Chapter 6 - Welcome to the Oblique World
Lucan was no longer on Earth, nor was he in his personal world called the 'Inner Self.' Lucan was in the dimension of the Oblique World, a place where all the corrupted monsters lived, where the whispers of cursed gods were alive and roamed its forests and corridors. A place where much of humanity had migrated to build a new society, leaving behind the few who remained on a troubled Earth.
At that moment, Lucan felt lost. At that moment, he felt…
Empty…
There was no more room for error; he was in lands foreign even to the explorers called "Deviants." Those who became Initiates awakened their Deviant powers and could access both Earth and the Oblique World through the Bonfire. This world held remnants of ancient civilizations that had succumbed to the Mind Disease. This cursed world had fallen to corruption long ago and housed the most dangerous creatures and whispering entities. But Lucan knew one thing: the Oblique World was also a door of hope for humanity, which had found refuge there. In the Oblique World, there was no air contaminated by pollution, and humans with prana had started using this world to develop resources and aid their previous world. The people of Earth had migrated to this world where another human society had existed and died, leaving behind a world without humans. Taking advantage of its ancient abandoned cities, humans had migrated and started using part of the Oblique World centuries ago, creating a new society. They took over the ancient cities, clearing them of threats. Now, after centuries, there was another humanity inhabiting that place in the Kingdom of Ignisia. There was a way for a common citizen of Earth to gain access to the Oblique World, which was through the 'Awakening' where they accessed their prana.
Even inhabiting the Oblique World, humanity knew less than 10% of it. The Oblique World was so vast that many would say it was the size of a solar system, but there was one thing that could allow someone to move through it quickly and still return home to Earth.
"A Bonfire, I just need to find a Bonfire…"
There were two ways to get to a Bonfire, and the hint was given in his own Inner Self. You just need to kill the Bonfire Guardian, a powerful Boss that is near it. But Lucan didn't have the strength or power for that, so his last option was instead of trying to claim a Bonfire for himself. He just needed to find a claimed Bonfire.
"I need to find civilization, find some colony or small conquered city. I need to look for a region inhabited by one of the Houses or the Royal Family."
His options were scarce, but there was still hope. Great noble families were formidable warriors who, for even centuries, held parts of the territory in that world. The Houses were a group of five families of the kingdom. Each family had its House as pride, and their crests were even famous. The Houses were governed by the Royal Family. Together, they were the highest authority due to being descendants of the humans who migrated to that corrupted world to try to live in it centuries ago. Each of them was responsible for part of the functioning and protection of both Earth and the Oblique World. The answers to humanity's questions were found in this dimension, and the decline of the world was prevented when the Technological Prohibition Law was enacted. All combat and knowledge of how to deal with Disorders, Inner Self, whispering gods came from the experiences gained in the Oblique World. The civilizations that fell to these unknown beings left clues on how to deal with them, and the new humans of that world started using them to fight the corrupted.
For some reason unknown to anyone, it seems that the Mind Corruption is related to the technological evolution of a society or the knowledge gained when they reach the peak of their technology. The technologies don't necessarily have to be related to computers or as the name suggests 'technological'; they need to be the pinnacle of what that society would achieve with its limitations. It seems that somehow reaching a level of technological evolution led to the corruption of the ancient humanity of the Oblique World, which was a medieval society but managed a very advanced level in the use of prana. Prana is a magical energy, and the ancient society of the Oblique World reached unimaginable levels in its use, but this came at the price of gaining forbidden knowledge, causing what destroyed them.
The Technological Prohibition Law was a breakthrough for humanity on Earth, especially after much of it began to collapse due to the consequences of abusing technology, which harmed the environment. When corrupted monsters started appearing and the Mind Corruption emerged, this law was created to prevent Earth from continuing to evolve its technology. Even after centuries, Earth was technologically locked in a period similar to the 21st century. This might signify a delay, but it stopped the ongoing decline.
