Hell-Fair clapped his hands three times like a command to the Giant doors, making them open up for us without use of any force. Hell-Fair looked at me with his bright smile and in response I gave an expressionless face.
"Let's go"
Behind the doors was darkness. I couldn't see what comes after this darkness or where it leads to, until we took our first step inside the entry point causing small floating flames to light up inside the darkness, everything was visible now.
The tunnel was as big as the doors which seemed to have a long end, "where does it lead to?" I asked.
"To the answer where else" he happily said before continuing to walk like a carefree person.
I walked behind him and looked around to see if anything was suspicious like some sort of traps, but it remained as normal even though the walls didn't seem to have anything like hidden arrows or axes that could be launched when reaching a specific point.
Seeing how I was shifting my eyes around like a detective looking for clues, Hell-Fair tried to assure me.
"Relax, even if there is a trap it's not like it's gonna kill you"
The way he said definitely meant that there must be traps somewhere, I needed to be cautious which was absolute. I remained silent for a while since nothing else came to my mind that I could speak about.
Seeing such silence, Hell-Fair couldn't keep his mouth shut and said, "I have a question?"
I wasn't expecting him to ask me a question, rather it should have been me asking him but…
"Go on"
"Why is your soul so cracked?" I didn't understand what he meant.
"Crack?" I felt dumbfounded.
He slow down his pace, he matched my distance as we walked side by side, "I know you can't see it but I can, I can see that your soul isn't completely stable"
Before he continued saying, the system interrupted with its own explanation. I could have listened to the Hell-Fair but seeing the system explanation was far better than his who wasn't directly telling what I wanted to know.
[Crack Soul - A rare phenomenon that occurs when a soul is out of the body without a permission for a long period can cause cracks on it which can cause unknown issues]
I see…
Cracks, the only theory that instantaneously popped in my mind was, maybe before I got this body my soul remained out for too long that's why I had a crack , however, I wasn't sure the period it stayed out. It could also be when I met that storyteller.
Hell-Fair kept on talking without noticing that my focus wasn't on him but on the system and my thoughts.
Several minutes passed by like seconds but our steps weren't finished yet. I patiently walked while listening to non-stop talk of the Hell-fair, which was full of self-esteem nevertheless there wasn't anything useful he talked about.
"Stop" abruptly he said, making me hinder my steps.
"That's…"
It was the end of the large tunnel. Once it ended afterwards appeared a chamber that was the size of a football stadium. The place was enlightened by sparkling lights that were moving in random motion.
"What is this place? Is this the place where I will get my answer?" it could be the case because I couldn't see any other tunnel or door . It was like a dead end.
"We have to walk a little bit more," Hell-Fair continued to walk with his tireless legs.
I took steps after him, while doing so I frequently looked around, there were ruined thrones and shattered weapons all over the place it was as if someone did it.
I turned my head straight to see an altar and on top of the altar was a cube just like how there was one like the time-clock, this one was bigger in size and words that I couldn't read were written on it.
"What's written on that cube"
Hell-fair tilted his head towards me and explained, "that's not a cube it might seem like that but they are just books attached to each other forming that shape"
After hearing his explanation, I narrowed my eyes and carefully examined the cube which was levitating above the altar. I couldn't figure out how books formed into cube although it was possible to do by setting them up even then one could easily guess those are books with a clue. But this was different: no small gap or corner curved nothing.
"So, how will they be disorganised?" I curiously asked as I moved next to him before we stopped at a close distance.
"Well…" he didn't say anything but 'well' before taking dull steps closing the distance between him and the altar. I thought he might do something to the altar but an unexpected thing happened.
I saw his back before he turned around and chuckled, I was a little muddled.
He spread his arms wide horizontally and shouted with enthusiasm, "Let's start then"
"Start what?" I was confused by his odd acting but a little surprised too.
He let his arms down before lifting his finger to the level of his head, his cracked smile was still present. I knew something was off.
"To unlock the cube, you must first pass my test"
"What's your test?" I went straight to the point. I know it's not avoidable but to fight this guy, to be honest my chances against him are unknown.
"You have to land a punch on my face if you succeed then I will unlock the cube for you"
Just a punch? It sounded quite an easy task but I know it wouldn't be as simple if he said one that meant he's confident that I wouldn't be able to hit the shot.
I fist my other hand's palm and excitedly accepted the challenge, "sure", but that guy wasn't finished talking.
"But you should also know that If you failed the result will not be so lovely"
"I expected that much"
"Wow… anyways let me give you a real example of failure"
Out of blue, the whole area turned into a different place which felt colourful and alive, the ceiling turned to a blue sky with several black clouds and the rocky ground became clear flat with green. Multiple people were stopped like someone pressed the pause button.
I guess it easily, "it's football ground"
"Correct"
Although I was right, a play was being played but I found an odd thing, the expression on their faces was like a person being stressed with pressure. It was a normal thing, maybe it was a final, however the most noticeable thing was the audience that was watching them.
I looked at their faces, just crying and scared nothing more than that. I was getting an odd feeling that something wasn't right here.
"This is a football semi-final"
He came closer to me, pointing his finger towards a player in a green shirt that was about to kick the fall in the goal post. The way other players of the opposite team were staring at him with tearful eyes.
I thought it was an important game, but why show me this?
"As you can see, the player in green with the ball is like a main character in this world, since normal football tournaments are just boring, teams winning and losing had less emotions"
Boring? Can't he tell that people show many emotions to this sport, it's like a do-or-die sport for them.
"I put a little twist to this game, I added higher-beings to watch this game. On top of that I challenge that player that if he can win that tournament I will grant me whatever he asks me to but if he fails.."
A sudden silence arose, but he then spoke again. "I will wipe out his existence from this world not only his but his own country, that also applied to the other countries"
A shock appeared on my face, when he said that his face was displaying an evil look as if he felt pleased doing that…
"That mean if I fail you will also remove me from my existence?" Was I afraid? Of course why wouldn't I be but it didn't mean I will back off that easily.
Now I knew the reason behind the people with such frightened and distressed expressions, it was truly a do-or-die game. But I wonder.
"Did that Main character win?" Obviously, I thought since this evil guy called him the main character and the main character did win mostly because of plot armour.
Hell-fair laughed and said, "unfortunately, in finals he was defeated by the opposite team leading to his existence erased like a word from a book"
This guy was truly a devil, someone I mustn't trust… not only that but he must die too… cruel…
The illusion he created fade away like air, he stood before the altar, "I also prepared a reward as well, if you succeed in hurting me with your punch I will gift you a sword that will help you in many things"
I wasn't convinced with his reward it could also be a trap, but what mattered was that I had to attack him. I felt a little anxious, but let out a sigh.
Sigh…
I closed my eyes for a second before opening them again, finally I decided to go all out with this punch.
[You're using full strength to your fist?] System inquired as it knew my tiny plan.
I had a tight fist, a blue aura surrounded by my hand. I was ready to strike as I dashed towards him. I uttered loudly, "here I come".
Bang…