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Chapter 1: Prologue

Under the starless night, a man in his early 20s lay on his back in a hole that was more than 10 meters deep into the ground. His four mangled limbs are barely attached to the body, white bone pierced out of the skin.

At the center of his body, there is a large pillar piercing through his abdomen and nearly cutting his body in two as his spine was no longer holding his body together, only his skin and some of the damaged muscles that are barely holding together are the only things that stop his body from separating.

His blood soaked all of his cloth and his feelings started to fade but something stopped him from losing consciousness.

The voice of dozens of men chanting the mantra he didn't know as if they are performing some kind of ritual.

He doesn't want to believe that all of this will happen to him on a day that should be one of the happiest days of his life.

[Why am I here? Why did this happen to me? Is this a nightmare?] Countless doubts and questions rang within his weak consciousness that barely holds on.

He had been eagerly awaiting this day, the day when he would sign a deal with the country's top publishing company for the card game he had created.

After passing all the checks and undergoing a lengthy playtesting process, his game was finally ready for the market. He couldn't wait to see his name in print and his game on the shelves of every bookstore in the country.

But then, in a cruel twist of fate, the deal fell through for the most ridiculous reason. Apparently, someone had told the publisher that they didn't like his face, and that was enough to cancel the entire project!

It was absurd! and he never would have imagined that something so trivial could ruin everything he had worked for.

All of the other publishers he had been in contact with suddenly disappeared, and he couldn't get through to any of his business contacts. He was left in a state of confusion and disbelief.

It was then that his girlfriend called him, urging him to come to the construction site of the new city district where a shrine was being built.

When he arrived, he found her standing next to a man he recognized from the news: Victor Justius, the crown prince of the country. There were a number of people in black suits and robes surrounding them, adding to the sense of foreboding.

"Begin the ceremony," the crown prince commanded.

In an instant, the man in the black suit standing next to him aimed his gun at him and pulled the trigger, without uttering a word.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

"No! You promised you wouldn't touch him if I brought him here!" his girlfriend cried out to the crown prince.

But the crown prince just laughed mockingly in response. "Did you see me touching him? No, no, no. The one I'm going to touch is you!"

With that, he pushed his girlfriend down to the ground. He felt a sharp pain shoot through his arms and legs as the bullets tore through his limbs, rendering him unable to stand or move. All he could do was watch helplessly as the scene unfolded before him.

The crown prince began tearing at his girlfriend's clothes, attempting to force himself on her. It was a sight that he had never imagined he would have to witness.

"Noooo! Arrrggghhh!" The girl screamed and tried to resist as his body got dragged to a large hole in front of him before he got thrown into it by the crown prince's men.

What did he do to deserve this? Did he unknowingly do something to offend the crown prince? He had heard about the cruelty and willful nature of this crown prince from the rumor, but he just brushed it off as it was very far from him.

It was unlikely for him to be a victim of the crown prince's cruel nature amongst the more than 70 Million population of this country.

He tried to get back up with just his body and his disabled limb but his struggling could only allow him to flip his body up.

What came next was a large pillar that fell from above the hole, piercing his body.

How naive could he be to think like that.

As his girlfriend's screams continued to ring out, suddenly a new sound joined in: the agonizing scream of the crown prince.

"Arrrrrggggghhh, you bitch! How dare you bite it off! God!! Arrrggggg!!" The crown prince's moans of pain echoed through the construction site.

"The crown prince is injured! Medic!" a man's panicked voice called out, followed by the sound of many footsteps.

"Danny!" the girl's voice cried out as she rushed to the edge of the hole, her face splattered with red blood, especially around her mouth and teeth. The blood was a deep red, and some of it flowed down her neck and stained her tattered clothing.

"No! God... no... Danny!! DAAAANNN!!!" she screamed, her voice full of anguish.

Her face was etched with deep guilt as she struggled to catch a glimpse of the man lying on his back, motionless at the bottom of the hole.

"I'm sorry, Danny! I'm so stupid, I'm sorry! I'm so... stupid... sob..." Her tears fell onto one of the man's mangled arms as she wept, consumed by her regret and guilt.

[Ah...even though she lured me here, seeing her face and hearing her voice again, even if I feel a little bit betrayed, it's still good to see her...] The man's thoughts drifted as his consciousness began to fade.

"Run..." he tried to tell her, but his strength had all but left him.

Suddenly, a gunshot rang out, and the girl fell to the side, a trickle of blood running down her temple. That was the last scene the man witnessed.

