But there was nothing. No movement, no sound beyond the running water, making it harder to focus on both my surroundings and the ongoing voice in my head.
[Reigncraft: Unlocked.]
[Initializing.]
[...]
[Success.]
Thank God. But now what?
Subject: Elio Welchia
Age: 28
Health: Stable
Mental State: Deteriorating
Reign Index: 0.00%
Reigncraft: Seed
Integrity: Unstable (Crownless)
Abilities Manifested:
- Law of Continuance (High Risk)
- Veilstep
“What does all that mean?” I whispered, irritation cracking through the fear, peeking around the side of a colossal tree. “And where is the damn danger you speak of, Ephe?”
[Above.]
“Oh.”
My breath caught. I tilted my head upward, the sunlight burning my eyes, but adrenaline drowned the pain.
And there they were.
Perched in the sparse greenery of the trees high above the creek stood three figures, dressed head to toe in animal pelts.
Bows drawn. Eyes locked.
Two of them were women, lean, strong, their oak-brown skin gleaming beneath the sun, hair tightened and held in place with leather strips, making their dark eyes even harsher and full of malice.
The third was a man, broad-shouldered, dreadlocked, with the sharp eyes of an eagle and the grin of a maniac.
Perhaps in their eyes, I was just prey. Not the kind of human interaction I wanted for my first encounter in this place.
“Ephe, could I salvage this by talking with them?” I asked, ducking further behind the tree. “Or should I run back to the castle?”
[Continue Existing.]
“Brilliant,” I clapped. “Any tips on how to use those abilities you mentioned?”
But Ephe did not answer, leaving me alone to process what I was supposed to do.
“You make a terrible job at aiding me in continuing to exist, Ephe,” I sighed, closing my eyes for a moment to think.
I was no fighter, no athlete. I was a man who would rather read a book, write poetry, and cuddle.
So, on a whim, I raised my hands, arms half-extended past the trunk, toward the three angry figures up in the greenery.
“I want no quarrel!” I called out. “I am unarmed!”
Whispers rippled through the branches, muffled by the creek below. Then the man barked something in a harsh, foreign tongue, and an arrow buried itself in the trunk inches from my visible hands.
That was an answer in itself.
The man, clearly their leader, hissed another command, silencing the women the moment they started whispering.
Language barrier, cultural barrier, plain curiosity, or bloodlust, it didn’t matter. I had to go.
I peeked once more, just in time to see the women descend with terrifying ease, gripping the bark like it was a rope. The man didn’t bother climbing.
He leapt. From one massive tree to the next, catching himself with his free hand.
They weren’t the same type of humans I was.
I couldn’t outrun them.
“Ephe!” I shouted, stumbling backward, then bolting back the way I came. “If you want me to ‘continue existing,’ tell me how to use those damn abilities!”
An arrow hissed past my shoulder, thudding into the ground ahead.
I zig-zagged instinctively, changing directions at random. Another arrow tore through the air beside me, close enough that I could hear the whistle before it struck a tree.
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
“Ephe!” I yelled again, lungs on fire. “Say something!”
Adrenaline was one hell of a feeling, able to push me farther than I ever thought possible in such a situation. But I never could have imagined such a situation happening to me.
Still, I was faster, lighter, almost confident. For a moment, I believed I might actually escape.
Then… I looked back. The women were less than fifteen feet away.
Out of arrows and clearly angry.
But I couldn't see the man. Where was he?
“I swear to God!” I gasped, pushing my body harder. My chest burned, my legs screamed, and still I ran.
Why wasn’t Ephe answering? Why unlock abilities if she wouldn’t tell me how to use them?
I tried to think of the games Julia used to play, the anime, the manga, the shows, the books, and how those people used them.
Maybe I had to say it. Maybe I had to feel it.
“Veilstep!” I shouted.
…
Nothing.
“L-Law of Continuance!”
Still nothing.
I risked a glance back again.
The women were less than ten feet away and closing in.
I was nearing the castle, just a few more minutes, and I’d be safe. At least, that’s what I kept telling myself.
But something was wrong.
The back of my neck tingled, a dread creeping in. It happened once before when I got that call from the hospital, calling me in urgently.
That instinctive dread that claws at your gut before your mind catches up, the day I found out my wife had passed away. But what was it now?
The man...
Where the fuck was he?
I glanced around as I ran, the ground, my left, my right, searching the trees, but he wasn't anywhere to be found.
Only to realize his location too late, as a shadow swept across the dirt a few feet ahead of me.
I barely had time to look up before he came down.
There was no way to stop and be caught by the women, nor any room to turn in less than a second.
He fell from the canopy like a thunderbolt, landing right in my path a few feet away just as I was approaching, sending dust in all directions.
Twice my size was an understatement when looking at the man in front of me, as he raised the wooden part of his bow above his head.
He knew I didn’t have the time or the choice to stop. There was only forward for me.
