"Judgement execution failed."
"Rewiring…"
"Errors corrected."
"An awakening fragment…" It paused.
"Has been awarded to you as an apology."
The words floated in the air before me—cold, emotionless, detached from anything human.
"An apology, huh…?" I whispered, my voice raw in my own ears.
"What even was that thing…?"
I crouched, my shaking hands clutching my head. The back of my neck felt aflame.
Some souls cannot be judged…
That had to be it.
"You will be shortly woken up."
…
I closed my eyes.
And I saw them again.
Fire.
Heat licking my skin, smoke stinging my eyes.
Burning houses.
Children screaming—high, echoing in my chest.
But this time—
it didn't feel like a memory.
It felt like it was still happening.
"AGHHHHHH!" I jolted awake. My lungs burned.
For a second, I couldn't tell where I was.
The fire.
The screams.
…Gone.
I lay still, chest rising and falling in uneven gasps.
Then the world settled.
I was lying in an abandoned cottage. The scent of rot and old wood hit my nose. Planks groaned beneath me. Dust motes drifted in the dim light.
"Holy shit, lad—you scared the hell outta me." Dan jumped from his chair, the scrape of wood against floorboards sharp in the silence.
"Nightmare, eh?"
"No… it—it was the memories."
"Must've felt like shit, huh."
"Yeah…"
My throat burned as I swallowed. Even breathing felt wrong.
"Patching you up took a hell of time. What happened?"
"The leader used repulsion magic."
"Bastard… knew I was physically weaker than him."
Dan scratched his chin. "That the thing you mentioned before?"
"Yeah…"
I exhaled slowly, wincing at the strain.
"It's advanced magic. Costs a lot of mana."
I paused, trying to find the simplest way to say it.
"If someone weaker attacks you—physically…"
I tapped my chest weakly.
"You flip it back on them."
Dan blinked. "…So you get hit by your own attack?"
"Exactly."
He let out a low whistle. "That's nasty."
"Yeah," I muttered hoarsely. "Try crawling while your throat's been cut open."
…
Silence settled between us.
"Did we… win?" I forced the words out, each syllable scraping my throat raw.
"Oh, of course. Layla and Carlos are outside, burying the corpses."
I pushed myself up slowly.
My body protested every movement.
The world tilted slightly—
then steadied.
"I'll go check on them."
Talking still felt… wrong.
Like my voice didn't belong to me.
---
The moment I stepped outside, cool air hit my face.
It carried the scent of damp earth.
And blood.
"Finally awake." Carlos spoke as he drove his shovel into the ground. The dull thunk echoed.
For a moment—
I almost thought he sounded relieved.
Strange…
"Shit… why do I always hit these damn bodies?!" Layla groaned, yanking her shovel free from a skull. A hollow crack rang out.
I flinched.
"Yeah… want some help?"
"Sure. Grab a spare—it's by the camp."
I nodded.
---
No one spoke after that.
We just worked.
Shovels bit into soil. Dirt slid over dirt. Birds chirped somewhere in the trees—too normal for a place like this.
My arms felt heavy.
Each movement slower than the last.
And beneath it all—
something else.
Faint.
Distant.
Children laughing.
Playing.
I froze.
The sound didn't belong here.
It didn't belong anywhere near this place.
My grip tightened around the shovel.
The laughter echoed again—
closer this time.
My chest tightened.
No…
Not again.
I stopped digging.
The air felt too thick to breathe.
Like if I inhaled too deeply—
I'd hear them clearer.
My hands began to tremble.
More violently than before.
They both glanced at me.
Just for a moment.
Then went back to digging.
As if they already knew what was happening to me.
---
Day Three
It was the last day of the trial.
We camped outside the colosseum, in a forest heavy with rain. The ground was soft, damp beneath our boots. Leaves clung to everything.
I stared at my hands.
They looked the same.
But they didn't feel like mine anymore.
I thought of my family.
My real family.
I had loved them once…
But I lost them all.
Reincarnated into this hell.
"Why can't I forget them?" I clenched my fists.
Every night, I see them.
Not memories.
Not dreams.
Something else.
Like they're being forced back into me.
"Hey… you alright?"
Dan held out an apple.
His tone was careful this time.
"…"
"I'm fine." My voice cracked.
"It's the last day, yeah?"
"Mhm."
He nodded.
I took a bite.
Sweet.
Too sweet.
"I think there's a catch," I said.
"What do ya mean?"
I raised my hand.
The fragment pulsed softly in my palm—a glowing amethyst, faint vibrations traveling into my skin.
"I got this… as an apology."
Dan stared.
"The system… apologizing?" He let out a short laugh. "That's new."
"I'm serious."
He leaned in slightly.
His expression shifted.
"Huh…"
Before I could respond—
words appeared.
Floating.
Sharp.
Unavoidable.
---
Attention candidates: There will be supply drops of awakening fragments.
An awakening fragment will automatically awaken your fragment once you have collected three of them.
Each supply drop contains only one awakening fragment.
The location of each supply drop will be given once it has successfully reached its destination.
Good luck.
---
I stared at the fragment in my hand.
Three of these…
And it awakens.
"You saw that too…?" I asked.
"Sure as hell did."
"Come on. Let's get the others."
I stood.
The sunlight hit my eyes too hard.
Everything felt… sharper.
Too sharp.
We walked along the cobbled path.
Birds chirped.
Cicadas buzzed.
"It's hotter than usual," I muttered.
"I think summer's here."
"Yeah…" Dan exhaled.
"We haven't even started walking properly. Why're you already tired?"
"Lost half my stamina patching you up, remember?"
"Right…"
I let out a small breath.
Then—
"…Did you feel that?"
Dan frowned. "Feel what?"
"I—it's nothing."
But the fragment in my hand tightened.
Just for a second.
Like something inside it had heard me lie.