“Nathan, put down those consoles already. Go outside and get some fresh air—you’ve been cooped up inside all day,” his mother’s voice rang out with a mix of exhaustion and affection. “It’ll do you good to get out for a while. Come on, the whole day is ahead of you.”
Nathan sighed and dropped the controller onto the couch. “Alright, I was getting tired of playing anyway,” he muttered reluctantly. Deep down, though, he knew his mother was right—he’d spent weeks locked up, lost in video games, avoiding the outside world.
Slowly, he grabbed a jacket and stepped out into the nearby woods. Even though he didn’t feel like it, something inside him urged him to explore, to break out of the routine. What could he find out there? Strange flowers, rare insects—anything to make it worthwhile.
As he ventured into the forest, the tall, ancient trees greeted him with a peaceful silence. The fresh air filled his lungs, clearing his mind. Nathan kicked stones as he walked, surrounded by the earthy, damp scent of the woods.
“I’ve always liked fighting games… Maybe I could be a boxer or learn martial arts someday. Who wouldn’t want that?” he thought, his steps carrying him further in.
But the forest’s calm soon turned unsettling. The sun began to set, casting long shadows that mingled with an oppressive silence. An odd sensation crept down his spine, as if something unseen was watching him.
Nathan froze in place. The air felt heavier.
“This is… strange,” he murmured, swallowing hard. That’s when he saw it.
Just a few meters ahead, beneath a gnarled tree, a worn wooden box stood out amidst the tall grass.
“What’s this doing here?” Intrigued, he approached it. The box had an intricate design, almost artistic, and a broken lock dangling from its front. Nathan knelt to open it. The creak of the wood echoed like a whisper in the empty forest.
Inside was a strange watch. Its dark metal glinted faintly, mesmerizing.
“It’s beautiful… Kind of reminds me of the watch Dad gave me, but this one’s way weirder,” he thought, his curiosity piqued. Without giving it much thought, he slipped it onto his wrist.
“I love it… I’ll show it to Dad later. He’s never seen a watch like this. Who would just leave it lying here?”
The watch was too big at first. As he tried to adjust it, he found a few buttons he thought would change the time. When he pressed them, the watch adjusted itself automatically, fitting his wrist perfectly.
“Oh, haha, so that’s what they’re for. Nice, it fits perfectly now…”
But before he could admire it further, a mechanical click startled him.
“Huh? What was that?” A strange sensation coursed through his body.
Suddenly, the watch’s metal contracted sharply, and a searing pain shot through his arm.
“AAAH, DAMN IT! WHAT THE—?!”
Nathan collapsed to his knees, screaming. His body arched forward as the excruciating pain immobilized him. Tears welled up in his eyes, and his breathing became erratic.
“No! Damn it!” he gasped, struggling to yank the watch off.
“What… what’s happening to me?!”
The forest was utterly silent. No birds, no wind—only the echo of his ragged breathing.
“Please, no, no, no! Someone, help me!” he thought, his throat raw from the pain-filled cries.
He tried pressing the buttons again, but they only lit up a faint glow on the watch.
“What? It worked before! Damn it, please, someone help!”
The metallic smell of blood filled the air. His desperation grew.
Am I going to bleed out? he thought, clawing at tree leaves in a futile attempt to stop the bleeding.
Then, a sound snapped him out of his agony: laughter. Soft, mocking… but it didn’t seem to come from anywhere.
“Hehehe…”
Nathan’s head shot up. The forest was still empty.
“WHO’S THERE?!” he shouted, stumbling backward.
And then he saw it. A man appeared out of nowhere, seemingly in the blink of an eye. He was dressed like an old-fashioned butler, with a crooked smile and mocking eyes.
“AH!” Nathan yelped, backing into a tree. The impact knocked the wind out of him.
“Oh, haha. It looks like it hurts, kid. But don’t worry—that just means it’s working.”
The man gave a theatrical bow, his grin never fading.
“Skizo, at your service. Your butler… and you’ve just won a front-row ticket to chaos. That watch? It’s a NecroRune. Exciting, isn’t it?”
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Skizo gestured dramatically toward the watch.
