Opening my eyes, it seems I'm inside the dark place again. "Is this my dream now?"
"Well, you did gain power, and we are too lazy to visit in the real world. So much power needs to be used for such trivial matters," someone said as I turned to see Thxar sitting on a throne surrounded by his slime guard.
"What do you want?" I ask as I eye the many slime guards, about 20 or 50 of them, even though they look like the slime in RPG games that you fight in the tutorial. There are just too many of them.
"Well, you haven't used your powers yet, and that makes me a little worried," he said as he walked slowly from his throne. Suddenly, he disappeared, then reappeared right in front of me.
"What!?" I said as I moved back a little.
"Oh, come on, you will be facing teleportation and faster enemies. You must be prepared," he said as he circled me.
"How did you even do that?"
"Well, using dark slime, of course," he said as he smiled widely.
"Dark slime? But that time you showcased your power, there were shadows," I ask, a little disappointed.
"Well, illusion is the key to victory, after all," he said as something jumped out of the ground and then turned into a crow that flew onto Thxar's shoulder.
"See, it almost looks like a shadow," he said as he petted the slimy crow.
"Damn," I muttered as I eyed the crow, trying to compare it with the dark surroundings.
"It really looks like a shadow, but could it follow movement?" I asked, noticing the slimy crow now staring at me.
"If he couldn't do it, then I have failed as his creator," Thxar said, puffing his chest a little.
"Is that so?" I replied, feeling uncomfortable with the slimy crow's eyes, which looked so gooey.
"Ari, show him what you're made of," Thxar commanded, and the crow suddenly flew up, passing me, and then began to descend, aiming at my position until it crashed into the ground right in front of me.
"Is that it?" I said, looking very disappointed and assuming the creature was dead now.
"No," Thxar said, smiling.
Then, as I tried to look at Thxar, who was standing behind me, I realized I couldn't move my legs. Black goo had consumed them.
"Shit!!!" I exclaimed, trying to escape by moving my feet as hard as I could, but they didn't budge.
"Is that enough, partner?" Thxar said, now right in front of my face with a big smile.
"Yeah, just get this thing off me," I said, not wanting to lose my legs after already losing both my arms.
"Alright, he's learned his lesson, Ari," Thxar said, and the black goo retracted from my legs, the huge puddle turning back into a crow that perched on Thxar's shoulder.
"That was really weird," I said as I looked at my beautiful leg, still intact.
"Well, you've already seen some of the power you could get. Why haven't you used it?" Thxar said, putting his hands on his hips while his upper body leaned forward slightly.
"Well... I'm not allowed to fight anymore," I replied, glancing at both my missing arms, which were still absent even in a dream.
"Wait, you didn't know?"
"No, what?"
"You could use slime power to replace lost body parts, dum dum," he said, almost teasingly.
"What!?"
"By consuming a little part of your flesh, the slime could reengineer the atoms that make up your arm, making it as if it wasn't even lost in the first place."
"Why the hell didn't you tell me that the first time we met?!" I exclaimed, frustration evident in my voice.
"Well, I was thinking you were just not conjuring up your arms because of trauma or you didn't want them feeling as if they were fake, like the others before you," he explained casually.
"Oh my god, have mercy on my soul," I muttered, exasperated.
"Well, you're not in hell, so don't worry. The Lord Creator is still watching you," Thxar reassured me, though his tone didn't provide much comfort.
"Yeah, just a little bit better than hell," I retorted sarcastically.
"Well, couldn't be a picky human after all. Some girl 2,000 years before you told me that. I think she could be the one that killed the traitors. Imagine my surprise finding her joining them," he mused, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.
"Don't think too hard, 'EMPEROR SLIME,' YOU COULD HURT YOURSELF," I warned, glaring at him.
"You have not to worry, human. I'm tougher than you could imagine," he replied, meeting my gaze evenly.
"...haa," I sighed, unable to believe this bastard.
"Well, I hope you will use my power, human. Show them what true greatness is," he said as the darkness started to disappear.
Waking up, I threw my body upward, breathing heavily while sweat ran down my body. I surveyed my surroundings to see it was still night, with the other men sleeping peacefully, and even the nurses were nowhere to be seen.
"I hate that," I muttered, feeling my lungs as if I had just run a marathon.
Seeing the others still asleep, I then tried to summon the power.
"Shit, I forgot about asking him how to conjure this power," I realized, slumping my head feeling a little down. I then lifted it back up and started to try to feel anything inside my body.
It had been an hour of trying to meditate, pray, and even going back to sleep, but nothing worked. It felt weird, as if my body was already 100% charged.
"Fuck!!!" I exclaimed, punching my pillow in frustration.
Then, I spotted something in my eye, like a speck of dust blocking my vision. Trying to wipe it away didn't work, and as I rubbed harder, my entire vision was consumed.
"SHIT!!!" I panicked, trying to find anything to touch to get my vision back. Finally, it was restored as I rubbed it for the last time.
I could see a little black goo on the side of my bed on the table, and suddenly, it jumped to me It then landed on my nose and entered my skin, disappearing inside my skin.
Feeling weird, my brain started to hurt as information rushed to me like a tsunami. I tried to endure the pain, closing my eyes and slumping my body, biting the pillow to prevent biting my own tongue.
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"Nietzsche, Nietzsche, Nietzsche, wake up! It's already morning. You need to have breakfast and then you need to move your body. it isn't good for you to be slumped down in bed all the time."
"Uhhh," feeling weird, I opened my eyes to see Regina standing beside my bed, holding a tray of food consisting of bread, omelet, and soup.
"C'mon, Nietzsche, it's not good for you if you haven't had your protein," she said, carefully moving a smaller chair with her feet to sit on it and put the tray of food in her lap.
As I moved my body upward, I gathered myself before sitting upright, and Regina started to spoon me some food.
As Regina spooned me some food, she spoke softly, "How are you feeling today, Nietzsche? Any better?"
I nodded slightly, taking a bite of the omelet before replying, "Yeah, I think I'm feeling a bit better today, thanks."
"That's good to hear," she said, her expression warm as she continued to feed me.
After finishing the meal, Regina said she would get me some water and left the room briefly. As I waited for her return, I noticed a spot where some of the soup had fallen on the tray.
Curious, I focused my attention on that spot, attempting to conjure up the slime power Thxar had mentioned. I concentrated on the idea of consuming it, hoping it would work.
As suddenly a little black goo emerged from my belly and slowly crawled towards the soup, consuming it clean. I felt a weird sensation in my mouth, as if I had actually consumed the soup.
Surprised by what had just happened, I glanced around the room to see if anyone else had noticed. Thankfully, Regina hadn't returned yet and the soldiers most are still a sleep while other's are heavily injured to move.
Feeling a mixture of excitement and uncertainty, I tried to focus on controlling the slime power. With a bit of concentration, I willed the goo to retract back into my body, feeling a strange sense of connection with it.
Regina returned with a glass of water, unaware of what had transpired, and I eagerly accepted it, I drank the water very happily.