Surrounded by darkness and the air blowing past me, engulfed in darkness, I was not even able to see myself. I think of how my life sucks ass. I didn’t make a name for myself.

The only notable thing I did was during the revolution of 89 that I got drafted into. I was too busy crying in a trench to hear my commander yell at me to shoot back. I was kicked and punched to follow the order, but I just couldn't.

Soon, my platoon got overrun, and I was spared the trial for treason for my young age, and I was too much of a wimp to fight back. My last thought was, “god, I do suck” I hear a heavy *Thwack* a shooting pain through my whole body for the shortest of a moment.

I awake suspended in a strange, heavy liquid; my whole body hurts more than I thought even imaginable. This must be hell.

I, for a moment, wonder if I’m really dead, but I am compelled to swim upward. I flail my limbs frantically as I gasp for air, but instead, the liquid fills my mouth and floods my lungs.

I break through the surface, gasping at the cold, damp air. I can see a faint outline of something I can grab onto with a dim light. I reach for the ledge, but my arm only slaps at it, and I see my arm flop to the side as I realize it’s broken in half!

I gag at the sight but only spew up some of the liquid from my lungs. I try my other arm, and it flops limp like a noodle. A thought pops into my head: Maybe my skill can help me get up. 

I focus on the muscles in my right arm, set my arm straight, and hold it there as I grab for the edge. The ledge squishes under pressure, and I pull myself up. I lay on my back, coughing up what's left, and I feel the ground I'm lying on bounce with every cough.

I wake up with even more pain than I had before and can say with certainty that every bone in my body is broken. A cough shakes the ground and startles me to try and stand up, but my legs crumple into themselves. I yell out in pain and realize that I didn’t cough.

I put my head to the ground and hear what sounds like a faint heartbeat. Just as I hear it, it fades to a stop. A blue window appears in front of me like the “status” window.

“Congratulations! You are the first to kill a Dokushi Lizard. Your name will be remembered for generations to come.”

“What?”

I say, confused, but nothing happens in response. The window just closes, and another one opens, saying I have gained 100 levels. I don’t know if that's good or not. High levels could be 1,000. Although I do hope it’s a lot to help me get out of this place.

I crawl in one direction; the dim light from seemingly everywhere outlines the edge of whatever I'm on. I carefully slide down it and land near what looks like a leg of a giant lizard.

It must have broken my fall. Somewhat. And I got the credit for killing it; it’s pretty handy if you ask me.

I crawl forward into nowhere until my hand touches something that feels like wood. I should start a fire so at least I can see, and a long rest should make me feel better.

I find more of the wood-like sticks and two rocks that feel similar to flint. I take some straw still stuck in my clothes and chip the stones at each other.

A fire sparks alight; I see the giant lizard behind me with blueish-green scales. The ground is nothing but a smooth, black, layered stone-like shale. Past the campfire's light is an abyss darker than the blackest black.

A shine lodged in the back of the lizard catches my eye. I crawl over to see the tip of my sword embedded in the lizard's side. I grab it and see that it looks sharper than before; maybe the lizard's blood is acidic, so it must have eaten off the rust.

I dig the tip of the sword into the lizard's scales as a roaring hunger overwhelms me. I cut a slice of flesh off it with the scales and place it on the campfire.

While it cooks, I practice putting myself back together. I can hold my bones in place and re-grow the bone. It's a lot faster than expected, but it would take me a couple of days of focusing on healing to recover fully.

I pick up the lizard meat as it becomes a crispy-looking brown. I hold it up before me, and it smells surprisingly like a chicken with some kind of acidic dressing. Just as I’m about to take a bite, I look past the fire and see a mangled pillar of sticks on the edge of the campfire light.

I follow it up and see three massive white eyes staring down at me from 100 feet above me. The pillar moves up into the dark, and I see it come back down right above me.