Why… Why am I feeling so weak?
When Kaien stirred from slumber, a strange fragility settled over him, as though his very essence had been siphoned away during his sleep. His limbs felt heavy, breath shallow.
With a sluggish groan, he sat up, dragging a hand through his ragged, matted hair as a dull ache throbbed in his temples.
"Argh...what is this pain…wait! I came here to find something... but what—" His breath hitched. His eyes widened in alarm. "Oh my goodness! The spare—I came to find the Silver Spare!"
Panic flared in his chest like wildfire. He hastily untangled himself from the furballs still clinging lovingly to him.
"Wait, buddies, I've got something really important to do!" he exclaimed, voice cracking as he glanced around, trying to estimate how much time had slipped through his fingers. He remembered clearly—he had less than two days before this place reset… and then, he might never escape.
Kaien hoisted the bundle of cloth that held his few belongings onto his back and grabbed his staff. His right leg still throbbed faintly, but the pain had dulled enough for him to limp with more ease than before.
"Okay… Silver Spare. I get it, I get it," he muttered to himself, eyes darting across the landscape. All he could see were crumbled ruins, remnants of forgotten palaces, and floating stone islands tethered together by thick, rusted chains—far too treacherous for someone with a fractured leg to climb.
In frustration, Kaien clawed at his hair with both hands. "Argh! How could I forget something this important?"
Qingxin's voice echoed in his skull, chilling and foreboding:
"Come back soon, before the world resets. Or you'll never be able to leave this place."
It made his heart pound with renewed urgency.
Limping forward, he spotted what remained of a once-grand palace—its marble pillars blackened by time and flames, its roof long since claimed by the sky. He pressed onward, murmuring "Silver Spare… Silver Spare…" like a mantra, though Qingxin had never told him what it looked like or where to begin searching.
He was just an eight-year-old child, thrust into a world far too vast for his small feet.
The furballs followed loyally, forming a chaotic orbit around him. "Not now, please. I'm busy!" he pleaded, attempting to nudge them aside, but they only crowded closer, dancing around his feet with an energy he couldn't match.
Each path led to a dead end. Each ruin yielded nothing but cracked stone and disappointment.
If I don't find the spare, I'll die out here, Kaien thought, scratching his scalp in dismay.
Meanwhile, the furballs were having a conference of their own. They huddled together, whispering animatedly in their curious tongue—"Rara… rara…"—as though exchanging secrets in their own wordless council.
Then, without warning, they encircled Kaien and began herding him forward—toward the very edge of the floating landmass.
"W-Wait a minute! What are you doing?" Kaien yelped, stumbling back as they pressed against him.
He didn't sense hostility—only urgency. But the edge? Beyond that was nothing but a gaping void, an abyss of shadows.
Ahead lay thick metal chains dangling over the pit, swaying ever so slightly, their rusted links promising nothing but peril. Kaien knew he couldn't climb them. Not with his broken leg. Not alone.
"It's alright," he said softly, addressing the creatures with a wobbly smile. A few of them were standing in front of him now, gazing at him with their glowing eyes. "I know you want to help… and I'm grateful. After my mother and father… you're the only ones who didn't hate me."
Maybe this is fate, he thought, staring into the void.
Maybe he could stay here forever. Build a little life on the grassy land with these creatures. No one to call him cursed. No more fighting. No more running.
It's… not such a bad idea, right?
But the thought left a bitter taste in his mouth. His heart twisted. Too many unanswered questions clawed at the back of his mind.
Why had the corpse tide risen?
Why had he been called a cursed child?
Why had the undead spared him?
And—if his parents weren't truly his—then who was he?
Kaien was still drowning in those thoughts when one of the furballs suddenly leapt forward—straight into the void.
"No!" Kaien shouted, his hand flinging out instinctively—but it was too late.
Bing.
A radiant sound rang out.
Kaien's eyes widened as something impossible unfurled in the air—a golden, shimmering bridge, delicate and translucent like spun glass. It stretched from the edge of his landmass to another floating ruin just slightly above.
The furball landed safely on the glowing path, its small body bouncing with joy.
One by one, the others followed, jumping fearlessly and forming a line upon the bridge. Kaien's heart seized with each leap. "Hey, you guys! Can't you just walk? What if you fall?" His voice faltered into a whisper. "What if… you disappear?"
Yet half of them had already crossed, and the rest now turned to him—waiting.
Kaien stood there, paralyzed. He could see the path clearly now, but it still looked like a dream. What if it's an illusion? What if I'm still asleep? But even in a dream… I don't want to die.
He dropped to one knee and reached forward. Trembling fingers grazed the golden path.
Buzz.
A wave of warm energy rippled along the bridge in both directions. The furballs' eyes lit up, their soft "Rara"s becoming a chorus of delight.
"So… it's real," Kaien murmured. He rose unsteadily to his feet and placed his first step.
The bridge held.
The surface beneath him was solid—smooth and cool like polished crystal. A smile tugged at the edge of his cracked lips. He took another step. Then another. One careful footfall at a time, Kaien followed the glowing trail across the sky, suspended between worlds.
The furballs cheered in their own language, hopping ahead and glancing back to make sure he kept pace.
For the first time since he woke, a glimmer of hope sparked inside him.
Maybe… just maybe, I can get out of here alive.
The walk took only a few minutes, but to Kaien, each second was eternal. When he finally stepped onto the opposite landmass, a strange sensation washed over him—as though he had passed through an invisible barrier. The air buzzed faintly each time one of them crossed behind him, like they were crossing an invisible shield.
He looked around, blinking in awe.
It was nothing like the ruin he'd seen from below.
From a distance, it had seemed broken and barren, just another heap of stone and decay. But now, standing here, Kaien realized this place was different.
"What… is this?" Kaien whispered, his voice small beneath the sky.