Warning: gore, ntions of suicide, psychological torture through sensory deprivation.
Very heavy chapter.
---
Cold droplets of water fell to the floor of the dungeon, making quiet splashes as they impacted the cobbled tiles. I had to hold back a groan as I realised that I would be stuck in this damp shithole for who knew how long, since trials could take days in extre cases. I had no other choice. This dungeon had been ticulously prepared for over the past few months, ever since I told Doran that I would be tiering up at the guild. He had relayed that information to Andross, who had stuffed the dark room full of black crystals, which he assured could help during so trials.
Sohow, he had forgotten to look for a better spot, that wasnt leaking like this room was.
Oh well. I had to admit that my frustrations were just a way for to express the stress I was feeling at the mont. The last trial had been a true ordeal that ca out of nowhere, and they were supposed to get harder and harder. Even worse, I had no idea what was in store for .
At the end of the day, there was nothing for it. Ti to begin.
TIER 2 MAX LEVEL REACHED
Advance to tier 3?
I nodded in affirmation.
Ding! Class evolution initiated....confirming background....noting behaviour....noting status....calibrating....
Ding! Comncing evolution!
Then, I passed out.
-scene transition-
I woke up to an empty landscape. No, THE empty landscape. The one I had found myself in, all alone, at the end of my last trial.
I was surrounded by white emptiness, standing on an ocean of dry, white dust. The horizon was as blank as that of the sea, with no building or sign of life in sight.
I rembered this place. This had been my end, the end of the empty path I had followed in my dream. And yet, this ti, I felt in control. I could walk, run, and talk. I rembered my family, my friends and what I had achieved. This ti, the trial couldnt control ... I was sure of it.
All I had to do was find out what the trial wanted, before I could move on. Maybe it would attempt to show more sad scenes...
And so, I waited. A few hours passed, I think. I waited for sothing to happen, soone to appear, for sothing to do.
But nothing happened.
I waited a little more. A few days, maybe?
Nothing.
With no other option, I decided to start experinting. I attempted to dig through the dust, but couldnt pierce the crust below . Then, I tried running around, in search of anything that could help progress. Still nothing. No matter how far I ran, everything was the sa. I tried flying upwards, since I had plenty of mana to spare. Still nothing. ntal palace? Didnt work.
Eventually, I got bored and decided to continue waiting in one spot. A few more days passed. A week, a month, which eventually turned into years, possibly decades. A long ti. There was no sun here, but I could see in the dark.
Still, nothing changed. Nothing changed about , nothing changed in my surroundings, nothing changed at all.
Was this it? The end of my life? Would I forever be rembered as a kid that got stuck in a trial for eternity?
I asked myself for an answer a thousand tis, but I got tired of hearing my own voice after a while.
-scene transition-
I think a few more years have passed by now. The system hasn't let go yet. Everything feels the sa. Practicing skills feels pointless; nothing changes or grows. I've tried everything, but it all feels pointless after a while, like I've been chained in an invisible prison. I'm still alone, I still can't feel anything...
My mories are becoming blurry and I think I might have forgotten my na. I know it'll co back after a while, the mories I lose don't tend to stay gone. Well, not like it matters. At this point, I've spent more ti here than outside, I think.
When would sothing set free? I would do anything for freedom...
Then, right when I was about to lose all hope, sothing finally changed. Finally, after all this ti, sothing happened. A small white bowl appeared in the middle of the big empty. A pedestal appeared underneath it and slowly pushed it out of the ground, until the bowl reached my waist.
I walked over, and felt imnse pressure co over . The sudden change had pierced my world like a cold blade. I hadnt seen anything change, ever. Yet, here it was. My muscles tensed and released tension sporadically as I hobbled over, the stimulation too much for my body to bear.
But I had to see it. See what was inside the bowl.
I reached it, and looked inside.
A... squirrel? A squirrel, and two words, that were engraved on the edge of the bowl. I recognised these words.
Sacrifice it was all it said, with no punctuation.
I stared at the squirrel. It wasnt moving, its eyes were glazed over. Hesitantly, shivering, I reached into the bowl and grasped the unmoving body of the creature. It was warm. But it was dead. Only now that I felt the warmth of the creature, did I realise how cold I myself was. I almost envied the little critter.
I tried to prod it, talk to it, inspect it Nothing made it move. Was this all I had to do to pass this trial? I had no qualms with killing creatures, but this seed a bit cruel.
Yet, as the soft fur of the little animal brushed against my skin, I couldnt help but desire its warmth for myself. I couldnt help but imagine what sensations I would feel if I ended this fake creatures miserable pseudo-existence.
