Immortal Echoes

Lucian Graves woke with a pounding headache that threatened to split his skull. Groaning, he cursed his decision to drink so much the night before. As he struggled to open his eyes, the pain momentarily faded, replaced by a surreal sight that banished any thoughts of hangovers or regret.

Before him sprawled a relentless landscape—a vast expanse of rugged, barren mountains clawing at a slate-gray sky. Every contour etched in shades of muted browns and grays painted a picture devoid of life or greenery.

Sharp, jagged peaks loomed like ancient sentinels on the horizon, their barren slopes marked by sheer cliffs and craggy outcrops. Massive boulders, weathered by centuries of wind and frost, lay scattered across the rocky ground like fallen giants frozen in time. The thin air made each breath a struggle.

Then, as if mocking his disorientation, a strange interface appeared:

Name: Lucian Graves

Age: 25

Core Rank: Dormant

Core: 1000/0

Abilities:

True Immortal

Items: None

Echos: None

Lucian staggered back, nearly losing his balance. The surreal integration of this interface with the barren landscape left him questioning his sanity. Was he dreaming? Trapped in some clandestine government experiment? He pinched himself, then slapped his own face, shouting in frustration. Nothing changed. He sat down hard, mind racing.

"If this is real," he muttered, "it could be kind of cool. I could have a sword that can kill gods, a harem with so many women I don't know their names—the usual protagonist perks. But what was that ability again? Maybe some mage or physical enhancement, something cool. How do they summon the system? 'Interface,' right?" He tried again, but nothing happened. Was it 'status'?

Then, abruptly, the system reappeared:

Name: Lucian Graves

Age: 19

Core Rank: Dormant

Core: 1000/0

Abilities:

True Immortal

Items: None

Echos: None

"Okay, I'm dormant, probably the first rank of the system or something," Lucian muttered. "And my ability is True Immortal. Oh, fuck yes! I'm the MC! I have 'Defining Skill: I Became an Immortal Saint' of some cultivation novel, right?" He experimented with the system, finally uncovering its description:

Ability Description: True Immortality

Description: You won't die. If burned to ash, you will return. If cut to pieces, you won't die. Nothing can kill you. Hope you like pain.

Lucian's elation deflated. "What the fuck is this? I don't want to be like Subaru! No, no, no! I was meant to be strong, with legendary skills—not cursed. And I don't feel any stronger. How am I supposed to kill things when I'm as weak as a human? A goblin with a knife could kill me! Or just stab me over and over until I go mad. What the fuck? Are there slimes here I can kill? Why doesn't this place look like a beginner's spot? I should be in a grassy field with slimes or something, not here in the middle of nowhere!"

He shouted at the top of his lungs, "Can anyone hear me?" Silence answered him, but then he heard something—a blur of motion from the distance.

From jagged rocks emerged a creature with sandy-brown feathers rippling against the rugged backdrop. It moved with effortless grace, its bright, alert eyes catching the sunlight like polished stones amidst dusty feathers. It stood about 7-8 feet tall.

Lucian stared in disbelief. "That's a starting monster? It moves faster than a car uphill toward me!" He turned and ran, but seconds later, searing pain lanced through him. He collapsed onto the rocky ground, his legs missing. "What the fuck?" he screamed.

Looking up, he saw a creature—bird or monster, he couldn't tell—holding his leg in its talons. "Why? Why wasn't this supposed to be my moment to become a god, trying and failing to get back up again?" Cursed, he thought, as darkness claimed him with a final blow from the creature's peak.