Pain was the first thing he felt—sharp, searing pain that seemed to cut through every part of him. It wasn’t physical pain, at least not in the way he had known before. It was something deeper, more visceral, like his very existence was being torn apart.

Then there was the hunger, gnawing at him like a wild beast. It was a hunger so profound, so overwhelming, that it consumed his every thought. He had never known such need before, not in the life he vaguely remembered. In that life, he had known suffering, yes, but nothing like this.

The memories of that life were hazy, like trying to recall a dream after waking. He remembered being 25, sickly and frail, born with a body that had betrayed him from the start. Hospitals had been his second home, with doctors poking and prodding, always telling him that there wasn’t much they could do. His parents had been his only solace, the only ones who truly cared. But they had been taken from him, ripped away in a tragic accident that left him alone in a world that seemed eager to swallow him whole.

He had been naïve, too trusting, and his relatives had seen an opportunity. They swooped in like vultures, taking advantage of his grief and weakness. They had promised to take care of him, but instead, they took everything his parents had left behind. The house, the money, the little security he had—it was all gone. When he had realized what they had done, it was too late. Penniless and abandoned, he had been left to die alone, his body wasting away in a dingy apartment, forgotten by the world.

But was that really how it had ended? He couldn’t remember. All he knew now was pain and hunger.

He opened his eyes—or at least, he thought he did. There was nothing around him but an endless void, stretching out in all directions. It wasn’t black or white or any color he could name. It simply was, a vast nothingness that seemed to go on forever. And floating in that void were… orbs. Dozens of them, hundreds, maybe thousands, each one glowing with a faint light.

He didn’t know what they were, but he knew that he needed them. The hunger drove him forward, and he reached out—or maybe he just willed himself—to move toward the closest orb. It drifted into his grasp, and as soon as he touched it, something happened.

The orb shattered, and he felt a rush of energy surge through him. It was like taking a breath after being underwater for too long, like drinking water after days in the desert. The hunger eased, just a little, and he felt… fuller, more complete.

He didn’t stop to question it. The hunger was still there, still gnawing at him, so he moved to the next orb, and the next. Each one he devoured made him feel stronger, more alive. The pain began to fade, replaced by a growing sense of power. But with each orb he consumed, the hunger grew too, as if feeding it only made it worse.

He didn’t know how long he spent in that void, drifting from one orb to the next, consuming them one by one. Time didn’t seem to have any meaning here. It could have been minutes or years. All that mattered was the hunger and the need to sate it.

But as he continued to feed, something began to change. The void around him started to shift, the orbs becoming more sparse, and he began to feel something else—pressure, like he was being stretched thin, like the energy he was absorbing was too much for him to contain.

He ignored it at first, too focused on the hunger. But the feeling grew, becoming more and more intense, until it was impossible to ignore. It was as if he was a balloon being filled with too much air, on the verge of bursting.

He stopped, hesitating for the first time since he had awakened in this place. The hunger was still there, but now it was mixed with fear. What would happen if he kept feeding? Would he explode, scattering his essence into the void? Would he cease to exist altogether?

He didn’t know, and that terrified him.

But the hunger wouldn’t let him stop. It clawed at him, urging him to continue, to keep feeding until there was nothing left. He looked at the nearest orb, hesitating. Could he risk it? Could he afford not to?

Before he could decide, something happened. The void around him began to pulse, a low, rhythmic thrum that vibrated through his entire being. It was like a heartbeat, slow and steady, and with each pulse, the pressure inside him grew.

He didn’t have a choice anymore. The orb floated in front of him, and he reached out, his fingers brushing against its surface. It shattered, and the energy surged into him, more intense than any he had absorbed before. The pressure became unbearable, and he screamed—though there was no sound in the void.

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His vision blurred, the edges of his consciousness fraying as the energy threatened to tear him apart. He tried to hold on, to keep himself together, but it was too much. He was too full, too heavy, too—

The void exploded in a blinding flash of light, and everything went dark.

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When he awoke again, he wasn’t in the void anymore. He was somewhere else, somewhere that felt… real. He was lying on something solid, something soft, and when he opened his eyes, he saw a ceiling above him, wooden beams and thatch, dimly lit by the flickering glow of a fire.

He sat up, his head spinning. The hunger was gone, replaced by a strange sense of fullness, like he had eaten too much. He felt… heavy, but not in a bad way. More like he was grounded, anchored in this new reality.

