…
When Dante fully shook off the feeling of sleep, he tried to get up, only to fall on the ceiling.
"What the -" Before he could finish, he felt gravity change again as his body fell toward his exit door, smacking it open.
*bam*
Just when he thought he would fall in the corridors of the dorm, he was shocked to see that he couldn't breath anymore. His lungs started filling up with water.
Everywhere around him was filled with water, the academy had disappeared, under him was the abyss of the depths. Above him was a semblance of light.
He swam toward the surface, he couldn't feel pain but he of course felt the discomfort in his lungs. When he reached the surface of the water, he was shocked to see that he was literally in the middle of the sea.
"Cough! Cough!, bleh.. salt water." Dante said as he coughed up a lot of water.
The water was freezing cold, and he had already started to lose the feeling of his fingers..
Just as he was about to look out for something to grab onto, his mouth opened wide as he looked into the sky. Floating in the air were tones of islands and, more shockingly, moons..
Yes, there were dozens of moons orbiting around the planet…
"It feels like something just keeps giving me these trials…"
He didn't bother to put his guard up anymore, he knew that he was too weak to resist any kind of otherworldly danger out there. May as well get a one-shot and return to reality.
Like he predicted, something started happening. More precisely, something was touching his leg. He couldn't try to see what it was as the water reflected the moons, blocking his view.
The thing touching his leg started wrapping around it, and, with a lot of force, Dante was pulled violently underwater.
He didn't try to survive this time, knowing fully well that it was useless. After being dragged for a long time, he started losing consciousness, Just as he was about to close his eyes forever, he felt a sensation of falling.
*Tud!*
Dante felt his body hit the ground, his body had become mangled. He had fallen into a standing position, so his legs were bent at an unnatural angle. His spine had become pointy, broken too.
The air had been knocked out of his lungs, and his diaphragm was in shock.
"Ha-..eugh!" Small sounds came out of his mouth, his body tried its best to breathe in air but had a hard time.
Fortunately, his whole body had been amortized by his lower body, somewhat protecting his neck and head. Dante's head was slow, as if he were in a dream, this was probably caused by a concussion.
On instinct, he used his skill on his head, quickly regaining his original clarity, after that, he prioritized his heart and then his lungs. The most important organs if he wanted a chance to live longer.
Out of mana, his body just stayed there, in painless agony.
'What a shitty life…' Dante thought.
"Agreed."
'Right? If only—wait what? That wasn't me. Are my schizophrenic breaks kicking in this kind of situation?'
"What are schizophrenic breaks?" He heard that voice again. It was a little girl's voice…
'Who are you?'
"I don't know. I have forgotten."
'What do you mean you forgot who you are? What is a little girl doing in this place…'
"Why are you here?"
'What…'
The voice stayed silent this time.
'I got pulled here.'
"That's strange; this place is sealed from reality. How can you be so frail and be able to enter this place?"
'What are you talking about? Anyway, help me, or I'm going to die..'
"Hmm, I can't let you die. It has been eons since someone paid me a visit." The little girl's voice could be heard becoming louder, as if she were getting closer.
"I, however, can't heal you. My mana is toxi-"
'Just try it!'
"Alright."
Dante's optical nerves seemed to have been injured; all he saw was darkness, so he couldn't describe the little voice.
After a while, he felt a gentle energy invade his body; the previous wounds instantly disappeared, but he didn't get his sight back.
'I think you forgot to heal my eyes.'
"Oh that, it was done on purpose. Have they never taught you not to look at outer-plane beings? I'm more impressed that your head didn't just explode from my voice."
"What? Oh, I think that exposure to this kind of thing has given me some kind of resistance. I don't know."
"Hmm, you're still affected, though. Can't you feel your body screaming in pain?"
Dante couldn't feel a thing because he didn't feel pain, but if someone were to see his body, they would see a total mess.
His veins had started to pop one after the other, and from the corners of his mouth fell red liquid like a waterfall. Everything on his body was slowly crumbling apart.
"Now that you mentioned it, I still feel uncomfortable."
"Don't you feel pain?"
"I don't, fortunately, hehe." A small chuckle escaped his mouth.
"So, what are you doing here? Don't give me the excuse that you got pulled here. It's another reality."
"But I don't know."
"…"
"So why are you sealed here?"
"I don't remember, all I can remember is that I fell anger and hatred when thinking about it…"
"Hmm, so, what is there to see here? I mean, is there land and water and all that crap?"
"No, this is just an empty void plane. Nothing exists here."
"Hmm, do you know why I've been having weird dreams over and over again? Like, when I go to sleep or am unconscious, I appear in a strange world filled with dangers, like monsters so big I look like a dust particle next to it.
Or another space where there are black floating pillars and otherworldly creatures?"
"Ohh! It seems that you have encountered the-" Before she could finish her last word, as if it was something forbidden to be heard, Dante's exploded.
"Oh…" The kid-like voice seemed to get depressed, like a kid who broke her toy without thinking about the consequences of her actions.
…