My heart was racing, my eyes teary from the strain, the haemolacria making itself known as blood mixed with the tears as the distance between us closed in at a fast pace.
If they caught me, I would most likely die. And willing or not, I had to accept it.
Hopefully, it wouldn’t be as painful as being brought back to life. But truth be told, I didn’t want to die like this. It lacked the power I held over my own life, the choice, MY choice to end it or not.
Time seemed to slow down to a standstill as Ephe’s voice echoed in my head.
[Defiance over Natural Law - Registered.]
[Defiance over Finality - Registered.]
[Reign Index Increased: 0.00% -> 0.02%]
[Law of Continuation - Activated.]
[Beware.]
[Usage of High Risk Ability will lead to the Destruction of-]
[Action stopped by the Custodians.]
Time sped up again, making me almost lose my balance in the confusion of it all, just as I was less than two feet away from the incoming bow strike.
“Agh!” the man roared, eyes hungry, teeth bare like a beast.
[Veilstep - Activated.]
I closed my eyes tight, not prepared for the pain that was about to follow.
But even after three whole seconds, it never did.
I opened my eyes, confused, just to realize that the world had lost all its vibrant colors.
I blinked, turning to the man in front of me, hearing how his roar turned silent, bow frozen in space, its momentum at a standstill.
[Warning.]
[Veilstep Expiring in: 5 Seconds.]
[Recommendation: Run.]
And I did.
I dashed past the still-swinging man, untouched, unbound by the frozen world.
[Veilstep Expired.]
[Returning.]
Color bled back into reality.
The man’s roar grew full again, his bow crashing down where I once stood, splintering to pieces.
But I was already a hundred feet away, running like my wife’s life depended on it.
I didn’t care for their confusion or what had just happened.
All I cared about was reaching the castle before they caught up.
Minutes later, the open doors came into view through my blurred, teary, bloody eyes.
My lungs burned, my legs screamed, sweat clung to every inch of me, but I didn’t stop. Not until I crossed the threshold and collapsed on the reflective floor, gasping for breath, just as the castle doors dragged themselves shut behind me.
[Directive ‘Continue Existing’ Followed - Registered.]
[Reign Index Increased: 0.02% → 0.03%]
[Reigncraft - Locked.]
[Congratulations.]
[Current Directive Updated: Put on the Crown.]
“Silence, please,” I panted, face pressed to the cold floor as sweat trickled down my forehead.
I hadn’t expected to gamble with my life, to have to cross the Rubicon just to find water and a sense of where I was.
But at least now I knew what I needed to know.
I knew what awaited beyond Calcan Castle. A rough, dangerous world.
The trio that hunted me must have been from some kind of tribe.
Their crude weapons, the animal pelts they wore, their harsh language, and the clear hierarchy between them spoke of people who had survived a difficult life, devoid of civilization.
Yet, their bodies told a different story about this alien world.
They were extraordinary, lean but strong, with physiques that surpassed any modern standard. These people weren’t malnourished; they were hunters, apex survivors, shaped by the world and what was given to them.
And maybe, just maybe, this world wasn’t as primitive as it seemed.
The Calcan Castle must have been built by someone, so perhaps, beyond these forests, there were cities, Kingdoms, Empires, Republics, whatever they might be.
Or maybe this place was modern too, and I’d simply stumbled into some uncharted region, a match to the Amazon tribes or North Sentinel Island from back on Earth.
But until I found out more, one truth remained: My new reality was grim. Savage.
“Ephe,” I groaned, forcing myself onto my knees, lungs still burning. “Why didn’t you answer me earlier?”
[Unnecessary.]
[Maintaining the Directive took Priority.]
“Aren’t you a sweetheart,” I muttered, wiping sweat from my face as I turned toward the distant spikes that framed the suspended crown.
If nothing else, this journey proved one thing: Ephe and these Custodians, whatever they were, silent as they were, could be trusted. They had power. They had the knowledge I needed. They offered a purpose. And, for now, that was enough.
It was clear that these beings were hiding something. But who wasn't?
And if they could bring Julia back… I’d gladly play the obedient hound.
For, as Dostoevsky once said: “What is a man, if not a vessel of agony wrapped in dreams?”
So I will dream.
“Ephe,” I whispered, eyes fixed on the crown that floated above the spikes, humming with an almost human pulse, “I will wear your Crown.”
[Good.]
I smirked, shaking my head at her sass, and rose to my feet, dragging my exhausted body forward.
The heat radiating from the spikes grew unbearable as I reached out, thrusting my hands through and seizing the crown in one quick motion.
“Well,” I breathed, lifting it above my head. “Here goes nothing.”
And placed it upon my head.
[Directive ‘Put on the Crown’ Followed - Registered.]
[Reigncraft: Unlocked.]
[Initializing.]
Patreon where you can read the entirety of Volume One and the beginning of Volume Two ahead of Schedule!