Inside of it, on the rocky floor, were three massive white rings. They practically took up the entire surface below , and as I stepped onto them, they shimred a dim blue light, its familiarity gracing with the presence of mana.
"I see… so this is it," I smiled before quickly closing my eyes and reopening them, finding myself back at the foot of the steps ant to break and reform . I was determined to grow stronger, and despite the fact that I just barely managed to adjust to the pressure of the first floor, I continued on.
Once again, my foot lifted up and pressed onto the first step. It was easy. So, I took my left foot up and pressed it onto the second step. It was easier. I then took my right foot up once more and pressed it onto the third.
I continued moving up. The fourth step. The fifth step. The sixth step. The seventh step. The eighth step. The ninth step. It was definitely getting harder, but not enough to completely break . And so, as I placed my right foot on the tenth step, a crushing pressure weighed down on my body, the world serpent ready to devour if I lost hope.
So, once again, just like on the first step, I sat on it. But it was tough. I was losing consciousness, and I didn't feel or see any signs of getting it back. Yet, I still remained on that step, taking a ditative lotus position, straightening my back, letting my hands relax in my lap, and then breathing. In and out. In and out. In and out.
Everything was so calm. So quiet. So effortlessly silent that I couldn't help but take a peek at the outside world beyond my solitude and darkness. And as my eyelids pried open by the will of my curiosity, I discovered myself in a forest of white.
[You have entered the First Layer: Limbo]
The ground had been blanketed in a soft sheet of white. It was just enough to cover the grass but not so much that it completely devoured my foot upon , taking a step forward. That's right, I was no longer sitting but standing in this wonderful world of white.
Trees creaked and groaned with their decaying wood, eaten away by the harsh nipping cold of the tundra climate. Each and every single leaf of theirs was gone, disintegrated by the world, but replaced by a thin layer of snow, covering each and every branch as if it had been glued to the wood itself.
In the distance, a sight that made my pupils dilate, and my eyes slightly widen revealed itself to . The small figure, no taller than 5'4, stood in front of , his large white coat dented in by the sniper rifle pressed up against himself.
Ice-A. What a beautiful na for a sniper. I had yet to understand the aning of the na or even why such a weapon was nad that, but from the depths of my heart, I could understand it. I could feel it. I could see it. Taste it. Sll it. Hear it… it was especially beautiful.
"You've grown taller than before," The man smiled, his dull gray eyes and neatly trimd turquoise hair glistening in the sun. The lower half of his face was once covered by his scarf, forcing to anticipate just what was under that. But I could see now that it was a nice sight and worth waiting for.
"I'm not who you think I am-"
"I know," He continued to smile, walking towards . "I know."
"I've kind of given up on the path of a sniper. To be honest, I have no interest in wielding a gun anymore, but your granddaughter, she's still crazy good at it," I nervously chuckled as the man then stopped, only a single foot away from .
He was so short, and I was so tall that he had to lock his head upwards to even attempt to get a good look at , while I had to do the opposite. But, just from his eyes, I could understand his ssage, and what he wanted to do, so quickly I kneeled before him.
"You're still taller than , even on one knee," He chuckled, raising his gloved hand and placing it on my shoulder. "And don't worry about following the path of the sniper. There's no need to listen to my old and outdated words. Follow whatever path you want."
"I'm sorry… I let you die…" My bottom lip crinkled as my teeth sunk down onto it.
"Don't be sorry, I was destined to die, and hey, look at you. If I could save sobody like you, I wouldn't mind sacrificing myself hundreds of tis again."
"Shit… I seriously didn't deserve you as a teacher," I muttered, but before the man could reply, a chilling, atmospheric, bending amount of bloodlust scraped the back of my neck. So, as fast as my flesh could move, I snapped my head around, only to find nothing.
"Calm down, this place isn't normal. Sohow, I know how this place works and the reason why I've been revealed to you… although it's a bit more boring than you would think."
"What is it?" I eagerly asked as the sensation of sothing stalking only intensified.
"To calm you and these municipals… or sothing like that," Simo spoke, and just as he finished saying those words, a hollow ringing of voices echoed in my mind. They bounced back and forth within my skull, staying infused into the flesh of my brain, eating my sanity from the inside out, all while I was forced to just listen and listen. It was torturous.
As I fell to both of my knees and then fell onto my back, I gripped my temples while squeezing my eyes shut. I attempted to enter a ditative state, but before I could even attempt such an idea, a light-blue cooling light throbbed in my vision of black.
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