The date is... Well, still unknown. Only one thing is set in stone, and that's the fact that Matt is currently going up a set of stairs, towards what can only be described as danger.
Each and every of Matt's steps echoed throughout the mansion. Loudly. Even his breathing could be heard, if you listened closely.
He made his way up the stairs, covered in blood that was not his.
He had about a dozen more steps to cover.
Step, step.
Matt cracked his neck.
Step, step.
Matt rolled up his sleeves.
Step, step.
Matt wiped some blood off his clothes.
Step, step.
Matt looked up, at the floor that was awaiting him.
Step, step.
Matt readied up, and...
Step, step, step.
Matt had gotten to the third floor.
As he looked around, he saw absolutely nothing out of the ordinary. All he saw was normal stuff he'd always thought a mansion could have.
Some pots, flowers, pillars, paintings... Hey, wait... Now that he looked closer...
Those aren't just any normal paintings.
Matt reached out, and touched a painting on the wall... It looked... Familiar. A bit too familiar, maybe...
As he realized what was on it, he took a step back, in shock.
No, actually, he stepped back in... In what can only be described as anger.
A scene played over in Matt's head. A trashed house, a trail of red on the floor, leading to a closed door, and a bed.
A bed that held his dead father's corpse.
That was what was painted on the painting Matt just touched. His father's corpse.
Matt clenched his fist, hard, in anger, annoyance and disgust.
Someone was simply fucking with him...!
He turned back, at the stairs, only to be met with a more... Well, let's say, 3D version of the painting he touched just now.
This wasn't just any simple mind tricks, Matt was straight up hallucinating. That had to be it.
What now...? He turned around, only to be met with the same thing. His right and left were also mirroring it.
"...Okay, man."
He summoned his scythe, and pointed it right. Or... Left? Maybe, uhm, behind? Who knows anymore...
He pointed it somewhere.
"Come out and fight me like a man, y'pussy!"
No response. As expected...
"Or not..."
What now? Actually, is it just me, or are the "paintings" getting closer? And closer? Eh?
Matt's fight or flight was now triggered. Meaning his brain started to go in overdrive.
And so, the thinking started...
"Damn. No escape."
"What do I do?"
"Run?"
"How do I do it?"
"I can't..."
All of these thoughts, and not one useful one. Matt already knew that usual hypnosis or hallucinations wouldn't be able to keep up with his brain on overdrive, and the fact that they weren't dispersing...
"Wow, you're joking..."
A plan. Matt had a plan. A bad, shitty plan, that should not work.
But it just might.
You see, him still being able to use his abilities is cool and all, but his brain is usually twice as fast as this.
Also, since he started walking up the stairs, he's been noticing that he's cleaner and cleaner. Yet blood doesn't just disappear like that.
Strange, right?
The answer is yes. Another thing that can help test Matt's theory...
Matt swung full force at his left hand using his electric scythe, and it... Stopped. Even burned a bit. A bit much. Heh. Heheheh.
Matt started laughing uncontrollably.
"Hahahahah! Wrong, dumbass! I'm electric resistant! That shit goes right through me! Hahaha!"
Matt was goddamn dreaming! That would explain everything, no?
Well, only one way to make sure, huh... Oh boy...
Something told Matt that this wasn't gonna be entirely clean, quick, or painless.
"Okay, asshole..." sighed Matt.
He cracked his knuckles and back, and pulled out a... A switch blade?
"Glad I kept this. Gotta thank Patt someday. If I see him again."
After he pulled the blade out, and pointed it at his neck. Matt then smirked.
"At least get the details right next time. It's the least you could do."
Then, without a countdown, or a warning, or anything of the kind at all, the blade ran through Matt's neck.
And, he was right. The pain was still there, with full effect.
Blood gushed out of his neck after he pulled the blade out, and he slowly choked on his own blood, until he died. It wasn't painless, but at least it was... Decently quick.
And, that was that. Anderson Matt had died. He didn't die to Jinn, not to the war, or not to the beasts of the second floor, that still can't be explained as to why they were there.
Matt died by his own hand.
But it was not his time. Not yet.
Let's rewind a few seconds, shall we?
After feeling the blade leave his neck, he slowly felt blood gathering in his throat, then he stumbled, and fell down, backwards.
At the very last second before he hit the ground, he felt a different sensation...
He was standing, his foot had just stepped on the stair's first step, and no sign of blood on him or his switch blade.
Ah, wait. Goddamn it.
Yeah, so... 'No sign of blood on him'... Meaning, not his, and not from the beasts from earlier. He was still dreaming.
"Fuck. Can't take the easy way out then, huh..."
