Brand opened his eyes in a dark room lit by a single candle. His completely numb mind prevented him from thinking for a while. His eyes were unfocused, like those of a dead fish. The feeling of strangeness surrounded him as he sat up in bed. As he slowly began to comprehend his thoughts, he looked around.

"What's going on? Where am I?"

He was in a small, square room with stone walls. Inside this room, there was only a small bed, a wooden stool, and a candle. As he attempted to get out of bed, he was hit by a sudden storm of memories that erupted in his mind.

He remembered. Periods of his previous life flashed before his eyes. In the last moments of his life, his chest had been pierced by many swords. He was actually dead, clearly remembering the unique feeling he felt as his life force faded.

His gaze moved as his insides trembled with the fear of the unknown.

After remaining motionless for a while, he reached for the candle burning with a blue flame and took it.

Brand walked to the rusted iron door on the opposite wall. He stepped out into a dark corridor, and he couldn't tell how long it was. Apart from the light emitted by the candle in his hand, there was a small green beam of light ahead. A thin layer of cold penetrated his bones and soul, reminding him of his last moments when the life force within him faded.

After walking for an unknown amount of time, he was getting close to the green light beam; a stone spiral staircase leading down became visible.

Going down the stairs, he reached another corridor lit by hundreds of candles burning with green flames. Ahead was the great black door; it was made entirely of steel and had engravings on it.

As Brand approached the black door, several locks began to open one after the other. When the door opened with a disturbing squeak, all he could see were two chains glowing turquoise in a pitch-dark room.

When he entered the room, the candle in his hand made nothing visible. He felt as if he were walking through endless darkness; the floor on which he stepped was made of indented stone slabs. When he got close enough to the glowing chains, he realized that the stretched-out chains actually bound a figure.

"Hello, Brand."

He felt as if he had been struck by hundreds of lightning bolts at once when he heard the figure's voice. He was so familiar with the sound he heard that he knew the tone with his whole being. His entire body stiffened, and a terrible chill began to rise up his spine.

"H-How!?"

Brand felt as if his throat were being brutally squeezed by two strong hands. Thoughts of being in some kind of nightmare again began to take over his mind.

Yes!

This must have been a nightmare!

The figure stepped into the illumination of the blue candlelight with the sound of creaking chains as he moved forward a little. He was quite handsome with his brown hair, small nose, and thin lips. He had eyes darker than the deepest black; someone looking at them would not be able to capture any emotion.

His thin lips curled in a cold, contemptuous, mocking tone. "What did you expect, Brand?"

Brand's blue eyes carried many emotions as he stared at the figure: dread, disappointment, sadness, and despair. The only difference in their appearance was their eyes; one's eyes were expressing emotions, the other's were swallowing emotions.

Brand named him "Thorn". He had stuck to his soul and existence, causing him to suffer incessantly. Even when he was dying, he was not in a state of despair, regret, or fear. On the contrary, there was a peace within him that he could not describe, as he would be free of him in his last moments.

However, here he was again, in front of him.

"Even after death... H- How can you find me?" Brand felt like he was suffocating as the words came out of his throat.

"You still don't get it, Brand?" Thorn's smile grew wider. "You and I are one, and death cannot change this fact."

Brand gritted his teeth. He suppressed the anger that had built up to burst inside him and asked. "Where is this place?"

Thorn smiled but said nothing.

*Crack* *Crack* *Crack*

The ground began to shake as crackling sounds rose from all directions. Drum-like rumblings began to resound from the depths. As the cracked walls began to crumble, the ground began to split, completely separating from each other.

The last thing Brand saw as he fell into the dark void was Thorn's cocky, contemptuous smile.

***

After his consciousness was frozen in the endless void for an unknown amount of time, a beam of light bloomed in the depths of darkness. When he saw the light again, he began to hear the incomprehensible whispers in his mind in his ears.

He had intense dizziness. With a thump that echoed through his subconscious, his senses belonged to him again. As his blurry vision began to clear, the first thing he saw was a large building.

He stared blankly.

After a while, some scenes flashed in his mind. He undoubtedly knew this place very well.

His body trembled, and his gaze unconsciously fell downward. He took a shaky breath when he saw his little hands and feet.

Brand looked back at the building, not knowing what to feel. This was the orphanage where he spent his childhood. He was an orphan; he never knew his parents. He was later told that his parents went on a dungeon raid and did not return.

"Wait...don't tell me..." he felt as if an elephant had been sitting in his brain as hundreds of thoughts and questions popped up in his mind at the same time, seeking answers to all of them at once.

