My mind was hazy…
My body was numb.
I couldn't move a single limb.
And I was falling.
I was slowly sinking, carried by an invisible force into an endless ocean, a liquid and silent immensity. Darkness enveloped me, blinding and oppressive. I saw nothing, but I felt everything. The biting cold slid across my skin, seeping into my bones. The water seemed to have neither bottom nor surface, as if it was absorbing me entirely, stripping me of my very being.
I kept sinking. Again. And I could do nothing but let myself be swallowed.
Was this death? This endless descent into the void? An eternal fall, without end, without hope?
I hoped, at least, that my sacrifice had not been in vain...
Then, suddenly, everything stopped.
The weight of the water vanished. The icy grip that had numbed me evaporated like a bad dream.
My body, a moment ago condemned to sink, was now suspended in the void.
I opened my eyes.
A shiver ran down my spine.
I looked down, searching for solid ground beneath my feet… but there was nothing. Nothing but this endless emptiness, this abyssal darkness. Yet something struck me.
This place…
This place… it had already swallowed me once.
The air—or rather the absence of air—carried a familiar feeling. This oppressive darkness, these floating shapes with indistinct outlines… This wasn't the first time I had been here.
I slowly raised my head, scanning the silent vastness.
Then, it all came back to me at once.
I had seen it before. This infinite void, this unreal silence. This scene, frozen in an eternity that defied all logic.
I was not just a stranger in this place.
I was part of it.
A wave of unease crushed me. Why? Why had I returned? What did this return mean? My breath quickened, a silent panic rising within me.
And him…
The nameless being, the unfathomable presence, the faceless god…
He was there, exactly as I remembered.
I swallowed with difficulty. Was this a dream? An illusion? Or worse… the truth?
My rage faltered under the weight of fear.
— No… it's impossible… I murmured, more to myself than to him.
The entity remained motionless, suspended in the ether, like a shadow frozen outside of time. But I felt something emanate from him.
A chilling amusement.
— Impossible? his voice whispered, toneless, emotionless.
A tremor shook me. He knew. He knew that I understood.
I had already been here.
And I should never have returned.
I wasn't here by chance. If he had called me back, it wasn't to free me… but to bind me further.
To him.
To that horror he called "will."
— What do you want from me? I asked, my throat tight.
My voice echoed in the void, fragile, insignificant in the face of the immensity around me.
The being remained silent for a moment. Then, slowly, something changed.
His smile.
At first imperceptible, it gradually stretched, widening beyond what a human face could allow.
His teeth appeared, white, perfect, inhuman. Too perfect, too even.
A demonic smile.
A twisted, sick grin, as if this thing was mimicking a human expression without understanding its meaning.
It wasn't a smile. It was a monstrosity, an aberration.
A smile torn from the very fabric of reality, as if the universe itself refused to contain it.
Seeing it, I had the strange certainty that everything that exists would rather close its eyes than behold it.
— You're quick to understand.
His voice slid into my mind, clearer this time. A subtle amusement, almost mocking, seeped into it, like a predator toying with its prey.
I didn't reply. I couldn't. My muscles were frozen, my throat tight, and each second under his gaze crushed me a little more.
— I will grant you a second chance.
Silence.
The darkness seemed to vibrate around us, as if those very words altered the space.
— Make you reborn.
A wave of dizziness overtook me.
Reborn? As if all of this—my fall, my sacrifice, my death—was nothing but a simple game he could reset at will?
But he didn't stop there.
— Ah, yes… by the way, your little goddess is alive.
My heart skipped a beat.
— After all, I chose her as my chosen one, granting her my blessing.
My vision blurred for a split second. A mix of shock and disbelief twisted in my chest.
She… was alive?
I wanted to feel relief, hope. But that wasn't what I felt.
Instead, a wave of quiet terror flooded me.
This wasn't right. Nothing here was right.
Was it a veiled threat? A sly way to take something from me? Or was it simply kindness?
I had no idea.
But one thing was certain…
This god never did anything without reason.
His smile didn't fade.
On the contrary, it seemed to stretch even more, as if he savored every second of what was unfolding between us.
Then, in a falsely innocent tone, he declared:
— Since I'm taking care of your wife in your absence… and since I'm bringing you back to life…
His voice lingered on the last words, imbued with a deceptive sweetness, almost caressing.
A shiver ran down my spine.
— You will owe me two things in return. Isn't that fair?
Silence.
A heavy, suffocating silence.
He was watching me.
Or rather, he was weighing me, with that oppressive presence pressing on my mind like an invisible hand crushing my skull.
He waited.
My answer didn't matter. He already knew it. Just as I did.
There was only one way out. Only one valid answer.
I swallowed slowly, my voice barely more than a whisper.
— Yes. I will repay you my two debts.
