[SYSTEM ACTIVATION]
"What the hell?" Ayra's eyes snapped open.
But instead of the road, she found herself in a dark tunnel.
Pitch black.
Endless.
She blinked rapidly. "How did I get here?" she whispered, her voice barely a breath. Confusion knotted in her chest as her eyes darted around, trying to make sense of the void. Nothing. No flicker of light. Just air and darkness, and the sound of her own breathing.
"Did those creatures bring me here?" she asked, her voice trembling. Her lips quivered as fear crept in, curling its fingers around her throat. Her eyes widened. "Then how do I get home? How do I get to Ethan?"
Ethan.
Oh God.
Was he still alive? What if the creatures got to him too?
And Mother—she hadn't seen her either. Were they both… gone?
"I have to find them," she muttered, jaw clenched. "As soon as I get out of here."
But how? This place was desolate. Empty. And all she had was...
She looked down.
The kitchen fork. Still gripped in her hand. She tightened her hold.
Her heart pounded like war drums, but she was ready. If they came again, she'd fight. She'd take them down, one by one.
Then...
That sound.
A hiss. Low and sharp.
Her breath hitched. She scrambled back, slamming into the cold tunnel wall.
No. Not again.
This time, the growls weren't just one or two. They multiplied, too many to count, and louder than before.
"How many are there?" she whispered. "How could I fight so many?"
A louder growl swept through the air. She flinched, heart skipping, and dropped to her knees, crawling blindly through the darkness. Cold stone scraped against her skin, each movement sending a fresh wave of pain through her body and pain from the earlier fall, still burning hot.
Damn it.
It hadn't even been twenty-four hours, and her life had crumbled into chaos.
This had to be a dream.
Some twisted nightmare that was happening before her wedding day.
Maybe her mind had snapped, playing tricks on her, punishing her with fear.
Any moment now, she'd wake up. She'd be in her room, staring into the mirror. Stylists would buzz around her, fluffing her gown, fixing her hair, preparing her for the happiest day of her life.
But the pain was real.
The fear was real.
Her racing pulse didn't care for dreams.
"Oh, child... what have you done?"
The voice came from nowhere,and everywhere. Gentle, but edged with warning.
Ayra froze. Before she could react, a strange light shimmered ahead. Neon—soft purple, dancing like mist.
A figure appeared.
A woman, clothed in flowing white robes that clung like silk. Her gown was ancient. She stood within the glow, but her face remained a mystery, just a white silhouette outlined by the light.
Ayra squinted, struggling to see. She couldn't make out the woman's features, only her shape.
Definitely female.
And that voice—gentle but firm.
Another growl thundered behind her. Ayra tensed, but the woman didn't even move. She stood still, untouched by the chaos, as if the world wasn't collapsing around them.
"Who are you?" Ayra asked, breathless.
"You've done something, child," the woman said. Her voice dropped heavy, "That is why they've come."
Ayra's brow furrowed.
Done something?
What was she talking about?
"The Riftwalkers," the woman said, her voice like wind in the dark. "You've called for them. And now, they've come to destroy."
Ayra's mouth fell open.
From the distance, a howl rose again..shrill, hungry. She flinched and scrambled toward the light, but it stayed far, unreachable. It pulsed like a forbidden star—glowing, yet untouchable.
She opened her mouth to ask what Riftwalkers even were—what she had done to bring them.
But the woman vanished.
Gone, just like that.
The light lingered. Hovering.
Then suddenly...
A screen blinked into existence, floating midair. Lines of text burned across it:
[WELCOME TO YOUR FIRST MISSION: SURVIVE 24 HOURS.]
[REWARD: INSIGHT SKILLS LV. 1]
"What the hell?!" Ayra shouted.
She stared at the screen, baffled.
What was this—some kind of twisted video game? Was she still trapped in a nightmare she couldn't wake from?
The woman's voice echoed again, though her figure didn't return.
"You have a mission, child. The only way to defeat the Riftwalkers… is to accept it."
Ayra let out a short, humorless laugh.
Seriously?
They expected her—a girl with no combat training, no rich background, no survival skills—to take on monsters like it was some kind of game?
She didn't ask for this.
She didn't want a mission.
She just wanted to go home.
"The world is already doomed. The creatures live and breathe in all corners. It is futile to return without the will to defeat them," came the woman's voice, calm but absolute.
"What are you?" Ayra asked quietly.
"Your guardian. But I can only appear after you complete each mission."
Oh Christ…
This had to be a dream.
It had to be.
But it wasn't.
The system returned, its voice flat and mechanical:
{FAILURE TO COMPLY WILL RESULT IN SYSTEM SHUTDOWN AND HOST TERMINATION}
Ayra stared at the screen hovering before her. Two bold options flashed: ACCEPT or DECLINE.
"What am I supposed to do?"
"Tell the system what you want," the woman's voice answered. "You are the host. You have the right to command it."
"You seriously don't think this is a dream?" Ayra rolled her eyes with a sigh.
Silence.
The woman didn't reply.
Ayra glanced around, peering into the dark like she could see her through it. "Ayo, Guardian, where the hell are you? I'm twenty-two! You're seriously telling me I was born into this world just to kill monsters? I have ambitions. Dreams. Goals."
Still nothing.
"Hello? Are you there?"
The woman's voice returned, softer this time. "I can only answer important questions as your guardian. My presence is limited, and your inquiries must be minimal."
"Alright," Ayra muttered, waving her hand. "Maybe I just drank too much soju last night. There was a house party before the wedding. Maybe that's why everything feels so off."
The system beeped again, flashing the mission warning.
Without thinking, Ayra blurted out, "Accept."
And then froze.
Had she really just said that?
Suddenly, glowing boxes blinked into existence, floating midair.
Images flickered—weapons, quests, unfamiliar icons—flashing in and out like a loading screen.
[LEVEL: 1]
[FIRST MISSION: KILL 3 RIFTWALKERS]
[AGILITY: 1%]
[WEAPON: Fork (Upgradeable)]
[POTENTIAL COMBAT SKILL: 5%]
[MISSION REWARD: ADVANCE TO LEVEL 2—UNLOCK NEW WEAPONS AND POWERS]
[FAILURE TO COMPLETE MISSION WITHIN 24 HOURS WILL RESULT IN STAGNATION AT CURRENT LEVEL]
"You've got to be f*cking kidding me," Ayra laughed, baffled.
She shook her head slowly, eyes dropping to the floor as disbelief settled in. "It was just my wedding day…"
[ACTIVATE SYSTEM TO BEGIN MISSION]
Ayra looked back up at the floating screen. Her gaze was hollow—like the weight of the entire world had finally collapsed on her shoulders, draining her from the inside.
The guardian had said she caused all of this.
But how?
She'd been a good girl her whole life. Sure, her home wasn't perfect—far from wealthy—but she had worked hard. Balancing school with part-time jobs, pushing through, trying to survive.
Her parents had helped where they could.
And then Ethan came into her life... charming, rich, the son of a billionaire. He made things easier. Promised to support her dreams…
Life had finally started to look up.
At least the financial burden wouldn't fall on her parents anymore.
So why now?
Why the hell did all of this have to happen now?
If that woman's words were true, then the chaos wasn't just in the outskirts.
It was everywhere.
Even the city...
[SYSTEM: ACTIVATE OR HOST TERMINATION WILL INITIATE]
"Oh, just activate already—for f*ck's sake. It's not like I even have a choice," she muttered, glaring at the screen.
[SYSTEM ACTIVATED. PREPARING FIRST QUEST…]
"Great," she whispered.
And just like that, the world folded in around her again—dragging her back into this cruel, twisted new reality.