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**The Abyssal Realm, City of Asmodae**
The night sky was a blanket of darkness, suffocating the ruins of a once-glorious city. The towering stone structures, now cracked and eroded by time, stood like gravestones under the dim glow of a dying moon.
A man, drenched in blood, leaned against the cold wall of an alleyway. His breath was ragged, his fingers trembling as they clutched at the dagger buried deep in his chest. His grey eyes, usually sharp and calculating, were now clouded with confusion—caught between pain and the bitter realization that he had been betrayed.
"You… you did this?"His voice was hoarse, barely rising above the howling wind.
Standing before him was a woman, her silhouette framed by the flickering torches lining the streets. Once, her eyes held warmth. Now, they reflected nothing but the flames of destruction.
A small, almost imperceptible smile curved her lips. "I had no choice."
The words weren't an apology. They were a sentence.
The man let out a weak chuckle, blood dripping from his mouth. "No… You always had a choice. You just chose to sacrifice me."
His knees buckled, and he collapsed onto the stone-paved ground. The world around him blurred, the last thing he saw being the cold, unfeeling eyes of the woman he once trusted.
That night, he died—or so everyone believed.
But fate had other plans.
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**The Modern World, Year 20XX**
The city was alive with movement, a stark contrast to the silent ruins he remembered. The streets were flooded with people, each lost in their own hurried existence. Towering buildings loomed over him, their neon signs flashing advertisements in an unfamiliar language.
In the midst of the chaos, a lone man stood still. His expression was blank, his clothes completely out of place in this world of glass and steel. In his grip was something that didn't belong—a dagger, its blade still tainted with his blood.
"Where… am I?"
The question echoed in his mind, but there was no one to answer him.
Then, a voice—soft yet eerily close—whispered in his ear. "You are not dead. But you are no longer who you think you are."
His body tensed. He turned sharply, but the space behind him was empty.
Yet, the voice remained.
**"Move, or you will disappear."**
He had no idea who was speaking, nor did he understand what was happening.
But one thing was certain—this was no longer the world he knew.
And he… was no longer the man he once was.
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