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THUD
As the last monster fell to the ground, I finally had the time to pick my breath up.
It had been nearly five hours of relentless fighting, and exhaustion was catching up with me. Even though this place was not a test of my body, I still had been fighting almost non-stop while also walking.
The ghoul-filled landscape seemed to stretch on endlessly, each step feeling heavier as the hours blurred together.
“Hisss…”
The small wounds around my body were also aching. They were the ones made by the ghouls.
GULP!
Grabbing another potion from my bracelet, I gulped it. Immediately, I felt my body getting lighter as well, and a faint sense of comfort filled me.
‘It is no time to relax.’
The moon above had shifted its position, casting an even more eerie glow over the desolate battlefield.
The symphony of screeches and screams had dulled my senses, and I needed respite. My body was still aching from the unhealed wounds, my mind weary from the constant vigilance against the ghoulish onslaught.
TOK! TOK! TOK!
I continued to move while making noises beneath my tired steps, a constant reminder of the unforgiving environment and that I was the real and alive person here.
But then, something caught my eye—a faint flickering light in the distance, barely visible amidst the suffocating darkness.
It was for a brief second, but I still could see a small light inside the fog and darkness.
Eyes of Hourglass.
Activating my skill, I focused my vision on the fog, and there, I could see a small landscape that was different from the fog.
‘A cave?’
It was as if a cave was inside a small mountain.
‘I guess I finally reached here.’
Seeing that scene, I finally recalled the memories from the game. This would mark the end of the walk underneath the fog since I had already reached the boss monster’s location.
With renewed body and senses, I trudged towards the distant flickering light, the cave entrance becoming more defined as I drew near.
SCREEECH!
The screams seemed to grow louder, a cacophony of tortured souls begging for my company. It was unsettling, but I forced myself to focus on the task at hand.
‘Why don’t you be with us, my child?’
‘Aren’t you tired?’
‘Please, I want a friend.’
‘Son, Mother will give you a hug; come here.’
Suddenly, the moment I got closer to the cave, I started hearing whispers entering directly into my ears. It was as if I was surrounded by people from everywhere around.
And as I stepped into the mouth of the cave, the voices became more pronounced, echoing off the walls and reverberating in my mind. Each step deeper into the cave felt like a descent into madness.
‘Join us…’
‘Stay with us…’
‘We can end your suffering…’
The darkness within seemed to writhe and twist as if alive with some sinister purpose. At this point, even the moon’s light was not able to enter the cave, let alone illuminate it.
It was complete darkness surrounding me, though that darkness was something I was not uncomfortable with.
After all, even though I couldn’t use my Shadow Abilities in this place effectively, I could still see well in the dark thanks to my trait.
The walls were damp and covered in a slick, slimy substance as if those ghouls I had killed were all gathered in this place.
‘Don’t fight it…’
‘Embrace the darkness…’
‘We’re waiting for you…’
The whispers were incessant, an unending assault on my mind.
I could feel their cold, bony fingers attempting to claw their way into my thoughts, trying to make me one of them.
But I pushed back. Even though it was sweet, I had a purpose for being here.
“Tch…..Death is not something to be mocked like this.” 𝑶𝑽xt.𝚌𝑂𝗆
I mumbled, looking directly into the darkness inside the cave.
CAW! CAW! CAW!
And as if to respond to my words, around me, I suddenly heard a bunch of caws coming from all around the place.
However, the distance didn’t match.
Turning my eyes to the side, I could see the walls around me were now all gone, as if they hadn’t even existed to begin with.
Now, I was inside a forest. A forest filled with trees. The moonlight reappeared again, illuminating the surroundings. The fog was nowhere to be seen, but instead, the branches were doing its job.
The black-colored trees had no leaves on them, as if their whole life force was sucked.
In this eerie forest, the air was heavy with the scent of decay.
The ground felt soft and uneven beneath my feet as if it was soaked with blood. The crimson eyes of the crows bore into me, their gaze unnerving and haunting.
There were countless of them perched on the skeletal branches, watching my every move.
‘Join us…’
‘Stay with us…’
‘Embrace the end…’
The whispers continued, their voices intermingling with the caws of the crows. It felt like the forest itself was alive with malevolence, urging me to surrender to the abyss.
“….”
However, I simply moved forward without even a word. After all, they didn’t even need a word from me.
Those were the voices of the death.
With each step, the forest seemed to shift and change while small memories entered my head.
A woman holding a boy from his hand….
A young man holding a small box in his hand while sitting on his knees….
A little girl who was looking at the little candy that other children had….
An old woman who was watching her grandchildren run around….
Some memories were happy, while others were sad and disturbing.
‘DON’T COME CLOSER!’
From the eyes of a woman, a man was approaching her in the darkness, disgusting saliva leaking from his mouth…..