A part of the human population on Earth remained on their planet, while another part migrated to the Oblique World, where they could live in a medieval society, but in a completely pristine world with pure air, real food, and a kingdom constantly expanding through 'Expeditions.'
The Oblique World is entirely corrupted, but part of its territory was claimed by humanity, who established themselves and dealt with the corruption there.
The problem is that Lucan was thrown into a Corrupted Region, a place where humanity hadn't reached or established itself. Now completely far from any civilization, he was in crisis knowing that everything around him was just corrupted monsters.
"If it was a problem facing a single black phantom…"
He looked down.
"This place is where they live, it's full of monsters corrupted by the Whispers."
With his torch in hand, he decided to walk out of that room. Lucan was determined to find his solution.
If I find a Bonfire, I'll have my way back home. I'll leave this world and never come back.
The medieval asylum was dark. There was not a single torchlight except his own, making him apprehensive because he was the only light in that vast darkness.
Lucan saw a window.
"Exit!"
But as soon as he got there, he had a surprise. Opening the window, it faced a wall of sand and dirt.
"This can't be."
He tried to move it and went to the next window. Desperation hit him, and he hurried through the rooms, checking each one and opening every window.
"I'm buried… this place. This entire place is buried."
Laughing at himself, he sat on an old bed with moldy sheets, almost destroyed by time.
At least the 'magic' or prana preserved them a bit…
Without food, without water, and maybe even running out of air, Lucan extinguished the torch and sat in the darkness, thinking.
I need to explore this place, and at least there are no monsters…
Accepting his fate, he calmed his mind, lying down on the moldy bed.
What happened to me? I was supposed to go back to that Bonfire on Earth. What went wrong? Was it because my Inner God was too corrupted? Was it Evangeline? That scary woman… 'I fear you won't be going home.' Those were her words… but she didn't seem like she wanted to harm me, I think. If she wanted to kill me, she could have done it; there was no need to throw me to die of hunger or suffocation. Or maybe she couldn't stop it? Or did she just say something to scare me, and it happened by coincidence? Trying to find logic in that woman is foolish. But I know one thing, my situation is definitely not normal. I can't seek logic where there is none.
"Ahhhhhhhhhh!" a human scream echoed through the place.
Lucan quickly got up and then stopped to listen.
"What the hell was that?" he whispered to himself.
"Die, die, die!" screamed the voice, accompanied by the sound of something being dragged.
Lucan poked his head out of the room and saw a person standing at the end of the corridor. Next to them on the floor was a fallen torch, and the person was stabbing someone.
What the hell! A freaking maniac? Damn it, I'm in an asylum… haha, this isn't funny.
"You there!" shouted the man. "I-I can see you!" he pointed the sword.
The man was trembling; what he had seen was just a head peeking out from a door, observing him from the darkness.
"If you're coming to die, hurry up," the man bluffed to sound brave.
What should I do? This lunatic is going to come here.
"Are you human?" asked Lucan.
"O-of course, and you? Are you?" the man stammered.
"I am…"
Damn it, should I tell a monster I'm human? I don't know, wait, how does a monster know who's human and who isn't? I guess they wouldn't need to ask.
"That didn't sound convincing," the man conjured another torch and threw it towards Lucan, illuminating him.
Damn it, this guy is using the same trick I did.
"Identify yourself! Which House are you from? What are you doing here?"
Lucan stepped out of the room and stood in the doorway, watching the figure at the end of the corridor.
"You… you're a Deviant?" Lucan asked.
"I am! Identify yourself!"
Lucan sighed with relief.
"Thank God… man."
"I told you to identify yourself and don't come any closer," the man pulled the sword from the body on the ground and pointed it at him.
"My name is Lucan. I don't serve anyone, I… something went wrong with my Initiation, and my Bonfire sent me here. I thought I was doomed."
The man sighed.
"So, the same thing happened to you? It even affected the Bonfire of an Initiation… damn, I need to report this."
