by L. M. Kerr
After completing any Challenge, a warrior would be allowed to access these rooms to train. They were useless for Micheal, but other humans would definitely find them extremely enlightening.
“Thank you for informing me, Grandmaster.” Micheal bowed his head as Yvvtal finished. The powerful Toren smiled politely and then turned to look at the large Treasure Hall.
“Now, young warrior, I’m sure your curiosity has reached its peak. Please, feel free to go into this Hall and take any three treasures that you desire!” Yvvtal’s voice boomed as he motioned at the room around them.
Micheal obliged once more as he turned to look at the Treasure Hall. He scanned the large room, his keen gaze on the move, searching through treasures galore.
Unbeknownst to him, a hint of emotion had formed, hidden deep within Micheal’s eyes, as he looked from table to table. It was a tiny hole in his stoic, confident facade, appearing only because of the overwhelming intensity of his feelings.
This small crack revealed extreme anticipation, worry, fear, and a half dozen other emotions, all melded together as one.
Those emotions persisted even as Micheal came to a brief pause in his search, discovering a table loaded with ancient metal crosses, each sized slightly larger than his hand.
The hidden feelings continued even after a slightly longer pause, when Micheal spotted a plain-looking rock leaning up against a shining silver sword.
It was only after he came upon a large gilded box, decorated with carvings of warriors out hunting, that something finally changed.
This golden box was open, showcasing a number of fist-sized metal spikes. Even from a distance, Micheal could tell that the box was rather mystical, stacked with more spikes than it seemed capable of holding.
The instant Micheal saw this box…
He began to smile.
That smile vanished a heartbeat later, taking all hints of emotion with it, as he moved on and returned to his original search.
These subtle movements did not escape Yvvtal’s notice, but were ignored, nevertheless. Yvvtal’s Treasure Hall was majestic, hosting Artifacts of great rarity and power. Micheal reacting to what he saw here was perfectly normal.
There was no way the Toren could have guessed that Micheal had already known these Artifacts would be here and was simply confirming their existence. Yvvtal’s Inheritance was supposed to be an undiscovered relic; the fact that Micheal had created plans based around what was inside of it was something only a time-traveller could do.
Finally, after several more seconds, Micheal’s eyes alighted on one particular table near the center of the room. On it, he could see several large, yellow pieces of paper that were covered in black symbols.
Micheal immediately began to walk through the room towards this table without hesitation. His feet echoed on the finely cut stone floor as he slid through the hall, eventually finding his way there.
“I will choose these three pages here!” His voice boomed just like Yvvtal’s had as he scooped up three Contract Seals.
With these, he would be able to form two separate contracts with the Rury Gang. One that was an overall contract that would apply to all of the members, and then one more specific contract that would be focused just on their leader, Simone.
He would have an extra Contract Seal left over, but that wasn’t exactly a bad thing. It might come in handy one day.
Micheal turned to the side as he heard Yvvtal appear behind him. He gave the Toren a winning smile, holding the three Contract Seals in his hands.
The Fallen Deity looked rather stupefied. He blinked as he stared at Micheal, and then at what Micheal was holding.
“Are you… are you sure, young warrior? Do you know what these are? Do you not want to look around at least a little more?” The Toren was at a loss.
Contract Seals were good, useful treasures. They were used, in Yvvtal’s time, to help tame Magic Beasts. Less commonly, they were also used to form binding contracts between two parties, something that was often considered a waste. The Seals were very, very difficult to make and a Tamed Magic Beast was a valuable treasure in its own right.
If Micheal had just picked one, Yvvtal would’ve thought nothing of it. To pick three, however… it was unusual, to say the least.
“Absolutely! These are Contract Seals, right?” Micheal replied without a whit of hesitation.
Yvvtal stared at Micheal again before shrugging, as if in defeat.
“Very well, young warrior. It is your choice to make.”
Micheal smiled at Yvvtal’s reaction. It was the most humanizing thing he’d seen from the mass murderer.
‘There’s no need to be greedy.’ He sagely nodded at the thought as he tucked the Contract Seals under his arm.
After all, he was going to steal everything he wanted from this room anyway.
Taking it now or then, it mattered little.
“Now that you have chosen your three treasures, there is only one thing left for you here.” The world around Micheal twisted as he teleported once more.
He was now within a grand-looking throne room, standing atop a red carpet that led up to a raised, white throne. Micheal blinked at the abrupt change, turning his attention to the being sitting atop the throne.
“As the first victor of the King’s Challenge, you have earned a very special privilege!” Yvvtal had adopted a rather formal tone as he looked down on Micheal from his throne,
“The ability to leave a Soul imprint on my Inheritance Core. Doing this will allow you to teleport back to my Inheritance a single time, even if you are in the midst of danger. Think of it as a life-saving escape ticket, if you want to accept it.” The ancient Toren smiled at Micheal as he waved his hand to the side.
