I gasped awake, lungs straining like I’d just surfaced from deep water. The air felt colder than it should’ve, sharp and biting against my skin.
I blinked, my vision blurry. Above me stretched an endless sky—not gray with rain, but black and starless. No moon. Just… nothing.
The ground beneath me was strange. Not pavement, not dirt—something rough and uneven, like shards of broken glass. I sat up slowly, wincing as sharp points dug into my palms. My head throbbed, each pulse sending a wave of nausea through me.
“What…?” My voice came out hoarse, barely audible.
I looked around. The landscape was barren, stretching out in jagged planes that shimmered faintly in the dark. It wasn’t earth. It wasn’t anything I’d ever seen.
Where was I?
A faint chime rang out, soft but clear, like a bell far off in the distance. I froze, every hair on my body standing on end.
Then it appeared.
[STATUS WINDOW LOADING…]
The words floated in front of me, glowing faintly against the darkness. I blinked, but they didn’t disappear. They hung in the air, flickering like an old CRT screen.
“What the hell?” I whispered, reaching out instinctively. My fingers passed through the letters, leaving ripples in the light.
[NAME: HIRO TANAKA]
[CLASS: CHRONOMANCER]
[LEVEL: 1]
[HEALTH: 100/100]
[MANA: 50/50]
[SKILLS AVAILABLE]
A dull ache pounded in the back of my head. My name, my class… It didn’t make sense. This wasn’t some kind of dream, was it?
“Chronomancer,” I muttered, staring at the word. I didn’t even know what that meant.
Before I could think too much, another line appeared:
The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
[TUTORIAL: SURVIVAL.]
The chime rang again, louder this time. I winced, glancing around as the hairs on my neck prickled.
Somewhere in the distance, I heard a low growl.
It started faint, like a distant rumble, but it grew louder with every passing second. My chest tightened as I scrambled to my feet, slipping on the uneven ground.
That’s when I saw it.
Two glowing yellow eyes pierced the darkness, moving closer. Slowly at first, then faster. A creature emerged from the shadows, its body long and sinuous, covered in black fur that bristled like quills. Its mouth was filled with jagged teeth, and its claws clicked against the strange glassy ground.
It wasn’t big—maybe the size of a large dog—but that didn’t make it any less terrifying.
My legs locked, my breath caught in my throat.
It growled again, its body low to the ground as it stalked toward me.
“Okay, okay, think,” I muttered to myself, backing away. My heart pounded so hard I thought it might burst. “What do I do? What the hell do I do?”
The creature lunged.
I threw myself to the side, hitting the ground hard. Pain shot through my shoulder, but I didn’t stop. I scrambled backward as the thing whirled around, snarling.
I felt something sharp dig into my palm—a shard of the ground, jagged and glass-like. Without thinking, I grabbed it and held it out in front of me like a knife.
The creature growled, circling me. I could see its muscles tensing, coiling like a spring.
“Stay back,” I said, my voice trembling. It didn’t listen.
When it lunged again, I swung the shard wildly. I felt it connect—a sickening crunch as the edge sliced into the creature’s side. It yelped, twisting away, but I wasn’t fast enough.
Its claws raked across my leg, and I screamed. Blood spilled onto the ground, dark and shimmering in the faint light.
I clutched my leg, gritting my teeth as the creature crouched again, ready for another attack.
Something shifted.
I didn’t know how to describe it, but it felt like the air itself bent around me, heavy and charged. The creature froze, its growl tapering off into a low whine.
Then I saw it—a faint glow pulsing in the corner of my vision.
[SKILL UNLOCKED: REWIND]
I didn’t have time to question it. The moment I thought the word—Rewind—the world shattered.
Everything blurred, colors and shapes twisting like water spiraling down a drain. My body moved without moving, like I was falling backward into myself.
Then, suddenly, I was standing again. My leg wasn’t bleeding anymore. The shard was still in my hand, and the creature was stalking toward me—exactly where it had been moments before.
“What… just happened?” My voice trembled, but I didn’t have time to dwell on it.
This time, I didn’t hesitate. As the creature lunged, I sidestepped and drove the shard into its neck. It let out a strangled cry, collapsing to the ground.
I stared at the body, my chest heaving. My hands shook, and I dropped the shard, wiping the blood off on my shirt.
The chime rang again, breaking the silence.
[EXP GAINED. LEVEL UP.]
I didn’t feel stronger. I didn’t feel victorious. All I felt was the weight of the blood on my hands and the pounding question in my head:
Where am I?