Talent Awakening: I Awakened With The Rewind System

I moved forward with deliberate caution, each step a battle against the cold tremor coursing through my veins.

The safe zone behind me felt like a distant memory, swallowed by an impenetrable darkness. Each breath I took felt stifling, the icy air seeping into my lungs.

"Huff-Huff.-"

Whoosh!

My skin prickled as the chilling wind gnawed at my resolve. My fists clenched instinctively, every muscle in my body screaming at me to turn back,

To abandon this madness.

Yet I couldn't.

***

Ahead, three houses stood like ancient sentinels of despair.

The one directly in front of me stood like a grotesque monument, towering and twisted with an ancient aura of malovelence. And surrounding the towering house were at least three supernatural creatures.

Not only were they bigger than the big bad wolf, but based on the intensity of the iksclamate sign that marked their existence. I didn't need to be told to know they were faster, deadlier and far more powerful than I could possibly have imagined.

To the right, a crumbling gray structure seems to whisper eerie tales of madness. It was supposedly guarded by two supernatural forces- beings so strange they defied all reason and shape. They were unseen but not unnoticed- the way shadows curl around the building told of their presence.

A mere glance at the house made the hair at the back of my neck stand on end, dread pooling around my chest, like ice.

And to the left...

On the left, stood the third house, solitary and shrouded in silence.

Only one creature guarded this place, yet its desolation hinted at a power so devastating, that approaching felt akin to suicide.

The scant information I had about this being was more terrifying than the unknown. Hence it was very safe to assume it could easily annihilate me with but a mere thought.

I shivered, the thought of facing such overwhelming power leaving me nauseous. My jaw tightened as I tried to suppress the fear rising like bile in my throat.

"Ukh-Huff.-"

There was no other way.

The past me had left a single truth: to retrieve the necklace, I had to pass through one of these houses.

No matter how much I wished for another option, there was none.

Ba-dump!

My heartbeat accelerated.

And then-,

I forced my feet to move.

The oppressive darkness felt alive, the desolation hinting at tales of doom and despair, filling my vision with fleeting colors that danced at the edges of my sanity.

The towering house loomed ahead like a monument of dread. Its gargoyle looming above, its hollow eyes seemingly alive.

Ba-dump!

Watching.

Ba-dump!

Waiting.

Just staring at its eyes sent cold chills down my spine.

Shudder-

I ducked behind the grotesque statue, my breath ragged and shallow.

"Eu-Huh-Huff."

My hands trembled as I tried to gather myself.

Ba-dump!

The cold sweat on my palms betraying the panic I fought to suppress.

When I glanced to my right, my blood froze.

A massive monstrosity lay sprawled at the corner of the house, its body unnaturally still. Two eyes remained closed, but above them, ghostly white, lidless eyes scanned the surroundings with terrifying precision.

I froze,

Ba-dump!

My breath caught in my throat.

Ba-dump!

Had it seen me.

The question echoed in my mind.

Panic roared through me, surging through every fiber of my being.

Making it harder to think. But as I remained frozen, seconds stretching into eternity as I waited.

The creature didn't move.

If it had seen me, it gave no sign.

Ba-dump!

Confusion mingled with dread as I recalled fragments of an old lore.

If these supernatural creatures were Erantanxes, that would explain why they hadn't seen me. It was simply because their white eyes... were attuned to something specific. Something that eluded my grasp but taunted my memories.

Somewhere along that line, I tried to remember what it was. But I couldn't.

Each urge to remember sent a wave of pain through my head, sudden and searing.

It was hellishly painful.

And I had to bite down on my lips to stifle a cry, the metallic taste of blood filling my mouth.

The creature's nose twitched, Its massive body shifting slightly.

My eyes widened.

It smells the blood.

Desperation surged through me, fear coiling and pooling around my chest like ice.

I licked the blood from my lips, my hands trembling as I cleaned every trace from my skin. The sickly-sweet taste churned my stomach, but I forced myself to continue.

Slowly, the two creature's tension ebbed, and they settled back down, their white eyes scanning but no longer alerted.

Relief barely had time to wash over me before dread returned,

Ba-dump!

It returned with vengeance.

Ba-dump!

Where's the third creature?

Ba-dump!

My heart thundered in my ears, my mind scrambled for answers, dread tightening its grip on my chest. The gargoyle...

Before I could react, Stone fingers slammed into my chest and pain exploded, sharp and unrelenting, it tried to steal my breath and strength.

"Huff-Ha-Huff-."

I struggled to breath.

Ba-dump!

My vision blurred and for a fleeting moment, I locked eyes with the grotesque face of the gargoyle. Its cracked, jagged teeth stretched into a sinister grin.

I gasped, but no sound came. My heartbeat flattered, the world tilting and darkening.

I was too familiar with this sensation.

The slow descent into oblivion.

Yet, even as the darkness inched closer, even as my strength drained away,

The gargoyle's grip released with a bone-rattling crack and I crumbled to the ground. Blood splattered the cobblestones as I coughed weakly, the taste of iron filling my mouth.

A bitter smile tugged at my lips as I forced a thought through the haze of pain.

Battling the unseen was humanity's greatest fear. But now, as the endless darkness claimed my vision, and silence reclaims its hold on me. I now knew my enemies and now knew how to make my next move.

And for once, I realized the time reset ability wasn't just a curse- it was my lifeline.

My blessing.

And as the endless darkness finally claimed me, I vowed to use it.

I would escape.

From the Amaraith,

From this wretched and cursed land,

And from the suffocating hold of despair.

I would find other humans.

Be with families and friends and be around those who love me.

No matter what it takes.

I will find a place I can call... home.