Ethan sat upright in the hospital bed, staring at the dim cityscape through the window. The rhythmic beeping of the heart monitor was the only sound filling the silence. His mind was still processing everything.
He was missing four days before his was found and then was in a coma two years in a coma.
His body altered, his stats increased, his very existence forever linked to the Abyss.
The realization settled into his chest like a stone.
He had always known that power came at a price.
Leah sat beside him, arms crossed, a mix of exhaustion and frustration on her face. She had barely taken her eyes off him since he had woken up. Her emerald gaze was sharp—analyzing, searching—for what, he wasn’t sure.
"You’re really awake," she muttered, mostly to herself.
Ethan sighed. "Unless this is the longest dream ever, yeah."
Leah shot him a look, but he could see the relief beneath her sarcasm.
"You have no idea what it’s been like," she said, shaking her head. "Two years, Ethan. Two. When we found you in your apartment, we thought it was just exhaustion or some kind of mana burnout. But then you wouldn’t wake up. And no matter what the healers did, you—"
She stopped, taking a breath.
Ethan ran a hand over his face. "I’m sorry."
Leah glared. "Stop apologizing like that means anything. What the hell even happened to you?"
He hesitated.
Because how was he supposed to explain it?
How did he tell her that he had spent what felt like months, maybe longer, inside a void that shouldn’t exist? That he had trained under a being who wasn’t human, fighting creatures that shouldn’t be real?
That while he had been sleeping in this world, he had been awake somewhere else?
Leah watched him, waiting.
He exhaled. "It’s… complicated."
She scoffed. "Yeah, no shit."
Ethan smirked. "Missed you too."
Leah rolled her eyes, but there was something in her expression—a flicker of something softer, more vulnerable.
"You should know," she said. "Things aren’t the same as they were."
Ethan frowned. "What do you mean?"
Leah hesitated. Then, quietly, she said:
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"Everything changed while you were gone."
Ethan listened as Leah explained what had happened in the past two years.
The Guild had grown stronger—new adventurers rising through the ranks, new teams forming, new power dynamics shifting.
Gareth and the others had become A-rank adventurers—taking on bigger contracts, becoming known as one of the strongest mid-tier teams in the city.
But the threats had changed, too.
"Stronger dungeons have been appearing," Leah said. "More unpredictable. New types of monsters. Some creatures we’ve never even seen before."
Ethan’s jaw tightened.
Dungeons had always been a threat, but if new monsters were surfacing… that meant something was escalating.
"Something’s coming," she murmured, echoing his thoughts. "And no one knows what."
Ethan exhaled.
The timing was too much of a coincidence.
His trials in the Abyss. His changes. The Guild’s evolution.
Everything was connected.
And now?
He was being thrust back into a world that no longer resembled the one he had left.
A knock on the door interrupted them.
Leah turned, her expression softening slightly as Gareth stepped inside.
The moment Ethan saw him, he realized just how much time had passed.
Gareth looked the same—but older. More weathered. His short-cropped brown hair was streaked with a hint of silver, his broad frame even stronger than before.
For a second, Gareth just stared.
Then, with a huff, he crossed his arms.
"Well," he said. "You’re not dead. That’s a relief."
Ethan smirked. "Nice to see you too, old man."
Gareth snorted. "Look who''s talking. You’ve been sleeping for two years."
Ethan was about to respond with another joke, but the look in Gareth’s eyes stopped him.
There was something there.
Something deep.
Something he wasn’t saying.
Ethan frowned. "Gareth."
The older man sighed, rubbing his temples. "Look, kid. I’m glad you’re awake. We all are. But you need to understand—this isn’t the same Guild you left behind."
Ethan stiffened. "Leah told me. The dungeons, the new threats—"
"It’s worse than that," Gareth interrupted, his tone low. "The entire city is on edge. Something big is coming, and none of us are strong enough to stop it."
Ethan’s stomach dropped.
Before he could respond, Gareth fixed him with a sharp look.
"So, let me ask you something, Ethan."
He took a step forward, his presence heavy.
"You’ve been gone for two years. You wake up, looking stronger, but none of us know how. And now, with everything that’s been happening—"
He narrowed his eyes.
"Are you the same person we knew?"
Silence.
Ethan’s fingers twitched.
Because he didn’t know the answer.
He wasn’t sure if he ever would.
<hr>
Status Check – A Warden Returns
A system notification flared in his mind.
<blockquote>
[SYSTEM UPDATE – STATUS CHECK]
[Ethan Voss – Abysswalker]
Level: 30
Health: Stable
Mana: 400/400
[Stat Gains – Unallocated Points Available:]
?? Strength: +6
?? Agility: +5
?? Endurance: +7
[Abilities Unlocked:]
?? Warden’s Echo (Passive): Your existence has left an imprint in the Abyss. You may experience visions or instinctual warnings related to abyssal forces.
?? Abyssborne Resilience (Passive): Your body has fully adapted to abyssal energy. Increased resistance to all shadow-based attacks and corruption effects.
[Unspent Stat Points Available: 10]
</blockquote>
Ethan clenched his fists.
He could feel it.
His body had changed.
His very essence had shifted.
But was he still Ethan Voss?
Or was he something else now?
Gareth’s voice snapped him out of his thoughts.
"Well?" the older man asked. "Can you still fight?"
Ethan took a slow breath.
Then, with absolute certainty, he met Gareth’s gaze.
"Yeah," he said. "I can fight."
Gareth nodded.
"Good," he said. "Because we need you, kid. More than ever."