In an unknown place underground stood a man in the darkness, unable to see past his hand and confused about where he is.
"Where am I?" he muttered to himself.
The man tried to look around to see anything that could give him any information, but unfortunately, he only saw darkness. The man ceased his attempts to scan the surroundings and instead placed his hand on his forehead, realizing that there was a more pressing question to address.
"Who am I? ...Ughhh!"
The moment he asked this question, a searing pain shot through his head forcing him to kneel on the ground clutching his head with both arms
The man was unable to remember anything about himself, either his name nor his origins. The only recent thing he remembered was that he had just crawled out of a coffin.
Behind him was a black coffin made from a dark like stone. The coffin was large with smooth edges and opened from the top, where the nameless man crawled from.
The man took a step forward toward the coffin, but he stumbled instead. His body was so weak that walking became a challenge.
Clenching his fists, the man resorted to crawling towards the coffin, reaching it. He grabbed the edge and helped himself to stand up. He glanced inside the coffin and found nothing; the coffin was empty.
'Sigh! …Nothing'
The nameless man took a look, he hoped to find something; Anything! to lead him or explain his situation.
That's when his eyes fell upon something on the coffin's lid: a stone with a diamond shape protruding from it.
To get a better look at the stone, he grabbed the lid and closed the coffin. The diamond-shaped stone was as dark as the coffin itself, and whatever material this coffin was made of is difficult to fracture.
The man discovered runes inscribed beneath the diamond stone, and curiosity piqued, he reached out and traced the ancient symbols with his fingertips. Astonishingly, he could understand the meaning of the runes.
"By the strength of Aron. Wrath and Death for those who deceived the king"
"Interesting," the man murmured, stroking his chin thoughtfully. "Is Aron my name? Or am I one of those deceivers maybe this is way i was in a coffin if the first place"
Unable to answer this question, the nameless man scratched the back of his head and decided to set it aside for now. He has much more important things at the moment, mainly his weak body and the fact that he has no food or water, he doesn't even have clothes, and he was completely naked.
When he thought about it, a chill ran through him, reminding him of the coldness of this dark place. If he cannot find his way out of this dark place, he's going to freeze to death or die of starvation.
'Not a good way to die'
And let's not forget his memory problem. He even panicked the first time he tried to remember and found nothing, adding to the pain he felt in the process.
He couldn't help but to feel empty inside not knowing your name or anything else about yourself can lead some people to madness, but the nameless man felt the need to remain calm and control his emotions so he can address his memory loss later, right now his best lead is this black coffin and the runes
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Not forgetting the stone itself—the diamond shaped stone—he thought of the possibility of extracting it some way and uncovering its origin; maybe he can find something. If nothing else, it might prove valuable and serve as a means to survive by selling it if necessary.
With determination, he extended his hand towards the stone and placed it on top. The moment he did that, he felt a force lock his hand to the stone, rendering it immobile.
The diamond-shaped stone began to glow in a beautiful crimson light, and the man sensed blood coming from the palm of his hand directly to the stone.
With each second, more blood was drained from his body through his palm, intensifying the glow of the stone to the point of illuminating the entire area and revealing his surroundings. That's when the nameless man was able to clearly see where he was.
He was inside a cave, probably underground. In the distance was a door-like shape; he guessed that was his way out. On the opposite side, just behind the coffin, there was a pillar that went from the ground all the way to the ceiling of the cave. The pillar, much like the coffin, was made from this dark stone material.
Realizing that he had no time to admire his surroundings, the nameless man grew dizzy from losing too much blood with each second. Suddenly, he collapsed, resting his head against the coffin.
A few moments later, the stone stopped draining blood from the man's hand, and the force that keeps his hand locked was now pushing his hand away from the stone. Seconds later, the coffin levitated into the air. The diamond stone was still glowing with the same crimson light.
'Ughhh! My head!' The nameless man shook his head as he regained some of his health.
A cracking sound was heard coming from inside the coffin. Weakened, the man took a few steps away from it, fearing that the coffin might explode at any moment. However, that didn't happen; instead, the coffin transformed into a black fire, leaving the red diamond at its center.
Curiously, the nameless man felt no heat emanating from the black fire, nor did it damage its surroundings; instead, the fire kept burning in the air around the red diamond.
The man was captivated by such a spectacle. He didn't know why, but somehow he felt that the black fire posed no harm to him. Overwhelmed by an unknown desire. The man hesitated for a moment asking himself
'Is approaching this fire a good idea?'
Sure, he felt that the fire wouldn't hurt him, but that can't be said for his surroundings. He feared that if the black fire spiraled out of control with him being trapped inside this cave, it would be the end of him. If the cave decided that it would be a great thing to collapse on him, Nevertheless, the nameless man found himself irresistibly drawn to the black fire, as if it were calling out to him and whispering secrets in his ears.
Surrendering to the call. He approached cautiously, reaching out his hand. Much to his relief, his guess was true: the fire did not harm him; on the contrary, the black fire brought him comfort and warmth. Not the sense that his skin was burning or anything like that, but warmth that surpassed physical sensations, as if a missing part of him had been restored.
Suddenly, the black fire started spinning around the red diamond like a tornado. The man instantly backed down. He didn't know what was going to happen, and he didn't want to take any chances.
The fire tornado kept going, but with each second, the black fire gradually diminished in size. When the nameless man forced his eyes on the red diamond, he noticed that the fire was being absorbed by it.
The process took only a few seconds until eventually all the fire that was spinning like a wild tornado was fully absorbed by the red diamond. The man didn't know what just happened or the meaning of it. The red diamond now glowed even brighter than before, shaking uncontrollably. Instinctively, the man shielded himself, expecting an imminent explosion.
"Oh no! You're not going to explode, are you?" He pleaded, his voice tinged with anxiety.
To his surprise, instead of an explosion, the red diamond transformed into a blazing red fire. A blazing red fire that out of nowhere and Without warning this red fire flew directly toward the nameless man striking his chest with a searing pain,
'Ughhh! Not again!'
Collapsing to his knees, he clutched his chest as the fiery sensation spread through his body, coursing through his veins. Darkness consumed his vision, and the last thing he heard before losing consciousness was a strange voice.
[System activated]
***
In an unknown place, a figure in menacing black armor sat atop a colossal rock beneath a blood-red sky.
His hand trembled, tightly gripping a sword resting on his shoulder. Eyes burning like flames under his helmet, the figure raised his head toward the sky and spoke a single line.
"Awake at last"