Chapter 3: The First Task

The void beneath me pulsed with quiet energy, almost breathing. I stepped forward cautiously, my bare feet brushing the strange, soft ground. It was endless — no walls, no sky, no ceiling — yet it didn’t feel empty. It felt alive.

“Where… where do I even start?” I whispered, spinning in a slow circle. My mind raced, imagining the coming apocalypse, the hordes I knew were waiting just days away.

“You start where all things start,” Echo said, materializing a little closer. Its form shimmered like liquid smoke. “Not with weapons, not with shields… but with understanding.”

“Understanding?” I frowned. “I don’t have time for riddles. I have to survive!”

A faint smile in the shape of its swirling mist. “Ah… impatience is the flame of growth. But even fire can burn the hand that strikes too quickly.”

I grit my teeth. Fine. Riddles be damned. Survival first.

I reached out instinctively, touching the soft, glowing ground beneath me. Immediately, shapes began to appear. Tables of floating light materialized in front of me — storage grids, shelves, boxes that hummed with potential. Tools, weapons, food, seeds… everything I would need if I planned to survive.

“This is the inventory interface,” Echo said. “Your Sanctuary provides. But only if you earn it.”

I blinked. “Earn it? How? I’m already here, already alive…”

“You are alive because of what was given to you. What is given now must be taken. You will be tested, Kiami Lynn.”

The words made my chest tighten. I nodded slowly, gripping the edge of one glowing table. I could feel potential thrumming through it — weapons to craft, plants to grow, traps to learn.

Then Echo whispered, voice dropping into a hush that made the hairs on my arms rise:

“Two lives you hold: one of flesh, one of shadow.

To master one, you must first feed the other.

Fail, and both shall burn.”

I frowned, heart thumping. “Shadow? Feed the shadow?”

The figure dissolved into mist, leaving only the flicker of the interface. I stared at it, unease crawling over me. The system pulsed softly, waiting for me to act.

I knew instinctively what I had to do. I could start small:

• Inventory: Gather basic survival tools — knives, rope, first aid supplies.

• Sanctuary Cultivation: Begin growing plants and food for long-term survival.

• Skill Training: Start exercising, running, and honing reflexes — my old track and volleyball instincts still there, but sharper now.

I knelt and touched a floating knife. It hovered in my hand, weightless but solid. My fingers closed around it, and a faint warmth spread through my arm. A small panel flashed on the interface:

[Reward Granted: 50 Evolution Points]

My stomach dropped in awe. Already… power? Already… progress?

I took a deep breath and planted a seed in the glowing soil that appeared beneath me. It sprouted instantly, tiny green shoots curling toward an invisible sun. My heart thumped.

This was my chance. My second life.

The apocalypse was coming, but now… it would have to fear me.

And somewhere in the back of my mind, a new thought formed:

I will not make the same mistakes. I will not allow anyone to use me ever again. I will put me and those who truly love me first. I will not die, not again, not in this timelibe. And this time… I promise myself that no one will leave me behind.

The first task was simple, yet monumental. I smiled — sharp, determined, alive.

“Prepare,” Echo’s voice whispered from nowhere. “The storm is closer than you think, Kiami Lynn.”