Ethan was screwed.
At that very moment, he was in the grasp of that menacing creature that looked like it wanted to devour him without a second thought.
"I.. I'm going to die..!" He said, it took a few seconds before those words actually sunk in, once they did, he felt a petrifying feeling sink in, and take it's place inside him.
The fact that his fate might've already been decided from the beginning made him feel agonising fear.
The beast's grip on his body was so strong that he felt his bones almost crack to pieces.
He felt his life fade away slowly, as if it was slowly slipping from his grasp, but.. he was still hopelessly clinging on to whatever life he still had.
He proceeded to manoeuvre himself around the creature, and in a split second, he was able to grab the sword, and stab through another one of the creature's eyes.
"Fuck off! You think I'm gonna die that easily?!" He shouted out, the beast roared in pain, and stumbled back, the adrenaline pumping through Ethan had given him the strength he needed.
"Hehe.. you sure are interesting.." The man in chains said, he definitely seemed to be hiding something, "Kill it! Take the opportunity and kill it!"
He hesitated, but listened to the man who was spectating him fighting the deformed creature as if it was a game of some sort, and he continued to slash at the creature, until it was almost dead.
A bluish substance flowed out from all the wounds of the creature, and the sword that he used to defeat the creature had shattered completely.
"I.. I did it!" He shouted out, although he suffered quite a bit of mental trauma from almost dying again, however, he was still still sane enough to know how great a feat it was to kill such a beast as an ordinary human.
"..To think that a ordinary human like you, someone who is not even comparable to a small speck of dust, could kill a large beast like that, even if it was unusually weak.."
"..It's been so look since anyone was able to peak my interest, I think you'lol be the one to finally free me." The man imprisoned in chains said, his whole demeanour had changed in an instant.
"Human, you must be the one to do it. You must free me right this instant." His voice alone put an intense pressure on Ethan's body, and he almost felt tempted to do it, but he knew that somehow, something devastating could potentially occur if he released him, especially with how much power he holds.
"H- huh..? I.. I don't think I should.."
"Who.. who are you?" Ethan asked, surely someone who was this powerful could be able to defeat whatever that beast was in seconds..
"All that you need to know is that I am a being who has traveled many worlds, and has also destroyed many worlds, and I was imprisoned on this planet because the Interstellar Society deemed my actions as 'inhumane' and destructive.. if you join me, you will gain power that you could have never ever dreamed of having before."
"Especially since I don't sense a 'Core of Connection' inside you, so this would prove to be an opportunity for you." He said, "Now, as I've said before, free me."
"Should I..?" Ethan whispered to himself, "He seems to be hiding some hidden intentions, and not only that, he could kill me in half a second, even if he was still restricted by those chains."
"Hm.. I'm not sure why, but I feel like the right thing to do is to free him.." He said, he didn't yet know that he was under his influence.
The very moment that he had walked up to him, the chains came unloose, and he was free.
"Haha.. I.. I feel an absolute magnitude of joy right now.. finally.. finally!" He turned around and looked at Ethan, who had almost fainted due to the aura that this person gave off, and was struggling to stay conscious, "To think you're an anomaly.. what a shame that you don't have it."
He unleashed a devastating punch to Ethan, and punched a gaping hole right through his chest with ease.
He shouted out in agony, and he could see his life flashing before his eyes, was this how he was going to die?
It's seemed it was perhaps so, however.. it had seemed like fate itself had changed, as he didn't die here, but instead..
if something else hadn't had happened in that moment, something that changed everything forever.
it was like someone knew that if he had died at that very moment, unimaginable consequences would surface from that.
It was true that even death couldn't possibly end his story.
"…!"
He was left speechless, all of a sudden, everything around him had dissipated, and he was instead in a white void.
"What the..?"
For the first time, he felt what it was like to take a look at everything that was beyond existence itself, everything that he couldn't yet comprehend, as he was only but a weak human.
"What is this.. the atmosphere still feels tense. I.. I feel like my existence is pointless here, in this.. endless space."
"I feel thousands of piercing gazes on my back.. am I truly living in this place, or just someone who pretends.. and tries to cling on to their last moments..?"
"..I'm not sure what's supposed to happen here.. am I just destined to die in such a pathetic way?" He asked, to no one in particular, "A weak-willed human.. that is not who I am."
He heard a multitude of cold, unfeeling voices whisper in his ear, "Accept it. Accept the true nature of your journey, and become a being that rises above the beyond."
"We will promise you power, far beyond your imagination, and wealth that far surpasses that of-"
"No..! I won't accept whatever you've said, I have the feeling that you're not going to stick to your promise."
After he said those words, he felt his entire body overflowing with something, a strange power, a power that could allow him to overcome everything in his way, but somehow, he still couldn't find a way to unlock this power and obtain it for himself.
"An anomaly that had gained strength because of his vast knowledge… you, no.. your entire existence is an anomaly, and if you remain in this universe, you will eventually become a being that will erase it completely."
This voice that was speaking to him was far different to the voice that spoke to him before.
That voice was cold and had pure resentment and hatred in its voice, but this voice was warm, and he could only feel radiant affection coming from this voice.
"However, on your journey, you will rise above and beyond the heavens themselves, and become a newfound hope in this bleak world, and show them the path towards something beyond everything else, even existence itself."
"Take my power, and with it, free this world."
He was caught completely off guard by what that voice said, and he didn't understand anything he said, but he saw a opportunity, and he had a feeling that no matter what, he shouldn't deny this, so, he accepted it, and he took this power for himself.