‘JUST WHY DID YOU DO IT?’
From the eyes of a man at the entrance of the room, two people in the same bed, one his wife.…
‘Come here little boy….’
From the eyes of a little kid, a woman holding a rolling pin in her hands…..
Countless different memories came into my head, and every time one came, the feelings and emotions also came.
Fear, hatred, anger, sadness, betrayal, pain….
Happiness, joy, exhilaration, nostalgia, excitement…..
The contrast of the two types made it even more distinct to feel all those grueling feelings.
CRACK! CAW!
In the midst of those memories, the trees twisted and contorted, their branches reaching out like skeletal claws. The moonlight cast its own light and elongated shadows that danced menacingly around me.
The crows remained perched on the branches, their eyes unblinking and fixed on me. It was as if they were guardians of this dark realm, observing a trespasser in their domain.
I could feel all those little feelings of people, but then again, in this world, no one would be happy all the time.
Whenever there are people living in luxury, there will always be people living in slums.
This is by the nature of humans and this world.
Just like not everyone is born with the same talent at mana; they also aren’t born in the same environment.
This is an undeniable fact, and this is what makes this world how it is. Whenever there is a light, there will always be darkness.
Without the darkness, we can’t say something about the dark at all.
‘I see…’
At that exact moment, I heard the voice of something.
A voice filled with malice.
FLAP! FLAP! FLAP! FLAP! FLAP!
Countless crows burst from the branches, encircling me in a whirlwind of feathers and darkness.
CAW! CAW! CAW!
They cawed in unison, creating a chaotic symphony that drowned out the whispers of the memories.
The forest floor seemed to tremble, and then it began. Blood seeped from the ground, swirling and coalescing, forming a grotesque silhouette of a thing.
It was a formless, shifting mass, a conglomeration of nightmares.
‘Understanding the world, are you?’ the abomination hissed, its voice a cacophony of tortured souls.
I could barely make out its shape amidst the flurry of crows and the swirling blood, but its presence was suffocating.
The malice and hatred filled the atmosphere, and a feeling of nausea came from the deepest parts of my stomach.
“I don’t understand anything.” I replied to the thing.’
The abomination chuckled, a sound that sent shivers down my spine. “We shall see, little mortal. Let us test the strength of your mind.”
In a whirl of movement, the creature began to morph and change, showing me gruesome images in rapid succession. Scenes of death, betrayal, agony, and despair flickered before my eyes.
A woman, her eyes wide with horror as she fell from a great height.
A soldier, his face twisted in pain as a blade pierced his chest.
A child, crying in the darkness, lost and alone.
‘Can you endure the suffering of this world?’ the abomination taunted.
“Do I need to?” I replied.
“….A good answer that you gave.” The creature chuckled once again. “But, you, who can’t even endure his own suffering and escape from his past, shouldn’t answer like that.”
As the creature spoke those words, suddenly, the scenery changed.
There stood a little girl purely made from blood and a claw piercing her chest. Her eyes didn’t contain her usual light inside, but rather they were empty.
Filled with pitch black.
No words were spoken.
She, with eyes filled with just black, stared at me.
It was as if she was saying why did you leave me alone.
Why didn’t you help me?
TAP!
A small tear made from blood poured from those black eyes, tapping the ground.
‘You were able to come here because of your talent. But, when your talent is not enough, will you be able to move forward?’
The grotesque figure spoke with its voice taking the form of malice once again. It was as if he was mocking me for coming here.
‘A mortal who tries to forget his past has no right to come into my presence.’
“What did you say?” I replied. I knew this bastard would speak like this, but it was still getting on my nerves.
All those deaths and those gruesome scenes can be accepted, but saying I was trying to forget?
“I will never forget,” I declared. “And I never forgive.”
With those words, I finally let out one of the feelings I had been suppressing for a while. The things I imagined in my head, the countless scenarios where I killed that demon, I ripped him into pieces, I pushed a bullet into its throat.
Countless scenarios I was able to save her at that time also lingered in those imaginations, but I knew they were all pointless.
‘Ho….You are interesting….’
Finally, the figure spoke, its gruesome hands slowly approaching me.
‘You have an aura befitting of coming here.’
In eerie silence, the doppelg?nger stepped closer, and I could feel its cold, bony fingers on my forehead. It was a touch that sent a chill down my spine, a touch that seemed to probe my very soul.
Even though I had already prepared myself before coming here, the malice contained in that touch was enough to almost destroy my soul.
‘You do deserve to take what I shall offer.’
With that declaration, the figure withdrew its hand, and as it did, a small raven materialized on my shoulder. Its eyes were a deep purple, mirroring mine.
‘Then, take your companion,’ the figure spoke as its form started disappearing. And following that, I felt something sucking me in….