Read FRACTURED://EDEN :: death

Finally, after a long hour of bumpy riding, we’ve made it to Varos. Despite everything I’d heard, the town seems pretty lively. People milling around the town square, kids running everywhere.

Right now, Navi is feeding Kalcifer, tossing a slab of meat in his general direction, while Arivia and Asakawa stand at the stable entrance, chatting with the tender.

Kors is sharpening his blade nearby.

And me? I’m just standing in the town square like an idiot, hands on my hips, wearing quite the stupid grin.

Well, what can you expect from a nerd shot right into a story just like the ones he’s read?

The town looks like something straight out of an isekai story — old western-style houses scattered around, and a large building in the distance that I’m guessing is the mayor’s hall.

That’s probably where Gorthro lives.

Yeah, I do a lot of guessing.

I make my way over to Navi.

“So, what’s the first move?” I ask.

She turns around and faces me.

“The way you think you’re gonna roll with us? That’s real funny.”

She points at Kalcifer.

“That’s your party member now. You’re in charge of taking care of him while we’re gone.”

“By the way, you might want to watch your fingers when you feed him. He could take an arm… or a torso.”

I suddenly remember the heavy collar around my neck. And the glares from passerby suddenly sting a lot more.

No way the protagonist’s gonna be deterred by this setback!

“All right, I get it. You guys go ahead and have fun! I’ll stay right here with ol’ Kal!”

“By the way,” Navi says deadpan, “he’s trained to eat you the second you try to run.”

Kalcifer rears his head, almost snickering at that comment.

I groan.

Night falls, and the town square is still buzzing with people doing stuff I couldn’t care less about.

I’m sitting in front of the stables, Kalcifer curled up right beside me.

Munching on a bora fruit, I sigh — nothing better to eat around here, of all places.

My eyes wander.

Damsel in distress? Old lady getting her bag stolen? Any nice-looking girls that lost their insignia?

I groan and run a hand through my hair.

Then sigh again, licking my lips.

Maybe they’ll suddenly need my help. Maybe I’ll awaken some secret OP skill, get super strong, and everyone will be like, ‘Sorry Kaito, for treating you like dirt! For forgiveness, we’ll all throw ourselves off the nearest bridge! We’re sorry!’

Well, except Kors.

Kors is the best, man.

Man, ever since I came here, I’ve been treated like nothing but dirt on the bottom of a boot. What is it about me that makes people act like I’m disposable? Did I step on a god’s pet or something in my past life?

Can I at least get some kind of compensation? A free drink? A cool sword? Hell, I’d take a halfway decent outfit.

And what’s with dying, getting yanked into another world, and still looking exactly the same? I can’t even get reborn.

I glance at a nearby puddle.

Yup—same slicked-back hair, same tired eyes. If anything, I look even more run down than before. Like someone crumpled up a salaryman and tossed him into a medieval fantasy setting.

Before I can finish my thoughts, a timid voice calls out to me.

“E-Excuse me.. Sir?”

A girl no older than 14 stands in front of me, her hands clenched and her eyes glued to the ground.

“Yes, what is it, little girl?” I say, making my voice as deep as possible.

New event!

“My friends… two goblins attacked them! Please save them!”

Oh, hell no.

That’s not a good combo of words.

I glance over at Kalcifer. He glances back, totally unbothered. Reaching into the bag near the carriage, I toss him a fat slab of meat. He catches it with his teeth, graceful as ever.

“Shh..” I whisper, bribing the guard dog.

I turn to the girl.

“Show me the way,” I say, trying to put some steel in my voice.

She gives a cute nod, then bolts eastward, barefoot and fast.

I take a step forward… then stop.

Wait. Am I actually doing this?

I don’t even have a weapon. I’ve never killed anything in my life, and now I’m supposed to fight goblins? Real ones? Not game enemies. Actual flesh, claws, teeth, and whatever those spine-things were.

But—

That girl looked terrified.

I sigh and clench my fists.

…No. She needs someone. And there’s no one else around. Besides, those goblins from earlier dropped like flies. I just have to hit fast and not die. That’s the plan.

After a minute of running, we suddenly find ourselves in a forest clearing. I’m honestly kind of shocked how fast we went from a commercial district to a place this remote.

How are kids even playing all the way out here?

“Over there,” the girl says, pointing.

I follow her finger—and freeze.

A cave. Small, jagged, and pitch black inside.

“Shit…” I mutter under my breath.

It’s like the entrance is absorbing the light around it. My gut twists. I seriously might be in over my head.

Sweat begins trailing down my hand.

That’s when I feel something grip my pant leg.

I look down.

The girl’s trembling. “Please… please help them… it’s all my fault…”

Her eyes fill with tears. Her voice is cracking. I glance at the cave again.

I can’t let a girl cry.

I crouch down, place my hands on her shoulders. “Listen, I’ll save them. But I need you to stay outside, okay? Go find some grownups if you can.”

