At first, I thought my vision had gone dark. Yet, a mont later, after my ‘sight’ - or whatever substituted for it in this spiritual space - adjusted, the image before my eyes made my taphysical heart skip a beat. Maybe more than one beat.
Movent. Irregular. Rapid or slow. Fluid or choppy.
The first thing I could make out were endless tendrils, sowhat reminiscent of an octopus’s, made of ‘glitchy’ darkness, as far as my imaginary eyes could see.
Amidst them, I saw big clusters of flesh, adorned by countless maws. Those had color. Many colors…
Sotis, the flesh would be dark brown, almost crimson, and at others, it would be a vibrant shade of yellow, with dark green spots, like that of a poisonous toad.
The countless teeth, both within and without, were scattered without apparent structure or pattern.
And…
‘What even is this?’
Now that I could better make out the terrifying scene, it seed the maws and the tendrils were locked in an endless struggle.
Sotis, a dozen tendrils would encompass a maw, with a repulsive explosion of flesh and teeth following soon after, accompanied by an equally abhorrent sound of wet tissues tearing and popping, liquids splattering into the void.
Sotis, a maw would twist and extend, in a manner that would defy any physical law, sinking its many teeth into a cluster of tentacles. The dark appendages would then emit a sound akin to one squashing a dry piece of cardboard, withering and dissipating into nothingness.
Such scenes repeated dozens, hundreds of tis in front of . To my left. To my right. Everywhere.
Haa.. Haa..
I have seen so terrible things since finding myself in this world… but, right now, it was taking every shred of will to simply keep my mind from slipping into the endless darkness-
“Sebastian!”
I heard the High Priest’s voice beside .
“You must reach the core of your soul!”
It was like a beacon, helping retain what shreds of sanity I had left.
“The light!.. The warmth! Look for it! You must find it!”
I couldn’t close my eyes in this dream-like dinsion, yet, sohow, I managed to limit my senses to so extent, following the Sun Priest’s words almost instinctually.
‘My..’
As if awaiting my thoughts, suddenly, a faint light ignited in the distance, faintly visible through a dreadful ‘tunnel’, made of more of those horrifying things.
“Now wh-”
Suddenly, I realized I was no longer floating in space – instead, I was rapidly moving forward, the light slowly growing in my vision.
“Priest!”
Even without turning my head, I could feel it – he, or rather, his spirit, was no longer alongside mine.
Haa- Haa… Haaaa.
I couldn’t afford to let myself sink into my thoughts. There was only one path forward now. My one and only choice was to follow it.
K̵̡̛̳̜͕̙̻̏̇̈́͘r̵͇̼̰̻̥̾̀͝r̷̬̣̍̓͒͌r̴̤̟͈͈̹̈́̓̍̓͝ą̶̭̺̳̫͌͛͂̚k̵̭͚̉͐̽͘͘ą̶̭̺̳̫͌͛͂̚ḱ̴̜̂͋̚͜a̸̡̹͖̣̞̙̿̓̽k̸̳̞̭̭̭͛͆͒̇̏̽ą̸̨͕̞̪̻̈́̈́
From the side, I heard an incomprehensible sound that made my chest tighten. One of the glitchy tentacles charging straight at !
‘Move!’
Sohow, at my thought, my body followed the imaginary trajectory, dodging the horrifying appendage.
K̶̰̀r̶̥͈̤̾̂̀̊ę̷̥̞͚̹͙̽̋̂͑͛ả̸̛̳́̎͆͆u̴̠̤͌̾͆͂͝ę̸̠̣̩̣͆̋̉̀̄ǎ̶̡̨̻͍̠̓͒̑͘ü̵̹̃̏̆̈́͝͝e̵̡̛͉͎̞͚͈̯͆͋̋̾̑͛á̶͍̹̱͚̇͊̓͘͠
More tendrils followed. ‘Moving’ left and right, downwards and back up again, I began my desperate evasion maneuvers.
T̸̮͙̂̄̇͌͛̒r̵̞̗̬̖̮͇̒͝r̵̛̙̱̈́̓͂̎͗͝r̶̻̐̽̑̈́͋͋̌r̶͉̣͑̅̑̑͗i̸̩͝͝į̶͖̭̄̀̀͗i̵̝̰͖̤̋̀͆́͊̀í̵̻̳̜̥͉̪̺̓͗̒͂͠
Dodging those abominations wouldn’t be that difficult, especially with my perception… if not for the fact that I actually had to perceive them first.
I gritted my spiritual teeth.
‘This… I survived it all until now! Those damn things won’t get ! Not after all-’
[W̵̠͍̊͌e̷̩̞̤͆̅]
For a mont, a new sound nearly made crash into another tentacle, avoiding it only at the last mont.