A large, blue orb appeared in the air in front of the Toren. It floated there for a couple of seconds before it flew over towards Micheal. It stopped just half a meter away from him.
‘Here we go.’ Micheal thought, his eyes placid.
The Fallen Deity was wasting no time at all. After determining that Micheal was an acceptable choice, he was immediately moving forward.
Here and now… the powerful Toren was going to begin his takeover of Micheal’s body.
It wasn’t going to be all bad, though.
Micheal’s eyes gleamed as he looked at the floating orb, forcing a smile down as he looked at the orb.
“Oh really? That’s awesome! Yeah, I’d love to leave an imprint!” Micheal’s voice sounded eager.
“I thought you might.” Yvvtal laughed,
“Just place your hand on the orb and send a bit of your Ki into it. You will feel a small connection form. Just hold onto that connection for a couple of seconds and then you’ll be all done!”
Micheal followed Yvvtal’s instructions as he slowly raised his right hand and began to reach out towards the orb.
The most important part of his plan for the Second Layer would depend on what happened here.
For it was only after Yvvtal implanted himself in Micheal’s body that he could finally get what he needed most here. Something that would vastly boost his chances of success for his plans here on the Second, a vital part.
…A new Ability.
Micheal’s right hand landed on the orb.
A flash of blue light abruptly shook the air and then…
Everything around him vanished.
.
Chapter 20
Micheal was alone.
He found himself floating in the air, surrounded by nothingness on all sides. He could see his body, wearing a simple set of white robes, indicating he wasn’t in the real world.
Dreamworlds, like their name implied, were magically constructed worlds that differed from reality. Micheal’s ‘Spirit’ or ‘Soul’ was present here, while his body was resting peacefully in the room that housed the ‘King’s Challenge.’
This particular dreamworld was a mix of real and fake. The Treasure Room that Micheal had visited was very much real, as were the training rooms
adjacent to it. The magnificent castle of the Magic Core, however, was fake.
Those real rooms were hidden within the dreamworld, acting as an in-between.
Micheal’s physical body had never moved from the King’s Challenge area. When he battled, his dreamworld body drew upon the Ki Energy and his own physical energy stores, and any injuries he took would be transported to his real body. But he wasn’t truly fighting in an arena halfway up a mountain.
The Contract Seals he had picked out had been warped from the Treasure Room to where his physical body lay.
And right now, his consciousness was in a special part of this dreamworld, the Inner Core of the Magic Core itself, undergoing a complex magical ritual.
For a few short moments, Micheal felt at peace, floating in this ethereal world. There was nothing here to bother him, no worries or troubles that plagued him here. For a very brief period of time, Micheal felt as if he could truly relax.
That feeling came upon him almost blissfully…
And then it was gone.
What came after it was exactly what Micheal had expected. He braced himself, his heart solidifying for what he knew was about to come.
A swarm of horrific emotions that settled upon his shoulders like a guillotine slamming into his neck. Sharp, cutting, deadly, it was as if his mind itself was being assaulted.
An attack like this was indescribably more difficult to block, or even understand, than a physical attack. You could not raise your arms to shrug it off; you could not hide behind a shield to stop the blow.
You had to face it, head-on, and survive.
Micheal’s mind was instantly thrown into a mire of chaos.
All of a sudden, he felt as if he was worthless, as if he hated himself to his core, as if he had done a million vile things that deserved nothing more than death. These emotions not only slammed into his mind, but they also tried to worm their way directly into his Soul, to convince him that these were, in fact, his own emotions.
Insidious, creeping, and relentless — the assault was something that would instantly drive the common man insane.
Instead of giving in to that despair, however, a grim smile formed on his lips.
This storm of emotions that was slamming into him…
It wasn’t as if he had never experienced anything like this before.
Miserable guilt at the impact of the choices he made, self-hatred for his own uselessness when it came to saving those he loved, despair and a feeling of intense loss as he felt hope slip away…
Micheal’s first life had not been an easy one. By the time death found him, he’d long-since learned that wallowing in his past was pointless. Life was for the living, not the dead.
And so, when it came to emotional storms like this…
He knew there was no way to defeat them.
These torrents of pain were not something that could be defeated. They came and went like a raging tornado, crashing about with all the fury of an untamable force of nature.
Fighting against something like that was futile…
But that was okay.
Storms that had a beginning must also have an end.
He didn’t need to defeat the storm to win.
He only needed to survive it.
Time continued its inevitable march forward as Micheal stood in place, a lone soldier weathering a battle against enemies unseen. His solitary figure trembled, but never faltered, as he accepted this crashing storm into his heart.
The final challenge began.
.. .. .. .. .. ..
An unknown amount of time later…
.. .. .. .. .. ..
Breathing brought pain.
Thinking brought pain.
Existing brought pain.
He accepted these things a long time ago.
