The forest burned — not with flame, but with quiet death.
Leo stumbled back from the twisted corpse of the creature he had just slain, its shadow-warped body crumbling into smoke and splinters. His heart thundered like a war drum, his breath shallow and raw. The battle hadn't lasted long, but the fear had stretched it into eternity.
He stared at his hands, shaking, bloodied, trembling from the tension still clinging to his muscles.
Then the pulse came — the strange, cold chime that echoed not in the air, but inside his skull.
"⟪Skill Acquired: Shadow Step⟫
Rank: D (Standard Tier)
Effect: Instantly dash through shadows within 3 meters. Cooldown: 10 seconds.
Soul Resonance: 11%⟫"
A flicker of warmth slid across his chest — a ripple of connection, not quite physical. Leo blinked as a rush of foreign knowledge flooded his mind. He could feel the movement, the way the shadows called to him.
He wasn't sure if it was thrilling or terrifying.
"Okay," he whispered. "That's new."
He scanned the broken clearing around him. The beast had come out of nowhere, as if summoned by his presence. The forest here felt diseased, like something deeper than rot was threading through its roots. Ash coated the underbrush. Bark peeled from trees in strange spirals. And the deeper he went, the more the silence swallowed sound.
He took a breath and activated his next skill — something that had appeared not long before the creature attacked.
"⟪Soul Sense⟫
Rank: E
Effect: Detect nearby living beings or soul distortions within 5 meters.⟫"
A pulse rippled out from his body — soft, invisible. The world returned only a faint hum of dying grass and distant things he couldn't yet see.
He was alone.
But not for long, he suspected.
Leo moved carefully, navigating the strange terrain. He wasn't sure how long he'd been walking — this world had no clock, no phone, nothing familiar. He relied on instincts now. The air was thick with distant humming — magical or alive, he couldn't tell.
He crossed a shallow stream tinged with violet shimmer, passed broken stones that looked too deliberately placed to be natural, and eventually reached a clearing where fog pooled at ankle-height.
Then something changed.
The air grew colder. The fog thickened unnaturally, curling upward like breath exhaled in slow motion.
His Soul Sense pulsed — and triggered.
"⟪Soul Sense Triggered⟫
Entity Detected: Unknown. Distance: 23 meters. Affinity: Nature | Neutral.⟫"
Leo froze, hand tightening instinctively — around nothing. No sword, no weapon. Just fists and fear.
A shadow moved ahead. Then footsteps — quiet, sure, deliberate.
Out of the mist stepped a tall woman, cloaked in forest green. Her hair was pale, woven with leaves. She carried no weapon that he could see, but her stance told him she didn't need one.
She stopped ten paces away, sharp eyes scanning him like a riddle she hadn't solved yet.
"You're not from here," she said softly.
Leo took a breath, then nodded once. "No. I'm not."
The woman tilted her head. Her gaze flicked to the subtle glow at the side of his neck — the system mark he hadn't even realized was visible.
"You're Soulbound."
Leo hesitated. Then: "So they keep telling me."
Her expression darkened as she glanced behind him — where the corrupted beast's remnants still smoldered, barely visible in the fog.
"You killed that alone?"
Leo shrugged. "It tried to eat me. I objected."
She didn't smile. "You're lucky it was only half-formed. A full Hollowborn would've torn you apart."
"I didn't feel lucky."
She stepped closer, expression wary but not hostile. "I'm Aerin. Scout of the Verdant Watch."
"Leo."
"You shouldn't be alone here, Leo."
He nodded, silently. He already knew that.
Then the system chimed again.
"⟪New Quest: Journey to the Verdant Watchpost⟫
Objective: Follow Aerin to safety.
Reward: 200 EXP | 1 Skill Insight | System Map Fragment⟫"
Leo exhaled. "Guess that settles it."
Aerin turned and gestured for him to follow.
He did.
And behind them, the forest whispered louder.