He looked around, taking in his surroundings. He was in a small, rustic room, furnished with simple wooden furniture. There was a bed, a chair, and a small table, all rough-hewn and worn. The fire crackled in a stone hearth, casting shadows on the walls. It was a cozy place, the kind of room you’d find in a cottage in the countryside.

But he didn’t recognize it. This wasn’t the world he had known before.

He stood up, feeling the weight of his body. He was stronger than he had been in his old life, more solid. He could feel the muscles in his legs, the strength in his arms. He wasn’t frail anymore, wasn’t weak. But he also wasn’t… human, not entirely. There was something different about him, something that he couldn’t quite put into words.

He caught a glimpse of himself in a cracked mirror on the wall. His reflection stared back at him, and he barely recognized the face that he saw. He looked younger, healthier, but there was something else—something in his eyes, a glow that hadn’t been there before.

He turned away, unsettled by the sight. He needed to figure out where he was, what had happened to him. The last thing he remembered was the void, the hunger, and the orbs. Had he been reborn somehow? Was this a new life, or some kind of afterlife?

Before he could ponder further, the door to the room creaked open, and a figure stepped inside. It was a woman, tall and slender, with long dark hair and piercing blue eyes. She wore a simple dress, but there was something regal about her, something that spoke of power and authority.

She looked at him with a mix of curiosity and concern. “You’re awake,” she said, her voice soft but firm. “I wasn’t sure if you would make it.”

He stared at her, unsure of what to say. There were so many questions swirling in his mind, but he didn’t know where to start.

The woman seemed to sense his confusion. She stepped closer, her gaze steady. “You’ve been through something extraordinary,” she said. “Something that very few survive. But you did survive, and now… now you must learn to live in this world.”

He frowned, trying to make sense of her words. “This world?” he repeated, his voice hoarse and unfamiliar.

She nodded. “You’re not in the world you once knew. This is a different place, a different reality. You were brought here… or rather, you were remade here.”

“Remade?” The word felt strange on his tongue.

The woman smiled, though there was a sadness in her eyes. “Yes. The void you were in, the orbs you consumed—they were the essence of life, of power. You absorbed them, and in doing so, you changed. You are no longer the man you once were. You are something… more.”

He shook his head, struggling to understand. “But why? Why did this happen?”

She sighed, sitting down in the chair by the fire. “I don’t know all the answers,” she admitted. “But I do know that you are not the first to come here in this way. There are others like you, beings who were once human but have become something else. Something powerful.”

“Powerful?” He glanced at his hands, wondering if he truly had changed as much as she said. “What am I now?”

“That is for you to discover,” the woman said. “Your journey is just beginning, and it will not be an easy one. But know this—you have the potential to be great, to wield power beyond anything you could have imagined in your old life. But with that power comes danger, and many who seek it will stop at nothing to take it from you.”

He felt a chill run down his spine at her words. “What do I do?” he asked, his voice trembling.

The woman stood, her expression serious. “You survive. You learn. And most importantly, you do not trust easily. This world is filled with those who would exploit your naivety, just as your relatives did in your previous life.”

He flinched at the reminder of his past, the pain of betrayal still fresh in his mind. “How do you know about that?”

She looked at him with a knowing gaze. “I know more than you realize. But that is a story for another time. For now, you must rest. Gather your strength. There is much you need to learn, and you will need all the strength you can muster.”

He wanted to protest, to demand more answers, but he could feel the exhaustion creeping in, the weight of everything that had happened pressing down on him. The hunger may have been gone, but the weariness remained.

“Who are you?” he asked, his voice barely more than a whisper.

The woman smiled faintly. “You may call me Elara. I am here to guide you, at least for now. But understand this—you must walk this path on your own. I can only show you the way.”

He nodded slowly, the reality of his situation starting to sink in. He was in a new world, with a new body, new powers, and a new life. Whatever he had been before, whoever he had been, was gone. All that remained was the hunger, the need to survive.

And perhaps, if he was strong enough, to find a purpose in this strange, new existence.

As he lay back down, his mind swirling with questions and fears, he knew one thing for certain: this was only the beginning. And whatever challenges lay ahead, he would face them with a resolve he had never known in his previous life.

Because now, he was no longer weak. No longer helpless. He was something more, something stronger.

And he would never let himself be taken advantage of again.