Who Am I?
Ahead, there was a formidable foe. Who was I? Answering that question demanded a great deal of contemplation. For starters, I figured I'd check out what was right in front of me, forcing my rigid head to turn.
The first thing that swam into view was stark white bones, parched and dry. No resistance from soft flesh. That's when it hit me. No skin, no muscles, no meat at all. Empty sockets where eyeballs should have been. Every movement came with a clack clack.
Putting all the clues together, I arrived at one conclusion. A run-of-the-mill mob from some game. An undead that couldn't truly die.
It seemed I had...
"Clack clack."
...become a skeleton.
I had no idea how long I'd been dropped in this place. Time itself felt meaningless amid the unchanging scenery—you couldn't even tell night from day. A blood-red moon hung in the sky, overseeing everything like a watchful eye.
Clatter.
Light footsteps echoed across the barren earth. I was still aimlessly roaming this bizarre space. The endless plain teemed with skeletons just like me. They stood frozen like statues, or perhaps like finished products awaiting shipment. Motionless, every last one.
...All except me.
Waiting number J-1366!
Sometimes a voice boomed from the heavens, and tentacles would erupt from the ground, snatching up a skeleton and dragging it off beyond the sky.
Ah, the one next to me just got hauled away.
After observing this for so long, I finally reached a conclusion. This was some kind of factory, churning out monsters and shipping them off somewhere. I'd been born as one of them—the only defective unit that could actually move. Biding my time until my number was called, I had just one way to pass the hours.
'Time for training today.'
I picked up a stray bone rolling across the ground and swung it this way and that. I called this training. One perk of being a skeleton: swinging a stick turned out to be surprisingly fun. With no muscles, there was ironically no fatigue. No hunger, no sleepiness. Anything to fend off the boredom. The only clock was those eerie voices from above.
Thud.
'Oops, sorry.'
"Clack clack."
Too absorbed in my swings, I'd accidentally nudged the skull of the skeleton beside me. Glancing over apologetically, massive letters materialized before my eyes.
From all that idle stick-swinging, I'd accidentally discovered something: every skeleton around shared the same generic name. Straight out of a game, your typical trash mob. And I had one too.
With one small difference.
A single star beside my name. Nothing else set me apart, of course. I dove back into mindless training—until.
Waiting number J-1387!
My turn at last. As my number echoed, black tentacles ripped through the ground. An irresistible force yanked me skyward like a toy. My destination: a colossal temple floating in the void. Built from enormous bones, I instinctively knew what it was. A beacon for the soulless, a staging ground to other worlds.
Guided by the tentacles to the center, atop a dais sat two skulls unlike the ground-pounders. One shrouded in robes, the other clutching a long staff. They leered down at me with grotesque grins, as if they'd been waiting.
"Kekeke... Look at this one. Still got some will in those empty sockets."
"Will? Don't make me laugh. No soul spark, and it thinks it has will?"
"No surprise—they're Wanderers. Pathetic lot who can't even remember their own names."
"...Clack clack."
Blatant mockery. I didn't respond. What bugged me more was something else.
'How the hell are they talking?'
Skulls just like me, yet they spoke crystal clear without vocal cords. Staring in fascination—
"The world you're being dispatched to is..."
One of the hooded skulls opened its jaw.
"A realm where the starless embark on endless journeys."
Delivered like a death sentence to a convict.
"Give it your best shot. Not that it'll matter—you'll be back here soon enough."
As those curse-like words faded—
Crack—
A massive maw swallowed me whole.
The gateway to a verdant plain bursting with flora. Dropped here without a clue, I stood frozen for a while. Dazzlingly bright. After stewing in gloom, the life-filled surroundings hit me like a supernova.
'Ugh, queasy...'
"Clack..."
My body recoiled biologically. Nothing to hurl, but the sudden nausea sent me stumbling to the nearest shade.
Ah, much better. Huddled under the massive tree, my mind eased. Wind whistling through my hollow frame felt oddly soothing, and the tree's shade carried a warm aura. Alive—like I hadn't felt in forever.
...Alive?
I nodded in absurd disbelief, my faceless skull incapable of a wry grin. If I weren't a bag of bones, I'd have cracked a bitter smile.
Rustle.
A faint friction of grass nearby. A beast? But the sound was unnaturally cautious.
Finally, a face peeked from the bushes—
"...Huh?"
A boy, barely a teen. Green cloak draped over his back, simple leather belt cinching his waist. Plain clothes.
A human.
Clatter.
First living human in ages! Unlike the monotonous skeletons, I shot to my feet in delight.
But—
"Hiiik...!"
The boy's face drained white as he turned toward me. Hand clamped over his mouth, he staggered back, nearly toppling before freezing solid.
Our gazes locked. No eyes on my end, but he sensed it. That I was staring.
A tense silence stretched between the ashen boy and me.
"What's with all the commotion?"
Another voice from the bushes. A second boy, about the same age, pushed through. Fiery red hair, shoulder pauldrons of leather, dagger at his hip, small wooden shield in hand.
He eyed me and scowled in boredom.
"Pfft, it's just a skeleton. You got spooked by this?"
Boredom filled the redhead's eyes.
"Y-yeah... Just jumped out of nowhere. Think it's a fresh respawn?"
"Dumbass? This is the entrance zone. Probably just some wandering trash mob."
Grumbling, he advanced. I took a step back, but he ignored it entirely. Raising his shield, he peered down at me appraisingly.
"...This one's kinda off, though?"
"Huh? How so?"
"Not attacking. Normal skeletons charge the second you make eye contact."
I stared right back. These kids weren't afraid at all. Which meant I was nothing special to them. Just roadside EXP fodder.
A chill bitterness washed over me. No skin for goosebumps—small mercy.
As he closed in, their pounding heartbeats grew louder. Ironically, to my hollow chest, it reverberated deeply.
Alive. These two brimmed with vital energy, unlike me.
But the first emotion stirring in me? Envy. I'd once laughed and played like them. Gorged on good food, slept soundly.
Now? A pathetic husk and a measly stick.
A cold, twisted instinct whispered from the depths: Devour the humans right in front of you.
Foul mood, but I didn't resist. Flowing with fate. With my soul.
I raised the bone I'd swung a million times.
Whooo.
"Wh-what?!"
The boneless limb hummed with vibration, rippling into the air.
Yeah, that'll do.
"Something's wrong! Run!"
The redhead finally clocked the ominous vibe, thrusting his shield forward—but too late.
"What the hell is that...?"
"This ain't no normal skeleton!!"
No hesitation. The arc lashed toward the boys.
And—
"Gaaah!!"
Slash.
The familiar trajectory, honed a thousand million swings, carved a deep gash across the redhead's throat.
In one strike, the boys dissolved into wisps of blue smoke.
Silence blanketed the lonely earth.
"Clack..."
I stood tall against the wind. Cold quiet settled around me.