"Huh?" I muttered the moment I regained consciousness.

I was... standing?

Oh.

Yeah, I’m probably still suspended—

Wait.

I could feel it.

I looked down.

My legs.

HOW?!

"What the hell?!" I screamed in disbelief.

I could feel my hands too.

I could feel everything.

My eyes began adjusting to the darkness.

I could see things now.

I looked back.

The whole place was in shreds—it was a wonder it even held up.

But how is this possible?

I looked at my arm.

No scars.

This doesn’t make any sense.

Wait.

I touched my chest.

Why... do I feel this way?

Something was off.

I felt strange.

I’ve never felt like this before.

My emotions—they were all...

Disconnected?

I couldn’t explain it.

But I felt...

Bland.

Sigh.

I placed a hand on my forehead, then sighed again.

Wait.

My face.

It was... fixed.

I touched my skin—it was soft.

I ran my fingers through my hair—it was there.

"Regeneration?" I muttered.

It was the only explanation, but even I didn’t believe it.

Only elves could perform regeneration-level magic. Or mages with healing blessings. Or someone with a high-grade healing spell.

Not that healing spells could actually regenerate limbs...

Well, I don’t really know if they can.

But this doesn’t feel like that.

My body feels foreign—even to me.

I stretched my hand forward, then clenched my fist.

Hm.

Something’s not right.

Oh well.

I inspected the place.

Chains—broken—littered the floor.

I looked around.

And then, just as I was about to run my hand over my face, something caught my eye.

A tattoo?

It was on my right hand.

At the center of my palm, there was a circle. Inside the circle, a symbol I didn’t recognize.

Five chains extended from it, veining through each of my fingers and connecting at the back of my hand to another circle.

This one had a symbol too.

A Roman numeral: I.

I frowned deeply.

What really happened here?

Could this... be the reason I didn’t die?

Most probably.

I stared at the mark a bit too long, then sighed—for the third time—dropping my hand.

And that’s when I saw it.

Or rather—her.

"Anna," I breathed.

My eyes widened.

My fists clenched.

She was injured.

It was obvious.

Blood trailed from her forehead, soaking into her already blood-drenched clothes.

At this point, I didn’t even need to ask.

I did this.

Did I... awaken or something?

I closed my eyes, trying to feel it.

Wait.

Ether.

Suddenly, an invigorating sensation surged through me—

Soothing, warm, alive.

I lost myself in it for a moment, soaking in this new feeling.

"Haaah!" I gasped, opening my eyes.

This all felt so strange.

WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED?!

WAIT.

I think... I heard something before I passed out.

"System," I said.

And in an instant... something appeared before me.

[Cannot access system in current level]

I frowned.

But I always had access to the system—until it left me.

Then...

That only means this isn’t the system the goddess gave me.

Hm.

So that static voice I heard before losing consciousness was the system?

I looked back at Anna—

Bloodied. Battered.

Then I looked down.

Her finger.

A spatial ring.

I reached for it and slipped it off her finger.

Then I stood.

The tattoo.

It was on her too.

"What is really going on here?" I muttered, frowning.

I turned her hand over.

There was a circle in her palm too.

But the symbol inside was different.

I turned her hand to the back—

Another Roman numeral.

I.

Hm.

This...

This feels like some kind of slave mark.

Or...

Am I overthinking it?

Sigh.

I have to eat first.

I looked at the ring in my palm.

There should be food here, I thought.

I couldn’t even remember the last time I ate.

I sat on the ground, closed my eyes, and channeled mana into it.

Suddenly, everything inside became visible to my mind.

Clothes.

Healing potions.

Food.