Blinding white stretched endlessly in every direction.

  The frozen wasteland of Antarctica had become a battlefield.

  Snow was torn apart by explosions, chunks of ice scattered like shattered glass across the ground. Dark stains of blood stood out violently against the white surface, steaming as they soaked into the snow. The wind howled mercilessly, carrying screams, gunfire, and the metallic clash of weapons across the empty continent.

  Arthur stood in the middle of it all.

  His boots crunched against ice as he wiped blood from his face, his breath coming out in thick clouds. His body ached, exhaustion settling deep into his bones.

  “Ah… damn. What a drag,” he muttered. “I really need to take a dump… and I don’t even have the time.”

  He turned and began walking toward what looked like the edge of the battlefield, away from the chaos. Snow crunched beneath his steps, the cold biting through his clothes. Just as he thought he might actually escape—

  A shadow rushed him.

  Out of nowhere, a muscular guy burst through the snowstorm. Before Arthur could react, the man grabbed him and threw him hard. Arthur crashed into a jagged pile of broken ice, shards slicing into his skin as he skidded across the frozen ground.

  “Damn!” Arthur growled, pushing himself up. “Who the fuck are you, you bastard?!”

  The man smirked, completely unfazed by the cold.

  Stolen novel; please report.

  “Oh, me?” he said casually. “I’m Kay. And today, you’re gonna die.”

  Arthur narrowed his eyes.

  “Oh? Then you can die for messing with me.”

  In one swift motion, Arthur pulled out his sleek dagger. He lunged forward, the blade flashing as he caught Kay off guard, forcing him back. Steel struck flesh. Arthur chopped him down and stepped away, breathing heavily as snow swirled around them.

  For the first time, Arthur really looked around.

  Blood stained the ice everywhere. Soldiers and fighters clashed brutally, slipping on snow as they fought like animals. Some screamed in pain. Others ran, desperate to survive. Commanders shouted orders that were instantly swallowed by the Antarctic wind. The battlefield felt endless—and unforgiving.

  Arthur’s mind raced.

  How did I even get here?

  Who am I?

  This… this feels wrong.

  “Ugh…”

  Arthur turned and ran, heading toward what looked like a safer spot far from the fighting. His lungs burned as he pushed forward, his heart pounding violently. When he finally slowed down, something hit him.

  No—

  not just hit him.

  He remembered something.

  Something important.

  Suddenly, Arthur felt himself drifting, as if he were floating through the fog of his own memories. The cold vanished. The sounds faded. Time blurred.

  He was no longer on the battlefield—

  —but somewhere deep inside his own mind.

  To be countinued