Chapter Forty
THE ABYSS REAWAKENS
"What do you mean we're getting rid of the heart?"
With the same disinterest that it always had in its deceased heart, the lich asked Dionysus a question.
"Simple, we're going to kill it."
CHINK
Dionysus stood up, and the chains that were on him naturally tightened, just like they were instructed to. Nonetheless, Dionysus made his way to the heart that had bled onto the back of the Chained King when he was still here.
'I wonder, are you still alive?'
For some reason, although Dionysus was about to do one of the biggest things that he'd do in his life, or at least he assumed that it would be, he felt extremely calm.
'Why am I calm? Aren't I usually panicking?'
He thought back to all the moments where he'd have an internal panic attack, but on the outside, he'd look on as always, a calm spectator.
But . . .
'This time, I'm calm on both the outside and inside.'
It was painful, but not to the extent that it was before. The chains, that was. While before, he'd have been writhing on the pain and vomiting out his innards, which he wouldn't actually be able to do in this dimension, it was painful enough that he thought his arm would snap this time around.
'I guess you really can grow into things.'
"Lich, hand me an arm?"
"Yeah . . . yeah, sure."
Just like Dionysus thought, the lich saw no reason to not come here. Since it was dead, it couldn't even feel pain in the first place. It could still be injured and so on, but it wouldn't feel a slither of it.
'I bet that when it dies, it'll just think something along the lines of, "Oh, ok"'.
Dionysus smiled at the fact that he was able to think of such things before a huge event was about to play out, but he quickly put out that emotion. The lich made its way over to Dionysus, who was standing right in front of the bleeding heart.
��Well?"
It looked at him with concern, probably for his sanity, but Dionysus didn't think it mattered much at this point anymore.
'What is insanity anyway? Isn't it just when you lose your mind, to the point where you'd even try to do the impossible over and over again?'
'If that really is the definition, I might really need to go insane when it comes down to it.'
"It looks like a big, beating heart, but nothing good will come out of destroying it. Worst case scenario, the one who pierces it dies on the spot."
"Yeah, I'd say so."
It was still disinterested. Dionysus smirked, as he knew what was coming next.
"Well, I'd rather you take the hit. Puncture it."
"Huh?"
The lich, which was usually disinterested, speedily twisted its head to look at Dionysus.
Liches were just dead beings in this world, the same as they had been when they were alive. The only difference was that they couldn't die unless they were killed, and that they couldn't develop past the point that they were at when they were alive. That was why this one was able to show emotions.
"Are you insane? How about you stab it?"
It put on a daring tone, one that Dionysus didn't think fit the bill when it came to appearances.
'You really don't seem like that type of guy.'
Of course, due to the nature of Dionysus' ability, he knew its personality very well, so he knew that it could speak with such a firm resolution in its voice. It spat those words out with disinterest and disdain at Dionysus and his plan, just like he thought.
'He's the type of guy who'd make friends with people who just constantly compliment each other, and the second that someone insults or asks something of him, he'd immediately regret them being born.'
Dionysus wanted to laugh at the people of this world, but he didn't have time.
"Fine, I'll do it myself."
"Tch, then why make me get u-"
CHIIIINNNNKKK
Dionysus grabbed ahold of the lich's arm so fast that it couldn't even fight back when he forcefully stabbed its arm into the beating heart.
"You got unlucky, just consider it that."
Just as Dionysus thought, the results of what just happened were nothing to scoff at.
"A-A-A"
'Looks like even the undead can feel it.'
The lich was on its knees and pulling on the arm that was inside of the heart with his other one, the right arm. It clearly wasn't accustomed to feeling pain anymore, and Dionysus couldn't find it in him to blame it.
'You pitiful thing.'
"Y-YOU, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!"
The beating, vigorous heart began to drag the lich in slowly, even though it was desperately resisting. As for the arm that was currently in it, it seemed that the inside of the heart was acidic, as it was already melting away.
"A favor for myself."
Dionysus couldn't comprehend it himself, but he could tell that he wasn't going to second-guess himself right here and now, and that he would be able to move forward with absolute confidence.
'It's probably because I understand everything.'
The lich's shoulder was about to enter the heart, and as it continued to flail around, Dionysus got annoyed at how long this process was taking.
BHMPF
"O-OI, OFF!"
Dionysus put his left foot on the back of the lich, who couldn't even swirl around to stop it. It was still in extreme pain, and also had its left arm stuck in an acidic heart, so there was no way it would be able to stop what was coming next.
"Don't worry, if I die, I'll get dragged down to hell. Once we're there, you can carve up my body all you want."
"For now though . . ."
Dionysus resolved himself.
