It was cold, the weather was never merciful to Edward and it probably never will. The chilly cold wind hitting his body from time to time, his makeshift hut wasn't exactly doing a good job at keeping it away.

He held his knees as he curled himself, hoping that it would help with the unbearable cold; sleeping was not an option. Not only would it probably be his last, but he was also afraid of what would come after that.

"So sleepy."

The dark circle under his eyes represents how many days he spent resisting the urge to sleep. "I really wish I could have eaten real food before my death."

It would be a lie if he said he wasn't spiteful towards the world for making him a life like this. He had no parents to look after and friends to rely on, and not only that, it revealed the heaven in front of him to see but never be able to enter.

"What a shitshow of a life."

The world grew darker and darker as if denying the light itself, just like his shadow that cuts deeper and deeper into the ground as if opening a gate to another world. Sounds become more distant, the feeling of the pain becomes number, and his consciousness slowly fades away.

***

[System finished bonding.]

The voice was both familiar and unfamiliar. It was soothing to the ear, but Edward knew it wasn't the time to sleep.

[New Soul: Abandoned (Fractured) have been obtained.]

[Soul: Abandoned

Rank: Fractured

Abilities: [Resilient].

Memorial: None.

Description: The soul of a pitiful young man who's forgotten by the world. His desire to live lingers even after his inevitable end.]

'I don't understand what's going on but I guess this is mine?'

[Starting your next life...]

***

Clank, the sound of metal hitting something hard echoed in his mind.

A dull ache was radiating through Edward's bleeding feet as he felt the uneven floor of the cave. His threadbare tunic was nearly useless against the chilly wind blown by the cave. His wrists were the main source of agony: badly hurt by the iron shackles, they sent a sharp pang of pain every time the freezing metal touched his broken skin.

He looked at his hands, which were holding rusty old iron pickaxe; its cold iron handle seared his skin. 'Is-is this afterlife?'

He felt a sudden tuck from the side, waking him up from his daze; he looked sideways and saw a tall man with broad shoulders; he looked tired and beaten but still had some ferocity on his face.

"Keep mining newbie. If you don't start swinging the thing you are holding right now, I'll use it mine to hack your damned head open."

Edward wasn't sure what language the man was speaking, but his mind translated Its meaning on its own as if he had heard this language all his life.

Edward nodded his head quickly in fear before started mining. Every time the blade of the pickaxe clashed with the stone wall, orange sparks jumped up and danced. His every fiber of being ached every time he swung it, making him want to stop swinging it.

'Is this my new life? What the hell?'

Edward couldn't help but curse under his breath in the foreign tongue he never heard before till today. It won't take a genius to realize that the culprit behind his situation is the mysterious system he heard after his death.

But still, Edward was more bewildered than panicked. True things weren't exactly ideal. He turned from the village outcast who left to die to what he believed to be a slave in the mines. But he was alive, alive again, and not only that, his condition was way better than before. At least he has a food course. After all, if his slavers want to keep him working, they must feed him something, right?

But still starting your second life out as a powerless slave, shackled and already half-dead, was as far from being ideal as one could imagine.

However, there is still hope as long he is alive such as hope of escaping from here. He still remembered something about gaining a new soul from the system. Since it can do something miraculous as giving him new life it should be able to do something else too. 'System are you there?'

[Yes host.]

Strange runes he doesn't know but could understand with a familiar soothing voice appear in his mind. 'Oh my God! It's real!'

'Ahem, system can you tell me more about the new soul thingy you did aftermath death.'

[System can turn lives host lived before his death into [Soul Core] or what system calls [Soul].]

[Host is currently in possession of [Fractured] rank [Soul] born from your previous life. You wanna revisit the info?]

'I would love to.'

Another line of runes appeared in his mind.

[Soul: Abandoned

Rank: Fractured

Abilities: [Resilient].

Memorial: None.

Description: The soul of a pitiful young man who's forgotten by the world. His desire to live lingers even after his inevitable end.]

'System what does the ability called [Resilient] do?'

[Ability: Resilient

Type: Passive.

Description: You aren't the strongest, fastest, or smartest in the room, but you are the most resilient one. It's really hard to put you down for good.]

'If it's from my previous life, then it makes sense, I guess.'

Surviving is good no matter the situation. As long as he survives, there is a chance for change.

"You little shit, start mining faster; if we don't reach today I'd deadline, we will get punished."

A ferocious man from before screams at him as he notices the wooden box beside Edward isn't full yet.

"Stop yelling, you bastard, it's shit enough to be stuck here as a labor slave, but now I also need to hear your constant whining? Oh, the lords above, what sins have I committed to deserve this?"

This time, it was a shifty-looking slave. I'm his other curse as he looked at the broad-shoulder slave.

"What's going on here?" Edward turned around and saw a soldier in iron armor and leather tunics with a whip in his hands. His arrival silenced both slaves as if something snatched their tongues. In this short moment, the soldier came here.

"Why aren't you bastards haven't filled your boxes yet?"

A whip cracked in the air, and suddenly Edward was in a world of pain. He stumbled and almost fell on his knees. Not only him but the other two were stumbling too.

The whip that sliced the back of Edward's tunic open and drew blood belonged to him but the whipping ended with simply one time thing. Another two or three followed the last one, and each time, it drew even more blood not only from him but from the other two beside him, too.

"Who told you guys you guys can laze around? Keep mining!"

Clank, Clank, Clank.

A trio of slaves gritted their teeth and kept smashing the stone wall, trying their best to ignore the pain. As if amused by their reaction, the soldier cracked his whip a few times, making them flinch in fear each time.

Only after the soldier started walking away, Edward dared to look in his direction as his eyes burned with anger.

'I don't know how or when, but I will get out from here, and then I will come after you.'