Guns and glory

I woke up the next morning expecting pain. I expected to feel like I'd been run over by a cart, my body a patchwork of bruises and aches, my spirit crushed under the weight of my failure. I expected fatigue so deep it would feel like a second skin, clinging to me, dragging me down. I even half-expected not to wake up at all, to simply fade into the void where failures like me belonged.

But to my surprise, I felt… fine. More than fine. I felt 'alive.'

I blinked, disoriented, as sunlight streamed through the window, painting the room in warm, golden hues. My body felt light, almost weightless, as if I'd been reborn in the night. There was no pain, no stiffness, no lingering trace of the beating I'd endured. I sat up slowly, my hands trembling as I ran them over my arms, my chest, my face. No bruises. No swelling. Nothing.

It was as if yesterday had never happened.

I swung my legs over the side of the bed, my bare feet touching the cold floor. The sensation was sharp, almost electric, sending a jolt up my spine. I felt… invigorated. Like a new energy was coursing through my veins, something raw and untamed, something that didn't belong to me. It was unsettling, but also exhilarating. I didn't understand it, but I couldn't deny it.

Confused, I stood and walked to the mirror on the far wall. My reflection stared back at me, but it wasn't the broken, defeated boy I'd seen yesterday. My skin was unmarked, my eyes clear and bright. There was a strange intensity in my gaze, a flicker of something I couldn't quite name. I leaned closer, studying my face, searching for some sign of what had happened to me. But there was nothing. Just me. Whole. Unbroken.

And then the voice came.

"Guns and glory activated."

It was a plain, monotonous voice, devoid of emotion, like the tolling of a distant bell. It echoed in my head, loud and clear, but there was no one in the room. No one but me. My heart skipped a beat, then began to race, pounding in my chest like a drum. I spun around, my eyes darting to every corner of the room, searching for the source of the voice. But the room was empty. Silent.

"Who is it?" I asked, my voice trembling. The words felt strange on my tongue, too loud in the stillness of the morning. My hands clenched into fists at my sides, my nails digging into my palms. "Who's there?"

There was no answer. Just the sound of my own breathing, ragged and uneven. I stood there, frozen, my mind racing. Was I losing it? Had the humiliation and pain finally driven me mad? Or was this something else? Something… other?

The voice had said, "Guns and glory activated." What did that even mean? Guns? I'd never heard of such a thing. And glory? That was a word for heroes, for cultivators, for people like my father and brothers. Not for me. Never for me.

"Desert Eagle unlocked as a basic gun. For more, check the menu."

The voice came again, clearer this time, sharper, like a blade cutting through the fog in my mind. It wasn't coming from the room. It wasn't coming from outside me at all. It was inside me, echoing in the hollow spaces of my skull, reverberating in the marrow of my bones. My brain. My own mind.

I swallowed hard, my throat dry as dust, and felt a bead of sweat trickle down my temple. My hands trembled, and I clenched them into fists to steady myself. Was I losing my mind? Had the beating, the humiliation, the crushing weight of my failure finally shattered something inside me? Or was this something worse? Something… unnatural?

The silence that followed was deafening, pressing down on me like a physical weight. My thoughts raced, a chaotic jumble of fear and confusion. Desert Eagle. What did that even mean? I'd never heard those words before, not in any of the scrolls or texts I'd studied, not in the whispered legends of cultivators and their spirit roots. And yet, they felt familiar, as if they'd been carved into my soul long before I was born.

Today was supposed to be my spirit awakening ceremony. Was this somehow connected? But that was impossible. Without a spirit root, awakening a spirit was like trying to light a fire with wet wood. It couldn't be done. And yet… here I was, hearing voices, feeling something new and strange coursing through me. Something powerful.

Is my spirit an Eagle? The thought came unbidden, and I shook my head, trying to clear it. No, that didn't make sense. Spirits were manifestations of Qi, of the energy that flowed through the world. They were animals, elements, forces of nature. Not… guns. Whatever that meant.

The voice had said to check the menu for more information. But what was a menu? I'd never heard the word before. Was it some kind of scroll? A hidden text? I muttered the question aloud, my voice barely above a whisper. "What is a menu?"

As soon as the words left my lips, the air in front of me shimmered, like heat rising off desert sand. A transparent film of words materialized, hovering in the space before me. It was unlike anything I'd ever seen. The characters were sharp and clear, glowing faintly against the dim light of the room. They weren't written in any language I recognized, and yet I could understand them perfectly.

