Inside the chest was surprisingly empty. It wasn't filled with treasure, pills, weapons, medicine, or cultivation methods. None of the things I expected were there. Instead, there was this... indescribable... thing inside, floating just a few inches above the chest's bottom.
It was small at the time, but I couldn't put into words what it was. The best thing I could come up with was that it looked like a sphere, a sphere of slime, or something akin to a slime. My mind was beginning to hurt when I first caught gaze of it, and I felt like that fear inside of me had risen.
Before I could even move at the time, that 'thing' had struck me at a speed I couldn't perceive, and I recall feeling such a blood-curdling pain that I have never felt in my life. It wasn't something that the body could feel, but it was as if my soul itself was being hurt.
I recall screaming, shouting in pain, before going unconscious just a few moments after.
When I woke up, the first sun was already rising, with the second one closely following by. I knew that it had meant a few hours had passed, and the hospital would open up soon. I tried to check my body, to see if there was an injury or anything like that, but there were none. My body was completely fine, and I didn't feel pain. Well, on my body, at least. Instead, I felt like there was this thing in my mind, as if there was a fog inside my brain. It hurt a bit, but that was it.
When I tried to stand up, I remember noticing that my senses felt a bit... weak. I couldn't feel the ground perfectly nor could I entirely feel the wind or the sunlight touching my skin. I couldn't hear the chirping of the birds perfectly, neither was I able to fully taste the fruit I got from one of the trees nearby. My sense of sight however, was enhanced, somehow. I felt like my eyesight had become much better, and I could clearly see my town.
Hell, not just the town, but I was able to even see one of the doctors in the town in his way to the hospital. I was able to see everything about him, from his clothes, all the way down to every single hair on his body, and his tired look. I was able to see all of it, despite being hundreds of kilometers away.
I remember frantically searching for wherever that thing went, but I couldn't find it anywhere. Not on my body, nor in the chest, or in the surrounding 400 kilometer radius.
I was panicked at that time, but I managed to suppress my emotions a bit. I remember I was extremely confused, but knowing that the hospital was going to open, and that Mio did not have much longer to live, I decided to put the thoughts about the thing deep in mind, in a corner. Then, after sparing one last glance at the chest, I remember going full throttle to the hospital.
Then, after just 2 hours, I was able to reach the hospital. I recall frantically going inside, like I always do, and going to Mio's room.
I remember seeing her laying on her bed, still in a coma. I can still remember those conflicting emotions that rose in me, that feeling of relief for seeing her alive, and the pain for seeing her in this state once more.
I recall standing there, watching her motionless body for hours on end. I was sorrowful, in pain, and yet happy just to see her alive. I was able to see a faint energy coating her body, flickering at a fast rate. That was her soul, and I was able to tell that, perhaps in a few days or even today, she would be gone, and her soul would leave her body.
Then... I did something that I never should've done, something that I still regret vehemently, even after the decades that passed. I touched her body.
Not in a weird way or anything like that, I'm not that despicable. I simply held her shoulders, just wanting to feel her again. But, when I did that...
That 'thing', that thing that had caused me hellish pain and thought had disappeared, suddenly emerged from between my eyes, and then flew at a disgusting speed. It flew... toward Mio's body.
Before I could even react or scream at that time, I saw Mio's body motionless body suddenly collapse on itself, as her skin started to turn entirely black. But that wasn't what caused me utter despair, but it was that... her soul flickered at an alarming rate, and suddenly disappeared from my sight.
In just a fraction of a second, Mio's entire body morphed, and turned into something that was not describable by words. Even seeing it would not allow someone to comprehend what it truly was.
Mio's body had turned into something that was at least a few meters in size, an amalgamation of everything that shouldn't exist, and... that didn't exist.
I remember letting out a shout in the middle of the process, but as soon as I saw Mio fully transform into this thing, I felt my mind going blank, as my body began to suddenly shake in utter fear.
I felt my body sway, and just a moment after, I lost consciousness. Before I lost my consciousness, I could've sworn I heard that 'thing' say something, even though it was utterly incomprehensible and unintelligible.
