Silence.
Then—
Wake up.
Jael jolted awake with a sharp gasp, his hands flying to his head as if to tear something out of it. His fingers dug into his hair, nails scraping his scalp while his chest rose and fell violently.
Pain.
That was the first thing he searched for.
The searing agony that had felt like his skull was being split open from the inside—it wasn't there.
"It's… it's gone," Jael muttered hoarsely.
His voice sounded strange to his own ears, weak and uncertain, as though it didn't fully belong to him anymore. Slowly, he loosened his grip, strands of hair coming away between his fingers. He stared at them for a moment, breathing hard.
Night.
He lifted his gaze toward the sky. The pale moon hung quietly above, its cold light spilling over the snow-covered ground. Frost glittered faintly like crushed glass, and the air bit into his skin with every breath.
"I've been asleep… for hours?" he thought, despair creeping into his chest.
A cold breeze brushed past him, carrying the distant scent of damp earth and pine. Then—
A translucent screen appeared before his eyes.
YOU HAVE SURVIVED THE PENALTY
Jael stared at the words.
Survived.
"So I was meant to die," he whispered.
No response came.
The silence felt heavier than before, as if the world itself was waiting to see what he would do next.
He forced himself to stand, his legs trembling slightly beneath him. Snow crunched underfoot as he made his way toward the nearby river. The moonlight shimmered across the surface, broken and distorted by the slow current.
His reflection stared back at him.
A pale, young face—too thin, too sharp. Oval-shaped, with dull lemon-green eyes that looked older than they should have. What drew his attention most, however, was the dark trail of dried blood that streaked from the corners of his eyes, down his cheeks, and along his jaw.
The mark of the penalty.
"Tch…" Jael sighed softly.
He knelt, scooped cold water into his hands, and washed his face. The chill stung, grounding him in reality. When he stood again, the blood was gone—but the memory wasn't.
He turned toward the forest.
"I need shelter," he thought. "Somewhere safe… somewhere I won't attract beasts."
Moving carefully, he slipped between the trees, keeping his steps light despite the snow. His senses felt sharper—he could hear the wind between branches, the faint crack of ice beneath his boots, even his own breathing.
After a while, he spotted it.
A cave.
Lonely. Half-hidden. Its entrance swallowed by fog and shadow.
Jael picked up a rock and hurled it inside.
The stone vanished into the darkness, bouncing violently before coming to a stop.
Silence.
Nothing emerged.
"No beast inside…" he muttered, still cautious.
He steadied his shaking hands and stepped in.
The cold deepened immediately, but something else caught his attention.
"I can see," he whispered.
Not clearly—but faint outlines. Shapes where there should have been nothing but black.
He found a spot behind a large rock and sat down heavily, letting out a long breath of relief. His mind finally had space to think.
The system.
As if responding to the thought, the screen appeared again—written in an unknown language that his mind somehow understood.
Name: Jael
Age: 17
Mana: (Unmeasured???)
Attributes: Dream Walker, Hallucinations
Then another line appeared.
Flaw: Your power comes with a cost.
You wield the power of a god, defying one of the Laws.
Your greatest strength will be your greatest pain.
Jael frowned.
"My greatest… pain?"
He clenched his fists. "When Lemi awakened, she never mentioned anything like this."
A pause.
"…Or did they hide it?"
The thought unsettled him.
After a moment, he spoke quietly into the darkness.
"I know you hear me. I want answers."
Silence.
Then—
"I hear you."
Jael's eyes snapped open.
The voice was ancient. Hollow. Neither male nor female—yet somehow both.
"H-hey…" he swallowed. "What are you? Where do you come from? And why me?"
The silence returned, stretching uncomfortably long.
Finally—
"I do not know my origins."
Jael's breath caught.
"I am bound to this body by a force I do not understand. Deep within your consciousness."
The voice paused, as if searching through fragmented memories.
"As for why you were chosen… I do not know. Only this Law remains clear: a mortal cannot wield the power of a god and live."
Jael's heart pounded.
"That is why I concluded you are either a forbidden union between mortal and angel… or something else entirely."
For a moment, Jael said nothing.
"A union… between an angel and a mortal?" he whispered, awe and fear twisting together in his chest.
So—
His thoughts froze.
Footsteps.
Crunching softly against snow.
A deep male voice echoed from the cave entrance.
"I think he entered here."
Jael's blood ran cold.
The system screen vanished instantly.
He pressed himself against the rock, heart hammering as shadows moved at the mouth of the cave.
Someone was here.
And they were looking for him.