He was alone in an endless white room with no doors, no windows—just a blank, featureless void. The walls, at first white and bright, began to darken, shadows creeping in like ink seeping into water. The light retreated, leaving him surrounded by darkness so thick it felt suffocating. Icarius could feel his heartbeat racing as the ground beneath him suddenly vanished, leaving him free-falling into a pit of nothingness. He desperately tried to regain control, but there was nothing to grab onto—just an infinite drop.
Panic surged through him as he finally looked down. Below, lights twinkled, becoming clearer the closer he got. With mounting dread, he recognized the sprawling cityscape of Tokyo, with its skyscrapers and flickering neon signs. And there, right below him, was his old house. A terrifying thought gripped him: if he hit the ground, he would die—again.
Icarius screamed, arms flailing, bracing for the bone-crushing impact as the ground rushed toward him. But just as he expected everything to go dark, his eyes snapped open. He found himself in his old bedroom, lying in bed, drenched in cold sweat. His laptop was still on, its soft glow casting eerie shadows around the room. For a moment, he could hear the familiar hum of the city beyond the walls. It felt so real… until the door creaked open, and Boris stepped in.
Boris gave him a worried look. "You alright, man? You look like you've seen a ghost," he said, noticing Icarius's intense breathing and wide eyes.
"Just a nightmare," Icarius muttered, trying to steady his racing heart. But then a chilling realization hit him like a punch to the gut. He locked eyes with Boris, dread sinking into his bones. "Wait… Boris, you died, didn't you?" His voice trembled as memories of tragedy and loss flooded back into his mind.
The world around him froze. Everything blurred and started to unravel, similar to a frame from a long forgotten movie. The bedroom, the laptop, and even Boris's concerned expression melted away, leaving him standing in an empty void once more. He closed his eyes, trying to regain his composure. When he opened them, he was in another white room—but this one was different. A large mirror was mounted on the wall, ominous in its stillness.
Icarius approached it slowly, expecting to see his reflection staring back at him. But instead, the mirror showed something much worse—his own lifeless body, motionless and cold. His face was pale, devoid of any warmth or life. Panic gripped him, his hands trembling uncontrollably as he realized this wasn't just a nightmare—it was a brutal truth he was being forced to confront.
Suddenly, the familiar sound of the system menu rang out in the empty space, pulling his attention away from the mirror. The translucent menu floated before him, its cold text delivering a grim message:
"Icarius Fokuna's Life Points: 0."
"Icarius Fokuna's Existence: Positive."
His life points were gone—he was essentially dead. But his existence… it still lingered. His soul was still alive, clinging on by a thread. The system was taunting him, as if to say, "You're not quite dead, but you're far from living." Icarius's chest tightened with fear. What could he do in this state? He felt utterly helpless.
The mirror's surface rippled like water, and the image changed. Now it showed Astrid in his unicorn form, carrying his unconscious body, accompanied by the elf children, heading towards a distant wooden house in the mountains. The scene felt surreal—like he was watching a tragic play unfold in front of the audience. But before he could take in more details, the mirror suddenly cracked. Lines splintered across the glass, and within seconds, it shattered into a thousand pieces, scattering like dust.
Icarius's mind had plenty of questions. Was this the end? Was he just going to fade away, a forgotten soul trapped in some endless void? But then the system menu reappeared, this time with something new. A category he hadn't seen before: "The Mystical Store."
His heart pounded as he stared at it. This store wasn't there a moment ago—something had changed. Maybe this was his last lifeline, his final shot at returning. Desperation clawed at him as he opened the store, praying for some kind of miracle. And what he found inside made his breath catch.