"?#@%@!"
When I woke up, I was in utter shock. I was no longer in the hospital, but on the ground of what used to be the hospital. The hospital itself has disappeared.
And, in the air, where my eyes were looking at, was the 'thing', now many times its previous size, just a few meters above me.
I felt pain in my head, and I tried to scream, but I couldn't. I felt like my sanity was deteriorating, and I could clearly feel tears rolling down my cheeks. The pain was hellish, and it wasn't just my head that was hurting. I felt like my soul itself was in pain- or perhaps, it was trying to kill itself just to run away from this monstrosity that had no name or shape.
Then, just the moment after, I realized that I could no longer move. No matter how much I tried, I couldn't. Not only that, but I couldn't feel the ground anymore, despite me still laying on it. Then, my sense of hearing had disappeared, then my smell, then my taste. All that remained was my sense of sight, which I had felt was getting stronger with each passing moment.
I was always proud about my eyesight, but at that time, I felt like it was the worst curse ever laid upon me. I couldn't blink, nor turn away. All I could do was look at this monstrosity as my body and soul began to kill themselves.
I kept shouting in my head, screaming in utter terror. But nothing happened. This monster did not move, not even an inch. It was simply floating there, violating the laws of the world, as building began to fly and the sky began to turn a color I had never seen in my entire life.
I kept trying and trying, but I couldn't move. Then, as my sanity slowly deteriorated, my eyesight, and especially willpower- believe it or not- were getting stronger with each second.
Unable to stand looking at whatever this 'thing' was, I tried to move. With sheer willpower, I managed to move my body at last. It was a ridiculous thing, I never thought it was possible for someone to move when their sense of touch was gone, yet I am an example that it was possible.
However, when I moved, I didn't try to run away or avert my gaze from this monster. Rather, I brought my hands to my face, and...
...Clawed my own eyes out.
I didn't want to see this... 'thing' or whatever it was. I just wanted to never see it again. I wanted to die, just so I can escape it. When I pulled out my own eyes, I was engulfed in a world of darkness.
However, that world, where I couldn't hear, feel, or see a thing, didn't last long. At least, I don't think it did. Just a few moments after being in that world, I was suddenly able to see again.
I was shocked, and confused. I remember slowly looking down at my hands, and saw that my eyeballs were still there, and yet, I could see. I felt utter horror, as I glanced at that monster once more.
I remember shutting my eyes close, and praying, praying to whatever god that existed, praying to the entirety of heaven, praying that this monster would disappear.
Sure enough, when I opened my eyes again, that monster had escaped from my sight. It was nowhere to be seen.
I was relieved, thrilled, and filled with happiness. However, that happiness was short lived. Because, the moment that monster disappeared, I felt like mind itself was going to explode. It was the same feeling when that 'thing'- before it came in contact with Mio- clouded my mind when I woke up after discovering it. Except, it was hundreds of times worse.
After a few moments, I remember the pain taking over me, and felt my mind lose a bit of its control. Then, the pain disappeared, just like that.
What soon followed was something that I didn't know if it was real or not. There, where the monster once was, gaps in space started appearing. I saw the monster slowly appearing from it, causing my mind to panic.
When the monster fully appeared once more, I thought my sanity, my mind, and my soul would crumble once more. But, that didn't happen. Although I felt a huge pain in my mind, as well as absolute fear, I didn't feel like my mind or soul was crumbling.
Of course, due to the fear, I stood up and tried to make a run for it, just wanting to escape. Surprisingly, that monster did not attack, it just followed me silently. However, that being's 'existence' (If it even existed) alone was dangerous. I remember seeing the citizens of my town, my friends, all scream in horror when they witnessed whatever the thing above me was. Even those that didn't see it, just being in this monster's presence caused them to scream in horror, as blood began to leak from all their orifices. I could see their own bodies disappearing slowly, and I saw all of them losing consciousness just from being in this being's presence.
I saw their souls flickering, before crumbling down and vanishing entirely.