Still watching the man, Lucan asked,
"Do you know what happened to me? At this moment, I should be home. I have no idea how I was thrown into the Oblique World."
He raised both hands to show the man he was unarmed.
"I'm from the Academy expedition. The same thing happened to us when we claimed a territory; something went wrong, and as soon as I touched the Bonfire tree, I was also thrown here. My partner and I ended up together, but… he died up there."
A mix of emotions took over Lucan: part relief and part caution.
"So, we're screwed… and you said something happened up there? So, this place has an exit…"
The man crouched and inspected the body. When Lucan got closer, he saw it was a corrupted monster. Corrupted monsters are ancient creatures of the Oblique World; practically all of them succumbed to the Mind Disease and became corrupted, acquiring a distorted and strange form. The creatures, like humans, were also taken by the Mind Disease. Only corrupted monsters exist in this world; everything was corrupted.
"An exit? Well, I don't know, but I know there's only one damn direction, which is to keep going up. If you haven't noticed, this damn place is in a pit, so the hope is that maybe going up will lead to an exit if it works like a dungeon. Or we were unlucky enough to be thrown into a ruin underground… and that wouldn't be fun," the man laughed.
Observing him closely, Lucan saw that he must be in his late 20s, almost 30 years old. He wore light armor, and his shirt bore the crest of the royal family. It was a lion mixed with other animals and had wings, a griffin.
"You're a soldier of the royal family's army? Well, you're not weak."
"Don't jump to conclusions. I'm part of the army, but I'm far from the top. Sure, I've been in my position for over 10 years. I might be a common soldier, but at least I have experience with other expeditions. The expedition in partnership with the academy was to show the kingdom that our young and future leaders are in good hands..."
"You must be incredible, going on an expedition given by the royal family and the academy. I bet there was a good reward waiting for you when you got back."
The man laughed.
"Apart from the good cards I acquired by killing monsters, we were going to get a lot of money and even some good cards from their arsenal… and I'm not even counting the promotion with a salary increase."
The man seemed excited.
"Man, I'm seriously thinking about changing jobs," Lucan laughed.
"Don't. You wouldn't want this life. It's dangerous and tempting… and you're young. What do you do?"
They walked down the corridor.
"I was just a stock clerk at a market."
The man looked at him.
"Well, maybe you should change jobs… but not to be a Deviant. Find a better job than your current one…" the man laughed.
"I agree," Lucan said, looking attentively down the corridor.
"You're scared, aren't you?" the man looked at him.
"Of course, sir. Who wouldn't be? This place is terrifying. I don't know how you're so brave and walk so calmly."
"Hahaha," he laughed and drank something from a canteen.
"That's my secret. I always carry a good drink."
Lucan smelled the alcohol.
They walked down the corridor until they reached a staircase.
Seriously… this guy thinks he's something. I just had to flatter him. He's my ticket out of this place.
"At least we won't die of hunger. There's still that creature's corpse. I have a bit of water, but we should conserve it."
Lucan nodded, and they climbed the stairs until the darkness disappeared, revealing a place with dim torchlight.
"This place was supposed to be an asylum..."
"It is an asylum, but you forget that this world fell to a disease that drove everyone crazy? Even the animals went mad… I'd say this place functioned as a prison for any scary shit to be studied."
Basically, we're trapped in a place full of monsters…
"What happened to you and your partner?" Lucan whispered.
"We stayed on the upper floors. Everything was fine. We killed some low-rank monsters, but we were ambushed by a more dangerous one. As you should know, these things are usually of the same species, so they don't attack each other… you can imagine what happened when they decided to work together..."
Lucan understood what he meant.
"After that powerful creature attacked us, my partner was devoured on the spot. Well, half of him was… the other half is lying around if it hasn't been eaten."
Walking through the place attentively, the building was ancient. Its architecture was rustic, and the beds were wooden. It was all made of rough stone, which reminded Lucan of the dungeon where he had been locked up.
