ceiling, lost in his thoughts. His heart had slowed, but his mind was still in turmoil.

That nightmare… that vision…

Was it a warning? An illusion caused by the stress of the portal? Or… something much deeper?

As he tried to make sense of it, a sudden memory rushed back to him.

That strange window…

Just before losing consciousness in the portal, he had seen something. An interface floating in front of him. A system window.

— "Was it real… or was I hallucinating?"

Out of simple curiosity, he thought about the system.

Ding!

A blue light illuminated in front of him. His breath caught.

The screen was real.

Before his eyes, golden letters floated in the air, forming an interface he knew all too well.

A video game system.

[Name: Ryan Knox]

[Title: Heir of the King]

[Level: 1]

[STR: 7] [DEX: 8] [END: 6] [INT: 2] [WIS: 2]

[Skill Points: 12]

[Stat Points: 8]

[No skills]

Ryan felt his heart race faster.

— "What the hell is this…?" he muttered, eyes wide.

He was a fan of video games, an RPG system enthusiast. Seeing such a display in front of him was both fascinating and terrifying.

— "I'm definitely dreaming."

Out of reflex, he pinched his cheek. A slight pain made him jump.

— "…No, I'm wide awake."

A new notification appeared.

[For surviving the portal, you have received an Awakening Potion.]

[The item is stored in the inventory. Please think of the item to withdraw it.]

Ryan froze.

An Awakening Potion?

His heart raced even faster.

— "If it's like a game… then I just have to think about the item, right?"

Closing his eyes, he thought about the Awakening Potion.

In a brief blue flash, a small vial suddenly appeared in his hand.

The liquid inside was a crystalline blue, emitting a faint mystical glow.

— "I… I can really store items?!"

He opened and closed his hand several times, but the vial remained real.

His mind teetered between excitement and caution.

— "Should I drink it?"

He hesitated.

What if this potion had side effects?

But on the other hand…

If this system was truly a gift of fate, refusing its help would be a mistake.

Taking a deep breath, Ryan removed the cork from the vial and brought the potion to his lips.

— "Well… Here's to you."

He drank the contents in one go.

The taste was sweet, almost like honey with a slight hint of mint.

— "Hmm… Actually not bad."

But nothing happened.

Ryan waited a few seconds, perplexed.

— "Huh…? Why is nothing happening—"

Suddenly.

An unbearable pain exploded in every fiber of his being.

— "A-Aaaaargh!!!"

He felt something ignite inside of him, as if magma was flowing through his veins. His body arched under the intensity of the pain, and his muscles contracted violently.

His bones cracked, his heart beat at an abnormal speed, and a burning sensation consumed him from the inside.

— "What the… what is this?!!"

He instinctively clawed at the hospital bed's sheet, but it did nothing to ease his suffering.

His breath became shallow.

His vision blurred.

Then, everything went black.

Ryan lost consciousness.