Darkness. Boundless and thick, like primordial chaos. This is the darkness Kaine awoke to, feeling as if his body was sinking into the viscous blackness. He couldn't remember how he had ended up here, and his mind was flooded with an endless stream of questions: "Who am I? Why am I here? What is happening?" But with each passing moment, the answers slipped further away, leaving only cold and loneliness.

"Wake up..." a quiet yet commanding voice reached him from somewhere far away.

Kaine tried to open his eyes, but instead, he felt a sudden heaviness pressing on his chest. His heart tightened with pain, as though his soul was being squeezed in a vise. He struggled to breathe until he heard the same voice again, now closer, almost inside him.

"Wake up, Kaine. Your true nature calls."

As if struck by lightning, Kaine's eyes snapped open. The world around him flared with bright colors and changed sharply: he was lying on grass under a blood-red sky, and before him stood an ancient figure. A silhouette, seemingly woven from shadows and light, stared at him with empty eyes, filled with an abyss.

"Who... are you?" Kaine rasped, trying to get up, but his body refused to obey him.

"I am the one who has seen your fate," the silhouette replied, its voice echoing through the entire space. "You are the link between life and death. You are their embodiment."

Questions swirled in Kaine's head, but before he could utter a single word, the figure vanished, leaving only a sense of emptiness and something strange that began to awaken inside him. Suddenly, a glowing mark appeared on his wrist, as if part of the darkness had flowed into his body.

"System activated," a mechanical female voice rang in his head. "Initialization beginning."

Barely breathing, Kaine felt a surge of energy filling his body. It was as if all the pain he had felt vanished, replaced by an overwhelming desire to live. The system, a mysterious mechanism that had now become part of him, brought clarity to his mind.

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He looked around. In the distance, something was approaching: a figure, black as the night itself, radiating malevolence. With each passing second, the creature became clearer, its body trembling like a decaying corpse, with eyes burning bright red.

"Welcome to your new reality," the system spoke in Kaine's mind, and suddenly he realized: this was a test. The first step on his journey.

Feeling fear rising within him, Kaine stood up nonetheless. "Fight or die" — the words echoed in his mind. He had no right to weakness. Not now.

The creature lunged at him with unexpected speed, and Kaine barely managed to dodge. From nowhere, a strange interface appeared before him, displaying his status: "Strength: 10. Agility: 8. Endurance: 12." More than the numbers, his attention was drawn to the line: "Absolute Defense: Inactive."

"What does that mean?" he thought, unable to grasp it as the creature lunged at him again, almost tearing him apart. But at the moment when the claws were about to touch his skin, something stopped them. In the air before him, a translucent barrier appeared, emanating from his body.

"Activated..." Kaine whispered, feeling energy flowing through his body. "My defense..."

The creature leaped back but didn't retreat. And then Kaine understood: he might be weak now, but this power he had received was not just a gift. It was a weapon capable of opposing the entire world.

"I won't lose," he whispered to himself, clenching his fists.

Somewhere deep within his soul, the same voice that had called him earlier echoed: "You are the chosen one, Kaine. Show what you're made of."

Now, with each breath, he felt alive, truly alive.

The creature attacked again, but this time Kaine was ready. He stepped back, and in the same moment, his body moved forward lightning-fast, his fist meeting the shadow, piercing through it. The monster let out a low roar and dissolved into black smoke, leaving behind only a solitary sphere of energy, hovering in the air.

"Absorption complete," the system said. "Power increased. New abilities available."

Kaine looked at his hands, amazed at how quickly he was growing. But despite the feeling of triumph, he knew — this was only the beginning. One battle wouldn't resolve everything.

It was just his first step on the path to his true destiny.

And then he looked towards the horizon, where the lights of the city glimmered far away, and took his first step into what would become his new reality.