Bound By Fury:The Forced Path

A sterile hospital room.

The soft beeping of medical equipment and the low hum of an air conditioner fill the room.

Akira lies in a hospital bed, his body wrapped in bandages covering it. He opens his eyes groggily, disoriented.

Akira: groaning, struggling to focus

"Where. where am I?"

The door to the hospital room opens and a doctor and nurses enter.

One of them, an older man with a look of concern, reaches Akira.

Doctor: (gently)

"You're in the hospital."

"You've been unconscious for a week."

"The Stars found you outside the dungeon and brought you here."

Akira: (confused and weak)

"The Stars...they found me?"

"How did I get out of there?"

"I was at the deepest part of the dungeon.I don't understand."

Doctor: (nodding)

"Yes, several high-ranking Stars found you

"Warned by the disturbance in the dungeon, they managed to retrieve you."

"You were gravely injured, but we've done everything in our power to help you recover."

Akira in shock.

"But how could I have ended up outside?"

"I remember falling into the darkness, and then it all went black."

"I can't remember anything beyond that."

It was as if his memory and the conversation he had with the unknown figure of light never took place; his memory was wiped clean.

Doctor: (with a compassionate expression)

"We don't know everything."

"Maybe the Stars that found you felt something and interfered."

"You were found at the entrance of the dungeon."

Akira: (eager, trying to get into a sitting position)

"I have to know what happened."

"I was in such a terrible condition."

Doctor: (soothingly, pushing Akira back down gently)

"Unfortunately, we cannot know the whole story of how you were saved."

"The Stars who found you didn't have much to say."

"What matters is that you are safe and recovering now."

Akira's head is full of questions and annoyance.

He tries to flash back to his fragmented recollections of his ordeal but can't seem to recall the memories of the encounter with the figure of light.

But the memories of the betrayal and his desperate situation are as clear as crystal glass.

Akira: (to himself, voice full of determination)

"If I survived, there must be the reason."

"I won't waste this chance."

Doctor: standing near Akira's bedside, hesitating for a moment, his brows furrowed in thought

"I—"

He pauses, glancing at the young man whose eyes remain distant, sharp with an inner turmoil the doctor can't quite place.

Doctor oftening his tone, choosing his words carefully

"Never mind."

"Rest for now."

Akira doesn't respond, his gaze fixed out the window, lost in his own storm of thoughts.

The doctor sighs, turning toward the door, motioning for the nurse to follow him out of the room.

Nurse 1 once they're in the hallway, her voice low but laced with curiosity and concern

"Doctor… did you notice?"

"He seems… off."

"Like he's lost his memory or maybe even his mind his eyes are pure dark like they are lost."

"What was a normal human even doing near a dungeon alone?"

The doctor stops abruptly, turning to face her, his expression stern.

Doctor: (firmly, his voice low but heavy with meaning)

"Normal what makes him normal?"

"He's awakened."

His words hang in the air like a thunderclap, their weight undeniable.

The nurse looks back toward Akira's room, her curiosity now mixed.

Doctor softening slightly, but his voice still serious

"Don't underestimate him, no matter how fragile and young he looks right now the humans who have gone have awoke are the most dangerous being on this planets.

"Just focus on helping him."

Nurse 2 (entering the room, holding a small plastic bag with Akira's belongings)

"Mr. Shoto, we found this with your clothes when you were brought in."

"It's your phone. You'll probably want this back."

She sets the bag on the table beside him and steps back, giving him space.

Akira his gaze falling on the bag, voice low and distracted

"My phone…?"

He reaches for it, pulling the device from the bag. It's cracked, dirty.

He turns it on and the screen flickers to life, the soft glow illuminating his face.)

Nurse 2 gently

"It was damaged, but it seems to still work."

"We've charged it for you."

"Thank you" - He replied

2 DAYS PASSED

Akira stepped out of the hospital, greeted by the crisp bite of the early morning air.

The wind carried the faint scent of dew as the first rays of sunlight broke over the horizon and painted the city gold and amber. 

For one instant, the stillness of the morning seemed to offer a fleeting sense of peace-a brief respite from the storm brewing inside of him. 

