"Argh!!"
A scream ripped out of Jisung as he snagged a foot onto a tree’s root that was sticking out of the ground. Pain shot through his body as the ground faded into darkness. His right knee slamming into the ground so hard, the impact blurred his vision.
Then his face followed, his cheek splitting on something sharp as he ploughed headfirst into the mud.
He lay there for a moment, face down, tasting the wet soil as his body tried to understand what had just happened to it.
Then he heard the sound again.
Shriek!
He pressed himself flat to the ground. It was louder and nearer than before.
Every instinct he had fired at once and produced the same answer.
’Do not fucking move, Jisung. Do not make a damn sound.’
His heart slammed so hard within his chest that he could feel every beat in his throat. The forest around was completely pitch black. Cold rain fell through the trees, turning the forest floor into slick, sucking mud.
And the longer he looked, the darker it seemed.
Somewhere in that darkness, something was moving and making haunting sounds that terrified him.
He had seen one earlier. But that single glimpse told him exactly how much danger he was in.
The creature stood about three times his height. Its arms corded with muscle and where its head should have been, there was nothing but a massive mouth splitting the top of its torso open, rimmed with teeth that curved inward like hooks.
It had no eyes, nose or face. Just a large mouth that let out a loud shrieking that echoed through the quiet dark forest. And they hunted by sound.
This... Jisung had figured out a little too late.
As the creature moved through the trees four meters from where he lay, he could feel the vibration of each footstep on the ground beneath his chest.
Mud soaked through his clothes and he let it because he was now one with the ground. He pressed every part of himself into the earth and begged whatever was listening to make him invisible just this once.
He thought within himself.
’If I am quiet it’ll pass without noticing me. And then I can survive and get the hell out of here.’
That thought sounded comforting. But only for a split second because being quiet was one thing.
Staying quiet however, was a whole different situation.
The pain from his knee ran through his entire body. His face was half deep in the mud which made breathing a little more difficult. And he lay twisted and uncomfortably in the mud. Parts of his body were already completely numb.
Jisung began to sob quietly.
Slowly, a rather loud sob climbed his throat without permission. It was small and barely worth worrying about, he had thought. It was a wet hitch of breath that escaped before he could swallow it back down.
But he was wrong. It was loud enough to make the creature stop moving.
’Shit.’
He prayed silently as something cracked from behind him.
Then a second time.
Whatever it was, it was coming from the opposite direction. He was now caught between the creature from before and the new one approaching from behind.
He pushed up on trembling arms, trying to rise without a sound. All he wanted now was to run. But his bruised leg buckled the moment it took weight and he lurched sideways with a short sharp gasp of pain.
The sound drew both creatures attention. And they turned toward him simultaneously.
"No, no." He cried. "No!"
He scrambled backward across the mud on his hands and the back of his thighs. The movement as ugly and desperate as it looked, coupled with tears running freely down his face, were his last line of defense.
The two creatures closed from opposite sides, their mouths filled with hunger as their torsos spread wider and wider, shrieking at frequencies that sent shivers down his spine.
"Please." He begged. His voice had nothing left in it. "Please don’t kill me. I don’t want to..."
The first one reached for him. What followed had no clean sequence to it. He felt an enormous grip around his ankle and his view of the forest suddenly inverting as he was lifted.
Then a shriek came from the second creature as it arrived from his left. Suddenly, both of them had him, pulling him in opposite directions. Fighting over him.
Jisung hung between them while the forest spun in an unfamiliar fashion. As he was being lifted and tossed, he thought within himself.
’But... I don’t want to die.’
Gradually, his vision blurred and a strange thought surfaced.
’I never got to live the life I envisioned. Doing what everyone else wanted and expected, I believed that was the right way to live. I guess I was wrong. After everything... I just died. Funny isn’t it?’
Slowly, the forest went dark.
Silence.
Then... a message rang out.
Ding!
Jisung opened his eyes. He gasped. A translucent blue screen was hovered before his face.
[You Have Died]
"W-what is this?" he whispered, voice echoing strangely.
[System Compatibility Scan Initiating]
[Scan Complete. Compatibility: 100%]
[System Unlock In Progress...]
[System Unlock Complete]
[100 Coins Have Been Rewarded]
’Where am I?’ Jisung thought. ’Why can’t I see anything? Why can’t I... feel anything?’ he gasped. ’Is this... heaven?’
[You Have Unlocked A Unique Ability]
[Regression Lv.1]
[300 Coins Have Been Rewarded]
’Wait. Wait, w-what is Regression?’
[Regression Sequence Initiating...]
’ ...Huh?’
Instantly, his mind bore the weight of countless memories all at once. Each one tore at him as it flashed by, too overwhelming to endure.
It felt physical. Like something inside him was being pulled apart. But before he could even scream... It was gone.
All memories, except one.
Jisung’s eyes tore open to morning sunlight. His body jerked upright, breath coming out in a rough gasp as if he had been drowning.
Then it hit him. That one memory still burning at the edge of his mind.
"Monsterrrr!"
A guard just few meters away, flinched and grabbed his colleague’s arm instinctively.
"What was that?!" He asked as his second hand reached for his radio.
