Adrian stood at the center of a void. Darkness stretched infinitely in all directions, suffocating in its stillness.
There was no sound, no sensation, just a silent, consuming emptiness. He turned his head, squinting as if searching for something—anything—that would anchor him.
But there was nothing. No walls. No ceiling. No ground. Only the oppressive black.
His heart pounded in his chest as disorientation set in.
"Am I dead?"
The thought weighed heavily on him, a mix of fear and confusion swirling in his mind.
Then, without warning, the darkness shifted. Slowly at first, then faster, as if a veil had been lifted, revealing a blinding whiteness that swallowed everything in sight.
The endless night was replaced with an equally infinite white expanse, and the sudden contrast left him dizzy.
"Where… where am I?" Adrian whispered, though the words seemed to vanish into the nothingness around him.
The void offered no answers. He stood alone in this eerie white realm, still unsure if he was dead or alive.
His last memory was of Isabella's panicked face, the taste of blood in his mouth, and the sharp, burning pain tearing through his body before everything went black.
As Adrian struggled to make sense of his situation, a deep, mature voice suddenly echoed around him, rich with amusement yet carrying an overwhelming sense of authority.
"My, oh my... we meet again, huh, my dear boy."
The voice sent a jolt through Adrian's body. He spun around, searching desperately for its source, but there was no one. Just the blank, white nothingness.
"Who's there?" Adrian demanded, his voice shaky yet defiant. "Show yourself!"
As in response to his question, suddenly, the space shifted. The whiteness bent and reshaped itself until Adrian found himself standing at the edge of a vast open room, and right in the middle, a glowing figure sat, bathed in brilliant light.
He could barely make out her form—her shape seemed feminine, but her face and body were concealed, hidden behind a veil of radiant light that shielded her from being perceived fully.
Don't bother trying to see me," the voice spoke again, soft but commanding. "You are far too weak to perceive the form of this goddess."
Goddess? The word hung in the air, and Adrian's heart skipped a beat. He had never felt so out of his depth. His mind raced as he tried to wrap his head around the situation.
"If you one day become a Class 5 Awakened," the voice continued, amusement lacing her tone, "then perhaps you'll be able to glimpse this goddess in her true form. But for now, you are nothing but a fledgling that has just hatched out of its egg, my dear boy."
Adrian swallowed hard, a mix of awe and frustration churning inside him. He could feel the weight of her presence, a force so vast it made him feel like an insect standing before a mountain.
Still, he wasn't one to cower easily, even in the face of a so-called goddess. His eyes narrowed.
"Who are you?" he demanded. "And what do you mean by 'we meet again'? I don't recall ever meeting you before."
The goddess let out a melodic, almost teasing laugh that echoed through the space.
"Oh, my dear boy, of course you don't remember. I sealed your memory of our previous encounter. It was necessary, you see."
Adrian blinked in shock. "Sealed my memory?"
The revelation hit him like a punch to the gut. What kind of power did this being have to tamper with his very memories? And why?
"Why would you seal my memory?" he asked, his voice quieter now, laced with confusion and anger. "What reason could you have for doing that?"
He needed answers, but without knowing the true intention of the so called goddess before him, he would not trust anything coming out of her mouth.
So, the first thing he did right after asking the question, was, he tried contacting his system.
Desperately, Adrian reached out with his mind, trying to access the familiar interface.
System! Come on… where are you?' he called internally, but there was no response.
For a brief moment, he could feel the presence of the system somewhere deep within him, but it was distant, muffled, as if it were deliberately avoiding him or blocked by something.
Panic surged within him as he tried again, but no matter how hard he tried, the system didn't answer his call.
Right as he was panicking, the goddess answered his question, "Well, let me enlighten you, even if only a little. You, Adrian Everhart, were not originally from this world. You died in your previous world, and it was I who brought your soul here, granting you this second life."
She then paused while looking at his shocked face and continued, "You made a bet with me," she said simply, her tone as matter-of-fact as one might use to discuss the weather.
"In order for you to fulfill that bet, I had to seal your memories. It was one of the conditions for the bet between us my dear boy."
Adrian's heart raced. "A bet? What kind of bet would I make with a goddess? And against the one who gave me second chance at life. Did I became bold as I had just died back then?"
He opened his mouth to reply to her, and to give her his thanks for giving him a wonderful new life. But she cut him off before he could speak.
"Yes, you were quite confident when you made the bet," she continued, her tone still playful.
"At first, you were hesitant, but then—suddenly—you seemed almost... enlightened. You made the bet yourself, and even had the gall to add conditions against me, this goddess of fate and fortune."
Just as he thought she had finished talking and about to give her his heartfelt thanks, she cut him once again, as if she was doing it on purpose.
The goddess's light flared once again, her amusement palpable. "Oh, my dear boy, you'll have to unseal that memory yourself. It has now become a part of your journey—to get stronger, so that you can remember what you agreed to."
She let out another soft laugh. "I look forward to the day you fulfill your end of the bargain, my boy. I can hardly wait to lose."
Adrian took a deep breath, the weight of the goddess's revelation pressing down on him. Yet, as the shock and confusion faded, something else stirred within him—a sense of gratitude, raw and profound.
Gathering his courage, he looked up at the brilliant figure before him, his voice steady.
"Thank you… for giving me this second chance at life," he said earnestly.
"I know I may not remember everything, but… this life, my family, my friends, everything I've experienced—I wouldn't trade it for anything.
Her words had ignited something in Adrian—a spark that grew into a fierce determination. He clenched his fists, his voice firm.
"I swear to you, I won't let this chance go to waste. Whatever this bet is, whatever I agreed to back then—I'll get strong enough to uncover it all, and I won't disappoint you."