Kyle’s eyes stayed locked on the sky.

Three moons.

His mind raced — trick of the light? Hallucination from blood loss?

But the longer he stared, the more real they got.

His heart was pounding. He had just gotten used to this world. The rules, the dangers, the system. And now, if he had to start over somewhere else...

"Noticed you’re not in your room."

Kyle nearly jumped out of his skin. He spun around, his hand going straight for Fear Blade.

Lilian stood a few steps behind him. Her white blindfold catches moonlight from the window. She hadn’t made a single sound.

`I... I didn’t even hear her coming.`

He forced his hand away from the dagger and exhaled.

"You move... quietly."

Lilian smiled a little. "You were focused on the sky."

Kyle turned back to the window and pointed up.

"Three moons? What the hell is this place?"

Lilian stepped closer, right next to him. Even blind, she knew exactly where the window was.

"This isn’t the world you know," she said quietly.

Kyle’s blood went cold again.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean—" she paused, like she was picking the right words, "—you haven’t left your world. But you’re not in the normal one either."

Kyle stared at her. "That doesn’t make sense."

Lilian chuckled. "It will."

She turned away and gestured for him to follow. They walked a bit down the corridor, stopping near an old painting of mountains and forests.

"Have you heard of Realms?" she asked.

Kyle frowned. "No."

"I thought so. Most people haven’t."

She touched the painting, tracing the frame.

"The world we know — Valdor, Blackroot Mountains, all those cities — that’s the base world. But attached to it, like bubbles on water... There are smaller dimensions. We call them Realms."

Kyle’s eyes narrowed. "Bubbles?"

"Some are tiny — the size of a village. Others are huge — continent size." She turned to face him. "Each Realm has its own environment, its own rules, sometimes its own physics. And different ways to get in."

Kyle let that sink in.

"So I’m still in the same world... just inside one of these... realms?"

"Correct."

He looked back at the window. The three moons are still hanging there.

"And the moons?"

"This Realm has three moons. Always has." Lilian smiled. "Takes some getting used to."

Kyle exhaled. `Not another world. Just a weird pocket dimension with three moons and creepy forests.`

"So how did I get in here?" he asked.

Lilian shook her head. "Your bird brought you."

"Nightmare?"

"Yes. Creatures like him have strong instincts for places like this. He was probably looking for somewhere safe to take you."

Kyle was quiet for a moment.

`For god’s sake, Nightmare! How is a monster like her safe for me?!`

Lilian turned to leave.

"Rest, Kyle. Don’t push yourself. Your body still needs to heal."

She walked away, footsteps silent on the old floorboards.

Kyle watched her go, then looked back at the window.

Three moons.

`A Realm...`

He shook his head and headed back to his room.

***

Two days passed.

Kyle stood in front of the mirror, unwrapping the bandages from his chest.

When the last piece dropped, he looked at his reflection.

The wound was completely healed.

A big scar was still there — running from his left shoulder down to his side.

`At least it’s closed.`

He touched it lightly. No pain. Just rough skin.

`Now...`

He stared into his own crimson eyes.

There was something he had wanted to try since his full abilities unlocked. Back then, he was too weak, too injured to risk it.

But now?

`Time to test this.`

His eyes flared with that faint crimson glow as he activated his skill.

"Remove every impurity from my body," he commanded himself. "Restructure it to its best possible state."

The second the command left his lips, his mind responded. Something deep inside him shifted — like a machine finally turning on after being dead for years.

Then the pain hit.

"AGHH — !"

It was insane. His muscles twisted. His bones ached. Every part of his body screamed at once.

`Fuck! I forgot to... command —`

Through the agony, he forced another order.

"D-don’t feel... PAIN!"

The relief came instantly.

The screaming stopped. He could still feel his body changing — moving, twisting — but the pain was gone.

He collapsed to his knees, then to the floor.

His body moved on its own. Muscles tightening, relaxing, tightening again. Bones are shifting slightly. Felt like hundreds of bugs were crawling through every single cell.

`What the hell is happening to me?!`

He turned his head hardly and saw something dark seeping out of his pores. Black liquid — thick and oily.

`Impurities...`

It dripped onto the floor, pooling around him.

This went on for what felt like forever. But it was half an hour. Maybe more.

Then — stillness.

Kyle pushed himself up.

His body felt... different. Lighter. Stronger. Like he had been carrying weights his whole life and someone finally took them off.

He looked at the mirror.

His face was covered in black gunk. His clothes were ruined. And the smell —

"God, that’s disgusting!"

He opened his status screen.

[Name: Kyle]

[Class: Mind Controller]

[Strength: 35 | Intelligence: 60 | Endurance: 33 | Agility: 29 | Magic: 0]

[Unused Stat Points: 0]

[Skills: Mind Control - Thought Reading]

Strength, Agility, Endurance — all went up a bit.

`Not much. But my body’s better now. More efficient.`

The stats didn’t tell the whole story. His muscles were leaner, more defined. His joints moved more smoothly. Even his breathing felt different — deeper, more controlled.

`This is the kind of body someone gets after training thousands of times. Fighting countless battles.`

And he got it in half an hour.

Kyle smirked at his reflection — then immediately regretted it when he saw the black gunk on his face.

"Bath. Now."

***

The bathroom was old but it worked. He found a big wooden tub and filled it with water.

The second he stepped in, the water turned black.

He scrubbed hard until his skin was raw. The black residue came off in layers, leaving pale, clean skin underneath.

When he finally stepped out, he felt like a whole new person.

He dried off, put on clean clothes, and strapped Fear Blade to his belt. Then he caught his reflection from the corner of his eye.

It wasn’t Kyle’s face that was reflected.