Again, he started going up the steps. He was clearly dealing with someone pretty powerful, and he had put Matt to sleep, and trapped him in this dream thingy...
"...How do I get out? Beat a boss? Level up? Or maybe both...?"
Well, as nobody answered him, probably neither.
Matt sighed, deeply.
"Well, for now at least..."
He pointed forward, down the long hall of the third floor. His destination was the last room on the left.
"Let's get there. Maybe!"
He took a step forward, started walking down the corridor, and by pure muscle memory, he began looking around. Bad move.
His head turned to the left, then to the right, and he saw the paintings again. Very soon after, he was met, once again, with the more 3D version, surrounding him.
"Oh, c'mon..."
A swift slash and a few seconds later, Matt was at the bottom of the stairs again.
"Okay. Okay. I got it. No looking at the paintings. Easy."
Matt went up again, and looked straight down, not bothering to look up.
Or that was the plan, anyway...
As Matt was walking with his head down, a loud noise could be heard coming from his right. The noise of shattering glass.
"No... Can't be..."
Yes, can be. A few moments later, a piece of paper was at his feet. It wasn't just paper though. It was his own dad's– Okay, I'm joking. You guys already know what it is.
Matt reached into his pocket, and soon after, a small 'Click!' could be heard, then he was at the stairs once again.
"Motherfucker!"
Matt stomped the ground, hard.
He didn't feel exactly at ease, so he did it again. And again, and again, and again. More and more electricity gathering in his leg.
At one point, his foot went right through the step, leaving a hole behind. Yes, Matt broke the floor...
Wait. Breaking... Okay, hold up, Matt's onto something.
Matt sat and thought of a plan for a second. It wasn't long until he actually had one either.
"What if..."
Matt broke...
"...The paintings..."
Isn't it insanely cute whenever we complete each other's sentence? I think it is.
Anyways, that was it! Or, uh, maybe.
But it was better than just doing this loop again and again...
Time to act!
A few loops later...
Yeah, this... This sucked. Let me explain.
In order to destroy the paintings, he has to hit them. In order to do that, he has to aim at them, meaning he has to look at them.
Do you get my point?
He can't destroy them. Once he looks at them, it's all over.
This... Wasn't gonna be easy.
A few more loops later.
Matt was still going at it strong. He wasn't gonna give up that easily.
"C'mon... Again!"
A few more loops later.
How many loops has it been? How many hours? Days?
What is even happening anymore?
Whatever! Doesn't matter! Matt won't give up!
A few more loops later.
Is it worth it? Is anything worth it?
A few more loops later.
"Why, why, why, why, why..."
A few more loops later.
"Why is death so painful? Why is it painful? Why? Why, for fuck's sake?!"
A few more loops later.
"...Someone... Kill me..."
A few more loops later.
"...Please..."
A few more loops later.
A few more loops lat-
A few more loo-
A few more loops-
A few more l-
A few more loo-
A few more-
A few m-
A fe-
A few more loops later.
Matt was sitting on the stairs. Destroyed, defeated, and depressed.
How many times has he died? He doesn't know. Does it go over a hundred? He doesn't know. Does it go over a million? He... He doesn't know.
"...I'm so, so tired..."
As he sat on the stairs, thinking about what else to try, nothing came up. He already tried everything.
Actually... There was one thing... One thing that he swore he wouldn't do, something that he couldn't.
But he wasn't the same Matt as before.
Matt walked up the stairs, and went over to a painting, looking straight at it. As everything around him began twisting and turning, he remained unfazed.
Eventually, he was met with a familiar scene. A very familiar scene.
He looked at his dad's corpse, and said in a saddened voice.
"Hi dad. I'm sorry."
Instead of killing himself, Matt was finally planning on seeing this through to the end. He was gonna let the "painting" get as close as it fucking wanted!
Or... Not.
Matt summoned his scythe, and rose it upwards.
"I'm... So sorry."
With all of his force and all of his might, he swung the scythe. The very fabric of space and time seemed to be cut, leaving behind a beautiful, flawless purple trace.
Didn't this... Look familiar...?
"Heh. Heheheh. Hehehehehe. Hahahahaha!"
Matt was laughing like a maniac, and for a good while.
"Fucking finally! Yes! Yes!!"
Matt dispersed his scythe, and clapped his hands, hard.
"{Space Cut}."
He had finally unlocked this goddamn skill...!
The second he clapped, the trace exploded into a million pieces, and everything around Matt started changing drastically. His dad's bedroom slowly disappeared, and was replaced with a hallway. Yet another familiar scene for Matt.
Matt chuckled, and looked around.
"Haah... Finally..."