But peace was not what he sought.

The quiet street was abruptly interrupted by a shimmering light materializing in front of him, carried along by his feet.

His steps faltered for just a second while the translucent status window took precedence in his line of sight, hovering with a soft, otherworldly glow.

It was a status window.

His eyes narrowed further, focusing on the detailed contents within.

[Status Window:]

[Name: Akira Shoto ]

[Level: 1]

[Attributes:]

[Strength: 1]

[Stamina: 1]

[Agility: 1]

[Endurance: 1]

[Intelligence: 1]

[Quest: The Path of Vengeance: A Legacy of Blood and Fire]

Purpose: Seek out those who have hurt you and marshal the will to exact vengeance. On this path, will and strength are forced upon you perhaps against your will, through trials that shape your fate.

Reward: Increased power with clarity of purpose.

Added Active Skill:

Soul Infusion

Description: Temporarily infuse the body with residual energy of the soul, greatly increasing physical strength and speed, as well as magical energies.

It will also provide stamina and fast regeneration while active.

Duration: 10 minutes

Cooldown: 30 minutes

Passive Skills Added:

Rapid Growth

Description: Your growth rate is higher compared to the other STARS and enables you to gain experience from combat and challenges more quickly.

Effect: Gain 200% more experience rate from all the combat and challenges you face.

Perfected Symmetry

This passive skill balances your stats as you grow to make sure no stat has grown too weak. As the growth of your overall power, this skill spreads experience more evenly across all attributes so you have no drastic weaknesses.

" It's really great "

Effect: Passive equalization of all attribute points so that no stat is considerably behind-assuring well-rounded growth and avoiding any critical deficiency in battle.

This skill is dormant and will only awaken under the right circumstances. The nature of this ability, as well as its full potential, is a mystery for now, but in time, it will reveal itself to give new abilities or enhancements.

Skill:????

Condition: Locked

Akira's gaze fell on the window as all the details sank into his curious and expectant mind.

His stats were abysmally low, a reminder of what he currently could and could not do.

But the skills, especially the newly unlocked Soul Infusion, gave a glimmer of hope.

The promise of rapid growth pulled at his mind, urging him onto the need to rise above what he currently was.

He clenched his fists, feeling a surge of energy course through him.

But it was the locked skill that interested him most,

A hidden power, just waiting to be let loose—waiting for him to get stronger, more ruthless, perhaps.

The mystery of its nature was almost as alluring as the power itself.

Akira's eyes burned with fresh determination as he muttered to himself, his voice low but keen as a razor with determination.

"I can't believe my eyes."

"This is just what I've been looking for."

"I'll make them pay for this-with every last one of their lives."

He finally closed the status window in a flash; the light flickered out of existence.

It was clearer than ever, as he continued down the street, which path lay before him.

A dark, unforgiving road he now had embarked upon was one filled with vengeance and the promise of power.

The hunt was on

A quiet, somber hospital room.

Akira stands beside his mother's bed, his face etched with grief.

His mother lies still, her body frail with tubes and wires connected to her. The lighting in the room is low; it's dreary.

Akira looks at her lifeless form and his heart hurts.

Akira: Trembling voice, his eyes streaming with tears

"Mom I finally awakened."

"I think I'm different from the others with power i never heard they had a status window explaining their growth rate and current level."

"Remember when I told you that my dream was to be a top STAR, the best of the best?"

"That's no longer my goal."

"Now, my only purpose is to destroy them."

"Destroy those who did this to you."

Akira's face firms with resolve as his gaze bores into his mother.

He frowns, taking a deep breath, trying to steel himself against the felling overflow of sorrow.

Tears continued falling off his face mingled with the pain in his heart.

Akira: whispering, quivering of voice

"I really sorry mom."

"I must go training."

"I need to become stronger."

"I will make them pay for doing this to us."

"I do not know for how long...I'll be away...but I swear, I won't stop until I've avenged you and Dad."

Akira takes one last look at his mother before leaving the hospital.

The weight of his vow settles heavily upon his shoulders.