“Don’t worry! They’ll be safe and sound!” I force a grin, give her a thumbs-up.

She nods, wiping her face, and runs off into the woods.

My fake confidence cracks the moment she’s out of sight.

Walking over to a nearby tree, I tear off a branch and break it in half. One half goes in my pocket. I’ve got no armor, no real weapon. But those goblins fight with their hands. I can outrun them, maybe outsmart them.

I step toward the cave.

This is my chance to prove I’m not worthless. That I’m not just deadweight. That I’m really some worth trusting.

I crouch, placing a hand on the edge of the stone roof, and slide inside.

Immediately, the cave presses in.

The roof nearly touches my head. The walls scrape my shoulders. My body fits, just barely, and I have to shuffle sideways.

It’s tight.

The air is thin—so still it feels like I’m inhaling nothing. Each breath scratches at my lungs. My own grunts echo loudly in my ears.

I should’ve brought a torch.

Wait.

Tearing part of my shirt, I wrap it around the end of the stick in my pocket. I find a sharp rock by the cave entrance—strike the stick again and again until the cloth catches. A dull, flickering flame bursts to life.

A makeshift torch.

Good enough.

I push deeper.

The flame dances along the jagged walls, revealing faded scratches—claw marks? And… stains. Rust-red smears baked into the rock.

I keep going for about 2 minutes, my eyes travelling and searching my surroundings like a drone. The sound of dripping water travels throughout the cave, the only source of sound my ears can pick up on.

A sour smell hits my nose.

At first, it’s subtle.

Then stronger.

Then putrid.

It’s the stench of rot, thick and wet, like something long dead is watching me.

Suddenly—

“KYAAAAAAGHHHH!!!”

It echoes through the tunnel, impossible to place.

My torch sputters.

Footsteps—fast ones—start pounding in every direction.

No. No no no—

I spin, torch raised, trying to see. The walls lurch. The shadows twist. I can’t see anything.

I need to get out of this cave. This is way too dangerous.

I run. My torch flickers. Gurgling sounds rush toward me.

Something skitters along the walls. My ears ring with echoing groans. The smell becomes unbearable—like a mass grave sealed in a furnace.

My chest tightens. The air’s gone. My legs are jelly.

I run blindly, scraping my shoulders against stone. I don’t even know which way I came from.

Twelve minutes—maybe more.

The sounds stop.

I slam into a wall, gasping. My torch is nearly out.

“I was so fucking stupid,” I gasp. “Why the hell did I come in here…?”

I grab my face. I’m panicking, my heart is beating like a machine. I can’t breathe. I can’t breathe.

I’m gonna die, I’m really gonna die.

No—snap out of it. Just find a way out.

Then—

My hand sinks into something.

Not stone.

I lift my torch.

And see faces.

Dozens. Maybe hundreds.

Their eyes blink.

Mouths moan.

Hands twitch, reaching toward me like they want to pull me in.

It’s…

A H U M A N C A T E R P I L L A R

“████████████!!!!”

A scream explodes from my chest so violently that something pops in my ear. I can’t hear my own breath anymore.

I run into a frenzy, not looking behind. I toss the torch behind me. For a split second it lights the walls—

And I see corpses.

They’re everywhere. Hanging from the ceiling. Slumped against the walls. Skulls staring from between rocks. Rotting flesh with nails clawed into the dirt. Eyes still open. The wet things I’ve been stepping on has been blood.

The more I run, the more corpses show up.

Dozens. Hundreds. Thousands. Like this place has fed on people for years. Young, old, man, woman, child. It’s completely indiscriminate.

I’m in hell. This is hell.

The sounds of gurgling and the pattering of feet quickly follow behind my footsteps slowly drives me insane.

My legs buckle.

I can’t breathe. I can’t think. I’m going to die. I don’t want to die. Not here. Not like this.

Suddenly—

My foot hits nothing.

I fall.

CRACK.

I slam into the ground. Hard. I try to scream, but air doesn’t come. I scramble, trying to stand—
But the dark is already here.

Then—

Stab.

White hot electricity jolts across my body, soaring towards my brain.

Pain. Pain. Pain.

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Cold metal—or claws—sink into my ribs.

Again.

My back this time.

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Again.

My stomach.

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Again. Again. Again.

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I convulse. I feel the wet warmth spill from my gut. I don’t know where it’s bleeding from anymore. It’s all bleeding. I can’t even curl into a ball.

I can’t scream anymore, only letting out gurgling noises.

It’s cold. So cold now.

Please…

Please… someone save me… I don’t want to die…

I don’t wanna die in the dark…

I want to do something, I want to be someone.

The torch is gone. Everything is black.

I feel hands now. Cold. Wet. Dragging me into the stone. Into the dark. Into the rest of them.

A whisper brushes my ear.

Not words.

Just the sound of breathing. Like something’s been waiting for me.

Then—

Crack.

A burst of light inside my head.

Then nothing.

Just the sound of moaning corpses…