He then sighed, and continued walking.
Then, he had arrived at his destination.
The last room on the left.
"Anyone hooome~?"
Matt knocked down the door with a kick, and went in.
"Hellooo... Uh, food delivery...?"
As he walked in, something that was hiding in the shadows jumped at him!
Not enough time to summon his scythe... He was in trouble...
Yeah, right.
Matt pulled out his pocket knife, and reflected the attack into the floor.
"Nice try, asshole."
He then started throwing the knife around, and doing tricks with it, almost like... Like he'd been professionally trained to do so.
"Well, look, Mr. Shadow..."
He pointed the knife at the shadowy figure, and said with a terrifying smile.
"When you're stuck in a loop for years on end, you learn a few things."
He threw the knife straight at the figure, and it stuck in its head. It soon fell to the ground, and died on impact.
"Fuck you, bitch."
As Matt went to kick the figure's corpse, instead of feeling the soft, lifeless corpse, he felt... Wood...
As he looked down, he saw stairs again.
His voice, almost a whisper, slowly came out...
"...No..."
And evolved into a scream.
"You're fucking joking!! You are, right?! Are you... Are you fucking serious!?"
He pulled out his knife again, and as he put it to his throat, he realized something...
"Isn't this... Lighter than usual?", he thought to himself.
Matt quickly inspected himself, and realized that all of his powers were now working at 100%.
Meaning that Matt... Meaning... That...
Matt woke up...!
Matt fell to his knees, and let out the loudest, and yet proudest scream of his life.
He held it for what seemed like an eternity, but to him, who's been stuck in the loop for God knows how long, it felt like mere milliseconds.
After stopping, he looked down at the ground, with tears in his eyes.
"I... Fucking... I did it..."
Wait. No time for this.
There's a shadowy figure inside that room. And Matt, who was now at 100% power, did not have any intentions of leaving it live.
He wanted it dead. And dead it shall be.
Matt got up, went up the stairs, down the hall, and went in the same way as before.
He knocked on the door, nicely.
"Anyone home? Ugh, whatever."
Well, uhm, almost...
"{UltraNova}!"
The door flew into the wall, breaking into a million pieces in a matter of not even seconds, but milliseconds.
"Large pizza for a Mr. Shadow? No mushrooms?"
Matt looked around the room, and saw nobody. Seemed like he was alone.
Usually, that wouldn't be the case, and said figure would jump out at his throat from some corner and/or shadow.
But not this time.
Matt quickly covered his nose, and had to physically hold himself from throwing up.
A horrible smell... What was it? Where was it coming from...?
Oh, fuck, Matt, wait, no no no--!
Matt stepped outside the room, and threw up in a vase.
"Ughhh... Fuuuck meee dude..."
He wiped his mouth with his sleeve– ew, by the way– and went back inside, this time prepared.
He had a mask of electricity on his face, which was somewhat covering the smell up.
He started looking for the source of the smell, and soon enough, he found it.
A dead body. Not just a dead body though, it's been dead for... A long time. A very, very long time...
"...What?"
He looked around the room, and as he thought, no open windows or doors. The smell was trapped inside that room for... Fuck, who knows how long.
But... How has this thing been dead for years and years, if this was the Svulda main estate...?
Unless... No, surely not...
He pulled out his phone... Or, wait, maybe not...
"Fuck, fuck, fuck! I don't even think it's in this goddamn world! I left it in Alex's backpack...! Shit!"
He began looking around the room, to no avail. He went out into the hallway, and... Yes! It's his lucky day!
A mirror!
He went up to it, dispersed his mask, and...!
He breathed a sigh of relief, and put a hand on his chest as well.
"Thank fucking God..."
Yup, still lil' old Matt, 17 years of age. Nothing changed.
"Phew... Then what the hell is up with that guy?"
He looked back at the room, and put his mask back on, then went in again.
Matt looked down at the now skeleton, and sat on one knee.
"What's up, man? How ya' been?"
...Well, no response, obviously...
"Yeah, I thought so... Let's try this thing out..."
Matt extended both of his hands with his hands wide open, and began attracting all the electric particles in the room.
Soon after, he closed his hands, and got up.
"Hmm... Excluding five minutes ago, there's been no movement in this room for... Fuck, what, four years...?"
Well, while this ability of Matt's wasn't 100% accurate, it wasn't off by that much either. Probably. Hopefully.
He went outside again, and looked out the nearest window.
The forest surrounding this house, which was once dense and beautiful, was now dead, and burned.
"Yo, what the fuck...?"
Matt went down to the second floor again, and began yelling out to Lando and Isabelle.
"Hellooo? Lando? You inside yet? Dude?"
