The last guardian: Rise of Ethan Wilson

The morning sun touched the windows of the orphanage, streaking soft light across the cracked walls and peeling paint. The hallway was quiet—too quiet for a Monday.

Inside a small room with faded posters and a single desk, Ethan Wilson sat on the edge of his bed, staring at his trembling hands.

He hadn't slept.

Not really.

He remembered the light.

The crack in the sky. The voice. The presence. The system.

Part of him hoped it had all been a dream. A psychotic breakdown born from years of grief and isolation.

But deep down, he knew better.

He touched his chest. His heartbeat pulsed in double-time, like an engine constantly running.

And then—

[DING]

System Boot Complete. Initiating First Daily Training Protocol.

A glowing blue interface blinked to life before his eyes, hovering inches from his vision.

[Daily Quest: Beginner Conditioning]

>100 Push-ups [0/100]

>100 Sit-ups [0/100]

>100 Pull-ups [0/100]

>100 Squats [0/100]

>Run 100 km [0/100 km]

>Failure Penalty: 5-Hour Survival in the Void Labyrinth.

>Time Remaining: 24:00:00

Ethan stared.

Then read it again.

And again.

100 kilometers?

His lips parted. A bitter laugh escaped before he could stop it.

"This... is insane."

[NOTE: Progress is non-negotiable. XP will only be awarded upon full completion.]

Ethan exhaled and slowly got up.

If this was real—and it was—then he had no choice but to move.

There was an old construction yard on the edge of the city. Forgotten. Rusted. Fenced-off. Perfect for someone who needed to be unseen.

Ethan dragged himself there.

The first push-up wasn't hard.

The second burned.

By the fiftieth, he was coughing blood.

By seventy-five, his arms gave out and his face slammed into gravel.

He spat dust and wiped the tears stinging his eyes.

He kept going.

Sit-ups weren't better. Every curl felt like his ribs were being stabbed.

Pull-ups were hell.

He found a rusted metal pipe across two collapsed columns and used it. The bar bent with his weight.

By pull-up #20, his arms were numb. By 30, he couldn't feel his fingers.

Squats? He collapsed by 60. Then forced himself up.

The running?

He managed 4 kilometers before vomiting behind a dumpster.

[Daily Quest Incomplete.]

[Penalty Activated.]

[Transferring Host to the Void Labyrinth.]

Ethan gasped as a hole tore open beneath his feet.

The world vanished.

Darkness.

Cold, alien, suffocating.

Ethan fell—his body smashing into a twisted floor of jagged obsidian. The air smelled like burnt oil and static. The sky above wasn't a sky—it was a screaming void stitched with red lightning.

And the sounds…

Whispers. No… voices.

"You don't belong here."

"Let us inside."

"We remember the fire."

Figures emerged.

Twisted humanoids with shattered mouths and inverted limbs. Their skin was ink, their eyes hollow. They echoed pain.

Echo-Borns.

Ethan staggered back.

One lunged.

He rolled, screamed, and ran.

But the labyrinth bent space. Corridors twisted. Gravity reversed. Walls pulsed like veins.

He fought to stay sane.

He found a broken pipe and swung it. Cracked a creature's face in.

But more came.

Time meant nothing here.

By hour two, his legs bled. By hour three, he was limping. By hour four, he was crawling through black water.

By the fifth hour…

He collapsed beside a glowing root and whispered:

"I… can't…"

Then—he saw her.

In the hallucination, his mother knelt beside him. Her voice was soft, breaking.

"You've come so far, Ethan. Why stop now?"

He sobbed. "I'm tired…"

She placed a hand on his chest.

"That's what they want. That's what he wants. But you're stronger than this."

He clenched his jaw.

The light returned to his eyes.

"Just… one more step."

He stood.

Bleeding. Screaming. Alive.

He collapsed onto his bed in the orphanage.

The room was spinning.

The pain lingered—but something inside him had changed.

The system chimed.

[Penalty Survived – Reward Granted.]

+10 XP

[Level 1 → XP: 10/100]

"Congratulations. You survived. Next time, complete the daily quest."

He stared at the floating screen.

Then at his trembling hands.

Then… he smiled. A real one. For the first time in months.

"Okay," he whispered. "Let's do it again."

The next day, he returned to the yard.

Push-ups—hard. But better.

Sit-ups—burned. But he didn't cry.

Pull-ups—barely manageable.

Squats—easier.

Running—he did 10 km before collapsing.

He failed again.

But this time, in the Void Labyrinth…

He fought back.

Used stones. Spears. Traps. His mind learned. His body adapted.

[Level 2 – XP: 100/100] → [LEVEL UP]

[LEVEL 3 – XP: 0/200]

Days passed.

Then weeks.

The orphanage caretakers noticed him changing.

He ate more. Slept less. Eyes sharper. Back straighter.

He stopped flinching when someone yelled.

Natalie Longmen watched him at school—confused, intrigued.

She noticed how his bruises stopped appearing.

How he moved like a soldier in disguise.

But he said nothing.

Because he was grinding in silence.

Because he wasn't Ethan the orphan anymore.

He was training to become something else.

Something stronger.

Something unstoppable.

Three weeks later.

Ethan stood on a rooftop at night, breathing in the cold air.

His body was leaner. His mind sharper. His XP bar was halfway to Level 20.

He hadn't failed a daily quest in five days.

The system pulsed beside him.

"Target Level Approaching: 20."

"Unlocks: Portal Casting. Flight Initiation."

Ethan looked up at the stars.

"Soon," he whispered.

Then closed his eyes.

And smiled.