A tall man stood at the edge of the world—handsome, sharp-featured, and young-looking. Maybe twenty-one. His short black hair framed a face marked by calm indifference and strange beauty. Crimson eyes, like twin drops of living blood, peered through expensive silver-framed glasses. But there was one problem.
Where his stomach should have been… A cluster of swords bloomed outward, twisted into the shape of a grotesque flower.
But let's not get ahead of ourselves.
My name is Krova Astris.
Yeah, I know. Weird name. Sounds like I should be some tragic villain from a gothic fantasy novel. You know, all mysterious past and glowing eyes.
Krova means "blood." Astris means "star." Or moon, depending on the translation. My adoptive mom gave me the name. She used to read a lot of fantasy books—there was one she always mentioned, something like Shadow… Something. Can't remember.
She found me on the street during a blood moon. She said the moment she saw me, it was like the name just slipped from her mouth. Like she wasn't in control. Like it was meant to be.
Still… Just call me Kastis. Or Kas, if you're close. My wife was the only one who called me that, though.
Anyway, I was normal. For the most part.
I had a six-figure salary that hit every six months. A master's in business, plus dual minors in engineering and crafting. When I got home, there was a wife waiting for me. A daughter too. That's all I ever really needed.
Life was good.
Until…
It happened on my daughter's birthday. I left work early. I just wanted to get home, surprise her, and maybe pick up a cake on the way. I didn't expect anything strange.
But halfway there… I hit something.
Not a car. Not a wall.
An invisible barrier.
It felt like being slammed by a giant fist made of static. My whole body jerked backward and flew ten feet before smashing into the ground.
THUD.
Blood spilled from almost every part of me. My vision blurred. Everything around me started to fade. Then—light. Red light.
Magic runes. Glowing in a circle around me.
I couldn't think straight. The pain was overwhelming. Every nerve in my body screamed until even that faded. There was no sensation left. Just numbness.
Eventually, I opened one eye.
Gray.
Then… darkness.
And in that absolute dark, a light appeared. It hovered, then slowly twisted into the shape of a humanoid figure.
At first, I thought it was some kind of god.
But the longer I looked… the more wrong it felt.
It wasn't light. It wasn't darkness either. It was something in-between. Like an inverted shadow. A paradox. Not one thing or the other—but both. And neither.
My head throbbed. I couldn't understand what I was seeing.
Then, just as my thoughts began to fray, a translucent gray screen appeared in front of me.
Welcome, lost soul. You are in the Land Between. I shall send you on your way.
Before I could react, my body—or whatever I was now—was wrenched forward, dragged by something unseen. Bright light devoured everything.
The light didn't fade right away. It burned into my eyes. It was the only thing I could see for what felt like hours.
Then it dimmed.
Shapes returned. Blurry at first, then sharper.
I blinked—and the pain in my skull spiked. Like a blade through my brain.
The headache passed, and my vision cleared.
I sat up with a jolt, gasping.
I was lying on solid ground—but not any ground I knew. I was on a floating island suspended in the middle of a massive, circular expanse of sky. Green mountains towered in the distance. Far beyond, mist-covered islands drifted like forgotten thoughts. Dozens of them. Hundreds, maybe.
A strange calm settled over me.
No cars. No buildings. No people.
Just mist. Trees. Silence. And sky.
I wandered until I found a small clearing beside a wide pond. I gathered dry wood and made a fire. Then I walked to the water's edge.
And stopped.
My reflection stared back.
Only… it wasn't me.
Not really.
I used to be forty. Graying. Tired. My body wasn't what it used to be.
Now? I looked twenty-one. My physique had changed—leaner, stronger. My muscles looked like they'd been carved from stone. My height? I'd gone from 5'10 to 6'2.
My eyes had changed too. They were gold now but flickered unpredictably to a brilliant, blazing blue. Like twin flames burning in a storm.
My hair? Once pitch black, it was now white. Not the kind of white that comes with age, but the kind that gleams like silver in moonlight.
I barely recognized myself.
I sat on a rock by the fire and stared into the flame.
Fragmented memories.
No instructions.
No system prompt.
Just me… in a strange world I didn't understand.
But I had a name.
And for now, that would have to be enough.