I squeezed.
The creature broke. Warm fluid ran down my fingers, and its innards spilled out of my hand, into the bowl.
I revelled as the sensations spread across my hand, then my arm. The feeling of sothing that wasnt dust, wasnt tal. I almost cried and started laughing, I was so excited to feel again. This creature had died so that I could feel sothing, anything.
That wasnt how it was supposed to be, I rembered. But I had lived like an empty vessel for such a long ti, why couldnt I enjoy it a little? I deserved it... Everyone did, but especially . I needed... more. It was already dead, anyway, its warmth gone... what was the harm?
Slowly, I reached back into the bowl, and continued to play with the squirrel inside. I squashed and broke it, until it turned into a sticky paste. The feeling was... riveting, strangely.
Then, the red squirrel disappeared. It was gone. It didnt co back.
I scread, cried out for it to return. I mourned its loss. I begged the system for anything...
Days passed. I begged louder.
Weeks passed. My voice gave out.
A month passed. A boar appeared in the bowl.
I thoroughly enjoyed the feeling of ripping the boar into pieces, but it, too, disappeared.
I waited, and waited so more.
A cactus, a beetle, a beehive, a bear, a bird...
More creatures appeared. They were all fantastically interesting, for a while. And yet, the trial didnt let go. By now, I realised that I wasnt in control after all. It wasnt supposed to be like... this. But I was.
Every ti sothing appeared, a bowl of the appropriate size would grow out of the ground and tell to sacrifice whatever it carried. For so reason, I kept doing it. It never grew boring, unlike everything else in the world. I knew I shouldnt like it, but I had nothing else.
More creatures ca and went. Sotis, I tried to resist. I kept the creature around for a while. I comforted myself with its warmth. But then... the creature lost its warmth, by itself. Thats when I knew that no matter how much I loved them, the creatures would always beco worthless or die by themselves.
Thats why I sacrificed them for a long ti, until it beca an instinct to do so.
One day, I tried to sacrifice myself, too. An existence like this wasnt what I had wanted, at first.
But I couldnt. I wanted to live.
Eventually, an upside-down bowl appeared. It was massive. Large enough to contain a monster, even. But it was upside down. To get what I wanted, I would need to get inside.
I lifted the bowl, only to be greeted by pure darkness. I couldnt see inside, for so reason. Wasnt I supposed to be able to see in the dark? Oh well. Maybe I could sacrifice the darkness, this ti.
The bowl seed to disappear as I stepped inside. Instead, I was surrounded by pure darkness. I began to move, reaching for the walls of the bowl, but couldnt find any solid surfaces. Just pure blackness. Then, a voice ca from the darkness.
Arthur? What are you doing here?
That voice... It couldnt be...
Cerion?
Arthur! Its been such a long ti! Where have you been?
Before I knew it, a dark figure enveloped in a hug. I couldnt see him, but I knew Cerion was there. Carefully, I tried to hug him back. Instinctively, I squeezed. I felt his body compress. Cerion broke and fell to the floor, dead.
Cerion? Cerion! I scread out into the darkness. It was no use. He was gone.
I stood still in shock for a while, until I heard another voice.
Art! I finally found you!
Dad.
Youre not real, not real, not real, not real, not...
What are you muttering about, Art? Of course Im real!
I squeezed. He broke. I think I cried.
Again, I considered killing myself. Then, I considered destroying everything I ca across.
But, I refused. Doing either of those would be the sa as admitting defeat to the trial. I had persevered for years and survived near-endless solitude. Giving up made It all worthless.
So, I swore not to compromise with the system. I wouldnt pick any of the choices it was forcing on .
I wouldnt sacrifice anything, anymore. I would live endlessly in this emptiness if I needed to, without breaking anything.
More voices appeared. My mom, Andross, Doran, Cerion and dad again... even little ambers bubbling. All fake. The system showed no rcy.
More and more voices, all of them I recognised. They spoke simultaneously. They tempted , they hugged , kissed , loved . I hated them. But I refused to kill them.
My fingers dug into the impenetrable crust of the big nothing, and the darkness wrapped around like a cloak.
Days passed. Months. The voices persisted.
My fingers dug deeper and deeper into the crust.
A year passed, I think.
The voices were loud, and constant. They never seed to give up.
My fingers dug a little deeper. Until... I felt them pierce through the crust. Finally. I squeezed. Everything around ... broke.
The voices stopped, and the darkness lifted.
I woke up on the cold, hard floor of the dungeon, tears blurring my vision.
Ding! Class evolution complete!
Assigning class....[Hollow essence knight]
Reviews
All reviews (0)