Chapter 1 : Prologue

[DING]

From the black void of nothingness, suddenly a light came into existence. A blue status box floated above the forsaken victim. The chime and pulse of the box started soft as a morning sunset over a gentle ocean. As the woman ignored, or perhaps simply could not react to the sound due to being unable to move in her current state, the alert became a roaring tempest in the once dark space. Her frozen lashes fluttered against pale, sunken cheeks before opening. Lifeless dark eyes darted upwards to the light above. How long had it been since she fell into this forsaken pit?

[Accept Daily Quest 3...2...1...0. Failure to Accept Daily Quest.]

[Penalty Event]

A low croak barely left her lips, just the dying rattles of her empty lungs. To anyone else, the woman was a forgotten corpse. Trapped against the weight of the darkness that surrounded her. Somewhere it was midnight, mere seconds after the date switched over. She squinted at the screen, yellowed and dried teeth bared. For plain text, she swore it was being snarky with her. She glared at the dialog box, unable to do more than take shallow breaths that shook her withered frame. The frayed and ruined clothing did little to protect and trap any much needed warmth to her body.

The woman wheezed out a miserable sounding cough that should have been a laugh. Her voice barely more than a whisper in the weight of the oppressive space. The blue status box expanded before her eyes.

[ 24 Hours Remaining]

SURVIVE

[Failure to complete within 24 hours will result in an Advanced Penalty Event ]

The exhausted woman glared at the screen before her head fell back. Moving, however small it was, hurt. She was surprised she could still hurt after so long. It had been days now, hasn't it? When would the others come to find her?

'Have they left me behind to simply rot? After everything we've gone through?'

She remained still for heaven only knew how long. Wrapped in the cocoon of darkness and self hate.

'Idiot, Idiot. Move. You have to move.' She told herself.

Shaky limbs started to untangle from the fetal protective position. Her miserable whimpers echoed through the darkness around her. Filling the void.

Survive, the word had been burnt into her retina. She was good at that. It didn't matter how long it had been since she fell into this horrid trap. There was no up, there was no down in this place. No time, nothing but darkness. Cold, shaky fingers brushed the long scar that ran down the left side of her face. A glowing warmth radiated from deep within the eye, reflected against the pale lacquer that was now her skin.

The woman bared her teeth against the darkness again. Digging chipped and broken nails into the darkness around her. Like a newborn, she wriggled her body forward through sheer force of will. Bits of rock, gravel and sand dug into her finger tips, like shards of glass against her chilled hand. But she had long grown numb to the pain as she moved. Directed by only instinct.

She would be damned if she died here of all places. Not after everything that happened so far. From a banked ember, a roaring wildfire blazed to life within the woman's left eye. Burning all that came within her sight. She would not only survive but she would thrive in the ashes of the burnt bridges left in her wake. In the corner of the darkness, a glowing red flame came to life.

"About time girlie." Laughed a cold voice into the endless darkness, a flash of white exposed as she reached out to grasp it between her fingers. Revenge would be sweet.