A distant echo reverberated through the vast darkness. The air was thick, heavy, with a faint glow that barely pushed back the shadows.  

—"Where... am I supposed to be?"  

My voice echoed into the void. I looked around, but all I found was absolute nothingness. A shiver ran down my spine. The last thing I remembered was being with my classmates... and then, that portal. A blinding light swallowed us, and in an instant, everything disappeared.  

—"Hello?! Is anyone here?!"  

Silence was my only answer.  

Was this a dream? I slapped my face repeatedly, but the sharp pain shattered any illusion that this was just a fantasy. Just as panic began to settle in, something changed.  

From above, a figure descended gracefully. A woman, wrapped in a celestial glow, floated before me. Her presence was overwhelming—almost suffocating.  

—"Mortal, I welcome you. I am Arka, goddess of hope and life."  

Her voice carried an absolute, undeniable power.  

—"I have brought you to this world because you are one of the chosen. This kingdom stands on the brink of destruction; monsters from the underworld and their demon king threaten to consume everything. From now on, you shall be a hero… and as a token of my gratitude for your sacrifice, I will grant you two blessings."  

My thoughts spiraled into chaos.  

—"What?! You didn't even ask me if I wanted to come! I was with my friends, where are they?!"  

Arka took a step forward, smiling sweetly. Something in her expression sent a chill through me.  

—"Silence magic."  

I tried to scream, but my throat clenched shut. My voice was gone.  

—"Don’t worry," she continued. "My first gift to you is **Regeneration**. You will never lose consciousness, no matter how much damage you take. Your body will heal over time, even severed limbs… but each wound will bring you unbearable agony."  

My breathing grew unsteady.  

—"My second gift is **Cloning**. You will be able to create copies of yourself to aid you in battle."  

I wanted to protest. I wanted to demand answers about my friends. But my lips remained sealed.  

—"That’s all for now," she said with a radiant smile. "I hope you survive. See you soon, hero."  

With a snap of her fingers, the world collapsed around me.  

---

The crushing weight in my chest vanished. A nauseating stench filled my lungs. The wind howled, whipping sand into the air with a sinister whistle.  

I opened my eyes.  

A crimson sky, stained as if with blood, stretched endlessly above me. All around, a desolate wasteland sprawled as far as I could see.  

The ground was littered with charred remains. Skeletons. Rusted weapons.  

—"Where the hell… am I now?"  

I scanned my surroundings, hoping to find someone—anyone—but there was no sign of life.  

—"Aren't heroes supposed to appear in a castle or something…?"  

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My voice wavered against the wind.  

Here I was. Alone. In an unknown world. With powers I never asked for and a fate I never wanted.  

Then, a sound tore through the silence.  

Something was approaching.  

Not just one.  

Hundreds.  

A horde of monsters emerged from the wasteland. Twisted creatures, grotesque chimeras towering over six meters, their contorted bodies and bloodshot eyes seething with madness.  

I ran.  

I ran without thinking.  

No direction. No plan. Just the overwhelming need to get away from **them**.  

My legs burned, my breath seared my throat, but I didn't stop until I lost sight of them.  

I stumbled, crashing onto the ground before what seemed to be an abandoned brick house. Damaged, but still standing.  

Shelter.  

I entered cautiously. The place was in ruins, but it held together. I ventured deeper, reaching a small room at the back.  

A bathroom.  

Two corpses.  

A man, slumped against the wall. And an infant, lying beside him.  

A shiver crawled down my spine.  

The man had a sword. Rusted, but still usable.  

I gripped it tightly. I didn't know what I’d have to fight, but I wasn’t planning to die without trying.  

Fear settled deep in my bones. I couldn’t process any of this.  

Ten minutes.  

Twenty.  

Thirty.  

Something entered the house.  

I saw the shadow through the crack in the door.  

A human… maybe?  

I cracked the door open just enough to peek.  

Tall. At least 1.90 meters. Lean, wearing a long coat and a wide-brimmed hat. A saber hung at his waist, giving him the air of an old western gunslinger.  

Our eyes met.  

He drew his saber, pointing it at the door.  

—"A human…? Here?"  

In an instant, the door was split in two.  

—"This area isn’t habitable. We’re too far from the settlement. How the hell are you still alive?"  

My heart pounded.  

—"Identify yourself. Now. Or the next thing I do will be splitting your head in two."  

I thought fast.  

"I should make up a name. I don’t know this guy—if he has bad intentions, I won’t be able to stop him."  

—"My name is Michael."  

—"Michael?"  

The man tightened his grip on his saber.  

And cut off my arm.  

A scream tore from my throat.  

—"AGHHH!!"  

I collapsed to my knees, the pain unbearable. I started to vomit.  

But I didn’t lose consciousness.  

I **couldn’t** lose consciousness.  

—"Why…?! Why did you cut off my arm?!"  

—"Because you're suspicious. That name is strange. Your clothes are weird. You don’t seem like you’re from any known settlement."  

He readied his blade for the final strike.  

The edge of his saber gleamed before my eyes.  

—"Sorry, kid. I can’t take any risks."  

My mind spiraled into chaos.  

Why was this happening?  

What did I do?  

Had I offended God?  

What about my family? My sister?  

It was all because of that damn goddess…  

The man raised his saber.  

—"May the goddess of life, Arka, guide you to the afterlife."  

The blade came down.  

My head rolled to the ground.  

Blood covered everything.  

And with that…  

I died.  

---

Or so I thought…  

A ragged gasp tore from my throat.  

—"Ahh! What the hell?!"  

My hands frantically searched my body. My arm… my head… they were still there! But I had seen it—I **knew** I had been cut.  

I froze, feeling the frantic pounding of my own heart. No pain, no wounds. My body was intact, as if nothing had happened.  

—"I was supposed to be dead… wasn’t I?"  

My thoughts collided, desperately searching for a logical explanation. Maybe I hit my head… yeah, that had to be it. A dream, a hallucination—anything but reality.  

I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself. The important thing was that I had woken up, and to my relief… I was in a city! Not an endless desert, not a barren wasteland swallowed by nothingness.  

—"I'm home!"  

That thought gave me strength. I stood up clumsily, letting the city unfold before me. But the more I looked, the less I recognized.  

Something was wrong.  

I loved history, architecture. I could identify almost any place with just a glance at its buildings, its streets, its structure. But this…  

This was nothing like anything I had ever seen.  

Narrow streets, flashing neon signs casting eerie glows over digital billboards, towering buildings with sharp angles and materials unfamiliar to me. Holographic screens projected ads in a language I understood… yet didn’t. The characters were completely foreign, but my mind processed them effortlessly.  

My breathing turned erratic.  

The closest thing to this would be a cyberpunk city… maybe China or Japan, with their fusion of technology and urban life. But no… this wasn’t either of those places.  

A cold chill crawled down my spine.  

My legs gave out, my back hitting the cold alley wall. I curled into the corner, my body trembling as my thoughts plunged into an abyss of uncertainty.  

No… this couldn’t be…  

—"I… I can’t be in another world…"  

My voice barely escaped my lips.  

My gaze was lost…