“A masterpiece, don’t you think? Go on, tell me how beautiful it is. You should feel honored to wear it.”
Nathan glanced at his arm. The stabbing pain radiated from the watch, which pulsed as if it were alive.
“NecroRune? I don’t know what that is, and I don’t want it! Take it back—give it to whoever it belongs to! I don’t care!”
“Heh, kid, it doesn’t work that way. That watch is part of you now—like a new organ, essential for your pathetic existence.”
Skizo laughed, savoring Nathan’s fear. With an almost theatrical tone, he added:
“Go ahead and try to remove it. But can you live without an arm? Or without your life? Choose wisely, kid.”
Nathan, overwhelmed, fell to the ground, his body shaking. His voice cracked as he whispered, “This can’t be happening…”
“Ah… he noticed my fear. I can’t keep hiding it; my body is giving me away,” Nathan thought, struggling to process Skizo’s words.
“So… does that mean I’ll die if I try to take it off? That’s not true! Why couldn’t I? This has to be a dream!”
Nathan staggered, desperation swelling in his chest.
“Ha, I can hear your heart beating. Is this a dream? You wish it was, don’t you? But it’s not. This is just the beginning,” Skizo said, leaning closer. His icy breath brushed against Nathan’s skin.
Skizo touched the watch, intensifying the pain. Nathan screamed, clutching his arm.
He tried to back away and escape, but Skizo shoved him against a nearby tree.
Nathan’s head struck the trunk, splitting its surface. A fracture in space and time unfolded before him, and he fell into it.
The impact didn’t feel like rough, solid wood but rather as if he’d plunged into water.
Nathan screamed, but his voice was swallowed by the void as he fell, floated, or something in between. He passed through the wood as if it were a portal.
He opened his eyes, and a kaleidoscope of lights and colors overwhelmed his vision, enveloping him completely. He tried to move, but his body remained frozen. He could only watch as space and time seemed to fracture and collapse, emitting sounds like shattering crystals mixed with a deep, constant hum that reverberated in his mind.
As he floated in nothingness, a light grew steadily brighter. Nathan closed his eyes, feeling himself transition from one world to another.
Suddenly, he landed on his knees on what felt like damp, cold earth. The air around him was chilling but oddly comforting.
He looked up, and his breath caught in his throat. His jaw dropped slightly, but no sound escaped his lips.
“What… is this?” he whispered, his voice almost inaudible.
In front of him stood a colossal tree, its branches stretching like galaxies and its trunk pulsating with an ethereal light. The living roots connected worlds across chasms of mist, while crystalline leaves shone like stars in a sky of swirling galaxies. It was the axis of all realities.
His mind struggled to process what he was seeing. Was this a dream? A nightmare? Every fiber of his being told him this couldn’t be real, yet he couldn’t look away.
“It’s… beautiful,” he murmured, his voice trembling. But beneath the awe, a deep fear began to take root in his chest, an inescapable shadow.
Skizo watched him mockingly.
“Beautiful, isn’t it? Welcome to the Interdimensional Tree. That watch brought you here, kid. And it’ll grant you countless possibilities. You’ll understand soon enough… if you survive.”
A glimmer from the watch caught Nathan’s attention. On its surface, a countdown appeared. The words were clear:
MISSION: Complete the initial trials. Remaining time: 7 hours.
“Missions? What happens if I don’t complete them?” he asked, his voice trembling.
“Ah, not much. These missions control your remaining life. Failing to complete them could end it… forever and ever,” Skizo replied, grinning mockingly.
Nathan collapsed to the ground, gasping. His arm felt numb, his body heavy from blood loss.
“Damn it… I can’t… go on… Skizo? What’s this about li—?” he murmured faintly. His vision blurred as air struggled to fill his lungs. Finally, unconsciousness claimed him.
“Ah…” Skizo sighed. “I’ll let you rest for an hour. Just one.” He looked at Nathan with a hint of pity.
-NecroRune Watch-
Vitality: 0
“Well, he’s supposed to heal while he sleeps…”
The watch on his wrist emitted a faint glow. Though barely conscious, Nathan felt a strange warmth spreading from the bracelet through his body. The bleeding stopped, the pain faded… and darkness enveloped him.
