(an unknown voice ringing in my head)

Lucias awoke with a jolt in his head. His mind filled with fragments of a past life that seemed distant and hazy. A surge of memories flooded his mind, piercing his consciousness like a relentless drill, causing a throbbing pain inside his head.

"These headaches... they're becoming more frequent," he muttered.

Closing his eyes, Lucias tried to piece together the fragmented recollections of his memories.

Years ago, at a time when he struggled to remember. His life had taken a drastic turn of events. It was during an ill-fated expedition into a dungeon, a domain where danger lurked at every turn. A sudden twist of events befall upon him. The third-rank dungeon had inexplicably transformed into a zero-rank nightmare difficulty. It unleashed chaos upon his party, resulting in the deaths of his comrades. Only Lucias had managed to survive in this predicament.

"The dungeon's sudden alteration? The appearance of the Annihilation Demonic Wolf, an L-rank boss?"Lucias tries to remember.

The memories slowly resurfaced with vivid clarity as he thought,

"The reason why I survived that predicament was because of my passive skill?"

"Does it mean it suddenly activated in that event? For real?"

He remembered his passive ability. Overseer of the Unseen, a skill he had often considered useless due to its mere 0,005% activation probability and its requirement to fight a divine-trait enemy. But in that dire moment, it had proved its worth, granting him an opportunity to escape the clutches of the boss's domain, albeit at the cost of his physical body.

Since that fateful day, Lucias had found himself trapped in the void realm, devoid of physical form. His five senses dulled, but somehow, he still could feel pain linger. Make it a reminder of his existence.

Lucias has lost track of time in this void. The emptiness of the void feels like torture for his mental fortitude.

He thought,

"Has it been days, weeks, months, years, or even decades-long passed?"

"I've been waiting here patiently, hoping for another chance to live."

"Please, god! If you exist, please help me out of this void." He pleads with sincerity.

Deep inside, Lucias is not someone who believes in god existence. He doesn't understand why his conscience led him to plead to a god. As his mind consciously praying to a god. A faint of light appears at the edge of the void. Little by little, the light became more radiant. It gradually gets closer before engulfing the void with its light.

A sudden fatigue washed over him, and Lucias entered a deep slumber. One wish he had before surrendered himself to this presence. Lucias wishes for a new life.

"If god exists, please make my wish come true." He fell asleep for quite some time.

(A strange voice talking inside his consciousness)

Lucias awoke, his consciousness slowly returning from the depths of slumbers. As his eyes slowly opened, he found himself trapped within another void. Lucias feels an unfamiliar feeling within his body. His five senses seemed to return, but his vision remained the same. The darkness enveloped him, shrouding him in obscurity.

"I thought I might be free from this confines of darkness once I awake. But it seemed it's not the case."

The air hung heavy with an eerie silence, broken only by the rhythmic echoes of his heartbeat.

Lucias ponders, "Do I own a physical body?"

He moves his hands and tries to feel his own body. The sense of his skin, when his bare hands touch its skin, makes his heart beat faster in excitement. Lucias feels a little relief from his heart. At least something improved from his previous situation.

The body, as he asses his current physical form. It resembles a child's body type. The reason why he possesses this body remains a mystery.

Lucias left this question for later. He tried to move his body, but the sound of metal links clinking caught his attention. The sound was coming from his left leg. Lucias feels discomfort as a rusty grip tightens on his left leg, limiting his movement, and makes a loud sound as the links clink with the floor.

"Just what with this situation am I in?"

"It looks like this body is inside confinement. But a child? Just what happened to this child?" he wondered.

Lucias tries to call out for someone outside the confinement. But he got no response. The only response he receives is his echoes bouncing from the walls.

He strained his ears, but the silence persisted. He feels uneasy and discomfort in his mind and body. To calm his nerves, Lucias takes a deep breath. His heart rate slowly became steady, and his nerves calmed. He consciously pushed aside his unease and discomfort and focused instead on analyzing the environment within the confinement.

"It's dark and getting colder. Does it mean outside is currently nighttime?" Lucias wonders.

Time seems to slip through his grasp. This situation is no different than before. The darkness leaves him disoriented and uncertain of the duration of time that has passed inside this confinement. The air inside the confinement sent a chilling sensation that pierced his skin into his bone. Even breathing became a challenge, making him feel discomfort each time he inhaled the air.

Lucias covers his nose and mouth with his hands. Blow the air to help warm and humidify the air before it reaches his lungs. He slightly feels much better, but his stomach starts growling. The feeling of hunger, the blessing that has been missing, is present.

He muttered, "I'm thankful to learn that this body could function normally. But for a moment, I thought it would be nice if..."

Lucias stops for a second, then continues, "No, I should have been grateful. Living as an Astral entity is indeed beneficial in some aspects. Still, I prefer to live in the flesh. Being alive is the greatest blessing for those who desire to live."

Despite time has passed for quite some time. Lucias still be able to resist his need for nourishment. He feels determined to come out safely from this predicament.

His body might start to weaken as its system demands nourishment to function. His consciousness might slowly fall into slumber. The pain that he feels in his stomach is nothing compared to any pain he ever experiences.

"Just a little bit more... Someone will come for checking." he thought.

Coincidently, as he has expected, a faint sound akin to the gentle brush of footsteps drawing nearer and its delicate rhythm bounces within the walls. Slightly after he heard those footsteps, the curves of Lucias' lips moved upward. He used the rest of his energy to brainstorm several scenarios to escape this confinement. The owner of those footsteps will be his first victim in this world.