Pain.
That was the first thing Ethan felt.
A sharp ache spread through his entire body.
His head felt like someone had hit it with a hammer.
For several seconds he remained still.
Eyes closed.
Trying to remember what had happened.
Then the memories returned.
Platform Three.
The ghost.
The creatures crawling from beneath the tracks.
The blue screen.
His eyes snapped open.
---
The station was silent.
Too silent.
The shattered lights still hung from the ceiling.
Broken glass covered the floor.
Dust floated through the air.
For a moment Ethan wondered if everything had been a dream.
Then he noticed the cracks in the concrete.
They definitely hadn't been there before.
---
Slowly, he sat up.
Every muscle protested.
His backpack lay nearby.
The flashlight had rolled several meters away.
Everything else looked untouched.
Almost.
The ghost was gone.
---
Ethan immediately stood.
Or at least tried to.
His legs nearly gave out beneath him.
"Easy..."
His voice echoed through the empty platform.
No answer came.
The ghost was gone.
The creatures were gone.
Everything was gone.
As if the battle had never happened.
---
A faint sound interrupted his thoughts.
Ding.
Ethan froze.
The sound hadn't come from the station.
It had come from inside his head.
---
Ding.
A blue screen appeared before his eyes.
Exactly like before.
Transparent.
Floating in the air.
Impossible.
---
[Awakening Complete]
[Welcome, Ethan Graves]
[First Sorcerer Candidate Identified]
---
Ethan stared.
Then blinked.
The screen remained.
---
"What?"
No response.
The screen simply floated there.
Patiently.
Waiting.
---
A few seconds later, new text appeared.
[Would you like to view your status?]
[YES / NO]
---
Ethan looked around.
There was nobody else on the platform.
Nobody playing a prank.
Nobody holding a projector.
Nothing.
Only silence.
---
"...Yes."
The word left his mouth before he realized it.
Immediately the screen changed.
---
Name: Ethan Graves
Age: 18
Class: Unawakened Sorcerer
Level: 0
Mana: 3
Skills: None
---
Ethan stared.
Then stared some more.
---
"That's it?"
He wasn't sure what he expected.
Maybe superpowers.
Maybe something impressive.
Instead he got a status window that basically called him weak.
---
Another notification appeared.
---
[Warning]
[Host Mana Critically Low]
[Immediate Rest Recommended]
---
"Mana?"
The word sounded ridiculous.
Like something from a game.
Yet after what he had seen tonight, ridiculous wasn't enough to dismiss it.
---
His thoughts returned to the ghost.
The man in the black coat.
The one who had saved him.
The one who called himself dead.
---
"What happened to him?"
Ethan asked the empty station.
No answer came.
Only silence.
---
Something caught his attention.
A small object lay near the edge of the platform.
Half hidden beneath dust.
Ethan approached cautiously.
Then stopped.
It was a pocket watch.
Old.
Silver.
Its glass face was cracked.
---
The watch looked familiar.
Not because he had seen it before.
Because he remembered it.
The ghost had been holding it when he first stepped from the darkness.
---
A strange feeling settled in his chest.
The watch felt cold when he picked it up.
Far colder than metal should be.
---
The moment his fingers touched it—
A whisper echoed in his mind.
---
"Find the door."
---
Ethan nearly dropped the watch.
He looked around wildly.
Nobody.
Nothing.
---
The whisper didn't repeat.
Yet the words remained.
Clear as day.
---
Find the door.
---
"What door?"
His voice sounded small in the abandoned station.
No answer came.
---
A train passed somewhere above.
The sound reminded Ethan of something important.
The station would open in a few hours.
People would arrive.
Workers would arrive.
And if someone found him here...
Explaining things would be impossible.
---
He slipped the watch into his pocket.
One last glance swept across Platform Three.
The ghost was gone.
The creatures were gone.
Yet somehow the place felt different now.
As though something had changed.
As though a hidden layer of reality had been peeled back.
---
As Ethan turned toward the exit, another notification appeared.
---
[First Objective Generated]
[Discover the Hidden Door]
Reward: Unknown
---
Ethan stared at the screen.
Then at the dark platform behind him.
Then back at the screen.
---
A few days ago his biggest concern had been passing exams.
Now a ghost had saved his life.
A system was talking to him.
And apparently he needed to find a door that might not even exist.
---
"This is going to be a problem."
The screen offered no argument.