A dark, cold cave, filled with eerie silence and suffocating darkness. The metallic scent of blood lingered heavily in the air, clinging to the walls and spreading into every corner like a creeping flood.
At the center of the cave lay Rave Arnet. He was gasping in pain, his breath shallow and ragged. His body was distorted, with only one limb intact. Flesh hung in shreds, as if something massive had crushed him mercilessly.
Every nerve in his body screamed with agony. His mind was a swirling storm of emotions—fear of death, crushing loneliness, and the desperate hopelessness.
Even through the unbearable pain, his cracked lips moved, whispering faint, broken words. "Water… help…" But his voice was too weak, the words fading into the oppressive darkness of the cave, unheard. Death loomed nearby, yet refused to claim him.
This was the aftermath of his first encounter with the Genesys world.
Like every teenager, Rave had been teleported into the Genesys world on his 18th birthday. Along with his classmates, he participated in the initiation ritual performed by the school faculty. Radiant lights enveloped the group, and the ground beneath them disappeared as they were whisked away.
Excitement buzzed among the students. Some were already making grand plans for their future, imagining a life of adventure and glory. But Rave stood alone at the edge of the teleportation circle, unnoticed by anyone. He didn't mind. He had grown used to being invisible.
Upon arrival, the students were assigned instructors, and their first trial began: hunting beasts to obtain their Genesys cores. While others teamed up in groups, Rave ventured out alone. It wasn't because he was disliked—it was because he had distanced himself from everyone after losing his parents in the Second Genesys world. Solitude had become his shield.
He hunted efficiently, slaying every beast with precise strikes of his sword. Everything was going smoothly—until it wasn't.
A strange sensation prickled at his back. Before he could react, a portal appeared behind him and sucked him in within seconds. It all happened too quickly for anyone to notice or intervene.
When Rave entered, he found himself surrounded by towering statues, each depicting a beastman. They had human-like bodies combined with animal features—one resembled a minotaur, while another looked serpentine. Their unmoving, stone-cold gazes seemed to pierce right through him.
Fear gripped him. He tried to turn and run, but his legs wouldn't obey. It was as if an unseen force had locked him in place.
Then, in an instant, the minotaur statue moved. Its massive weapon, a hammer-like club, swung toward him with devastating force. Rave couldn't react in time. The blow shattered his bones and sent half of his body flying across the room. Agony spread through him, numbing every sense.
The surroundings fell deathly silent.
His screams echoed through the air, desperate pleas for mercy and help. But the only response was another crushing attack.
That was how he ended up in such a miserable state, helpless and broken.
Now, in this dark, unforgiving cave, Rave was alone once again—fighting for survival, with death lingering just out of reach.
At last, his only option was to wait for death. With his strength fading, he whispered the names of his parents, "Mom... Dad..."
"Am I going to disappear from this world, just like you did? Without anyone noticing?" Tears welled up in his eyes as memories of his parents' sudden disappearance flooded his mind.
In this vast, uncaring world, Rave lay alone, agony crawling over his broken body. There was no one to hold him, no one to comfort him. It felt like fate had destined him for a stray dog's death—a cruel, lonely end.
Moments later, his life force flickered and faded. His body grew cold and still, unmoving, with his eyes left wide open, staring into the void.
In that suffocating loneliness, a mechanical voice suddenly reverberated through the cave: "Sacrifice taken. Releasing Gen-Z system into the sacrifice." The voice was cold, artificial, devoid of any emotion.
A bright dot appeared above Rave's lifeless body, growing into a dazzling light that illuminated the entire cave. The once-dark and silent cavern now glowed with an ethereal brilliance, mysterious and otherworldly. For the first time in hours, the cave was neither dark nor silent.