Chapter 1: The Shattered Sky
Kael groaned as consciousness clawed its way back into his body. His fingers twitched against the cold, uneven ground before he forced himself upright, trembling hands pressing into the dust. A sharp breath escaped him as pain surged through his limbs.
The world around him was in ruins.
Broken trees lay scattered like splintered bones, their trunks torn apart as if by some monstrous force. Frayed ropes hung from shattered branches, swaying slightly in the dead, unmoving air. Dust lingered everywhere, thick and suffocating, burning his throat with every breath.
"What the hell…" Kael rasped, coughing harshly. "What is going on?"
Silence answered him.
Then—
The memory returned.
"That voice…" he whispered, fear tightening in his chest.
That morning, he had been in the mountains near his village, gathering firewood beneath a calm sky. And then it came—the voice from the heavens, ancient and merciless:
From this day onward, the age of shattered truth shall begin. Those who slumber since ancient times shall awaken… and the laws of this world shall wither into something new.
Kael clenched his fists. "No… this can't be real…"
The sky had split. Meteors had fallen like divine wrath. The earth had roared and broken beneath him—
And then darkness.
"I'm alive…" he breathed.
A glow flickered before his eyes.
Lines of light formed in the air, weaving into a translucent screen.
---
Name: Kael Thorn
Race: Human
Age: 21
Sex: Male
Affinity: Dark, Nature
Talent: Unification
Level: 1
EXP: 0 / 10
Strength: 5
Agility: 5
Stamina: 5
Wisdom: 5
Spirit: 10
Skills:
Linking (Level 1) [Evolvable]
Appraisal (Level 1)
---
The panel shimmered, expanding with more details.
---
Linking (Level 1) [Evolvable]:
A rare ability born from the Talent of Unification. Allows the user to connect objects and beings.
Bind and merge non-living objects.
Establish mental communication with living beings.
Improves with level.
---
Appraisal (Level 1):
A basic analytical ability that reveals information about targets.
Displays name, status, and attributes of observed entities.
Accuracy and depth increase with level.
---
Kael swallowed hard. "So… I can see things… understand them…"
The panel flickered again.
---
System Notice:
Mutation Countdown Initiated
Time Remaining: 6 Days 23 Hours 58 Minutes
---
Another message appeared.
---
Main Quest:
Survive 7 Days & Reach Level 10
Reward: Unknown
Failure: Unknown
---
A final line formed, darker than the rest:
---
Remark:
The Earth Spirit wishes all system holders rapid adaptation in this Age of Shattered Truth.
---
Kael exhaled slowly. "Level 10 in seven days… this is insane…"
Instinctively, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone.
The screen was cracked—but it flickered to life.
"Okay… okay…" he muttered quickly, tapping the screen. "Just call… anyone…"
No signal.
Not even an emergency network.
"Come on…" he pressed again, trying to restart it.
The device froze.
Then went completely black.
"No… no, no, no…" His voice rose slightly as he shook it. "Don't do this now…"
He held the power button.
Nothing.
The phone was dead.
Kael stared at the blank screen for a long moment before letting out a hollow laugh.
"…Of course."
Slowly, his grip loosened, and the phone slipped back into his pocket.
"Guess it's just me now…"
His legs gave out, and he dropped to the ground, sitting heavily.
Crunch.
He froze.
Looking down, he saw the crushed body of a small black insect beneath his hand.
A faint notification appeared.
---
+0.01 EXP Gained
---
Kael blinked.
"…You're serious?" he muttered.
He focused on the insect. "Appraisal."
A small window appeared.
---
Name: Common Ant
Status: In Process of Mutation
Race: insect
Level: 1
Strength: 5
Agility: 5
Wisdom: 4
Spirit: 4
Stamina: 3 / 5
---
"Even ants…" Kael whispered. "They're changing too…"
A chill ran down his spine.
His gaze lifted slowly.
The shattered world stretched endlessly before him.
The faint system screen hovered at the edge of his vision.
The countdown continued ticking.
"Seven days…"
He clenched his fists.
"I don't have time to panic."
Slowly, he pushed himself to his feet once more.
"I need to get stronger."
Drawn by a quiet, creeping instinct, Kael began walking forward. Each step felt hollow, unnatural—like the ground itself no longer truly belonged to the earth.
Then—
He reached the edge.
Kael froze.
His breath caught.
Below him… there was nothing.
Only sky.
Endless and terrifying.
Clouds drifted far beneath like a silent ocean, broken only by massive floating landmasses suspended in the air. Some were small and jagged, others vast enough to carry forests—or even ruins.
As Kael stood at the edge, his gaze dropped instinctively—searching for something familiar.
And then he saw it.
Far below, through drifting clouds and broken light—
His village.
Or what remained of it.
His breath caught. "No… no, that's not…"
The place where he had lived his entire life was gone. Houses reduced to scattered debris, fields torn apart as if clawed by something monstrous. The narrow paths he once walked had vanished beneath cracks and ash.
Near it, the nearby town—once alive with people and noise—was nothing more than a grave of shattered stone. Buildings had collapsed into themselves, streets buried under dust and ruin.
"…It's destroyed," Kael whispered, his voice hollow. "All of it…"
His fingers tightened at his side.
Then his eyes lifted.
And what he saw next made his blood run cold.
The world was no longer whole.
Massive chunks of land floated in the sky—far more than he had first realized. Some were covered in forests, others bare and broken, and a few carried the remains of cities, hanging silently in the air like forgotten graves.
Between them stretched vast emptiness.
But not just emptiness.
Far below, beyond the drifting landmasses, something else remained—a distant, endless expanse of water. The ocean still existed… but it was no longer the foundation of the world.
It was separated.
Divided.
Land… sky… and ocean—no longer connected as one.
Instead, they existed in layers.
Floating islands ruled the sky.
Broken continents drifted in fragments.
And far beneath it all, the ocean spread like a silent abyss.
Kael's chest tightened as the truth settled in.
"The world…" he murmured, eyes trembling slightly. "It's been split apart…"
A slow, cold realization followed.
This wasn't just destruction.
It was separation.
A new order.
A shattered reality where land no longer belonged to the earth… but to the sky itself.
Kael stood there in silence, staring into the endless, fractured world.
And for the first time—
He understood.
There was no going back.
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