Vik soared through the air, propelled by the impact of the colliding cars.
His own vehicle, teetering on the edge of explosion, erupted in a fiery blast. Fortunately or unfortunately, his car lacked a roof, leaving him weightless in the current state.
His body injured, the relentless barrage of mana bullets taking its toll. The disintegration process accelerated as the lone surviving mercenary took aim at the helpless Vik suspended in mid-air.
A stream of mana bullets surged towards Vik, who only realized he was under attack when they began striking his body.
"Axela, start... damn it... fucking start the Lazarus sequence," Vik commanded, his eyes fixed on the expanding explosion he had caused below. The flames engulfed his body, and bullets continued to rain down upon him as he witnessed the consequences of his actions unfold before his fading consciousness. Weariness weighed heavily on his eyelids.
Onlookers gathered, their eyes filled with curiosity and awe as they witnessed the spectacle. Uncommon, yet not entirely rare in Oasis, this was a world that constantly pushed boundaries.
None of them noticed a young man, the catalyst of this chaos, soaring through the air, drifting away from the scene because of being carried away by the expansion of the blast impact. He headed towards a lone figure standing at a distance. Vik's eyes drooped, his body cloaked in white flames.
"The Lazarus sequence for Viktor Vladimir has commenced. Estimated time of completion: 3.3 seconds."
Prompts appeared on Vik's status screen, intended for his viewing. But he was too injured, too drained to pay attention. With his eyes nearly shut and consciousness slipping away, he realized he was hurtling toward the person standing apart from the crowd.
"Estimated time of completion: 2 seconds."
The solitary observer, having gained access to this realm of Bourgys' Oasis through a backdoor, sought to explore the lives of those known as Bourgys from his own world.
Vik could make out the features of the individual he was about to collide with—an individual seemingly of different origins than himself. Shoulder-length white hair with subtle blue highlights framed a charming face with captivating blue eyes. The glowing blue highlights indicated his status as a Meta.
The young man, preoccupied with observing the collision, initially failed to notice Vik hurtling towards him from above, enveloped in white flames. By the time he did, it was too late to evade the impending impact.
"Estimated time of completion: 0.89 seconds."
Vik crashed into the young man, a stranger from a different part of the world. The instant the white flames engulfed the observer's body, an abyss of agony swallowed him whole. Vik, on the other hand, transcended the threshold of pain. His eyes were already closed.
Both Vik and the observer became shrouded in white flames, consuming their bodies at different rates. The flames spread more rapidly through the observer, resulting in his soul vanishing first. Vik followed suit, his consciousness fading away.
"Estimated time of completion: 0 seconds.
Lazarus sequence complete.
Outcome: Success (Error)
Outcome: Failure (Error)
Status: Uncertain."
***
Vik found himself floating once again.
This time, he hadn't been propelled by an accident.
He felt weightless, devoid of a physical form. Only in his subconscious did a semblance of shape exist, straddling the realm between reality and ethereality. It was an unconscious attempt to comprehend his uncertain existence.
Lightheaded and delirious, Vik savored the sensation, as if immersed in an imaginary pool of water. But no water was present.
This peculiar feeling embraced him, offering respite from the burdens he had carried throughout his life. For the first time in a long while, he yearned to shed his emotions and simply exist.
Drifting aimlessly.
Without a care.
"Hmm?"
Vik sensed a presence attempting to communicate with him through an unfamiliar medium, bypassing the need for words. Thoughts alone sufficed for this personal and direct exchange.
"Seek and ye shall find!"
This realization washed over Vik as foreign thoughts infiltrated his subconscious, reaching out to him. They inquired about his desires at this moment.
"What do I want?" Vik questioned himself, memories of the past swirling within his mind. The question proved as challenging to answer as it appeared to be.
Vik allowed his thoughts to wander without constraints, searching for the answer. In his current state, he possessed clarity despite the lack of complete control over himself.
His very being dissolved into the vastness as he extended his mind in pursuit of an answer. It became aware of infinite mysteries spanning boundless worlds, surpassing his prior perceptions.
The overwhelming influx of information caused him to halt his quest. Vik realized he wasn't yet ready to find the answer. His existence remained too fragile to confront what lay beyond, with his delicate soul.
"Ask, and it will be given to you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened to you," echoed the enigmatic thoughts within Eren's soul.
The space, once condensed to a single droplet, reverberated in Vik's mind once more. This time, the thoughts revealed more, demanding greater participation.
Terrified, Vik witnessed the door to infinity swing wide open before him.