The village was silent.
The light of Ruya and Siamon slowly descended from the sky, spreading silence along the dim streets. The houses were open, doors ajar, and bodies lay scattered in all directions on the streets. No wind, no bird sounds—as if this place no longer belonged to the world.
Zaber lay in the village center.
He appeared unconscious, but he was aware of himself. His body could not move, yet his mind was elsewhere.
Spiritual World
Zaber opened his eyes and awoke in the spiritual world.
He slowly looked around.
The black sun hung suspended in the center of the sky. It gave no light—instead, it seed to devour everything. Beneath it lay a black sea, still, its surface smooth as glass, yet its depth endless. In the distance, blue clouds hung—they did not move, as if ti had frozen here.
Zaber spoke in a loud voice, his words echoing back in the emptiness:
"Where are you, X?! We succeeded!"
He called again.
Again.
He had been searching for half an hour. His voice grew increasingly hoarse, but there was no answer.
Zaber stopped.
His gaze fell on the spot in front of him.
That was where the Abyss Stone should have been.
But it was gone.
Only fragnts.
Zaber slowly bent down and picked up one piece of the stone in his hand. On its surface, a dim number glowed:
94%
Zaber stared at it.
Then the fragnt lted like dust in his palm, dripping onto the black water and disappearing without a trace.
Zaber remained silent for a while.
"X... could it be..." he said in a low voice, looking at the black sun.
There was no answer.
But at that mont...
He felt it.
In the spiritual world, the pink chain was circling. As if strolling, it floated in the air, moving slowly. It was as if it were alive.
Zaber’s eyes fell on it.
He extended his hand.
The chain made one loop and began floating toward Zaber.
Zaber watched it.
His eyes grew lancholic. His mood slowly sank.
"X... Abyss Stone... have you abandoned too...?" he whispered. "Am I alone again...?"
The chain ca to his side and began circling his body.
Zaber closed his eyes.
The chain wrapped around him and glowed—as if binding him, embracing him from within.
Real Life
In the next mont, Zaber opened his eyes.
Imdiately, his body felt as if a boulder was pressing down on it.
His eyes were bloodshot, the blood that had flowed from his eyes, nose, and ears had crusted on his face. His body was cold, the ground felt hard.
Zaber took a deep breath.
He looked at his hand.
He imagined controlling the soul chain.
Then the pink chain erged from his hand and headed toward the sky. But it could not move separately from Zaber’s body—as if bound to it.
Zaber turned his head and watched it with his eyes.
"Does it erge from other parts of my body too...?"
He imagined it.
The chain retreated and erged from his wrist.
Zaber smiled lightly.
"Well... let us get a bit more serious."
The chain began moving strangely—like a fish swimming on water. It erged from various parts of Zaber’s body and retreated again.
Zaber clenched his fist.
He stood up.
At that mont, his head sharply turned to the left.
"Qrs."
A clear sound ca from his neck.
Zaber held his neck, surprised.
"Have my nerves been damaged...?"
He thought for a mont.
"I am the owner of the soul chain..."
He looked around.
Bodies.
Everywhere.
Zaber’s body bent forward a bit.
"Hihihihihihi..."
In the next mont, he straightened his posture and placed his hand on his face.
"Xaxaxaxaxaxaxaxa!!!"
"Now I am not weak! I have power!!!" he shouted.
"Xaxaxaxax..."
The laughter suddenly stopped.
His eyes grew serious.
"This power cost dearly..." he said in a cold tone. "I lost the stone that showed my stats and my second personality."
He began walking forward.
There was no expression on his face.
Zaber entered one of the houses he ca across.
The door creaked open slowly. Inside was cold and damp—the sll of a ho. The mud layers on the walls had cracked, fine dust falling from under the ceiling.
As he examined the house, his eyes fell on a bucket of water in the corner.
The water was still. As if unaware of all the horror that had occurred in this house.
Zaber took water from the bucket and washed the blood from his face. The cold water gripped his skin tightly, the blood mixing with the water turning it a faint pink. Droplets fell from his face to the floor.
He sat and drank from the water.
One gulp. Then another.
Then he froze.
He was in silence.
He suddenly threw the old bowl in his hand against the wall. The bowl hit the wall, shattering into pieces and scattering on the floor. The sound echoed muffled inside the house.
Zaber kicked the bucket, overturning it. Water spread across the floor.
He ca to the door.
He punched the door hard.
There was no anger in his eyes.
He struck again. Again. Again.
A mark remained on the door. Blood droplets embedded in the wood slowly slid down. Blood flowed from Zaber’s hand.
Zaber did not want to stop.
But his hand trembled and no longer obeyed him. The fist opened. Sotis a fist, sotis a slap, sotis both struck the door at once.
He looked at his hands.
"My nerves... have they been damaged more than I thought..."
Zaber went outside.
"I hate..." he whispered.
I do not hate being abandoned... I hate losing what belonged to , he thought.
He took a deep breath.
"Hoooooooffuuuuuuuu..."
"I want to kill soone..."
Then his voice continued hoarsely:
"But no one is left."
At that mont, he noticed soone approaching with a torch.
The fla tore through the darkness, coming closer. The person saw Zaber and quickened their steps.
Tears and anger gathered in their eyes.
The person stopped a few steps away from Zaber.
Their voice trembled:
"W... w... what happened here...?"
Zaber looked indifferently.
"I killed everyone."
That person threw the torch toward Zaber. The fla fell to the side, igniting dry wood.
Zaber shifted left and looked better...
He realized it was the elder.
Zaber smiled lightly, as if glad to have found soone to kill.
"Oh, sir... you are still alive? How?" he asked.
The elder shouted in anger:
"Why did you kill them?! What did we do to you?! We gave you bread! We gave you salt! We gave you shelter! We were kind! Then why?!
He held his head and was about to collapse.
Zaber looked at him—indifferently.
"Thank you for that, sir. You were all very good."
Then he continued in a cold voice:
"I had no reason to kill all of you."
The elder looked around. Bodies... empty streets...
He fell to his knees.
"Do you know who you killed...? They were people who had never hard anyone..."
His voice broke.
"My wife... my daughter... they too... they too..."
Zaber extended his hand. He pointed his palm at the elder.
"Elder, I am grateful for your kindness. But I have already lost everything. Nothing remains but my empty body."
The elder, kneeling, raised his head and looked into Zaber’s eyes.
At that instant, the pink chain erged from Zaber’s hand and pierced the elder’s chest.
Zaber squeezed the chain with his fingers.
"Farewell, sir."
The chain pulled.
The elder’s soul was yanked from his body. The soul was yellow, slightly transparent, trembling.
The elder’s body slowly collapsed to the ground.
Zaber watched this and smiled darkly.
"So this is how it looks..."
The soul chain slowly began digesting the soul. The soul lted, forming yellow streaks on the chain and absorbing into it. After a while, the chain fully digested the soul.
Zaber paid attention to his body.
"Why do I feel nothing...?"
Zaber looked at the chain.
"So if you consu it yourself... I need to consu it differently...?"
He ca to the side of one of the houses and sat down to rest.
He extended one leg, folded the other, and placed his hand on his knee.
He closed his eyes.
He began maintaining silence
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