Menu:

- Weapons: Desert Eagle (Basic)

- Skills: None

- Inventory: Empty

- Level: 1

- Qi: 0

I stared at the words, my heart pounding in my chest. This wasn't possible. This wasn't real. It had to be some kind of trick, an illusion conjured by my broken mind. But the longer I looked, the more solid it seemed. The words didn't waver or fade. They were there, as real as the floor beneath my feet.

I reached out a trembling hand, half-expecting my fingers to pass through the glowing text. But they didn't. The surface of the menu was cool and smooth, like glass, and it hummed faintly under my touch, a vibration that traveled up my arm and settled deep in my chest.

"What… what is this?" I whispered, my voice barely audible.

The voice didn't answer. But the menu did. As I focused on the word Weapons, the text shifted, expanding to reveal more information.

Desert Eagle (Basic):

- A powerful handgun capable of delivering devastating force.

- Ammo: 7 rounds

- Reload Time: 3 seconds

- Unlocked at Level 1

I didn't understand half of what I was reading. Handgun? Ammo? Reload? These words were foreign, alien, and yet they stirred something deep inside me, a memory that wasn't mine. A knowledge that didn't belong to me.

And then, as if summoned by my thoughts, I felt a weight in my hand. I looked down and nearly dropped it in shock. A weapon. The Desert Eagle. It was sleek and metallic, cold to the touch, with a barrel that gleamed faintly in the sunlight. It felt… right. Like an extension of my own body.

I didn't know what was happening to me. I didn't know if I was losing my mind or gaining something far greater. But one thing was certain: the boy who had woken up yesterday, broken and defeated, was gone. Whatever I was now, whatever this power was, it had changed me.

And I wasn't sure if that was a good thing.

"What is this thing? It doesn't seem like an eagle," I muttered, turning the object over in my hands. It was cold and heavy, the metal gleaming dully in the pale morning light. The shape was unlike anything I'd ever seen—sleek and angular, with a barrel that tapered to a menacing point. It wasn't alive, wasn't organic, and yet it felt… powerful. Dangerous. Like it held a kind of energy that defied explanation.

I ran my fingers along its surface, tracing the grooves and ridges. There were markings etched into the metal, symbols that meant nothing to me but seemed to hum faintly under my touch. It wasn't an eagle, that much was clear. But it was something. Something strange. Something 'other.'

And then there was the connection. I couldn't explain it, couldn't put it into words, but I 'knew' how to use it. Not in the way I knew how to wield a sword or draw a bow—those skills had been drilled into me through years of training. No, this was different. It was instinctual, primal, like the knowledge had been carved into my very soul. I didn't know what it was called, didn't know how it worked, but I could feel it. The weight of it in my hand. The way my fingers curled around the grip, perfectly, as if it had been made for me. The way my thumb found a small lever, and with a soft *click,* something inside the object shifted, ready.

I swallowed hard, my throat dry as sandpaper. My heart was pounding now, a rapid, erratic rhythm that echoed in my ears. Sweat prickled on my forehead, and my palms felt clammy against the cool metal. This was madness. Pure, unadulterated madness. And yet, I couldn't let go. The object felt like a part of me, an extension of my own body. It was terrifying. It was exhilarating.

I pressed a finger against the trigger—a small, curved piece of metal that seemed to beckon me. My hand trembled, but my finger didn't waver. I didn't know what would happen if I pulled it. I didn't know if I 'should.' But the instinct was there, undeniable, irresistible. I could feel it in my bones, in the very core of my being. This thing, whatever it was, was meant to be used. And I was meant to use it.

"This is wild," I whispered, my voice barely audible. The words felt inadequate, laughably so. Wild didn't begin to cover it. This was beyond wild. This was… impossible. Unthinkable. And yet, here I was, holding it in my hands, feeling its power, its potential.

I glanced around the room, half-expecting someone—or something—to burst in and explain what was happening. But the room was empty, silent except for the sound of my own breathing. The morning light streamed through the window, casting long shadows across the floor. Outside, the world went on as if nothing had changed. But everything had changed. I could feel it.

I tightened my grip on the object, my finger resting lightly on the trigger. My instincts screamed at me to pull it, to see what would happen, but I hesitated. What if it was a trick? What if this was some kind of curse, a punishment for my failure? Or worse, what if it was real? What if this power, this strange, alien power, was mine to wield?

I could feel that the thing in my hand was not normal, it was powerful. I wanted to use it but my rational mind overtook me and I took in a deep breath.

"It would be better if I test it at a secluded place, after the spirit awakening ceremony."