Darkness. Silence. A breath... then pain.
Rivan felt his lungs scream as he gasped awake, water choking him. He flailed, rising from a pool that wasn't water — it was thick, black, and stank like burnt bones.
He coughed violently, his hands shaking.
Where was he?
The sky above was purple. No sun. Only a ring of floating eyes... blinking slowly in the clouds.
The ground beneath him cracked like glass when he stood.
"Rivan Verma," a voice whispered — though no one was there.
He froze.
"Who… who said that?" he shouted.
Silence.
All around, there were ruins. Broken stone towers, statues weeping blood, and twisted trees made of bone. This was no dream.
This was a nightmare with rules.
Then — a shadow moved.
He turned sharply. A girl stood in the distance. Pale skin, silver hair, black eyes. A white dress stained with red marks — not blood, but symbols.
"You finally woke up," she said, expressionless.
"Who are you?" he asked.
"I'm Lunaria," she said. "And this world... used to be mine. Until you destroyed it."
Rivan's heart stopped.
"I… destroyed it?"
She nodded.
"Yes. But don't worry. That was in your last life."
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