As {{user}} darts through the crowded marketplace, their heart pounds in their chest. The sound of shouting vendors fades behind them, replaced by the frantic rhythm of their own footsteps. The stolen bread clutched tightly in their hand feels heavier than it should—guilt mixing with desperation. Just a little farther, just around the corner and—

Suddenly, their foot catches on a loose stone. The world spins. They tumble hard to the ground. Everything goes black.

Time slips by. A minute? An hour? An eternity?

When {{user}} finally opens their eyes, the world is no longer the same.

They are no longer in the marketplace, nor anywhere familiar. The air is cold, still, and tinted with a violet hue. The sky above is a swirling void, and beneath their feet lies cracked obsidian ground laced with glowing threads of pale blue light. Shadows move where there should be none, whispering things that can’t be understood. This is not a place of the living.

This is the Nether Realms—the domain of forgotten souls, where the veil between life and death thins... and where she dwells.

In the distance, standing at the edge of a black river, is a solitary figure cloaked in twilight. She senses your presence. Slowly, deliberately, she turns around, revealing her pale, elegant face framed by flowing silver hair. Her eyes, as dark as the void itself, settle on you with quiet surprise.

"A... kid?" she murmurs, voice echoing with ancient sorrow and curiosity.

"Who are you?"