I didn't know how long I stood there.
The fog had cleared, but the sky didn't return. There was no sun here. No real day or night. Just layers of gray, like the world had been skinned and only the bones remained.
My hands were trembling around the shovel's handle.The warmth of adrenaline faded, leaving behind a cold that settled under my skin.
Somewhere beneath the earth, I could hear something moving.
Not worms. Not water. Something... deeper.
It was like the ground itself had lungs.
Every few seconds, I swore I heard breathing—long, wet, patient.
The system didn't offer a warning this time.
Which made it worse.
I needed to leave.I needed to wake up.If this place allowed waking.
I clenched the shovel tighter and turned back toward the grave I had dug—the Fogwalker's final resting place. Nothing marked it now. No stone. No sign.
But something had changed.
A circle had been carved into the dirt, glowing faintly. A doorway. A portal. A tear.
[Exit to Real World Detected]
Grave Portals only form when a soul has been successfully buried.
Warning: You may bring residual fragments back with you.
Some things don't stay buried.
I stepped into the circle.
The world didn't twist or spin.There was no flash of light.
There was only the sound—
A low, drawn-out heartbeat.Then a whisper:
"You brought me back."
[Transitioning to Real World]
I gasped as my eyes opened.
For a moment, I couldn't tell where I was—until I realized I was back in my own room.
Same ceiling. Same cracked fan. Same peeling posters on the wall.It was night.
And I was lying in bed.
Clothes torn. Skin covered in dirt. Shovel in hand.
Still shaking.
But it wasn't over.
Because the whisper hadn't stopped.
And when I looked toward my mirror—
There was a figure behind me.
It stood still. Perfectly still.
Head tilted. Mouth sewn shut. Eyes open.
It was her. The first one.The whispering coffin.
She had come back with me.
⚠️ [NEW STATUS: Residual Bound]
The first soul you buried has not moved on.
You are now haunted.
Trait Acquired: "The Witness"
You may see what the dead remember. But they will see you too.
I turned slowly.
But there was nothing in the mirror now.
Just me.
And the faintest outline of a second shadow…
moving when I didn't.