It wasn't just people, though, as even objects, those without minds or souls, began to shake. Then, they crumbled, before disappearing from existence.
Even the wandering, vengeful ghosts that tried to attack me before, I saw all of their anger disappear, and instead it turned into utter fear and terror. All of them vanished as well.
I saw many powerful cultivators flying by, and the moment they were in that being's presence, they began to shake violently in fear as their sanity began to dwindle. However, they managed to resist just a bit more, perhaps because they had cultivated their souls, as well as the fact that they perhaps saw many incomprehensible things as well. But alas, it wasn't enough. However, in a last ditch effort, the cultivators used many of their mystical abilities. I remember seeing them use many powerful techniques, such as blades of wind, spheres of pure flame, and some of them even used their comprehension of the laws of the world to use it against this monstrosity.
But, before they could even touch me, or the 'thing', their attacks had disappeared. The blades of wind had simply disappeared before they came in contact, the spheres of flame had dispersed by itself, as if it didn't want to attack whatever this 'thing' was, and the powerful attacks that used the powers of concepts and laws themselves, had crumbled the moment they appeared. Shortly after, those cultivators had disappeared.
All those that vanished had magically caused the 'thing' to increase in size, increasing its power, and its incomprehensible nature.
Although I was confused on why I didn't disappear like them at the time, I never stopped running. That was a mistake, though, as that being followed me everywhere, and it brought catastrophe to wherever I went.
After a few hours of running in panic, I finally noticed that nothing was happening to me. Except, of course, the pain in my mind, as well as the absolute fear I was feeling.
Even amidst the fear I was feeling, I realized that this thing wouldn't hurt me, and If I continued running, I would only ruin the lives of more people.
I stayed in one place, not moving an inch. I stayed like that for a few months, and I noticed that I didn't feel hunger or thirst anymore. Although there were people unfortunate enough to come in the radius of this 'thing' presence, it was still much better than going into a populated city and causing the deaths of millions, or even billions.
I tried many times to end my own life, since I was still feeling fear in front of this being, albeit it was lower than my first experience. I tried to choke myself to death, but the 'thing' wouldn't allow me to, and would shoot out its 'limbs' or whatever it was to stop me. I tried jumping from a cliff, but they stopped me before I could even jump. I tried drowning myself, but that didn't work either.
Stabbing myself? No results.
Just not breathing by my own will? No results, either.
Nothing worked, nothing at all.
I tried to seal the monster again like I did the first time, but I have only managed to do it for a fraction of a second, before those gaps in space appeared, and the monster got out from them.
That short moment wasn't enough for me to kill myself, because it was simply too short. However, one thing I noticed was that when I seal away the monster for that short fraction of a second, I no longer would feel that utter fear. The laws of this world wouldn't crumble, and everything would go back to being normal for just a moment. Not only that, but even when the monster is appearing from those gaps in space, it still takes quite a bit of time. In that time, their effect on reality are much lower, albeit they still exist. The fear in my mind is much lower when it begins to appear in the world, compared to say when they are fully here.
Thinking I had no hope in life, I stayed in that place, for... at least a century. Countless lives had died coming close to that presence, and yet there was not a single person that could stop it. Those lives that had died had made the monster stronger. Still, I didn't budge. I just stayed there, motionlessly. Honestly, I thought I would die of old age, or something, but even in those years, nothing had happened. My body hadn't aged, nor did my hair fall.
I thought that my mind would die due to boredom or the fear, but it was as functioning as it always did, not dwindling one bit.
Honestly, I began to doubt that it had been a century, and thought that it had only been a few years, but I was sure it was more. It was impossible for all of this to just be a few years.
I stayed in that position, not moving an inch.
And now, here I was, moving into the fireball that young boy had threw. That 'thing' hadn't yet come into this world fully yet, and was still in the process of entering. I think that was the reason why this fireball hadn't disappeared yet, although it was still obviously planning on disappearing.
When I saw that 'thing, and one of its limb move at a frightening speed towards the fireball, I felt like my heart had stopped. But thankfully... it wasn't fast enough, as the fireball was only a short distance away from making contact with me.