BHSSS
Dionysus shoved the lich's body into the beating heart. With just the slightest stain of disgust left for the lich, he bid farewell to it.
'Oh, I'm gonna assume the red blood is its.'
The big heart was the one bleeding blue, so it was only right to assume that the lich was the one with red blood.
'I guess, even in death, you've still got the same blood color.'
Time passed, and after half a minute, there was absolutely nothing left of the lich. Not its fear-inspiring deathly screams, no more dripping blood, and absolutely no sign of it itself.
DVFFFFFFF
Out of nowhere, the entire dimension began to vibrate, and intensely at that. Dionysus quickly got done and laid prone on the ground, which was about the safest thing he could do in this situation.
SQEEEEEE
Following the rumbling, the beating heart began to resemble what Dionysus thought would happen if you poked holes into it. There were many holes on it, and blue blood was shooting out of each one.
"AGHHH!"
Dionysus could, or possibly couldn't, feel everything below his left knee go numb, and shortly afterwards, an extreme pain shot through it.
'This is what the lich was feeling?'
Now that he was experiencing a small amount of what the lich had gone through, he could somewhat sympathize with it.
'Well, there ain't much to sympathize with, I'd actually be surprised if there was anything left of that damned thing.'
Then, to top off all of the events that were happening back to back . . .
FWOOOOOSSHHHHH
There was no term for it other than just the one, which would be black hole.
CRKK
CHIINNNN
The walls were being torn away, and the chains were flying through the air to be absorbed into the black hole.
"Huh?"
As for Dionysus, oddly enough, he felt no pull towards it. In fact, he could've swore that he was actually being pushed away from the black hole.
'Well, I guess that's for the best.'
And just like that, soon enough, the whole room was gone.
In its place?
"What is this, the abyss?"
--- SEQUENCE 2 ---
There were no remains, no chunks of meat or flesh, nothing.
All that was left was Dionysus, who had no control over his own body. As of right now, he was just floating through the abyss.
'Maybe I'm just still in it? I can't feel anything.'
It was a predicament so specific that he couldn't make out up from down. It was all the same, no matter where he looked. Dark, dark, and even more dark awaited no matter where he looked.
'I can't even tell if I'm looking in different directions or just the same one.'
Dionysus could tell that he would never want to be here, ever.
Again, you stumble to the same location.
Again, you repeat the same actions as before.
Again, you strive for what you sought previously.
Through the all-encompassing darkness, Dionysus heard a voice ring out. It felt like it was the loudest thing that he had ever heard, but also the most silent at the same time.
Out of nowhere, an eye opened up in front of Dionysus. It was so large that even if ten copies of himself were stacked on top of one another, Dionysus still wouldn't be as big as the eye.
Either the eye moved away from him, or he quickly moved away from it. No matter which it was, distance was put between the two.
From the left and right, with five on each side, arms with hands attached at the end of them floated in the endless abyss. They were the color of black and dark blue, something that Dionysus thought fitted the tone of this place.
Finally, another eye opened, and a whole face was revealed. In front of Dionysus was a humongous beast so large that it was incomprehensible. Just one of the eyes was as tall as the highest peak of the capital, which would be one of the towers of the palace.
Concerning the actual body of this thing, Dionysus couldn't make out any words that would bring justice to its size. At the very least, he imagined its foot alone would obliterate an entire city on the smaller side.
You've come here, again.
Another deal, another day?
You've lost once, perhaps twice?
Dionysus couldn't precisely pinpoint where the voice was coming from, but he thought it was from the beast in front of him. He was floating in front of its torso right now, and its ten arms had fully surrounded him.
For some reason, Dionysus felt cut off from his own mental capabilities, as if he didn't even have the power to make a thought anymore. The only thing he could do was see and listen.
You are but a fragment of what you are in reality.
Once the final death comes, all souls arrive here.
Even the one of the person who you all claim to be god.
All of a sudden, countless shining lights appeared in Dionysus' vision. Upon closer inspection, all of them looked like fragments of glass. According to this large beast, this was the final destination for all.
You, and only you, have a choice.
He felt a hand on his shoulder.
Then another one on his left leg.
After that, another one grabbed his hair.
They desire vengeance.
Dionysus didn't have to turn around to know what was grabbing him.
Though, it wasn't as if a single being was grabbing him, as much as it was an entire population of the abyss.
He could feel the arms of the dead wrapping around him, trying to push him out. Not a single one of them was pulling Dionysus in.
They want a representative.
They desire one that will lead the world.
Will you be that one?
'Oh, I can think again.'
He didn't know when, but he regained the ability to concoct thoughts at some point.
But, the decision that he had to make didn't require even a single second of thinking.
"No."