...

Unknown to anyone, a prototype card that he had kept in his shirt pocket, now soaked in his blood, began to emit a faint red glow before vanishing into the man's body.


Chapter 2: Returned

— 10 years later —

Under the starless night sky, the light from the moon was concealed behind thick, roaming clouds. The only illumination on the earth came from the artificial neon lights emanating from numerous buildings. The usual sounds of bugs and animals were eerily absent, leaving only the rustling of wind through the trees. It was reminiscent of the night of misery that had occurred a decade ago.

Within a grand eastern shrine, constructed with exquisite wood, the main shrine building stood at the heart of the complex. Atop its roof, a white stone pillar slowly transformed, its surface gradually turning an ominous shade of black, clearly visible to the naked eye.

The now completely blackened pillar emitted a series of cracking sounds, and fissures began to form, originating from its buried base.

Crack... Crack... Crack....

The cracks extended throughout the entirety of the pillar before it crumbled from the top down, disintegrating into a mound of black dust that collected around the dark cavity where the pillar had once stood.

From the depths of this cavity, a mysterious, smoke-like substance seeped out, silently emerging into the world, unbeknownst to anyone.

The enigmatic substance lingered in place, as if awaiting a specific moment. With the passage of time, the leakage ceased, and the mass of dark smoke slowly drifted away from the shrine, ascending toward the obscure heavens and making its way to the nearby town.

Emerging from the depths of unconsciousness, he gradually regained awareness, feeling his body enveloped by the comforting embrace of darkness.

His eyes slowly adjusted to the incoming light, a piercing morning sunlight that signaled the hour had surpassed 8 AM, growing uncomfortably warm.

"Cough! Cough cough!" His first utterance was a series of coughs, his memory flashing back to the pained and regretful expression on his former girlfriend's face.

Rising slowly, he surveyed his surroundings, attempting to discern his current location.

Seated on a makeshift bed constructed from stacked cardboard boxes, he found himself beneath a corrugated iron roof, sporting a sizable hole that allowed the intrusive sunlight to rouse him. The ceiling wasn't particularly high; if he were to stand fully upright, his head would surely collide with it. It seemed he had been sleeping in a modest shack fashioned from recycled materials easily found among refuse.

"Oh! You're awake, young man! How are you feeling?" An elderly man's gravelly voice rang out, drawing his attention to the entrance of the humble abode.

A Caucasian man, appearing to be in his late 50s, stood before him. His shoulder-length black hair exhibited a scattering of white, and his beard and mustache obscured his mouth, but his eyes exuded sincerity and warmth, reminiscent of a beloved grandfather from childhood. Despite his aged clothing, it had been carefully maintained, with visible patches and repairs.

"I'm okay, thank you very much. But how did I end up here? Where am I?" The young man inquired, his confusion evident.

"You don't remember anything?" The old man asked with a concerned expression, to which the young man shook his head, indicating a lack of recollection.

No, he did remember, but what he recalled was a nightmarish sequence where he met his demise. If not for that, why would he still be alive?

Observing the young man falling into silence, as if attempting to retrieve a distant memory, the old man decided to share what he knew.

"I don't know what happened to you, lad, but I discovered you unconscious in the alley, completely naked."

Upon hearing the old man's account, the young man's interest was piqued.

"Me? Unconscious? Naked?" He repeated, seeking confirmation.

"Yes... and..." The old man glanced at his shirt pocket, extracting a card that had been kept there before handing it over.

"Here, I found this card clutched tightly in your hand. You seemed unwilling to let it go. I don't know what it is, but it must be important to you." The old man explained, placing the card into the young man's hand.

Curiosity compelled the young man to examine the card, revealing a prototype he had carried in his shirt pocket on the day of his supposed demise... no, it was merely a nightmare.

"Could it truly have been a nightmare?" He pondered, doubts gradually seeping into his heart.

Card: Dilmun

Picture: -

Rarity: Legendary

Type: Unique-Location

Description: [Tap: Get 1 Non-Elemental Mana], [Get 1 Additional Elemental mana for Each Element's Location in the field (Maximum of 1 for each element).], [Pay 2 Mana and draw a card.], [Indestructible], [Eternity], [Soul bound]

Flavor text: The birthplace of the gods where the gods reside. Forever out of human reach only the soul of the virtuous could live beside the god for eternity.

The young man gazed at the card, still in its prototype form, printed from the printer in his apartment. It possessed only a rough outline of what he intended it to be; the effects were yet to be tested, and it lacked even a picture—it was merely a preliminary version.