Everything was pain. His mind, his heart, his Soul itself. That had come to be his natural state of being. Did a different one ever exist? It must have, right?
He didn’t know. He could not remember.
He had already forgotten what his name was. The pain took that, like it took everything.
Every time he tried to think, he was met with pain. Sometimes that pain changed to different types of pain, a myriad of states that he cycled through.
He liked it best when it was merely physical pain. When his body cramped together, when it felt like he was burning up, with needles stabbing into him everywhere.
He could deal with that one the best. Ignoring it was easy.
The pain that came from the inside, though…
That one he liked the least.
He didn’t understand it, but it was horrifying to him. Sometimes that pain tried to make him give up, to just let everything go and stop trying. Agony that caused his heart to falter, sadness and loss that twisted his mind. It was a type of pain that promised sweet relief, bliss like he had never known, if he would just let it win.
All he had to do was give up.
Sometimes he felt like he should let that pain win. What was the point in fighting it, really?
He didn’t know. He couldn’t remember.
There was only one thing he did remember. It wasn’t even a fully conscious thought, but a simple feeling.
If he gave up, everything would be lost.
He didn’t know why he knew this, or what it really meant. He didn’t even know what he had to lose. All he knew was that it was extremely important that he did not fail.
The pain took those feelings, sometimes, and tried to twist them. The pain screamed he was already a failure that had failed countless times. He didn’t remember this, but for some reason, he knew it was true.
He had failed time and time again. He had let down those that depended on him; he had been too weak to stand proud and undefeated. He didn’t know when, how, or where, yet these feelings sang true to him.
His life before the pain had been one of constant failure.
He understood that; he knew the pain wasn’t lying.
But even still… he could not let himself give up. He would not.
Time went on.
The pain only seemed to grow worse. It might actually still be the same, not that he could remember, but it felt like it grew more dogged. It set its hooks into his mind, body, and Soul in ways that he could not understand.
Soon, he recognized something:
He was delirious.
His thoughts had grown distorted, adding new challenges to resisting the pain. Unconsciously, he could now tell that his body and mind were taking in some kind of cool energy.
This energy was combating the delirium that was affecting him, preventing his mind from collapsing.
It did nothing, however, to stop the twisting pain that entrenched itself within him.
New thoughts occasionally crossed through his mind as he tried to stave off the pain.
Why was he not giving up?
The only reason he had yet to fail was because of that singular thought, filled with enough determination to stop a meteor. But why did he have such a thought?
He thought about this as best he could, turning his focus into unraveling this mystery.
And as his mind waded through a hurricane of emotion, a thought shone through as clear as the day.
The reason he was not allowed to give up was simple, a belief that was ingrained within his very heart.
He did not deserve to rest.
Bliss like that was better left for those that stayed within the light, not for those with Souls stained as dark as sin.
Did he view this pain as an atonement for what he did? For the failures he had left behind? Perhaps. He was unsure, his fleeting thoughts connected only by a vague string of emotions as he sought to control his mind.
All he knew was that he would not give up.
Because he could not give up.
And that was that.
Time went on, and it went on, and it went on.
The endless pain came in its endless numbers.
And he to
ok that pain and he did not give up. An eternity of agony seemed to assault him, a never-ending march of attacks that came unceasingly.
It seemed to go on forever. Just when he thought his life now would transform into an existence like this forever…
7 hours after Micheal completed the King’s Challenge, something seemed to click in his mind.
A wave of energy ran through his body, vibrating down to the core of his Soul. A torrent of raw energy followed that wave, serenading him with power that contained a mixture of feelings. Time, Power, Space, an odd assortment of sensations that were difficult to describe.
And then…
Just like that, the pain stopped.
.
Chapter 21
Micheal came to slowly. His head ached slightly, but felt surprisingly clear, a rather unexpected find given how torturous the last 7 hours had been.
He blinked as he opened his eyes, looking around blearily.
He found himself in a room that he had never stepped foot into.
He was lying down on a large, plush grey carpet that was spread across the floor. This carpet dominated the center of the room, circular and around 7 meters wide. The rest of the room was empty and barren, save for a doorway off to his right.
He slowly got to his feet. As he did so, a crumpling sound rang out.
Micheal looked down, rubbing his temples softly.
Three pieces of paper lay on the ground. Micheal instantly recognized them as the three Contract Seals he had picked out from the Treasure Hall.
He reached down and picked them up. As he did so, he realized he had his Spatial Ring, and was wearing the green robes he wore on his normal body.
‘Ah. I’m out.’ His thoughts were still rather slow. While his head might be clear, the shock of enduring Yvvtal’s emotional onslaught was still fresh in Micheal’s mind.
Instead of storing the Contract Seals in his Spatial Ring, he specifically placed them back down on the ground, around a meter away from him.
‘Well, I’m not crazy.’ That could only mean one thing—Yvvtal had successfully invaded his body.
