As he opened his eyes, Aectaeon was assaulted with a wave of pain. He blinked twice, trying to remove the blurriness of his gaze. But that wasn't enough. His vision remained faint. Groaning, he tightly shut his eyes.
'What in the world happened? Where am I?'
After a few seconds, Aectaeon slowly opened his eyes. His vision was a bit better than before. He could now see the silhouettes of the things around him. Once his eyes landed on the largest silhouette directly in front of him, Aectaeon remembered the events that led towards his current state.
'Right, I was knocked out. Have I returned to the Obelisk then? Am I just hallucinating?'
The questions were piling up in his head and he wanted to find the answers for himself. However, he couldn't summon the energy to move his body. Not to mention, he was still in pain, a great one at that.
'Am I even alive? Is this what death looks like? Well, it's not a true death anyway.'
The urge to close his eyes once more visited Aectaeon. And this time, he was willing to yield to the sensation. It just seemed as if he had discarded the resolve he had gathered.
No, it's more like he didn't have one in the very beginning.
'This is for the better. I can't endure those missions anymore. I'll just try harder next time.'
Aectaeon huffed and puffed as he felt his consciousness leaving him. Just as he was about to close his eyes, Aectaeon's vision became clear for a brief moment. Withal, he was able to get a good view of what was in front of him.
{{ Time Limit: 00 D ; 00 H ; 08 M ; 11 S }}
"What?" He muttered, seemingly out of breath.
Right then, he shot up to a sitting position, his face scrunched up.
"What in the-- What am I seeing?"
Though his eyebrows were furrowed, a smile gradually formed on his face. He couldn't explain the feeling that welled up inside him. It was as if something was tickling his heart. His palms began to itch, his muscles tightening.
"I have time? I still have time?" He asked himself, "That means I'm not finished yet, right? I can still continue the game, right?"
Aectaeon snickered, then he began to laugh ever so loudly that his thoughts were drowned out.
"I'm still in the game. I-- I'm still in the game!" He shouted as he clenched his fists.
The glints on his eyes were revived. His heart started to race.
The man hurriedly surveyed his surroundings and spotted the irregularity immediately. He then scoffed as he took a stand.
"The fire was effective after all. Look at you. Did you absorb all the fire and smoke? That's so nice of you." Aectaeon snapped his head to the side all the while observing the degree of damage he had dealt to the irregularity.
It was beyond his expectations.
His purpose for igniting the fire was for concealment. Regrettably, he completely dismissed the possibility that the irregularity could locate him regardless of the thick smoke. The entity had no visible optic organs, so it wouldn't be a surprise if it relied on another way to locate its enemies.
Aectaeon shook his head at his mishap. He was glad regardless, for the irregularity's branch-like torso and arms had turned into charcoal. Unfortunately, its head was virtually unscathed aside from the small hole right in the middle of it.
At that instant, Aectaeon remembered one of his objectives.
"The card! What if I burned it?! What do I do?!"
His gaze then fell on the area where he last saw it. Aectaeon's mouth dropped when he didn't see the card. He began cursing under his breath, slapping his forehead next.
"Ugh! Stupid!" He muttered, combing his hair with his fingers. "I should've gotten the card first! Why didn't I think about that?!"
{{ Time Limit: 00 D ; 00 H ; 06 M ; 31 S }}
For the second time around, Aectaeon was brought back to reality by the Time Limit panels. The feeling of urgency surged through him, making him take a deep breath.
"I'll think about the card later. For now, let's deal with this monster."
Aectaeon roamed his gaze throughout the room. The enormous wooden office desk caught his interest, so he approached it. He got a hold of the edge and began pushing.
At first, the desk barely budged. Aectaeon exerted more force, straining his legs and drawing blood from his wounds. He gritted his teeth as he tolerated the pain.
"Come on, move!" He howled, and finally, the desk was displaced.
He pushed and pushed, unstoppable even if the desk had entered the irregularity's range. He smirked, albeit with tears falling down his cheeks.
'It reacted to the bullets, but it didn't react to the box filled with fire. I admit I'm taking my chance. However, I figured that this monster will only react to living things and nonliving things coming at it with high speed.'
In one last burst of energy, Aectaeon shoved the desk towards the irregularity. Strangely enough, it didn't resist.
"Just a little more…!"
Aectaeon drove the desk with all his might. He proceeded to let go once he was assured that the other end of the desk and the irregularity was out of the circle. Without any delay, he went back to his spot, picking up the knife and the medical tape. He then went towards the door and grabbed the metal coat rack.
Using the tape, he attached the knife to the end of the coat rack. Once he was done, he rushed to the irregularity, making sure that his speed wouldn't trigger it. He reached for the center of the entity's head, but he was a hair's breadth short.
'Any further than this, I will be within this monster's range!'
Devoid of any choice, Aectaeon pushed forward and closed his eyes as he braced himself for an attack.
'I don't mind being attacked. The tip of the knife definitely pierced the hole.'
When nothing happened after a short while, Aectaeon slowly opened his eyes. Unbeknownst to him, the system had brought forth something that would rattle his being.