"And when did this happen?"
"It's been a week."
Lucan was shocked.
"What? You've been here for a week? Then the chances of them rescuing us are…"
"Don't count on it, kid. There were over 200 of us; their priority will be the high-ranking nobles, and to be honest… I'm not even sure they'll be saved. From what I've seen, we were sent to a random location due to an error in the Bonfire's return. The big shots up there are probably covering this up to avoid a scandal while they search for the nobles. We had important people with us, even a supposed 'Princess' of the nobility, along with noble captains and their units. The rest of the common soldiers will be declared dead or missing. We, the mere soldiers, don't affect their image at all; after all, our mission is to die for them. Now, the nobles of the Houses, that's another story."
The amount of information was overwhelming Lucan's mind. He knew that a Royal Academy expedition had been made, but he didn't know things were this bad.
The expedition is over, and they've been here for a week? How long was I in the Inner Self? Does time pass slower there? Or did I spend days crawling in that darkness?
"And isn't there a GPS device that allows them to track us?"
"That doesn't exist, kid. Technology doesn't travel with us to this world, and even if you manage to bring it, it won't work. There's no miraculous item that lets them track their soldiers or their soldiers call for help, at least not for us mere mortals. Basically, we're on our own. And the worst part is, this is a Corrupted Region…"
"Is it that bad?"
The soldier laughed and took a swig of his drink.
"Bad? If it were bad, it would be excellent. Walking alone in mapped regions is already courting death; now… in Corrupted Regions, it's simply suicide."
So, I'm doomed.
"But don't get discouraged, there's always hope. We might be close to a mapped region, and the captains have special compasses that point to their base. If you find a captain, you have a chance to stay alive; they are powerful. And also, if worse comes to worst, you can try to claim a territory and unlock a Bonfire…" the man didn't show much confidence in that last part.
They walked to a room, and the man pointed inside, and they entered.
Inside was what appeared to be an extinguished bonfire and a small camp.
"The creatures rarely come down here. If you go straight through that corridor, you'll find stairs to another floor. I managed to move a bunch of beds and make a small barricade. It won't stop anything if they come down, but my focus is on the noise. I filled it with cans and other things that will make noise if they push the barricade. Then I focused on clearing this floor and the one below, where I found you."
Man, he's pretty well-prepared. Experienced Deviants are on another level…
"The reason I didn't make my base on your floor is simple, that floor was dark. And I wanted to explore to see if there was any way down. Unfortunately, that floor was the last, so it didn't lead anywhere. I decided to start clearing it by eliminating the monsters; it actually became easy."
The man went to the corner and took out some pieces of meat from a wooden box.
He lit the bonfire and put the meat in an old, worn-out frying pan with missing parts.
"I found the pan in what seemed to be a pantry, but there was nothing useful there."
"I imagine that meat isn't algae-based or one of the rare animal ones, right?"
The man found his question a bit strange, and as he flipped the meat with a dagger, he said:
"No, it's meat from a creature. I cut it myself and let it bleed to remove the excess blood."
Lucan forced a smile; he never expected to eat meat cut from a monster.
"Don't worry, kid. It's not harmful. I mean… your stomach will get used to it. You went through the Initiation, didn't you? Your body became stronger with the awakening of your prana, and you'll be more tolerant to these things. I used to throw up at the mere sight of milk, but now it's no problem for me."
"Wait! You've had milk?"
"Of course, being a soldier has its perks. Our meals include meat every day; I even got tired of it."
"It has its good sides... so you're an Ignisian? That's amazing," Lucan said.
"You're a human from Earth?"
"I am," Lucan replied.
The man seemed to ponder this.
"That explains why you mentioned algae-based meat… you folks over there have serious problems. Don't be too impressed, though. I was just a nobody before. I'm not from a powerful noble family. My family served a noble house, and I wasn't good at anything. I couldn't work in administration because I'm not good with numbers, I'm not fit to clean the great mansions or cook banquets… so, being a guard was what was left for me. But fortunately, my father managed to get some favors from the sovereign of the noble family, and I ended up joining the third son of theirs in the royal army."
