'So this is the Unseen Realm,' Jin muttered, trying not to look at the giant eyeball looming in the sky. The eye wasn't exactly staring at him, but its presence was overwhelming, like he was under a constant, unnerving gaze.
A strange sensation washed over him, and Jin instinctively reached for his face—only to freeze. His hand wasn't there. In fact, his entire body was gone. He could still see, still perceive everything around him, but he had no form.
'What the—?!'
Then it hit him.
'Oh, right... it's my psyche that traveled here,' he realized. 'This must be Albedo's doing.'
With a sigh, Jin turned toward the dark, eerie world behind him. He tried to stand—or at least, that was what he intended to do. He had no legs, yet his perspective shifted higher, as if he had risen to his feet.
'Interesting,' he mused. "So my consciousness moves with my thoughts."
As Jin observed the way everything worked, the massive eye covering the sky shifted its gaze directly toward where he stood.
A shiver ran through his body as he bolted toward a pile of debris from the crumbled city wall, part of what looked like a cave structure.
From his hiding spot, Jin carefully observed the eye's movements. Within moments, its gaze swept past him.
Holding his breath, Jin waited in silence.
'Phew.' Only after the eye had moved on did he release a breath, despite having no mouth. 'It almost killed me.'
Jin surveyed his options. He could either venture out of the city or explore further inside.
'Since the Unseen Realm is a parallel world to the human realm, its structure should be the same,' he reasoned, glancing around.
The unsettling darkness of this realm didn't faze him. He'd faced the unknown before, though this was his first encounter with the Unseen Realm.
His wandering gaze settled on a broken sign from a nearby shop. The letters were inverted, like words reflected in a mirror.
'Beneath the hollow, moonless sky,
I see it—an immense, watching eye.
I stand alone, both lost and broken,
A soul adrift, with thoughts unspoken.
The world around me, dark and still,
My mind insists, "There's nothing,"
Yet that great gaze, it holds me fast,
As if there's more than what appears.
For in the silence, shadows dance,
And through the void, I feel a chance,
A hidden truth, a presence near,
Beyond the eye, beyond my fear.'
He took a deep breath through his nonexistent nose.
'I'm no good with poems, but they sure help to calm you down.'
Jin made his way toward the city, searching for his lost soul. He wandered through its inverted streets, from the wealth of the upper districts to the dusty, decaying slums below.
Each step he took was deliberate, filled with caution, as if something unseen was hunting him.
From time to time, he glanced up at the sky—at the massive eye that now replaced it, ever-watchful. Occasionally, he heard strange, unintelligible sounds in the distance, but their meaning remained elusive.
'It must be the souls trapped in this world,' he thought, his mind racing.
But it wasn't the souls of the dead that filled him with dread. Something far more horrific lurked in the shadows.
'I just hope I don't run into a Soul Eater.'
Just then, the massive eye shifted again.
'Damn it, not again,' Jin muttered under his breath.
He quickly ducked into a nearby house, pressing himself against the wall. The eye stretched endlessly above, consuming the entire sky with its unblinking gaze.
Jin recalled something he had once read on a stone table in a lost temple within the Forgotten Land. It told of a being that stole the souls of all humans and trapped them in the Unseen Realm. Then, it replaced the sky with one of its ten thousand eyes, always watching, ensuring no one could reclaim their soul.
'Must be doing a pretty bad job,' Jin thought wryly, 'since thousands of humans have managed to get theirs back.'
Jin pressed on with his search for days, though keeping track of time had long since become impossible. With no sun to rise or set, no stars to mark the hours, each moment blended into the next. He tried counting, marking his progress in his mind, but eventually gave up. How long had it been? Two months? More? Time, like everything else in this twisted world, had lost all meaning.
As he wandered through the empty streets, the massive eye in the sky turned its gaze several times, sweeping over the ruined landscape. Each time, Jin was ready. His movements were calculated, always ensuring there was a hiding spot nearby. He'd dart into broken buildings, crouch behind crumbling walls, and wait for the eye to pass. It became routine—a grim dance of survival.
Yet despite his caution, frustration gnawed at him. No matter how far he searched, the result was always the same.