The words left my lips without hesitation. Not out of submission, but out of clarity.
It was pointless, insane, to lie to such an entity.
To something capable of shaping reality itself, of bringing back the dead as if it were a mere triviality.
I had neither the need nor the desire to play this game.
A satisfied gleam flickered through the unfathomable darkness surrounding him.
— Honest. I like that.
A soundless chuckle floated in the void.
Then he resumed, a tangible amusement in his voice:
— So, first of all…
The space around me twisted. An invisible wave passed through my body, like a strange pressure, a shift in the very order of the world.
— I'll send you to another world. The one where you should've landed after the "Tutorial."
His tone was almost casual, as if referring to a minor setback.
— Unfortunately… well, you know the rest.
A biting irony laced his words, as if he found my fate both tragic and amusing.
A cold chill ran through me.
Thinking about it would serve no purpose. Not here. Not in front of him.
A silent unease rose within me, but I quickly pushed it aside, forcing myself to focus on the present moment, on the God standing before me.
He spoke again, his voice echoing like a command in the vast hall, a voice that seemed to carve itself into my mind.
— I will send you to the demon continent. There, exactly one year from now, a mini-world will open. You must enter it and discover its end.
His words seemed to weigh heavily, the air around me growing almost dense, as if the magnitude of the task ahead was finally sinking in. I couldn't help but feel anxiety creeping in, but I knew I couldn't afford doubt.
He continued, each word gliding through the air like a promise of pain and power.
— This world is shaped by seven great nations. After that of the demons, you'll find a mini-world created in each of these nations. You must destroy them all. By absorbing their power, you will grow stronger—far stronger.
The darkness seemed to close in around me, a glint of defiance burning in my eyes. I knew this path would be riddled with obstacles, that each step would be a trial, but I had no choice.
A shiver of anticipation ran through me.
If I wanted to survive, if I wanted to become someone this world feared, I had no other option but to accept what he offered.
I closed my eyes for a moment, breathing deeply, feeling the weight of this mission sink into my bones.
One year… One year before it all began.
But until then, I had to prepare.
— That's for the first debt, he said, in a neutral tone this time, as if none of it concerned him personally.
I listened carefully, trying to read something in his gaze, but he remained impassive, unshakable.
— For the second, I'll tell you once you've destroyed all those mini-worlds.
The promise—or the threat—hung in the air like a sword of Damocles, but I knew it was all part of the plan.
Looking at him firmly, I nodded, unable to show any form of doubt, even if a part of me still hesitated to accept the burden he placed on me.
— Well, I've told you everything!
The conclusion of his words struck me in a strange way. As if the fate of my mission was now sealed, irrevocably tied to his words.
Then, he placed his hand—or rather, what seemed like his hand—on his face, a gesture that resembled more a moment of thought.
His eyes closed briefly, lost in a thought I couldn't grasp, before he resumed.
— Oh right! You must never reveal yourself to any of the Chosen Ones, except your wife, since I am her god. But the others are watched by their respective gods, and you must not expose yourself to them—you, who shouldn't even be here.
His words clung to my mind, heavy with meaning. He had said "you shouldn't be here," as if my presence in this world was merely an anomaly, an error that must be hidden at all costs.
That revelation made me shudder, a deep unease taking hold of me, but I didn't have time to respond.
What he had told me was clear: the road would be perilous, and every misstep could be fatal.
— Here, a gift, from me, to help you, he said, his voice oddly calm, as if each word was calculated.
But just before raising his hand toward me, he paused, tilted his head slightly, and added:
— Ah, I almost forgot. When you arrive there… take the path on the right.
I frowned, but he said no more.
— Why? I murmured, not really expecting an answer.
He let out a soft, humorless laugh.
— Because.
He touched my head with what looked like a finger.
But it was just a simulacrum.
A grotesque copy.
A hand without flesh, without nerve, a false extension of his will.
A false hand.
That of a god who pretends to be alive but never truly was.
At that moment, an intense warmth spread through me—familiar, yet deeper this time, more defined.
It was as if something powerful had just entered me, a gift or a curse—I couldn't tell.
A dazzling light suddenly burst from the void, wrapping my body in an almost unreal glow.
It was soft, yet exerted a strange pressure, as if the universe itself sought to mark my transformation.
He uttered his final words, his voice nearly tinged with a cold excitement:
— I can't wait to see you again!
His enigmatic smile—that of a being who seemed to revel in pain and power—reappeared on his face.
A smile that only deepened the unease, like a slow blade driven into my chest.
And as the light swallowed me whole, a bitter thought crossed my mind:
"Is this how monsters are born? By saying yes to everything… to protect the ones they love?"
Before I could react, the light engulfed me completely, plunging me into radiant mist.
Then, all was black.