"Uh Max, are you sure you were cleaning in here?" Ran was visibly confused by the scene that lay in front of him.
In front of him is what can only be described as old.
Cobwebs of various sizes littered the corners of the basement, clinging onto some old and moldy wooden boxes. Dust lay waste to everything in the basement, covering everything in a layer of its sneeze-inducing particles.
"Max?" Ran looked behind him, expecting to find her and the rest, only to find that no one was there.
Yet, there was something else.
"Why is it suddenly so dark in here!?" The room suddenly got so dark that only a single torch flickered on the wall next to him, not really providing any sort of light that's useful to him.
Yet, it was enough to see what happened next.
In front him, the darkness had covered most of his surroundings, leaving only a blackness. But that didn't stop his eyes from capturing something.
From out of the darkness, a single dark spider emerged. It tip-tapped it's way directly in front of Ran.
And like any normal person, Ran decided to pick it up.
"Hey there little guy!"
Ran was smiling like a child as he looked at the spider and began petting it. It was almost pure black in color, with some dark brown mixed in as well. It was hairy all about and was actually pretty small, being only half an inch in length and with. It also had big teeth that took up most of its face. Overall, it looked pretty much like a mini version of a tarantula.
And he was never scared of spiders in the first place, so he was just curious more than anything else.
Yet, it seemed he was doomed to be disappointed.
Why, you may ask?
After all, the spider didn't seem to have any violent tendencies and even seemed pleased to sit atop of Rans palm as he petted it.
Oh I don't know, maybe it's because it just suddenly began burrowing into Rans arm!
Yep, it just bit his skin, entered his flesh and called it home.
Ran frowned. This was not the result he expected. Though, it didn't seem to hurt so that was a plus at least.
But, it seemed he was doomed to be disappointed again!
Out of the blackness, several soft but distinct click clacks can be heard.
Then, like a wave, hundreds upon hundreds of identical spiders approached him like moths to a flame!
Rans frown deepened as he took in the sight in all of its glory.
Well, he had to do something about it, right? He cant let them just walk all over him, right?
So, he summoned his sword.
Glittering in the dark, his name sparkled, making the spiders know that they wouldn't get away with whatever they wanted to do.
And so, the slaughter began.
He swung left and right, easily smashing and slicing hundreds of spiders into a crunchy mess.
"Uh Max, are they supposed to be this weak?" He spoke to Max, as if to complain to her. Well, she didn't respond and Ran would realize soon enough.
As he slaughtered the endless wave of spiders, he didn't even notice the first spider that had already climbed up his arm, visibly stretching his skin, and infiltrated his internal organs. It was too weak to do much, so it just nibbled on some intestine while he fought.
Mmm, tasty! Tastes just like how my mama used to make them!
Yet, after a full ten minutes of fighting nonstop, Ran couldn't help but realize something was up.
These cute ba***rds are trying to tire me out!
But, he couldn't do anything about it, so he just kept fighting, hoping to tire out the opposition (Max) instead.
Good luck trying that bud! I commend you for your effort though.
Reality proved him wrong, however! These were one of those efficient illusions, made to last as long as it needs to.
He ended fighting for three full illusion hours before his arms drooped sadly.
His face was red and his sweat, drenched, body was fuming as steam hissed it's way out of his skin. His veins on his arms convulsed repeatedly and his muscles twitched from overuse. He couldn't even lift his arms anymore, much less swing a whole sword.
He silently watched as hundreds of spiders slowly, but surely burrowed into his body like maggots.
His skin stretched and conformed to their shape as the spiders made their way around his body.
They started nibbling on whatever they could get their crummy little teeth on; some heart, lungs and even his kidneys weren't spared. His spleen was also being devoured and who could forget the liver!? Not even his gallbladder was left unscathed? Oh God no, not the gallbladder!
Some of them even crawled out of his mouth, only to re-enter via some other entrance.
Everything was being consumed ravenously as if Gordon Ramsay himself had made this delectable dish.
Oh and what Ran doing this whole time? Nothing! Sigh… sometimes, I don't even know what to do with this kid anymore. Do something dammit!
Of course, he wouldn't stay idly by while he watched them eat his body from the inside out. He was only confused. Puzzled. Gobsmacked, even.
Why? Because he felt no pain! Even while his organs were being slowly ripped to shreds, he only felt a tingle; and not even a bad tingle at that! It was just like a signal that said that something happened and that's it.
