There was no pain this time.
No flashing lights. No flailing. Just… silence.
A gentle, cold silence that wrapped around my soul like a funeral shroud.
I wasn't in the coffin anymore. I wasn't in my body.I was somewhere else.
A void.
But unlike the emptiness I floated in after my first death, this space felt different—aware. Something stirred here. Something watching.
[System Notice: Host death detected.][Resurrection on cooldown – 6 Days 22 Hours Remaining][Entering Soulbound Stasis.]
'So this is what it means to be soulbound.'
I couldn't move. Couldn't breathe. I was just… conscious. A spirit drifting in the dark. Time passed slowly. I had no body, no form. Just thoughts—and the distant hum of the system like background machinery.
Then—light.A flicker.A spark.
And then, heat.
[Resurrection Activated.][Reviving host body…]
Pain surged into me like a crashing tide—sharp and sudden. My lungs burned. My limbs ached. My heart slammed against my ribs like it was trying to escape.
I bolted upright with a strangled gasp.
"Again… I died again..."
I lay in the same dark, claustrophobic tunnel I had created—between one desecrated corpse and the ceiling of hardened clay that had killed me.
But my body… felt a bit stronger.
[Status Updated]
HP: 35 / 110
MP: 10 / 55
Strength: 6
Agility: 3
Endurance: 3
Intelligence: 6
Willpower: 5
Charisma: 1
Luck: ???
Recent Gains: +2 STR, +1 END (Corpse absorbed)]
Still not enough.
'I can't break through that ceiling. Not yet.'
I turned my head toward a fresh wall of untouched earth.
'There have to be more corpses. If I keep digging sideways, maybe I'll find one. Maybe... before I run out of air again.'
So I did.
I dug. And I died.
Then I dug in another direction. And died again.
The third time, I barely lasted longer than the first—fingers bleeding, lungs screaming, only to feel the world go dark again as the air thinned.
[Resurrection Activated – 4 Days Remaining]
I couldn't cry, but something inside me cracked.
'How many more times do I have to die just to live?'
But I kept going. I clawed at the earth, cursed the silence, whispered apologies to the soil, and dug with shaking hands.
On the fifth attempt, my fingers brushed wood.
I froze.
'Please... please be a body.'
I ripped at the coffin lid, my entire being trembling with fatigue and hope.
Inside—a corpse. Still intact.
A woman, or what was left of one. The flesh pale. Her arms folded across her chest. A peaceful expression. I hated myself for what I had to do.
"I'm sorry," I whispered. "But I don't want to die again."
I placed my hand on her chest and activated Devourer's Core.
The power surged into me like fire. My spine straightened. My vision sharpened.
[Corpse absorbed. +2 Strength. +2 Endurance.]
I didn't waste time.
I turned back, crawling toward the hardened clay layer one more time. My arms no longer trembled. My muscles strained with a new edge.
'Now or never.'
I punched the ceiling.
Crack.
Again.
Crack.
Again.
The clay fractured. A gust of cold air tickled my fingers. I screamed and pushed with everything I had.
And finally—light.
I broke through to the surface, gasping, crawling, tumbling into a patch of wet grass and moonlight.
The stars above blinked in silence as I collapsed, soaked in sweat and grave soil.
But I was free.
Breathing.
Alive.
And I would never go back.
"I'm done dying," I whispered to the sky.
The cold wind hit me like a slap.
For a moment, I just lay there—face pressed into the grass, chest rising and falling like I hadn't breathed in years.
Because I hadn't. Not really.
I rolled onto my back, staring at the sky. It was clear, wide, full of stars… and completely unfamiliar.
No airplanes. No towers. No glow of city lights. Just darkness and silver light.
'So this is the world I've been reborn into.'
It didn't feel welcoming. It didn't feel hostile, either.
It just felt… old.
Like the earth itself had memories.
I sat up slowly, limbs heavy but responsive. My body still ached, but it was a solid ache—like I'd earned it.
"System," I whispered. "Show me my status."
[STATUS SCREEN – Soul bound Host: Isaac]
HP: 35 / 110
MP: 10 / 55
Strength: 8
Agility: 3
Endurance: 5
Intelligence: 6
Willpower: 5
Charisma: 1
Luck: ???
Recent Gains: +4 STR, +3 END (Corpse absorbed)
'Still pathetic by real standards… but I'm not the weak, dying corpse I was.'
I could stand now. I could run if I had to.I was starting to feel like this body might actually be mine.
I looked around.
The graveyard was old—ancient, maybe. The tombstones were cracked and weathered. Some had symbols I couldn't read. A few were broken in half, half-buried in ivy and moss. Fog clung low to the ground, curling around the edges of fallen statues and crumbling stone pillars.
"Where the hell am I?"
No answer. No welcoming committee. No map.
Just graves. Dozens of them.
Hundreds.
I shuddered.
'Devourer's Core could make me stronger… if I kept feeding.'
But the thought of doing that again—of tearing into another nameless corpse—made something in my chest tighten.
'No. Not unless I have to.'
Then a soft chime echoed in my mind.
[New System Objective Unlocked]Objective: Leave the GraveyardReward: Access to Local Map, Minor EXP, System Insight I
"Your rebirth is complete. It's time to take your first step."
I let out a low breath.
"So that's how this works… quests."
I looked toward the graveyard gate in the distance—a rusted, iron thing half-covered in vines.
Beyond it, a dark forest loomed. Shadows moved between the trees, tall and slow.
Danger.
I didn't know what lived out there.
But I knew one thing.
"I'm not dying here again. Not underground. Not anywhere."
I clenched my fists and took my first step forward.