I was out of the wastelands and already climbing up the black mountains, relying on the little survival skills I still had in me. Once again, my feet and hands hurt. The black rock was sharp, and my skin wasn’t as tough as one would expect from a genetically engineered human.

  Because I had walked into this mountain unknowingly, I paid the price of having to climb. For a place with no sunlight, the rocks are hot. I am surrounded by only fog, and I can barely see a thing.

  I am now used to the painful air. My lungs haven’t given up yet, though. I can still move.

  I pull myself up using a black edge; my fingers are bleeding at this point. I look forward. There is still a lot left for me ahead. The terrain is covered in rocks. Because of their human shapes, they all look like frozen statues. Each one is taller than me, and the black rocks they are made from resemble obsidian glass.

  I climb further into the inner parts of the mountain and find myself on a narrow, dark path leading somewhere. But there is one problem: it’s located at the edge of what looks to be an abyss that just happens to be located between the mountains.

  Looking at it, I cannot help but swallow. My stomach hurts as I take the first step onto the edge and hear acoming from the surface. I almost feel my soul leave my body after that cruel sound. To me, this sound is equal to the sound of an explosion.

  Carefully, I lean against the stone and start moving, following the ledge. Aside from the abyss, the rest was covered in a white mist that made it very hard for me to see. I can make out some parts of the path as I rub my back against the wall while I slide one foot after the other as I move. I hear strange growls and movements coming from the abyss from time to time. But I am too scared to look down just in case one of those creatures senses my timid gaze.

  Don’t get me wrong. I haven’t changed my mind about accepting my fate of dying. It’s just that dying in a place like this feels improper compared to the life I had lived before this.

  My life hasn’t been much of course. I have never seen the real sun, tasted normal food, gone to normal school, or even seen a meadow beyond the false paintings they showed us at Bloodhaul. I sometimes wonder how my life would be if I actually managed to get a soul and become a Nexus Being.

  The world has wronged me so much that I don’t care about what happens to it in the end.

  I am not even human in the first place to give a damn about its people. And if you're thinking that this experience would change my mind about humanity, then you're wrong. I am selfish. If I live, I want to use my godlike powers to defend myself. To satisfy myself and what I want.

  “What do I want?”

  I have no idea. I’ve never made or given a choice over something. My entire life before coming here has been a series of commands I’ve followed because I want to survive.

  But recently, my will to live has fallen greatly. As I watched the others grow to their full potential, I realized that there is no meaning to my life if I thought about it. I had no one in this life who cared about me. If I died, I would just be another failed experiment like the other subjects before us. And if I lived, I would remain a product of those disturbing bastards at Bloodhaul.

  There was more to all of this than what they told us. I wasn’t stupid, you know. But what’s the damn point in trying. Humans are the assholes that are ready to send a fifteen year old to another dimension and think they can survive. They've watched us suffer and have smiled at us with fake smiles.

  A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  I take another gentle step, but I guess this one wasn’t as careful as I thought. I hear an obnoxious sound, followed by my foot missing a step when the floor beneath me shatters and breaks, and I find myself going down. I panic and act fast enough to grab for something. My fingers bleed as the sharp glass rock cuts through my flesh, and I almost scream. The pain of having a piece of stone slowly cut you is very hard to describe.

  My feet are dangling in the air. I don't want to let go despite the pain.

  Crack!

  Shit. This thing isn’t going to hold my weight any longer. Falling now would mean death by monster or by hitting the ground and having my brains paint the stone ground like a freaking art piece from the 19th century.

  I clench my teeth and cry out as I summon all my strength. I slam my other hand up, gripping the ledge, and try to pull myself up. The weight of my body drags onto my arms like a thousand needles as I pull myself up back to the ledge.

  When I made it to the surface, I hoped for the cracks to stop growing once I tried to evenly distribute my weight. But they didn’t. Instead, they grew more from my footsteps and created a spiderweb of cracks.

  Noticing that, I snap into action and run as fast as I can. The cracks grow rapidly, and each step begins to feel like a gamble as I rely on luck alone to maneuver.

  Luckily, I reach the end of the path just in time before the entire path collapses into the abyss. It disappears into the abyss completely once I jump to the other side. I don’t hear any sound, meaning that it was much deeper than I had anticipated. I can only imagine what would happen to me if I fell down that thing.

  “I’ve survived.” I turn around and continue straight like before.

  As I continue, I start to notice some obvious vegetation like purple luminous grass growing off the rocks.

  It’s beautiful, but I am shocked when one of the luminous grasses tries to wrap itself around my leg. Its surface is hot, and it releases an acid that eats away my body armor and skin flesh in less than a minute.

  I pull out my spear and stab it. Then twist to make sure it's killed. I hear a squishy sound as it lets out a clear fluid that was probably its blood.

  It smells sweet, so I touch it and try tasting the little of it that is on my fingers. If it's poisonous, then I’m fine with it.

  'It's sweet.’

  It is the first thought that crosses my mind when I taste the clear fluid.

  [You have tasted Kangra Rose Blood]

  [Dormant restoration abilities and stamina have been improved by five percent]

  I suddenly feel a warm sensation come over my body. The fatigue I’ve had falls greatly, and the acid mark on my leg stops bleeding.

  “Kangra Roses have healing abilities,” I say to myself as I stare at the many roses around. I think I’ve hit the jackpot.

  By the time I've eaten four more roses, all the wounds on my body are gone, and I’m no longer hungry. When I eat the fifth one, I feel a slight pain that the system immediately explains.

  [ Warning: You can only drink five Kangra Rose blood. Your Heart has received damage.]

  I put my hands on my mouth and let out a brutal cough, followed by a warm and crimson liquid that is blood. My heart beats feel strained as though the organ is pumping mud.

  Fuck. I knew it was too good to be true.

  [Your blood is contaminated]

  I cough again. There is more blood this time. I fall into the field of Kangra Roses and curl up. I find myself crying real tears. This is painful as fuck. If I knew this, I would’ve avoided these stupid flowers.

  I just had to get greedy and drink more.

  [Your blood is contaminated]

  The message pops again.

  [Your blood is…co…con…tamina…ted]

  I start feeling weak. My strength is fading away at an alarming rate. My body is on fire, my ears are ringing, and the flowers are wrapping themselves around me. Their acid burns me to my bones, and everything starts to feel blurry.

  I’m screaming, but I can’t hear myself. It hurts. Why can’t I just die now? Why the fuck is it taking too long?

  I watch my hands and legs dissolve into the acid. Then, the world around me fades. Who would’ve thought I would be killed by flowers?

  This isn’t the death I wanted. I guess I never had a choice. The constellations are probably laughing at me after my pathetic attempt to embarrass them.

  [You have died]

  I hear the system’s voice one more time. I didn’t expect it to announce my death, but it had, and that didn’t at all give me peace of mind.

  ‘Well, I guess fifteen years haven’t been that—’

  [Someone in the veil doesn’t want you to die]

  'Huh? Who might that be.' I wonder

  [You have acquired a legendary ability….]

  I don’t hear the announcement. I’m already dead.