He forced himself to stand up; he slapped him several times in the face. He scanned around without stopping as a wave of pain spread across his cheeks.

He quickly walked to the small pond in front of the orphanage. Looking at his reflection in the water, he saw that his face was exactly the same as when he was little. As he dipped his hand into the water, a feeling of cool vitality enveloped him.

"Hey!? Are you okay?"

Brand turned when he heard the voice behind him.

A bronze-skinned boy with messy blond hair was looking at him curiously. The look in his big green eyes was both questioning and worrying. This boy looked almost the same height and age as Brand.

Brand stared blankly at the boy for a few seconds. Then he ran toward him and hugged him tightly.

The boy just stood there, confused and not knowing what to do.

On the other hand, Brand hugged him as if he would never let go again.

"B-Brand? What's going on?"

The boy managed to speak after getting over his surprise. However, he did not receive any response.

Brand's tears began to flow nonstop as he had the opportunity to hug his best friend once more. Memories of his past came to light; sweet and sharp memories.

"I saw you slapping yourself and strangely looking at yourself in the pond... and now you're suddenly crying."

The boy was quite confused when Brand released him after holding him for a long time.

"I am... I am alright, Ather. It's just been a bad day."

"Hmm?" Ather's green eyes sparkled with curiosity. "What happened?"

Brand shook his head as he wiped away his tears. "It's nothing important. I feel alright now."

"If you say so…" Ather gave him a confused look. "I have to take buckets of apples to the warehouse. I'd better go before I linger any longer."

Brand nodded. "Mm! Go ahead!"

"See you in the evening!" Ather ran away from there.

Brand closed his eyes for a moment, then took a deep breath.

After calming down a bit, he looked at the middle of his right inner arm. There was a red deltoid-shaped crystal there. This crystal was called Vilatrix and was a symbol of Tuillisant's dominance over humans.

"Tuillisant..." Brand muttered.

Tuillisant was considered the divine stone, the savior of humanity. Every person who reached the age of fifteen was eligible to take the Test. At the end of the process, everyone would receive a Power Badge based on their performance. This was called Tuillisant's Blessing. However, Tuillisant would periodically assign mandatory quests to people who received the blessing, and if these quests were not completed on purpose, those people could not get another chance.

Their futures would be completely locked down!

On the other hand, there were people who did not receive Tuillisant's Blessing and chose to continue their lives as farmers or craftsmen. As the number of safe towns and cities increased, so did the number of these people who did not want to gain any power and wanted to live quietly.

In his previous life, he received a B-Class Power Badge called 'Twin Shadows'. This blessing granted him various powers in the shadow arts. But this blessing soon became the worst nightmare of his life. For failing to successfully complete a quest assigned by Tuillsiant, he received a punishment, and a part of his soul was completely corrupted, integrating with his shadow art.

"Thorn..." Brand was disgusted at even the slightest thought about him, so he tried to distract his thoughts. "Why did I see him first, even after I died? Was this some kind of mind trick?"

He gently touched the red crystal on his arm. Vilatrix immediately glowed and opened a projection screen in the air:

Name: Brand Lantey

Age: 14 (Time remaining for Tuillisant's Blessing : 23:20:44)

Race: Human

Rank: Herald

Experience: 0

Power Badge: Unknown

 

Brand waved his hand to turn off the screen and took a shaky breath. He was sure he wasn't in a dream; it was back to where it was years ago. His mind kept asking "Why?" and "How?" but he had no answer. He had less than a day to qualify for the Test. He stood there for a while, uncertain of his situation.

Brand turned his gaze back to the large building. He had spent his most carefree and happiest days here, in an orphanage. For the first time in a long time, he felt his heart lighten as he stared at the ivy-covered stone walls of the orphanage. He started walking slowly towards the entrance.

When he opened the large wooden door with carvings on it, he saw children doing various jobs in the main corridor. When he looked at their faces, the names of all of them came to mind; despite all the time that had passed, he had not forgotten their names.

"Brand?"

Brand looked in the direction the voice was coming from and saw an old man walking towards him. He also immediately remembered who this old man was.

He smiled, "Chairman Effroy!"

Principal Effroy was the director of the orphanage. He was a strong warrior who participated in five great dungeon raids in his youth. However, he ended his path in order to open an orphanage and devote all his savings to the care of orphans.

"Come, let's talk a little bit." said the chairman.

Brand started walking after him.