Caelum floated in the heart of a dense forest, suspended in mid-air among the towering trees.
His eyes were closed, and a vivid red energy enveloped him, swirling gently as if cradling him in its embrace.
The wind howled around him, causing the branches to sway violently, leaves rustling.
Suddenly, his eyes snapped open.
In an instant, the red energy dissipated, vanishing into thin air. The wind calmed, returning to a gentle breeze, and Caelum plummeted towards the forest floor.
He fell with a suddenness that stole the breath from his lungs, landing with a harsh thud. The impact jarred his body, sending a sharp pain radiating through the back of his head.
He felt a wave of dizziness wash over him.
The world spun for a moment, and he lay still, grappling with the throbbing ache that pulsed in time with his heartbeat.
"Aye, my head…" Caelum glanced around his surroundings as he stood up from the ground, a hand pressed to his head.
'Where am I...? Is this part of the curse?' he pondered, staring at the tall trees whose leaves shaded the light, leaving his area dark and cold.
[Confirming your race!]
[The rise of the Cursed one has begun...]
[Face your first fate]
The Fate of Reckoning: This fate compels Graceless Ones to confront their past decisions, which will manifest as enemies in various forms, along with the repercussions that will follow.
[Once you tame your first fate, you will be brought back to life as an Undead, and if you die, you will remain dead.]
[Good luck!]
The inferno vanished, dispersing like smoke.
"Uhn? Wait, Mr Inferno or Grace! What does all this mean!? Will I be unable to die once I pass this trial…"
A cunning smirk crept onto Caelum's face as he rubbed his hands together.
He was excited about one thing: the fact that he wouldn't be able to die, no matter how severe the wound or whatever might happen, as he would be an Undead.
Of course, he had the common sense to understand what that term meant.
But in relation to other things the inferno had said, he had no idea.
Yes, he knew about the curse and a bit about magic, as it was what brought the world into existence. Everyone has magic, apart from a few like him; there are mages everywhere.
But the worst kind of beings to exist—the strongest type of magical entities—are those that awaken their talents through the Graceless End curse.
They are also the most targeted beings, so no one would wish to be cursed just to become the strongest, only to be pursued endlessly by beings from different realms that will stop at nothing to kill a Graceless.
They could raze towns to bring them down. This is why, once someone has been identified as cursed, they must be killed before the curse begins to take effect.
Well, as for Caelum, its effects had already begun before he was shot.
So, in other words, he isn't dead yet, but if he is unable to tame his fate, then he will be dead.
At present, he was in his own subconsciousness, now under the influence of the curse.
'Wait, come to think of it, I don't have any talent in the magical aspect... I can't face whatever is coming head-on; I can only… '
Before Caelum could successfully compose his thoughts, a black chain suddenly burst from the ground and wrapped around both of his legs, sending him crashing to the floor.
The entire scene instantaneously changed to a dark room, where cracks spiderwebbed across the walls and floor.
He found himself alone in the middle of this room, with a burning stick lying on the ground in front of him.
This was exactly how the dungeon he had been in before today, on his day of execution, had looked.
His eyes darted around the room, confused and shaken.
His breathing came in heavy pants, and his heart raced.
Suddenly, he heard the sound of a loud wall clock ticking, but it was nowhere to be seen.
A red figure emerged from the darkness, its eyes as dark as shadows. It seemed to burn and writhe like flames as it crawled towards Caelum, who now struggled to free himself from his bonds as soon as he noticed the being.
Fortunately, the chains around his legs fell away, and instantly, Caelum leaped backwards to the walls, away from the monster.
"What's that thing? Perhaps a red being. You can't possibly be my mistakes... Hahaha, I knew it was this ugly." he mocked as a form of distraction, using his hands to search for a broken brick or a place in the wall where he could insert his hands to pry out a stone.
But it seemed the monster understood none of his words; no, it didn't even have ears to perceive the vibrations of his speech, so distracting it with that was impossible.
The creature writhed and crawled, its dark form radiating an unsettling heat that made the air shimmer.
Panic surged through Caelum, but he forced himself to think clearly.
Luckily, his fingers found a jagged edge, and he pried at it, feeling the rough surface scrape against his skin.
The monster lunged at him, and Caelum barely dodged its grasp, rolling to the side just in time.
As he quickly stood up, gripping the stone tightly and wearing a wide grin on his face, the creature unleashed a wave of dark energy.
It slammed into him like a forceful gust, knocking him back against the wall.
Pain shot through his ribs, but he pushed it aside and stood up again.
"Hehehe. I can't be killed by my own mistakes, not in this life, not ever. Don't worry, baby, I will fix you... a place in hell!" Caelum shouted at the top of his lungs.
The monster charged again.
Caelum hurled the stone at it, but it barely fazed the beast.
"Bloody bastard!"
He grabbed another stone from the wall, swinging it with all his strength at the creature's core.
The creature recoiled, flickering as if struggling to maintain its form.
"Oh my God, I found your weakness! Now die!"
Caelum lunged forward, thrusting the jagged stone deep into the creature. It writhed in agony, and he felt a rush of triumph as it began to disintegrate into dark smoke.
"Stupid creature, were you that easy to kill? Acting all mighty, huh?"
Caelum dusted off his arms and noticed that the ticking clock sound had ceased, the burning stick had stopped, and it was now just blackened, almost as if it had cooled down.
He picked it up, hoping to use it as a weapon if he encountered anything else. He scraped one end against the wall until it became sharp and pointy.
He then swung it in a wide arc, laughing and testing its strength.
After wasting a moment doing that, he fell to the ground to catch his breath.
"Aren't I done? Or is that just one of my mistakes...? That would be horrific if so," Caelum mused.
Just after that, he was suddenly back in the forest, but it was now dark, and thick fog covered the ground, hiding his legs.
"Uhhn? Wasn't there daylight or some kind of light around here? How did it become night so quickly? Well, this isn't the worst thing I've seen in my life yet."
Caelum recalled when he was five years old, playing by himself, and he unknowingly wandered into a forest where he was chased by multiple corrupted beasts—about five—until he nearly fell off a cliff.
Well, he did fall, but somehow survived.
Remembering that trauma sent a chill down his spine.
'Do I keep on moving now?'
Caelum gazed at the thick fog and noticed a pair of red eyes a few metres away from him, rushing towards him in a menacing manner.
It was at least the size of a rabbit and had an enormous head.
"Oh my goodness! There are more of those things...?"