The apartment stank of rot, mold, and old regret. Rats scurried in the shadows, nibbling on long-forgotten takeout boxes. Trash covered the floor like dead leaves after a storm.Bjorn sat in the middle of it all, eyes locked on a glowing screen. His body moved on instinct, his face blank — not out of pleasure, but desperation. He muttered under his breath."Ugh... I'm almost there…"And then — click. Darkness.The screen died, the light gone. The electricity had cut again.Bjorn blinked, frozen mid-motion. "...Fuckin' electricity bill again."No rage. No panic. Just exhaustion. He let out a slow breath and stood, stepping carefully between piles of trash and empty bottles toward the door. As he moved, a thought drifted through him like a ghost.It's been a while since I've seen the sun.He opened the door, and light flooded the room, piercing his eyes. It was too bright. Unnatural.Creeeeeak.Outside, the traffic screamed past. Engines, horns, curses — the world was loud, overwhelming

Darkness.Silence reigned, deep and eternal, until a whisper stirred through the void like a breath caught between worlds.A hundred thousand souls…Then came light — not like fire or sun, but something deeper. Cold. Ethereal.Shapes began to form. People.Thousands upon thousands, blinking into existence inside a vast, surreal realm. The ground curved strangely beneath them — as if they were standing inside the belly of a world, not upon it. A giant floating orb hovered in the sky above, pulsing with light. Structures twisted in impossible geometry. The sky cracked in violet veins. This was no heaven. Nor was it hell.Dragged here by fate… and my will.In another place — far beyond what the people in the orb could see — sat the old woman.She rocked gently in a chair inside a dim room, lit only by flickering candles. A strange, feline creature purred by her feet. In her hands, she held it — the glowing orb. The very heart of the realm."You are not heroes," she said quietly, her eye

The forest whispered"Twisted trees loomed like ancient, horned sentinels. Among them stood a single, eerie monolith of wood—bark warped and gnarled, older than memory. Beneath its crooked shadow, Bjorn stood still, staring up at it as if it were watching him too.> "If no one else will choose it… I will."His hand reached out and pressed against its scarred surface. It was cold, coarse, and... familiar in a way nothing else in this world was.From the shadows behind him, something shifted.A low whisper carried on the wind:> "There he is… let's begin."---Far from the cursed tree, in the prideful heart of the forest, tension flared like fire.Lucius stood tall on a moss-covered stone, his regal frame lit by the fading sun. Around him, the Pride faction boiled with argument. Raised voices, clenched fists, seething glares.> "We won't follow your orders anymore!" one member barked.Lucius didn't flinch. He only looked down upon them, expression unreadable, eyes colder than the shade

The rain had stopped.Morning light bled faintly through the trees, a dull gray that barely warmed the forest floor. Mist curled around the roots like restless spirits. Somewhere nearby, birds chirped cautiously—as if even they feared to break the silence.Bjorn stirred.His body ached like he'd been trampled by fate itself. His eyelids fluttered, crusted with dried blood and mud. He was still at the base of that tree—the same cursed tree he'd chosen last night. Its bark now dug coldly into his back.He didn't open his eyes fully. Not yet.Voices. Close.He lay still, listening.> "Why the hell didn't you finish him off last night?!"A harsh voice. Guttural. Full of restrained violence.The Wrath faction leader.Bjorn could feel the weight in that voice—the kind that didn't make idle threats.Another voice answered. Calm. Sharper. Less predictable.Not what Bjorn expected from someone under Wrath's command.> "Because you're not thinking."A beat of silence.> "He survived the Walpurg

The apple cracked between her teeth with a sickening crunch.Juice dripped from the corner of her lips—thick and red like blood—as the old woman leaned forward, eyes locked on the glowing orb.Within its shifting light, the scenes played out like a violent opera.Wounded men. Wild fists. Blood-soaked dirt. Fear. Rage. Betrayal.She licked her thumb slowly, savoring the juice, and whispered—> "Mmm... the Orb World never ceases to entertain me."Her silhouette remained still, but her eyes gleamed—hungry.---Mud exploded beneath their feet.Bjorn and the Wrath leader clashed again, teeth bared, soaked in blood and fury. Every punch was thunder. Every blow—meant to shatter bone.Their grunts and growls echoed through the trees like wild beasts.Bjorn's elbow cracked into the leader's ribs.The Wrath leader roared, grabbed his arm, and threw him—Bjorn skidding across the wet ground, his back smashing against the cursed tree once again.But Bjorn pushed up—breathing heavy, defiant.Then—h