"Hahaha!" I laughed out loud, filled with joy, "Too late, you bastard!"
As I saw the fireball just a few inches away from me, I smiled happily, and closed my eyes. It was over, that thing was too slow. It can't stop this fireball, and now, I could finally rest in peace.
At last... I'm going to see you again, Mio...
...Wait.
Something feels... off. I... that 'thing'... how come it wasn't in this world the moment I met this youth? No- forget even that. I can't seal this monster for more than a fraction of a second, and yet, I was able to seal it for a few seconds at the start of the match.
How?
How did I do that?
No- not just that... that's not what I should be concerned about...
How... did I get here?
*KA-BOOM!*
------
In the empty arena, where Naruhito's corpse laid, it was utterly silence for a few seconds. Then, just the moment after, a huge gap in space suddenly appeared, many kilometers above the arena ground.
From it... that 'thing' slowly appeared, Its body gigantic, easily hundreds to maybe even a kilometer in size. Its sheer presence distorted the entirety of this world, its effect far more severe than its previous appearance.
Once it fully emerged, Its 'body' slowly moved, and as it 'glanced' at Naruhito, it suddenly said something, something that normal people could not comprehend no matter how much they tried, and would be sent into madness just trying to decipher what it meant.
"Ah..." A voice rang out, "So it was true." It managed to say, its voice not travelling via the wind, but it still rang out.
"Hmm..." Suddenly, a vision appeared in this thing's nonexistent 'mind'. It was a detailed recollection of what had happened. It showed everything from the start till the end, where Ryu shot off the fireball, when he had begun to descend into madness, and... when Naruhito ran into the fireball, dying as a result.
Suddenly, the whole eldritch being's 'body' suddenly morphed, and within just a second, its incomprehensible body changed and was much smaller in size, comparable to that of a human. The effects it had on the world had stopped, and the world returned back to normal.
That eldritch abomination had now been turned into a petite girl, perhaps in her mid 20s. She was utterly beautiful, and instead of sending someone to madness via her incomprehensible existence, she would probably be able to send them into it via her beauty alone.
Everything about this girl screamed "violet". She had long, dark violet hair. A long, cute dark violet dress, and her eyes were violet as well in color. She looked cold, indifferent to the world around her. She looked like someone who would not even spare you a single look.
"Ah, damn it, I knew that I might see this and yet I'm still sad!" Contrary to her appearance, her demeanor was nothing like it. She cried out in frustration, and glanced at the corpse of Naruhito.
"Naru..." Her voice had a tint of sadness, as a worried expression began to appear on her face, "He said that I'll probably see this, and told me to not get worried or sad, but ah! How could I?!"
Suddenly, everything in the arena changed. Naruhito's body suddenly disappeared, and just a moment later, his body had appeared in the original position when Ryu first started this match. His head was brought back, as if Ryu hadn't busted it with his fireball. There was not a single injury on his body. He was in the same stance as he had been when Ryu first appeared. However, he wasn't moving an inch. He was simply standing there, staring at where Ryu would arrive. But, in truth, everything was truly stopped for Naruhito here, even his mind and soul. It was if he was stopped in time.
"Phew..." The girl let out a sigh as she saw this. "Still, seeing him being brought back, and just being frozen in place, waiting for the next combatant, feels really depressing and off."
The girl knew how Naruhito was brought back to life. It was all simply because of one thing; the system.
Just as the girl finished speaking, a window suddenly appeared in front of her; a window that at least a few meters tall. It read, in huge text;
[INTRUDER DETECTED!
INTRUDER DETECTED!