"That's incredible, you really hit the jackpot."
"Well, except for the times we have to go on these crazy expeditions in this place. Other than that, my life is pretty good. Let's be honest, when I walk down the street in my uniform with this royal symbol… I can impress the peasant girls, if you know what I mean," he laughed and handed Lucan a piece of meat.
They ate together.
"If we run out of food, we can go down and get some from the corpses I left below. Don't worry. Now I'm going to sleep, you stand guard."
The man turned to sleep.
"Wait, but what do I do if one of those things shows up? I won't even be able to defend myself. Do you have any spare weapons?"
"You don't need a weapon, just wake me up."
"Alright, but how will I know when it's my turn to switch shifts?"
The man nodded and tossed him an hourglass.
"We use these a lot in the army. Since we don't have clocks, these hourglasses save our hides since your technology doesn't work here. This hourglass measures three hours. Flip it and let the sand run out; it's a kind of clock. The sand will run for three hours. When it's done, wake me up, and it'll be your turn to sleep. Good night… I guess."
The man then turned over and went to sleep.
Lucan finished eating and kept an eye on the man.
He's definitely not asleep; I think he's being cautious with me. But it's good he chose to sleep first because I'm definitely not calm enough to try to relax and sleep in the middle of an asylum. I need this guy to get back home.
Lucan wanted to explore the floor the soldier said he cleared, but he had to stay on guard.
After a while, Lucan woke him up, the soldier having slept at some point.
"Your turn to sleep."
"Come on, you need all the energy you can get. After this, we're going to try and go up."
"I'm not as good as you; my mind can't relax. And you slept soundly; what if I were a monster in disguise? You could have died. I'm not that brave."
The soldier laughed upon hearing this.
As if I'd sleep next to a stranger… I don't trust anyone.
"Monsters disguised as humans are rare, and they have enough power to kill someone; they wouldn't wait for the person to sleep. I can also 'resonate,' and I don't feel anything from you. Besides, it's clear you're just a civilian. Sorry, you're not a threat to me and certainly not a noble."
"I understand… but, I killed an Inner God… I have a bit of luck," Lucan tried to argue in his old, fake way.
"Haha, you're definitely a newbie. Tell me, were you trained from a young age for battle? I'm not just talking about your body, I'm talking about your mind?"
"No…"
"Those guys are trained in everything. They grow up learning the basics of prana, reading real books, analyzing structures, emergency training, survival skills, and they even have almanacs with information on various types of cards and even bestiaries. It doesn't cover everything, but it definitely has the essentials. You can't compare to a true noble who can afford to develop their prana without worrying about paying bills."
"Is there that much of a difference?"
"A lot. They keep advancing in their power, while we stay here."
"You're right… I'm not a threat and definitely not a noble."
"Don't be sad, kid. Believe me, when you walk with powerful people, you develop a sense for it. You know who is special and who isn't. You and I, we're not… I've seen truly special people. Once, there was a noblewoman, and she wasn't even an heir. She was the fourth daughter of some random noble. She was a lieutenant in the army, and I saw her single-handedly take on a squad of creatures. She took them down using just her fists; it was some wind element ability that made the monster fly away before her punch even landed. If we could do something like that, we wouldn't be hiding here like rats."
"You're right," Lucan agreed.
"But you must have received at least some initial items, something to help you."
"I did. I received the standard three items. I ended up losing… a valuable one."
Lucan conjured the torch and the broom.
"What's this?" the man was surprised.
"These are all I have left."
"Hahaha, sorry," he laughed.
The man tried to control himself from laughing too loudly.
"Hahaha man, I've never seen… I've never seen anything like this. Hahaha, don't worry. I'm sorry, it's just a bit funny."
