The body of the creature lay still on the ground, its fur matted with blood.

I didn’t want to look at it anymore. My chest was still heaving, my hands slick with sweat—or maybe it was blood. I wasn’t sure.

The world around me was quiet again, the only sound the faint hum of the wind across the strange glass-like ground.

“Okay,” I muttered, taking a shaky step back. “Okay, what now?”

My leg throbbed where the creature’s claws had raked across it. The wound wasn’t deep, but it hurt like hell. I tore a strip from the hem of my shirt, wincing as I wrapped it around the cut.

The chime rang again, softer this time. A faint glow appeared in the corner of my vision:

[QUEST: SURVIVE THE NIGHT.]

“Yeah, no kidding,” I muttered bitterly.

I started walking, not knowing where I was going. The jagged, shimmering ground stretched out in every direction, broken only by strange, twisted formations rising like spires into the dark sky.

The air was cold, biting at my skin with every step. My breath came out in faint puffs, visible against the eerie light that seemed to come from nowhere.

I tried to focus on the glow of the Status Window, which hovered just out of reach. It felt like the only thing tethering me to reality.

[NAME: HIRO TANAKA]

[LEVEL: 2]

[CLASS: CHRONOMANCER]

[SKILLS: REWIND (LIMITED)]

I frowned. “What the hell am I supposed to do with that?”

No answer came.

I didn’t see the second creature until it was almost on me.

It came out of nowhere, a blur of motion that knocked me flat on my back. My head hit the ground hard, stars exploding behind my eyes.

The thing stood over me, its teeth bared in a snarl. It was smaller than the first one but just as deadly. I scrambled backward, my hands slipping on the slick ground.

“Damn it—!”

Before I could move, there was a flash of steel.

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A sword cut through the air, slicing cleanly through the creature’s neck. It let out a gurgling cry before collapsing in a heap beside me.

I stared up at my savior, blinking through the haze of adrenaline.

She was tall, lean, and dressed in a tattered coat that looked like it had seen better days. Her dark hair was tied back in a messy braid, and her sharp green eyes narrowed as they locked onto me.

“Get up,” she said curtly, sliding her sword back into its sheath.

I scrambled to my feet, my heart still pounding. “Th-thank you. I—”

“Don’t thank me,” she cut in, brushing past me. “You’re lucky I was here, but I don’t babysit strays. If you want to live, start paying attention.”

I blinked, taken aback. “Wait, I—what’s going on? Where am I?”

She stopped, turning to give me a long, scrutinizing look. Her expression was unreadable, but I could see the way her hand hovered near the hilt of her sword.

“You’re new,” she said flatly.

I nodded, swallowing hard. “I… I think so. I just woke up here, and I don’t know—”

“Save it,” she interrupted. “I don’t care about your backstory. If you want to live, keep up. Otherwise, you’re on your own.”

I didn’t have much of a choice but to follow her.

She moved quickly, her footsteps silent against the strange ground. I struggled to keep up, the makeshift bandage on my leg slowing me down.

“Hey, wait,” I said, limping after her. “Can you at least tell me what’s going on? Where is this place? What are those things?”

She sighed, not bothering to look back at me. “You’re in Aetherion. Those things? Call them what you want—beasts, monsters, whatever. They’re everywhere. And unless you get stronger, they’ll kill you.”

“Aetherion?” I repeated, the word unfamiliar on my tongue. “What is this, some kind of game?”

Her lips twitched, like she was suppressing a laugh. “Yeah, something like that. Except there’s no respawn. You die here, you die for good.”

Her words sent a chill down my spine. I thought of the glowing Status Window, the strange chime, and the pulsing ache in my chest. None of it felt real.

“Why are you helping me, then?” I asked.

She stopped abruptly, turning to face me. Her green eyes were cold, calculating.

“I’m not,” she said. “I’m helping myself. You’re bait. Now keep moving.”

It wasn’t long before we ran into another pack of beasts. This time, there were three of them—bigger and faster than the ones I’d seen before.

Kiera didn’t hesitate. She drew her sword and charged, moving with a precision that took my breath away.

“Don’t just stand there!” she snapped, her voice cutting through the chaos.

I gritted my teeth, clutching the shard of glass in my hand. My heart pounded as I stepped forward, my legs shaking beneath me.

The first beast lunged at me, its jaws snapping inches from my face. I swung wildly, managing to graze its side. It recoiled, snarling, but I didn’t stop.

Something shifted in the corner of my vision:

[REWIND AVAILABLE.]

I hesitated, my grip tightening on the shard. My breathing was ragged, my mind racing.

“Focus!” Kiera shouted, slicing through another beast with a single swing.

I swallowed hard, forcing myself to move.

The battle was a blur of blood and snarls, my body acting on instinct more than anything else. When it was over, I was on my knees, gasping for breath.

Kiera wiped the blood off her blade, glancing down at me with a faint smirk.

“Not bad for a first-timer,” she said. “But if you freeze up like that again, you won’t survive long.”

I nodded weakly, my hands trembling.

“Get used to it.”