He had no sense of how much time had passed. It could have been an eternity or a single moment. All he could hear was Skizo’s mocking laughter echoing in the distance.
Suddenly, a light tap on his head jolted him awake.
“Wake up, crybaby!”
Nathan’s eyes shot open. Skizo’s voice had pulled him out of a deep sleep.
“What… what happened?” he muttered, blinking as he tried to orient himself. His gaze fell on the watch on his wrist, and a shiver ran down his spine. Everything that had happened came rushing back to him.
As he stared at the watch in confusion, he realized he no longer had any wounds—no fresh blood, no dried stains. It was as if it had all been a dream… yet he knew it had been real.
“Come on, crybaby! The hour’s up! We’ve got missions to complete!” Skizo kept lightly tapping his head, grinning from ear to ear.
“Let’s move.”
Nathan staggered back, his breathing chaotic. Desperation still gripped his mind like an unyielding shadow spreading through his chest. His knees buckled, and he fell to the ground, his gaze fixed on the watch, which seemed to throb on his wrist.
“This can’t be happening…” he murmured, barely audible, as hot tears streamed down his face. His trembling hands tried to remove the artifact, but it was futile. Despair gave way to something darker.
“I want to go home,” he whispered, squeezing his eyes shut. The words caught in his throat. “I want my mom… I want my life back…”
The echo of his voice faded into the vastness of the place. Skizo, watching him with a twisted smile, tilted his head and clicked his tongue.
“Ah, poor kid. What a pity, huh?” His mocking tone pierced Nathan’s mind like a needle. “But look at you: sitting there, crying like a little baby. No one’s coming for you. No one can save you now. Is this how you choose to face your destiny?”
Skizo’s words hit Nathan like a whip. He clenched his teeth and fists, but the knot in his throat remained. He couldn’t stop the tears from flowing.
“Shut up!” he shouted through sobs, his voice breaking. But Skizo just laughed, louder this time.
“Shut up? Hahaha, oh, kid, you’re an open book. And what will you do? Keep crying? Is that going to change anything? If so, please, go on. I love watching humans give up.”
Nathan felt something different—a faint burn in his chest. It was small, but it was there, growing, like a spark starting to ignite.
“You don’t understand…” he said through gritted teeth, his voice still shaky but with a new edge.
“Don’t understand? Oh, I understand perfectly. You’re a coward. It’s as simple as that. You don’t even have the strength to stand up for your parents! I’m sure they’d be proud of their little boy giving up so easily.”
The words struck Nathan like a lash. He clenched his fists tighter. His erratic breathing began to steady. The spark in his chest grew, transforming into a flame.
“You have no right to talk about them,” he whispered, his voice controlled. He lifted his gaze to meet Skizo’s. His eyes were still filled with tears, but now they shone with something new—something that hadn’t been there before.
“Oh? And what will you do, kid? Hit me? Scream louder? Please, surprise me! We’re all waiting eagerly!” Skizo taunted, leaning toward him.
Nathan stood up slowly, unsteadily. He could feel the blood boiling in his veins. He wiped his tears with his sleeve and gripped the watch on his wrist.
“I’m going to survive. And I’ll find a way out of this damn place… with or without you.” His voice no longer trembled. It carried something new: anger, but also resolve.
The watch glowed brightly, reflecting the change in his demeanor. Skizo stepped back, surprised, though his smile remained.
Nathan threw a punch straight at Skizo’s face. But his fist passed through him as if he weren’t there.
“Jejeje… interesting. There’s more to you than I thought, kid. Let’s see how long that flame lasts.”
Skizo’s voice echoed, cold and sharp, as the watch on Nathan’s wrist glowed with an ominous light. The air grew heavier. Skizo smiled, but this time his expression was darker, almost threatening.
The countdown on the watch ticked away, a constant reminder of Nathan’s inevitable fate. Yet within him, another force stirred—an unfamiliar power fueled by his anger.
-NecroRune Watch-
Time Remaining: 5:48:12
Status: Rage
End of Chapter