"At least I managed to survive," Lucan forced a smile.
"They usually give something useful like swords and such…" the soldier tried not to laugh as he looked at Lucan's conjured items.
The awkward silence settled in.
"Relax. You're with a kingdom soldier, I can help you. My power isn't very useful, but I have a small arsenal of cards and my experience… the problem is that creature. The others are easy to deal with, but it seems to be the boss of this area. We need to avoid it."
"My ability is also… about as useful as these items."
"Of course, it's useless. You're an Initiate. An Initiate can't even call themselves a 'Deviant.' Initiates barely know how to use prana."
After discussing their plan, the soldier went to collect the meat from the dead monsters. He noticed Lucan's eyes widen every time he cut the meat from the creatures.
Just be as simple as possible… be a very normal person, Lucan.
"Help me stretch out the meat, we need to let it bleed a bit."
"Alright…"
"Now's not the time for squeamishness, this is going to be our food. There are no food cards, and food is a pillar of being a Deviant. Knowing which monster's meat is poisonous and which isn't. Knowing how to bleed the meat to try and improve the taste. You can carry some spices, but you have to get used to the bad taste first. Always keep military rations as a last resort, I have them with me. But why use them when we have this feast available?"
"Yes, sir."
"It's Clyde, call me Clyde."
"Alright, Clyde."
Letting the meat bleed out, they walked through the dark floor in search of tools or utensils that could be useful.
"Clyde, can I ask you something? How do those torches stay lit? You didn't light them, so who did? This place doesn't seem like it's been inhabited for years."
"Put years into that, depending on how you look at it, we might be the first people in thousands of years to set foot here. No one knows exactly what year the Oblique World would be in if it were still alive, and you can't count on archaeologists and geologists to try to figure out how old a ruin like this is. Because this place operates with prana, and prana ignores logic. Most structures have prana involved, which preserves them, so studying the age of a building is pointless. Just like these special torches, they are the famous 'Magic Torches.' If you ignore them on the wall, they will stay lit and never burn out, but if you take them off, they will go out forever. No one knows who created them or how they stay lit for all this time. They are a rare and mysterious thing in this world. So avoid taking the torches off these places, because if it gets too dark, you'll be screwed since there's no way to light them again. But you don't need that, do you? Since your 'Inner Self' gave you something very valuable for this type of situation, hahahahaha," he laughed a bit, referencing the torch Lucan received in his Initiation.
They spent the next three nights exploring the dark floor, and no other monsters were found. According to Clyde, he had spent the previous days attracting the creatures to the lit floor by making noise occasionally. Lucan was lucky that Clyde had cleared out most of the monsters before he was teleported to that place.
Then, that night, Clyde heard a noise.
"What was that?"
He got up and didn't see Lucan.
Some time later, Lucan returned to the room.
"Relax, it's me!" he said, seeing Clyde with his sword pointed at him in the entrance.
"Where were you?"
"I went to take a piss and heard a noise; I almost shit myself."
Clyde almost laughed.
"Stay alert, but we need to move. We've stored the bled meats in my backpack, and we need to get out of here to the next floor. With you here, it'll be easier to cover my back."
Lucan nodded.
"And a weapon, could you get me one?"
"Not yet, kid. A civilian like you will only cause problems with a weapon. I don't want to have to carry you because you were stupid enough to try to face a monster and got hurt."
"And you think I'd try to fight one of those things? I just want to feel safe. I'm not trained by the royal army like you, and I definitely don't have a useful combat ability."
"I'm just a soldier… but fine. Let's see how you handle yourself when we encounter more of those things. You'll help me lure them and distract them; the faster we clear the floors without drawing attention, the better."
"Shit, I'm going to be the bait here?"
"Listen, cover me first, and let's analyze the situation… hey, think of it as you doing a mission for the kingdom," Clyde joked.
"Screw that…"
And so, they climbed to the next floor, not knowing what awaited them.