Chapter 1: The Dungeon of No Return

Pain.

It wasn't just in his body—it was deeper, embedded into his very existence. It burned through his nerves, twisted his thoughts, and clawed at the edges of his sanity.

Kael Draven gasped, his lungs convulsing as if he had just been pulled out of deep water. His fingers twitched against cold, jagged ground. His heart thundered in his chest, its rhythm erratic, unstable.

Where… am I?

He forced his eyes open. The world around him was a nightmare.

The sky was wrong—not blue, not gray, but an endless swirling vortex of crimson and black, shifting and writhing like a living thing. The land beneath him was just as unnatural—massive black stone pillars jutted from the cracked earth like the ribs of a long-dead beast. The air was thick with the scent of blood, decay, and something ancient.

He sat up with a groan, his muscles screaming in protest. His clothes were different—no longer the simple jeans and jacket he had worn before. Now, he was clad in a ragged, sleeveless tunic and a pair of worn leather boots. His hands were bare, revealing fresh scars along his fingers and palms.

This wasn't the world he knew.

But it wasn't just the place that was different. Something inside him had changed.

Then he remembered.

The betrayal. The knife plunging into his chest. The overwhelming darkness that followed.

His breath hitched. He pressed a shaking hand to his chest, expecting to find the fatal wound. Nothing. No blood, no pain—just smooth, unbroken skin.

I died. I should be dead. So why am I here?

Then, a mechanical chime echoed in his mind.

[System Initialization…]

[Analyzing Entity… ERROR.]

[Anomaly Detected. Reconfiguring Parameters…]

Kael's body tensed. A foreign presence invaded his thoughts, information pouring into his mind like an unstoppable flood.

Levels. Skills. Attributes. A system?

His head pounded as the knowledge embedded itself into his brain. This wasn't just information—it was like something had rewritten the way his mind worked, forcing him to understand concepts that had never existed in his world.

Then, another notification appeared.

[Trial of the Forsaken: Stage 1]

Objective: Survive.

Kael barely had time to process those words before the ground beneath him shook violently.

The First Monster

A deafening roar tore through the air, primal and filled with hunger.

Kael's instincts screamed at him. He turned just in time to see something emerge from the shadows.

A creature—if it could even be called that—crawled out from behind one of the black stone pillars. A hulking mass of fused flesh, twisted limbs, and glowing yellow eyes. It stood at least three meters tall, its body stitched together from countless corpses, some of which were still twitching as if they remembered their deaths.

Kael's breath hitched. His mind reeled. What the hell is that?!

Then it charged.

The ground cracked beneath its weight as it lunged forward, its monstrous claws gleaming under the crimson sky.

Kael threw himself to the side just in time. The beast's claws slammed into the ground where he had been standing, sending chunks of shattered stone flying.

His heart pounded against his ribs. I need a weapon!

His hands scrambled over the ground until his fingers closed around a jagged piece of black stone. It wasn't much—just a sharp fragment, barely the size of a dagger—but it was better than nothing.

The monster snarled, its stitched mouth stretching unnaturally wide, revealing rows of mismatched teeth. Its glowing yellow eyes locked onto him, filled with rage and hunger.

It lunged again.

Kael reacted on pure survival instinct. He rolled forward beneath its attack, avoiding the swipe of its claws, and in the same motion, slammed the jagged stone into its side.

The creature howled in pain. A thick, black liquid oozed from the wound, sizzling as it hit the ground.

Kael didn't stop. He couldn't.

With both hands gripping the crude weapon, he drove it deeper into the monster's flesh, twisting it as hard as he could.

The beast lashed out wildly, its massive arm colliding with Kael's body.

CRACK.

Pain exploded through his ribs as he was sent flying. He hit the ground hard, rolling across the jagged stone. His vision blurred, his lungs struggled for air, but he forced himself up.

If I stop, I die.

The monster roared again, but this time, it staggered. The wound in its side pulsed, the black ooze dripping faster. The stone dagger was still embedded in its flesh, and the area around it was melting.

It's working.

A sharp notification rang in his mind.

[Unique Trait Activated: Devourer's Mark]

Your attacks corrode unnatural beings.

Kael had no idea what that meant, but right now, he didn't care. All that mattered was survival.

The monster charged again, but this time, Kael was ready.

He dodged left, grabbed another shard of stone from the ground, and as the beast stumbled past him, he plunged it straight into its neck.

The effect was immediate.

The wound hissed, the corruption spreading rapidly. The creature let out a final, ear-piercing shriek before its massive body collapsed.

Silence followed.

Kael remained still, his chest heaving, his body trembling. The pain in his ribs was unbearable, his limbs felt like lead, and his mind was screaming at him to stop.

But he was alive.

Then, the system chimed again.

[Trial of the Forsaken: Stage 1 – Completed]

Survival Confirmed. Awarding Initial Clearance.

A new notification appeared.

[You have been marked as an Anomaly.]

Warning: The System does not recognize your existence. Adjusting parameters…

Kael clenched his fists. What the hell does that mean?

Another chime.

[Dungeon Gate Unlocking… Proceed to the next level.]

He looked up.

The massive black gate that had stood before him all this time creaked open, revealing nothing but darkness beyond.

A deep, resonant voice echoed in his mind.

"Welcome, Anomaly. Your true trial begins now."

Kael took a shaky breath, wiped the blood from his hands, and stepped forward.

End of Chapter 1