They burned me alive for a war I didn't start.
I remember the flames.
The screams.
The sound of my name being dragged through crimson dirt.
My last breath was a terrible, broken, rebellious chuckle. I died on my knees, with steel in my spine and rage in my heart.
But death didn't take me.
It changed me.
I awoke choking on ash, with air as thick as molten oil. The sky above was a deep crimson, with clouds whirling in strange patterns, and the ground beneath me was cracked black stone that pulsed like a heartbeat.
I was alive.
But this wasn't Earth.
I sat up, heart hammering. My hands were small—too small. Thin, pale fingers dusted with soot. My body… it wasn't mine.
A reflection flickered in a pool of obsidian water nearby. I crawled toward it, limbs aching like they hadn't moved in weeks. I saw a girl—maybe sixteen—dark hair tangled, eyes glowing faint gold.
And on her collarbone… my collarbone now… was a burning sigil, pulsing red with each heartbeat. A rune of fire, jagged and cruel.
"What the hell…?"
Then I heard it.
> [SYSTEM ACTIVATION COMPLETE.]
Host recognized: Soul Pattern aligned.
You have been chosen by the Infernal Bloom.
Cursed Path initiated.
I staggered backward, clutching my head. A flood of information poured into my mind—skills, memories, strange arcane symbols etched in flames.
> System Mode: Pain-Based Progression.
Level 1 Unlocked: Ember State.
Skill Gained: Searing Touch.
"What the hell is a Pain-Based—" I didn't even finish the thought before the pain hit.
Fire exploded beneath my skin. My nerves lit up like fireworks as the cursed flame etched deeper into my bones.
I screamed.
And it felt… good.
It hurt like sin, but beneath it, I could feel something awakening. Power. Raw, wild, ancient. The system was binding itself to my very soul.
> Reminder: Pain increases Synchronization. Progress: 12%.
A laugh tore out of me. Not because I was okay. I wasn't.
But I was back.
And I wasn't weak.
Not anymore.
I stood, legs shaking but firm. Around me stretched a wasteland of blackened trees and shattered statues—like a battlefield long forgotten. I didn't know where I was, or what rules this world followed, but one thing was clear:
This world was cruel.
And cruelty… I could survive.