His colleague shook his head. Slowly, they both turned toward the source of the loud screams and heavy breathing.
A young man was sitting upright on a bench, both hands clamped around his throat, gasping for air.
"Hey, Kid!" The first guard called out. He was already moving closer.
No response. The man was breathing in short violent pulls, eyes fully open but not seeing anything in front of him. A small crowd was already forming, pointing and whispering to each other.
"Hey, kid."
The guard called again. But still, no response. He whispered to the second guard.
"Should we call this in?"
"Not yet. It looks like a crash out. It’s quite common around here. Let’s just watch and see."
Jisung couldn’t hear them. He was too busy running his hands over his own face. He pressed his cheeks, feeling the softness of his own skin. There was no mud, no blood, no pain. There was... nothing.
He reached for his knee. No bruises.
"What is going on?" he asked no one in particular, voice as low as a whisper.
"Kid." A hand landed softly on his shoulder. "Everything okay?"
Jisung looked up at the bewildered face of the guard trying to do his job and clearly unprepared for whatever this was.
He smiled.
The guard blinked in confusion. He turned to his colleague.
"...are you seeing this?"
"Shh!"
The second guard responded, already pulling out his radio when the smile on Jisung’s face spread wider and wider and suddenly burst into laughter.
"I’m alive." He said out loud, laughing hysterically. "I’m alive!"
"Reallyyy?!" Everyone in crowd exclaimed. But Jisung’s only response was to laugh even more.
The small crowd that had gathered exchanged uncertain but disappointed glances and gradually, each person took a step back. One by one, they peeled away and returned to their own business like nothing had happened.
The two guards exchanged glances and only shook their head as they walked back to their post.
On the way back, another guard jogged over to his colleagues. "Hey, what was that about?" He asked.
Then first guard removed his cap, ran a hand through his hair and put it back on.
"Waste of time. Don’t worry about it." He said, and walked away.
The second only chuckled and motioned over to Jisung. "One of the weird kids."
More people passed by Jisung while he was in that state and only hissed and looked away. One murmured to herself, "He’s probably on drugs. Kids nowadays."
But Jisung didn’t give attention to the reactions he was getting. He should feel happy and he did. He smiled as he stared straight ahead as a line began to form. It was the Awakening Trial Registration Center. The sun lit up the street full of ordinary people moving through an ordinary morning.
This was nice. He felt nice too.
But not entirely. Something else was bugging him but he couldn’t put it into words just yet.
Still taking in this new feeling, he heard someone call his name.
"Jisung-ah!"
He spun. The Registration Official from that morning stood a few feet away, holding a clipboard in one hand.
Jisung’s eyes lit with recognition. It was Seojun.
’But wait, didn’t I see him already this morning?’ he thought as he watched the official walk over and sit calmly beside him.
Seojun placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Hey. Are you good?" He asked with concern in his voice.
Jisung nodded slowly, fighting back the thought that this conversation had happened already.
"It’s alright." He said warmly. "Everyone freaks out just before their Awakening Trial. Every single person on that line right now is just as scared as you are."
"The Awakening?" Jisung repeated over and over again like he was hearing those words for the first time. His head began to spin.
’Didn’t I do that already?’ he watched as a smile spread out warmly on the Seojun’s face.
He chuckled and ruffled Jisung’s hair.
"Jisung-ah, you’re too old to be acting this innocent. Get in line. It’s about to begin."
He got up, offered a nod of encouragement. "You’ve got this." He said and walked toward the registration desk.
But Jisung did not move. He sat in the early morning sun, scanning everything slowly.
The line of twenty-two year olds at the entrance. The officials with their clipboards. The banners displaying the ’The time has come. Be Awakened’ poster that hung just above the registration desk. The ordinary street beyond the gates where people were buying breakfast and walking dogs and existing in the complete oblivious safety of a morning that had not tried to kill them yet.
And none of it made any sense.
He had been here before. He had stood in that line just this morning. He had walked through those doors and run through a dark forest and died screaming in the mud while something without a face tore him apart.
And it seemed... none of it had happened yet.
’Was it all a dream? Or is this... a dream?’
He slapped his cheek. "Wake up, Jisung! Wake... the fuck... up!"
Just as he raised his hand for a third slap, a message rang in his ear.
Ding!
[Congratulations!]
He flinched, almost falling off the bench and looked up at the transparent blue screen hovering before his face.
He ran a hand and it went through it. "What is this..." He said to know one in particular.
[Regression Complete]
[A New Story Has Been Recorded]
[The Sole Regressor]
[5000 Coins Have Been Rewarded]
He read the message and held his breath as many thoughts flooded his mind, but none of them settled. Before he could grasp even one, a new message appeared.
[SYSTEM ANNOUNCEMENT]
[Participant Yu Jisung Is The First Recorded Individual In History To Unlock A God Class System]
[100 Coins Have Been Rewarded]
[A New Story Has Been Recorded]
[I Am God Class]
[5000 Coins Have Been Rewarded]
[Total Coins in Possession: 10,500]
’’’
Author’s Note: If you’re enjoying the novel, don’t forget to add it to your library and show some support. It really helps!
’’’