As he touched the card, he noticed it was made of an unusual material that retained its shape no matter how much he crumpled or folded it.

"This is peculiar," he mused to himself, studying the card intently.

"Are you hungry, lad?" Old man Murphy inquired, drawing the young man's attention.

"Oh! How rude of me." Suddenly remembering something, the young man flashed an awkward smile and swiftly tucked the prototype card into his shirt pocket.

"I'm Daniel, Daniel Blake. You can call me Dan... er, Mr..." Daniel extended his hand toward the old man, offering a friendly smile.

"Murphy. Just Murphy. Everyone around here calls me 'Old Man Murph' or simply 'nosey old man,'" Murphy introduced himself, laughing as he shook hands with Daniel.

Leading Daniel out of the shack, Murphy pointed in a specific direction where a water tap connected to a building in the alley was located, with a small mirror affixed to the wall above it.

"Go wash up first, I'll bring the food over," the old man instructed before walking off in another direction, where a street food cart selling grilled meat on skewers awaited.

Daniel headed toward the water tap, cleansing his face before glancing at the mirror before him.

"What?!"

The reflection that greeted him nearly startled him. It was his own face, but aged significantly, appearing to be in his early thirties. The last recollection he had was when he had turned 22, just a few days before the incident.

"This... this can't be real... it's just a nightmare, right?" Daniel muttered to himself in shock, his mind reeling as he attempted to regain composure.

After splashing his face with water, Daniel approached old man Murphy, who waved him over and presented a paper bag filled with grilled meat.

"Here! Eat and take your time to think. Did you get robbed or something? I could take you to the nearest police station, you know. The head police officer owes me a favor. Despite the state of this society, I believe he would lend a hand in your case," the old man cheerfully suggested, extending the paper bag of grilled meat.

Daniel offered a faint smile, appreciating the old man's efforts to lift his spirits and provide comfort in his own way.

"It's okay, Uncle Murphy. By the way, what's today's date? I completely forgot," Daniel inquired.

Murphy retrieved an old smartphone from his pocket, glancing at the date before responding.

"Oh... It's Friday, December 18th, 2033. It appears you suffered a blow to the head; otherwise, you wouldn't have forgotten this day," the old man replied, wearing a smile.

"What? What day is it today?" Daniel asked, his confusion evident.

Old man Murphy paused, meeting Daniel's gaze and recognizing the genuine bewilderment in his eyes.

"You truly have no idea, do you?" The old man then displayed his smartphone to Daniel.

"Here, it's better for you to see it yourself." He handed his phone to Daniel, revealing a webpage with a government report about a momentous event.

The page detailed the Ascension ceremony of Crown Prince Victor Justius, who would ascend to the throne that very day.

"What!" Daniel exclaimed in shock, his eyes fixed on the smartphone screen, unable to believe what he was seeing.

Now, it became clear that he had somehow died, ten years had passed, and he had been inexplicably resurrected, given a second chance at life.

He didn't know why or how this had happened, or if some powerful entity had deemed him deserving of another opportunity.

But now, he would seize this chance to live life on his own terms, uncertain of when his existence might come to an end. Perhaps tomorrow, the force that restored his life would lose its power, or the higher being that granted him another chance would lose interest.

He vowed to live without regrets until his final breath.

As for seeking revenge against Victor... he would assess his options once he regained his wealth and assets.

For now, he needed to reclaim his fortune and contemplate his next steps.

"Uncle Murphy, I now know what to do. Thank you for your assistance. I will definitely repay you," Daniel expressed his gratitude to Murphy and returned the smartphone to him.

Murphy looked into Daniel's eyes, realizing that he had regained his composure and resolved to follow his chosen path. He reached into his pants pocket and retrieved two bills, each containing 100 Tessia coins.

"Take it, lad. I don't know what has happened to you, but... don't lose hope. And if you ever face setbacks and have nowhere else to go, remember that my humble shack will always welcome you," Murphy spoke earnestly, placing the two bills into Daniel's hand.

"Uncle Murphy..." Daniel murmured, unsure of how to respond. This was the first time a stranger had shown him such kindness.

"I promise! I will repay you tenfold!" Daniel made his pledge, securing the money in his pocket, and bowed deeply to the old man.

"Don't mention it," the old man smiled, waving off the gratitude, signaling Daniel to proceed with his plans.

Daniel returned the smile, picking up a few pieces of grilled meat from the paper bag, and walked towards the bus stop.


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