Thanks for your patience! Let's reset and focus on Chapter
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Gerson's eyes snapped open, the world around him blurry. He could still feel the echoes of the LAW's power swirling beneath his skin, a constant pulse that tugged at him, like the beating of a second heart. His body felt... heavier. The air tasted different, too, as if the very essence of the world had shifted.
The forest was still, too still. The birds weren't chirping, and the rustling of the trees seemed muted. There was no breeze. No sign of life.
He slowly rose to his feet, every muscle aching as if he'd been stretched to the breaking point. His hand instinctively went to his side, gripping the hilt of his sword. But the comfort of the familiar weight didn't reassure him this time. It felt distant, foreign.
The LAW had awakened something inside of him, something more than just strength or power. It was as if it had tapped into a hidden part of himself—a part he wasn't sure he understood. His thoughts felt foggy, fragmented, but there was a sense of urgency in the air now. He couldn't stay here in the forest forever. He had to keep moving, to keep figuring out what was happening to him.
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The trees loomed around him like silent sentinels. They hadn't been this oppressive before. Gerson felt their weight pressing down on him, as though the forest itself had grown sentient. He couldn't shake the feeling that something was watching him—waiting.
As he moved through the underbrush, trying to push past the suffocating silence, a strange sensation crawled across the back of his neck. He turned quickly, hand tight around the sword hilt. But there was nothing there—just shadows, twisting in the corner of his vision.
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He tried to shake it off, but the nagging unease wouldn't leave. It was the LAW. He knew it. It had already changed him, already shifted something deep within him, and he couldn't escape it. He was no longer the man who had walked into this world days ago. He was Called.
That word still echoed in his mind, reverberating with something he didn't want to understand. There was no turning back now. And deep down, Gerson knew that what awaited him wouldn't be an easy journey.
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As he continued through the dense forest, the path ahead seemed to stretch on endlessly. The world around him seemed muted, as though it had retreated into itself, leaving him to wander in silence.
It wasn't long before he heard it.
A voice.
Soft. Haunting.
> "So, you're still alive."
Gerson froze. His heart skipped a beat, and his hand tightened around the sword. The voice was so clear, so close, yet there was no one in sight.
> "Who's there?" Gerson demanded, his voice cutting through the stillness like a blade.
For a moment, there was only silence. Then, from the shadows between the trees, a figure stepped forward. A tall, cloaked man. His features were hidden beneath the dark folds of his hood, but Gerson could feel his eyes on him, as though the man were seeing right through him.
The figure's voice was smooth, unsettling.
> "So much power... yet you're still unsure of what you are. What you've become."
Gerson's grip on his sword tightened instinctively, his body tensing.
> "Who are you?" Gerson asked again, his voice now steady. He wasn't going to show weakness. Not now. Not with whatever this was looming before him.
The man didn't answer immediately. Instead, he took a step closer, his movements slow, deliberate. The air around him seemed to crackle, the silence stretching longer than it should.
> "I am someone who has seen this before," the man said softly, his voice laced with something Gerson couldn't quite place. "A chosen one... called by the LAW. Just like you."
The words hit Gerson with a force that left him reeling. Just like you. That was the first time anyone had confirmed that there were others like him. Others who had been Called.
> "I'm not like them," Gerson replied sharply, trying to shake off the unsettling feeling. "I don't want this. I didn't ask for any of it."
The figure tilted his head, the faintest hint of a smile curling beneath his hood.
> "No one asks for it. But the LAW doesn't care about your desires. It cares about what you can become. About what you will become."
Gerson felt the familiar weight of the power within him stir again, like a sleeping beast ready to awaken at any moment. But he wasn't sure if it was a blessing—or a curse.
The figure stepped closer still, his voice lowering to a whisper.
> "But you don't need to face it alone."
Gerson narrowed his eyes, his instincts screaming at him to stay wary.
> "What do you mean?" Gerson asked, his voice tight.
The figure smiled—a cold, knowing smile.
> "There are others. You will meet them soon enough. Some will fight with you. Others will fight against you. The LAW will test you. It will shape you. And when it does... you will know who you truly are."
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The man stepped back into the shadows, his words lingering in the air long after he had vanished from sight.
Gerson stood motionless, staring at the spot where the figure had been. His mind was racing. Other Called. Enemies. Allies. Tests.
He didn't know what was coming next, but he knew one thing: he couldn't trust anyone—not even the people who claimed to want to help him. The LAW was changing him, but what else would it take from him?
The questions gnawed at him, but there were no answers here. Only more uncertainty.
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Gerson turned and walked away, the weight of the unseen forces pressing down on him. The trees around him seemed to close in, as if they, too, were waiting for something.
And so, Gerson moved forward, the shadows of the LAW stretching out before him, ever watchful.
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