Unlike the horrid sounds emitted by the glitched-out aberrations, this almost sounded like… words?
[-ë̸͇͈́̒̕ḛ̴̳̀̑͌͜t̷̡̤̼̿͑̚ ̴͙͇̎̐ẏ̶͙̩̞o̷̗̹̓͗ͅ-]
Distracted by the new ‘voices’, I suddenly realized no more tentacles were attacking… However…
‘No…’
The light, which had been growing closer and closer, was rapidly being extinguished– no, not that. It was being obstructed. Hundreds, maybe thousands of tentacles, were now forming a tight net in my path – far too tight for to pass through.
[-p̴̤͚̆i̸̦͌o̶̢͙̓͌̕n̷̯̜̈́.]
From the sound of it, the voice, which could only have co from one (or many) of the maws, had finished speaking.
And as it did…
K̷̨̨͖̠͍͈͔̣̮͎̒͋̋͐̉̈́̐̎̄v̴̜̻̲̲̹̗̞̹̌i̵͍̒̾̆͠i̶̜̫̹͇͋̊ǐ̸̡̛̬̼͕͇̣͆́͑͐̾̓ḁ̴̙͇̮͙̭̜͌̏̐̀̽̑͜ą̵̱̹̥̜̘͉̪̎̊̃͋͜͝a̷̲̟͓̾̋̄̊͗̏̋̽͋̾͜e̸̛̱͔̣̣̥͑̔̇̅̍͆͌͂̃ě̶̦̳̲̫é̴͈̈́̔̈͘͝͝͝!!!
Erupting from the wall of black tendrils, the sound was almost recognizable – a scream of pain and wrath.
At the sa ti, a wave crushed into the net – a massive wall, with teeth and sharp bones protruding from the repugnant flesh, sending ripples across the collapsing blockade.
For a mont, it felt as if the whole space trembled and shook.
Ķ̶̖̼͓̙͑͑̇͠ͅṿ̴̨͙̻̰̳͙͖̣̈́ͅą̷͓̲̻̫̲̞̭̲̉̀͛͆̐̇͒̑å̵̳̜͙͕͈͙̔̽͛̆à̸̛̳̻̱̬̭̿̓̌̐̑͆̈́k̶̡̧̢̛̦̦͕̠͇̼̊͒̎̄̕͘â̵̛̙̪̟͍̊̅̔ķ̵͍̟͖͎̉̅͂́̓̎̓̄ä̷̮̹̟̗́͐̏̎̇̊̚k̵̻̎̑̊͠á̶͕̳̖̽̎̎̐̏̈́̈̌͘͜k̵̠̭̻͉̭̝͔͔̪͊̽̈́̒à̷̗̰̱̘̉̇ͅ!!
The tendrils no longer focused on – rather, the previous battle resud with renewed vigor.
And, most importantly – the path ahead was clear!
Passing through the field of bloodless carnage, I couldn’t help but shudder – still, I gathered my focus on the large white globe ahead, now becoming larger and larger by the second.
And soon…
wum
It was as if I passed through a thin film – my vision was colored white, and a mont later, the sounds behind were cut off, suddenly plunging my world into tranquil silence.
Slowly, as if through water, I descended upon a pearl-like surface. Now, with so of my urgency alleviated, I could feel the rough outlines of my ‘body’, which was more of an abstract form than anything else.
The space inside the sphere, illuminated by the sa soft light as its surface, was large and empty… save for a single figure, standing at its center.
“So, you decided to co here.”
Unlike myself, or anything else inside this sphere, the figure was not made of white light – rather, its shadowy outline stood in complete contrast to it.
The only thing that could be discerned in its silhouette were its eyes – there were no whites or irises, only the outlines, glimring like a pair of eralds, with black pupils at their centers.
“So it really was you…”
Still, I recognized the figure.
Even if the voice was slightly distorted, its proportions, the shape of its head, the ssy hair – there was no way I’d fail to recognize them.
After all, one of the first things I did, soon after coming to this world, was look in the mirror.
“Sebastian.”
***
Ha- Ha- Haa… Haaaa.
For the first ti in many, many decades, the old man’s hair - as well as neck - were drenched in sweat.
“Unbelievable.”
As he finally finished catching his breath, he threw a glance at the youth in front of him, still sitting in the chair.
The young man’s stiff face started relaxing monts later. He must have actually reached the core of his soul, finding shelter within – shelter from the hurricane of Chaos raging around it.
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“Poor child.”
Earlier, even if he’d never say it aloud, or even form it as a coherent thought, the Goddess’s request - which was, for all intents and purposes, a command - seed needlessly cruel.
However, now that he had seen what he’d seen, he ca to realize the foolishness of his doubts – if anything, this was the greatest act of rcy the Shining Lady could bestow upon this ill-fated child.