No answer, and not a soul on the second floor. More over, not even the blood from earlier was there. No signs of his battle.
"...This isn't weird at all. Nuh-uh."
He went down to the first floor. Not a single soul here either. Just lots and lots of dust and spider webs.
Okay, now Matt was getting a bit icky. This wasn't normal.
He went outside, and yelled out.
"Hellooo!? Anyone there?!"
No answer here either.
He looked around, and nobody was on the property.
That is, to a normal person.
But Matt was by no means normal.
He didn't know how, but, he just... Felt something. No...
Felt someone.
He looked up, and saw said someone sitting on the roof of the estate...!
He shouted up at him.
"Hey! You there! Uh... Who are you?"
The person noticed him, and in the blink of an eye, was gone.
Matt sighed, and turned around. But now, the person was right there, in front of Matt.
They were what seemed like a man, maybe mid twenties, with their hood on, and a mask as well. They were covered head to toe in black.
Matt took a step back, and exclaimed.
"Woah!! Holy sh... You scared me, man. So, uhm..."
Matt didn't get to finish his sentence, because he was handed something by the person. A parcel of sorts... With what seemed to be paper inside.
"Oh... Thank you? Uhm, look, I'm like, reaaally confused right now... And need help..."
The person put a finger to his mouth, and a "Shhh..." could be heard.
"Uh... 'Kay... My bad..."
The person then snapped their fingers, and nothing happened for a few seconds.
Right as Matt was about to open his mouth to ask what he was doing, a... A Gate appeared behind the man?!
"Hey, what the fuck?!"
Matt summoned his scythe, but before he could take a swing at the man, he quickly disappeared as sudden as he appeared.
And now, the Gate was slowly opening...
"Shit, shit, shit! Not again! Fuck no!!"
He turned around, and full speed, full power, began running away, but it was all for nothing.
The Gate opened, and began sucking Matt in again.
"Fuck no...! Not again!"
This time, he wasn't hurt or anything, so he put up quite the fight.
He stuck his scythe in the ground, and held on for dear fuckin' life!
The Gate did not back down, and only began pulling him in harder, to the point where he was in the air, the only thing stopping him from being sucked in being his scythe.
"Fuck, fuck, fuck!"
But, as he was holding on, he slowly realized... This meant he was going home... Right?
S-Surely! I mean, where else...?
His grip was slowly getting weaker...
I mean... If he goes in... What's the worst that can happen...? He really gets to go home... Right...?
His grip, again, grew weaker and weaker and weaker...
Then, a familiar voice could be heard from afar.
"Matt! Holy shit, Matt, is that you?! D-Don't let go! Hold on! Shit!"
He looked to his right, in disbelief, and there he was. Lando.
"L-Lando...?"
Strange. Was he really really close or... Did he get taller...?
No matter though. Matt already knew what he had to do.
"Shi... Lando...! Don't come here!"
"No, Matt! Hold on to your scythe! Do not let go! Y'hear me?!"
"I can't fucking do that, Lando! I fucking can't! I promised her I'd be right back!"
"No! Matt! Don't you dare!"
...They hadn't known each other for that long, but...
"Thanks for showing me around, man. Tell Isabelle I said hi, will ya'?"
"Matt, wait!! No!!"
Matt then spun around in mid-air, causing his scythe to get unstuck from the ground. The moment that happened, he was fully sucked in.
As he did that, he caught a better glimpse of Lando, who was running at Matt.
Hmm... Strange... Did Lando always have a beard...?
As Matt was sucked in, the Gate closed right behind him, and once again, he was met with the strange sensation from back then.
An unknown amount of time later, he was thrown out of said Gate, onto a hard floor.
This time though, Matt wasn't unconscious. And... That hurt.
"Ouch, ouch, ouch... Jesus..."
First off... Back-To-Earth check-up!
His leg is there! No holes in his body except for the normal ones! Everything seems to be going fine!
He seemed to be somewhere familiar... A wooden floor... A nice breeze, signaling broken or open windows... Ah, wait, wait, wait! The cabin! Yes, that cabin!
"Fuck...! I missed this place!"
Matt soon realized something else too. The parcel! He still had it!
He opened it, and inside was... Huh... A newspaper? He opened it, and started reading.
And, uhm, nothing out of the ordinary... Ah, uh, the stock for crypto is rising... Nice...
Ugh, whatever! It's just a regular newspaper from--
"Two thousand twenty-six!?!?"
...Uh, okay, so, everything seems to be going... Not fine... Anymore... But at least it couldn't be worse... Right?
"And it's fucking October?!"
...I'll, uh... I'll shut up now...