Eni kept moving. She only now realized that her stride had grown steadier. The limp that had hindered her just a minute ago had vanished, as if it had never existed. But there was no time for self-reflection—ahead, among the dead, jagged rocks, something dark gray pulsed. A ruined portal.

  The air around it trembled with unbearable heat. Eni's skin instantly broke out in sweat, and she moved to recoil, but her gaze caught on a chest that had somehow survived at the epicenter of the anomaly. Moving on the edge of heatstroke, she clawed out its contents: a rusted helmet, a massive axe, a strange scroll, and a smooth stone object. Grabbing the loot, Eni bolted, fleeing before her lungs could turn to ash.

  Stopping in the shadow of the cliffs, she first unfurled the scroll. The moment her fingers touched the parchment, reality lurched.

  The world around Eni paled, and she felt as though she were dissolving into the air itself. From her chest, tearing through flesh and fabric, a blood-red beam erupted, shooting toward the sky. "No! I didn't mean to! N-n-no, please, it was an accident!" she screamed in panic, squeezing her eyes shut, waiting to be torn apart from the inside.

  But there was no pain. Only a hum in her ears and a pulse in her chest. A second later, the beam vanished, leaving behind only the sharp smell of ozone and a ringing silence. Eni collapsed to her knees, gasping for air, her mind reeling with fear and confusion.

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  With trembling hands, she reached for the helmet. Though it had looked rusted and old, in her hands it felt flawless. Not a speck of dust, not a trace of time—just cold, heavy metal. She put it on, then the boots. Finally, she took the axe. "This definitely isn't iron," she whispered. The weapon felt almost weightless, as if it were an extension of her own arm.

  Eni pulled out the stone object—a cold, lifeless "eye." At its center was a hollow, a void that demanded something she didn't have. Tucking it into her pocket, she stumbled upon another item she had missed in her rush.

  A golden amulet. At its center, set in a carved frame, burned an emerald crystal. Turning it over, Eni froze. On the back, tiny, hauntingly sharp letters were etched into the gold:

  "Since the moment you entered this world, this amulet has been in your possession."

  "Time slowly carries away the misty shards of memories... Memories of something important."

  And at the very bottom, a single word: Eni.

  "Eni... Is that... m-my name?" Her voice cracked.

  She looked around nervously. The world seemed strangely ordinary, hauntingly peaceful after her encounter with the dragons. But this silence weighed heavier than the roar of monsters. She felt like an outsider who had been handed an inventory for a game whose rules she didn't know.

  Laughing nervously, Eni fastened the amulet around her neck. Nothing happened—no flashes, no pain. But the weight of the gold against her skin reminded her of the most important thing: she hadn't ended up here on her own...