“May Her light guide you to salvation… no matter how slim such hope would seem.”
In his heart, he truly hoped the young man would be able to find a way to escape his all-but-sealed fate.
And yet, while there was always a place for hope in his heart, now was the ti for taking precautions against what was most likely, not what would be most just.
“May Her light guide us all.”
It was ti to begin the second ritual.
***
Deep in my heart, I already knew.
If, at first, those contradicting thoughts could be chucked up to my own shaky ntality, having been thrown into this strange and deadly world, then by now - especially after the earlier fight - I could tell…
That particular voice inside my head – it had never truly been my own.
Perhaps I’d simply refused to think too deeply – tossed the issue aside, leaving it to future to worry about.
I wanted to believe I’d left that kind of thing in the past, in my old world, but apparently, old habits die hard.
“Oh, stop it with that stupid look. You don’t have to pretend to feel sorry; to care.”
An undernote of ridicule could be heard in the shade’s voice.
“I’ve been by your side long enough.”
“...”
I was about to open my ‘mouth’, to refute his words, but then, I felt my whatever sliver of sympathy I had evaporate in real ti.
“Yeah. Yeah, you’re right.”
Instead, I felt a different kind of feeling rise from within.
“The fuck would I care?”
All the pent up frustration; all the anger, the sorrow… It felt like a cork had been pulled sowhere within , with the overflowing emotions starting to escape, like champagne, after its bottle received so proper tossing.
“I really don’t give a shit! So, your father died– was killed, whatever – boo fucking hoo!”
I could see the shade’s eyes narrowing, even sense the jaw on his featureless face clutching, but I couldn’t give a rat’s ass.
“Half the people I’ve t in this damn world probably had sothing similar happen to them! To their loved one!.. To soone they cared about…”
For so reason, the image of a dead body, slowly dripping blood into a large bowl, flashed before my eyes.
“So why?! Why the fuck did you bring here?.. Why.. did it have to be ?..”
It’s not that this world didn’t have its appeal… it’s not that it was terrible in every aspect. But, if given a choice, would I actually choose to live here? With a damn death-tir, and so eldritch entities threatening to devour my soul? Fuck no! So, why-
“Do you think I wanted it to be you?”
The shade’s voice, filled with disdain, abruptly cut my thoughts.
“Do you think I wanted to give up my body, only to have it inhibited by the soul of so soft, pathetic, whiny brat? Soone who’d lived his long, peaceful life, worrying about petty, aningless garbage, while slowly rotting away?!”
I.. couldn’t even find the words to respond. It would seem Sebastian’s shadow was no less angry than .
“If I could trade you away, for anything, anyone, soone actually fit to fulfil my wish – I’d do my best to erase you from this soul! Without a second thought.”
Sohow, I had no doubt he ant every word he said.
“But!.. It.. it just had to be you!..”
“Why, though?”
I could understand his frustration, but it didn’t really answer anything.
“You’re asking that?! You have my mories. You should be able to find your answer there.”
“Your mories are fucking useless!”
I have already finished ‘unlocking’ most of Sebastian’s recent life. Throughout that, I also understood much about his childhood.
Living in isolation with his father, he wasn’t unhappy, but… if I had to define it, I’d say he was raised like a child soldier, carefully prepared to be sent off to war. Or, to be able to survive on his own, while escaping a deadly pursuit.
While I could form so assumptions based on those mories, none of it was relevant to actually being summoned to this world.
“But, I don’t have all your mories.”
“...you don’t?”
Now, it was the shadow’s turn to be confused.
“The cave. Since the mont you entered the cave, there’s nothing.”
“Ah…”
It would seem he finally realized the source of my misunderstanding.
“So, you don’t know…”
There seed to be a tinge of mockery in his voice.
“Listen, here…”
I could tell where this was going.
“Or what? You’ll be forced to grant my wish, either way.”
The shadow chuckled.
“You don’t really have a choice.”
“I do have a choice.”
The amusent was gone from his eyes. Yet, his voice was resolute.
“You wouldn’t. You care too much about survival.”
“You’re right. I do.”
I’d never cause my own death just to spite him.
“However, this knowledge is paramount to my survival.”
It didn’t an I’d idly sit by, though.
“Sebastian. As you said, you’ve been with since I got here. So, look back, and listen to my words very carefully.”
I understood that he probably had a way to compel to do his bidding. It wouldn’t be a ‘geas’, otherwise.
However, it wasn’t complete control – I was sure he’d have taken over more than once by now, if he could.
From what I understood so far about geases, they always had trade-offs – one aspect always ca at the cost of another. Likely, it would be impossible to separate the soul of the original body’s owner from my own, however, that ca at the cost of control.
