Dean studied his surroundings carefully.
He was at the back of the kingdom. This entire region was a restricted area. He was currently on the large empty expanse connecting the capital of the kingdom to the Wall of Calamity.
From his current position, he could see the tall wall of calamity seemingly stretching to no end.
They loomed over the land as if to tell of what is not yet known but to come.
The kingdom was named the dark kingdom due to the wall of Calamity that the kingdom had been tasked to guard, from an old ancestor several thousand years ago.
He looked around yet he found no one.
His face was still messed with the mixture of wine, blood, and tears. Dean was starting to doubt whether he really heard a voice when it happened once more.
[Child, why do you cry?]
Confirming that there was indeed a voice, Dean quickly collected himself and opened his mouth to ask the question that was currently plaguing him.
"Who are you?"
[...]
After a moment of silence.
[I am the …. …]
"What?"
Dean could not make head over what the latter said at the end.
[No matter. Come to me, Child.]
Dean was just starting to grow cautious. His mind had been telling him to turn around and run back home for dear life. He was just about to respond, when...
[Do you know about the dark universe?]
"The dark universe?"
Curiosity got the better of him.
Perhaps he couldn't react properly because his mind was still muddled from all he experienced earlier in the day.
As for the real reason, no one knew. However, what he would later realize is that this event would mark the beginning of the greatest curse that he would have to bear for life.
[That is right.]
[The mortals seem to lack the knowledge about their home; about how large the world truly is.]
[Although when thought about properly, it is quite understandable that they lack the knowledge, after all, they lack the means to confirm it.]
Dean was confused.
He couldn't understand what the voice was talking about.
Seemingly seeing through his confusion, the voice continued to resound in his head:
[Nine universes make up the mortal plane.]
[Then there is a higher plane of existence called the realm of the gods.]
"What?"
Dean screamed, as his eyes widened like saucers. He momentarily forgot about his condition.
"Gods exist?"
However, he didn't notice that he was making his way toward the wall of calamity.
[Indeed. From its name, gods only occupy the Realm of Gods; beings born with supreme powers from birth, a power that no mere mortal could ever wield.]
'Mere mortal?'
Dean's eyes widened further as his mind picked up an underlying meaning behind the information he just received.
'Don't tell me…'
[Among the nine universes occupied by mortals is your dark universe.]
"Huh?"
After a few breaths, Dean didn't hear the voice anymore.
Dean became stunned on the spot. It was not because of the disappearance of the voice but because he found himself standing before the huge gate of the wall of calamity.
'When did I get here?'
'How did I get here?'
At this point, Dean realized that something was very wrong.
'Wait.'
'This region is a restricted area.'
'How could I arrive here without any obstruction?'
'How did I even leave through the back gate of the city?'
'What about the guards?'
Previously, his thoughts were cloudy, so he didn't pay attention to how he could leave the city and arrive at this restricted area.
When his thoughts arrived at this point…
Dean raised his head and gazed at the top of the wall.
Even though the walls were huge and tall, Dean was a mage. Willing a bit of mana into his eyes, he could see the top of the wall clearly with his now-enhanced eyes.
What he saw at the top was...
Corpses!
Corpses hung at various places at the top.
*Ba-dum.* *Ba-dum…*
Shifting his eyes back to the gate in front of him, only now did he notice the bodies of the guards that loitered the ground.
*Ba-dum.* *Ba-dum.* *Ba-dum.*
Dean felt his heart speed up. His whole back was already drenched in a cold sweat.
He took a step back reflexively from the fear he felt.
However...
"Claaaaaaaaaaaaaaaang!"
The tightly shut massive gate slowly opened.