INTRUDER DETECTED IN INITIATING THE DEFENSE SYSTEM... ANTI-*@#!$@! ARE BEING INITIATED...] The moment the girl saw the words in the holographic floating window, she pouted. "Damn system. Fine! I'll leave!" She shouted with an irritated expression, and quickly turned around. Then, with a single swift movement, a gap in space appeared, just enough for her to fit in, and she entered it, disappearing like nothing had happened. --- Just a moment later, in a rather spacious room filled with all kinds of decoration- those that resembled the Victorian era- a gap in space had appeared. Like magic, that same girl had appeared from within that gap, and calmly stepped into the room. "You were right, unfortunately." She muttered, her expression a bit annoyed. She loudly tapping the floor with her feet, still remembering Naruhito's corpse, and feeling quite guilty. There, just a few meters away from here, stood an extremely tall man, with a lean defined musculature, showing his back to the girl. He staring at the glass window, staring into the outside world, not showing his face to the girl. He had black, beautiful messy hair. His entire torso was naked, not a single clothing covering it. What was odd, however, was that the pants he was wearing was that of businessmen. He was wearing suit pants. He was putting on hand on his waist, and in his other hand was a 25x25 rubik's cube. "You felt bad, didn't you?" He said out loud, and in a flash, the rubik's cube in his hand was instantly solved, despite how it seemed impossible to solve it with one hand due to the sheer size of the cube. The girl pouted in response, before letting out a sigh. "Yeah, I did. I know, I know. You told me not to get sad, blah blah blah. It's just that... you know, I-" "I know," The man cut her off, his voice rather mysterious, "Now tell me, what exactly happened?" "Well..." She started, as she began to recall the fight that Ryu and Naruhito had, "It was correct. It truly was just like you expected, and not only that, but the difficulty was at 8! It meant full power, no restrictions! But! I-" "-Wasn't there at the beginning of the fight, and only began to appear after a few seconds?" The man cut her off once more, and continued her sentence, as if he knew what she would say. "I-" The girl blurted out, before pouting once more, an irritated expression began to form once more. "Yeah..." The girl then slowly started walking towards the man, and when she finally appeared next to him, she suddenly punched his shoulder, causing the man to jolt in surprise, breaking his mysterious composure and appearance. "Stop cutting me off! You know how much I hate it when you do that, Naru!" The girl ranted, her face a bit red. The man slowly turned his head towards her, as the light shone on his face, showing his sharp pretty facial features, and his dark eyes. "I know... Mio, I know." 'Naru' calmly smiled, as a warm light began to appear in his eyes. Then, he turned to the glass window again, his eyes fixated on what was outside. "Although I did expect myself to appear in one of those tutorial matches, I didn't expect it to be at a difficulty level 8. That boy who fought me... he would surely be a rising star." He calmly said, his eyes not moving away from the window. 'Mio' instantly replied, "Oh come on, I wasn't even in the fight in the beginning! If I was, that boy would've instantly died!" The man lightly chuckled before answering, "Of course you won't appear right away. Otherwise, how would that be fair? How could someone comprehend your existence and not turn mad when they don't have a single point in Ether yet? Still, the fact that he had to fight me with a difficulty of 8 means that his other matches are at level 8 as well. I wonder how Tokugawa feels about him losing to that boy." "I- Pft, fine. I guess it makes sense." The girl folded her arms over her chest and puffed her cheeks. Naru then continued, "I wish..." He muttered, "I truly wish to see that boy. His talent is extraordinary, and he is a true human as well, unlike Tokugawa and I." The man started to slowly rub his chin, his eyes glowing with a brilliant light. "Ryu..." Naru muttered, "I hope you don't disappoint me-" *Ding!* Naru was suddenly cut off by the sound of a bell, and he gazed a bit downward, causing his eyes to widen. Then, his expression turned into one of annoyance, and he slowly turned his head back to Mio. "...You stayed for too long there. The system has deducted points from me. What is your excuse this time?" Naru bluntly said, his irritation apparent on his face. "Ah- Well- you know, guilt and stuff... haha..." Mio awkwardly laughed as she took a few steps back, as beads of sweat started appearing on her forehead. ---- *Swish!* In another place, Ryu's body suddenly appeared in the resting room. He stayed motionless for a few seconds, his eyes wide open. Then, a light suddenly emerged in them, and he slowly lifted his head, and looked around in confusion. "Eh?" Ryu blinked a few times, "What the hell happened? How did I get here? Where's the All-Seeing?"