'Why can't I find any souls?' he muttered under his breath. 'Why is everything so empty? Not even a Soul Eater in sight.'
After days more of futile searching, Jin finally decided it was time to move on. This city held nothing for him. He had scoured every corner, checked every dark alley and ruined building, yet he found no trace of his soul or anyone else's.
With a heavy heart, he began his journey again, moving from one city to the next. He wandered through desolate lands, crossed broken landscapes, and passed through forgotten ruins. The years blurred together, an endless stretch of time where his only companion was the oppressive silence and the ever-watchful eye above.
But no matter how far he traveled, his search remained fruitless. Every new city was the same—empty, barren, and devoid of the souls he sought.
'Am I ever going to find it?' Jin began to question, doubt creeping into his mind like a slow poison. He had set out with so much determination, so sure that he would eventually find his new soul. But now, after so many years, his resolve was fading.
One day, after another long and fruitless search, Jin collapsed onto the ground. Though he had no legs to fall upon, he sank into the dirt as if the weight of his despair was too much to carry any longer. He stared up at the endless sky, at the ever-watchful eye, and for the first time, he truly considered giving up.
His mind raced with thoughts of failure. 'I knew it was a stupid idea... How many years have passed? How many wasted steps? Maybe some Soul Eater has already devoured my soul, and I've been chasing a ghost all this time.'
The thought weighed heavily on him. If his soul was truly gone, lost forever to one of those horrific creatures, then what was the point of continuing? What was the point of all these years of wandering, of avoiding the eye, of living in fear and isolation?
He lay there, unmoving, letting the despair wash over him. His body—if it could even be called that—felt as empty as the land around him. His search had led him to nothing but dead ends, and now, he had nothing left to give.
Jin closed his eyes or his mind's eyes, though there was no relief, no rest to be found. Only the suffocating feeling of hopelessness that crept through his being.
For the first time in years, Jin allowed himself to consider the possibility that his search might never end, that his soul might be lost forever. And for the first time, he wasn't sure if he had the strength to keep going.
Amidst his despair, a sudden ringing of bells echoed through the desolate lands.
'What was that?' Jin wondered, his curiosity piqued.
As the bell sound grew louder, he felt an unexpected presence drawing near.
'What the…?'
A brilliant stream of starry light approached Jin, illuminating the darkness around him. The light shimmered and sparkled like a thousand tiny stars, casting a warm glow that pushed back the shadows, making the world feel less oppressive. As it neared, Jin could see that it wasn't just a simple light; it danced and flickered, swirling in mesmerizing patterns that seemed to have a life of their own.
'Is this… an Angel?'
The shimmering light floated before him, circling gracefully as if urging him to follow. Jin felt a surge of understanding, and he stood up, despite his nonexistent legs, and began to pursue it.
'It must be one of those high Angel—the Angel of Hope.'
The Angel led him through a deep, dark forest, and Jin followed quietly, his heart racing with a mix of excitement and apprehension.
After a full day of travel, the Angel finally came to a halt in front of a towering city gate, its grand archway adorned with intricate carvings. Jin gazed up at the massive walls, feeling a sense of awe wash over him. They rose high, formidable yet inviting, as if they were the guardians of a realm filled with possibilities. The craftsmanship was stunning; ancient symbols and patterns spiraled around the entrance, each telling a story of a time long forgotten.
'Judging by its real walls, this must be the capital city of Solomon. Since only the capital city don't use barrier but a wall, created by the first emperor.'
The Angel began to swirl around him in playful circles, and Jin tilted his head, wondering what it meant.
'Is it trying to tell me something?'
"Gktofusufofituyudodikgdididifkgurrogtihg."
The Angel emitted a series of unintelligible sounds, a language that should have left Jin bewildered. Yet somehow, he understood.
"Child of the Anu Amari," it seemed to say, "I have tested you and deemed you worthy to enter the land where souls sleep. I pray that you may find what you have lost, and that hope may never leave you."
With that, the Angel vanished into the ether, leaving Jin standing at the city gate, a mix of emotions swirling within him.
'A test? So giving up was the answer?' He smiled, 'How stupid.'