"Maybe because it's an illusion?" Ran questioned. Yet, that didn't really seem to be the answer.
While the main function of the illusion is to tire you out and then eat away at your mind, something like pain definitely wouldn't be missed. If anything, pain might be the true aim of this illusion!
After all, having to feel your insides being teared apart might make any normal person go insane. Even if they survived and were cut off from the illusion, their mind would have long been eroded to a deranged animal.
Most people… scratch that. ALL people would rather tire themselves out to the point of death rather than being eaten alive by cute spiders!
But again, he didn't feel that! But he did still feel something.
Danger! Even if it didn't hurt, the fact it was doing damage still remained the same.
So, he did the only thing he could do. He activated his sigil.
With a white-pink light, the sigil projected itself onto his palm.
And… he healed himself.
"Phew, almost thought that wouldn't work." Ran sighed in relief. He had never tried before (consciously) and so he never knew he could use his sigil in an illusion.
So after healing himself, he did… nothing? Yep, they were already in his body anyhow, so unless he can get them out, he might as well save as much energy as he can. Plus stabbing himself to rid him of his parasites won't help much since he still has to heal that stab wound.
Now he could only hope that he would get through this before he ran out of energy. That, or Max would have to pull him out and he would have to accept that he couldn't beat the illusion on the first try.
Gah! My puny, author, heart! Don't worry Ran, I won't let you take this L! Not if my two fingers have anything to say about it.
***
Outside:
In the center of the basement, two women and a big cat were huddled up like they were snuggling in front of a bonfire.
Yet it was no fire. Instead, it was a crystal ball. It was just that, a clear ball, but its use was in the eye of the beholder. Well, more like the juice of the beholder.
Basically, if Max used her energy (which has an affinity with mental force) on the ball, she can turn the ball into what was essentially a screen that shows the happenings inside the illusion that she is controlling.
And they were all watching what was happening, everything. Everything….
"Uh…." Max stumbled to execute any words out of her mouth as she watched the scene in front of her.
Ann: "..."
Ann didnt even say anything and just watched silently as she watched all of this unfold.
As someone who grew up around and directly with Ran, she could be said to know him the most; probably even more than his own parents, regretfully. And honestly, she pretty much doesn't get surprised anymore by any of his actions, but this was truly unexpected.
And not just Ann, Max as well were completely stunned. Even Fluffy was also watching and she couldn't help but shudder when seeing the constant destruction and regeneration of his body.
She thought that if she was in his position, if she hadn't fainted or gone insane from the extreme pain, then at least she would be wailing on the floor!
Yet, Ran was only frowning! And not even because of the pain itself nonetheless!
Ann, Max and even Fluffy all got a strange sense as they watched Ran get eaten before restoring his body, only for the process to be repeated continuously.
Something was wrong.
***
The mind. While nobody knew whether the mind was the soul itself, at the very least, it was a part of it.
So when the mind gets damaged, the soul is damaged along with it, and this damage is much harder to deal with. This is one of the reasons mental force powers can be so terrifying.
And they already know his soul can adapt to mental techniques, and that power isn't an impossibility for others to have as well, so that's not the weird part.
But Ran was clearly different. While he soul was being damaged, it didn't affect him in any way, besides the threshold of him dying of course.
Even those who could adapt to mental attacks wouldn't dare say they could neglect the mental effect it has on a person's psyche.
Max and Fluffy got cold sweat watching and eventually backed out. Even they couldn't continue watching this as they were scared out of their wits, though Max knew when to stop. They even closed off their ears with their hands as the crunching and gulping sounds of hundreds of spiders eating a live human was basically traumatizing them!
Ann was the only one left; watching with tight fists as she could feel a deep sense of dread creep up on her. She had gotten this feeling several times in the past, but this time, it seemed to have grown with the awakening of Rams sigil.
So, she just watched… and watched… and watched. The dread firmly took hold of her heart and she could only bite her lips in defeat as she looked on with heavy eyes.
She couldn't stop watching… she wouldn't stop watching. Whether it was for Rans sake or for hers, she didn't know; but she was compelled.
She subconsciously clutched the necklace around her neck with one hand as she used the other to grab hold of the crystal.
The hand had cupped around Rans figure, as if to say:
"I'm here with you."