“We’re going to be stuck like this for a while. And if you’re going to sabotage my chances of survival… I promise you, I’ll find a way to sabotage your revenge.”
I might not have been the ‘perfect fit’ for his job, but if there was one thing I could count on, that would be my creativity, as demonstrated more than once in those last 30 or so days.
And, judging by Sebastian’s expression, and his subsequent scoff, he seed to have recognized that, as well.
“Fine. It’s not like any of this matters at this point, either way.”
For a few seconds, we stood in silence, as he collected his thoughts.
“I never reached the end of those caves.”
In truth, I wasn’t surprised to hear it. For soone not even reaching his Path to make it through over a hundred kiloters - maybe even more - of the Dark Regions… once I saw the approximate distance on the map, which I purchased earlier, I was honestly shocked how the 19-year-old kid could achieve such a feat.
“I managed, at first.. but, sowhere on the second day, I got attacked by so arachnid creature. I don’t know what it was.. sohow, I managed to kill it, but the poison… the antidote wasn’t enough, and even half that potion didn’t do anything. No, maybe that’s what delayed it.”
The bitterness in his voice was tangible.
“As I was laying there, waiting for my death, I heard a voice. Or voices… My mind barely registered it. I thought I was hallucinating. I truly believed it would be the end. No. In a way… it was.”
He threw a glance at , but seeing my unchanging expression, he simply continued.
“At first, it asked if I wanted to live. It offered a way to survive… I…”
“You said it was fine. That you’d be content to et your father.”
This ti, the look he gave lasted much longer. Well, just like he had spent so ti with , and probably had so access to my mories, I could say the sa.
In fact, given what I saw, I was, perhaps, the only living person who truly knew him.
“When I refused, it gave its next offer. I suppose you can guess what it was?”
“Revenge.”
The shadow nodded.
“Even as I was dying, I didn’t accept right away. That seed to have amused the entity, which decided to give an explanation… To so extent.”
I peeled my ears at his words. This was getting to the most important part.
“He.. it.. would grant sothing called a ‘Heroic Ascension'."
“A what now?..”
“In simple terms, it would summon a ‘Heroic Spirit’ – a soul of great power. As long as it existed, and could be reached – be it from this world, or, as the voice said, a ‘nearby one’, the soul would descend into my body, granting imnse power. Enough to avenge my father.”
His eyes narrowed, as his voice dropped, his tone almost that of exasperation.
“Instead, I got… you.”
I couldn’t help but laugh at his words – a laughter devoid of joy.
“So, you’re saying, all of this was an accident?”
“When the ritual was at its zenith – when your soul was about to descend… the voices laughed, as well. As if your arrival was better than the funniest pun they’ve ever heard.”
“Puns aren’t funny, my man.”
The shadow gave a strange look for a mont, before continuing, with a hint of irritation.
“They said sothing ‘very interesting’ had happened, and that they had to leave now. There was so urgency in their voice.”
The shadow seed to have shrugged, although it wasn’t easy to tell with his shifting figure.
“My own mories end there. When I started regaining my senses, you were in that cave, struggling to kill so pathetic goblin.”
I took a deep breath, before nodding.
This wasn’t exactly what I hoped to hear – in fact, his story led to way more questions than answers.
Still, this was sothing. A clue – one that could lead both to the nature of my summoning, and to its source.
The problem was…
Neither , nor Sebastian had any idea who it could be.
Still…
“Then I will find it.”
The shadow floated silently at my proclamation.
“I will find this entity again. And when I do, I’m going to get my answers.”
“Do not overestimate yourself.”
Sebastian’s voice was quiet, yet firm.
“Sothing capable of such a summoning… you won’t be in a position to make demands.”
“Then I will find a way.”
“You still have a mission to fulfill. I will not allow you to rush to our death beforehand.”
At his words, the left side of my lips curved upwards.
“Didn’t you say you know ?”
If one thing was certain, it was that…
“I’ve found a way to survive until now. I’ll cross that bridge when I get there.”
Sebastian’s shade grew silent, contemplating my words.
“Besides, hadn’t you noticed by now? What doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger. And to complete your mission, we’re gonna need all the strength I can get. Isn’t that why I’m still here? Rather than running back to your holand?”
For so ti, we both stood there, in silence.
“I-”
The shade’s words halted abruptly, as both of us raised our heads at the sa ti.
The ‘ceiling’ of the sphere was getting brighter – much brighter than before, and fast. It was as if a massive, powerful projector, emitting blinding yellow light, was rapidly approaching it.
“We will talk later.”
I nodded.
The light was now overwhelming,
“After all, it’s not like either of us is going anywhere.”
I could no longer see a thing.
I couldn’t hear anything.
And soon, my consciousness slipped away.
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