It was like a faint crack or a blooming light.
Either description fit exactly what Nolan was feeling right now—the feeling as if something had been broken within him, or as if something had been brought to light.
The feeling was faint, but Nolan could feel it, and in the next instant, he took a single step forward quickly followed by another.
The pressure on him was nothing short of monumental, yet Nolan's gaze never once left the eyes of the statue before him.
The pressure on him seemed to be doubled as a result, yet Nolan didn't know what or why.
But he simply kept moving forward, a step at a time.
Less than two minutes later, Nolan's hands pushed open the door to the 8th room with all of his power.
The door wouldn't even budge at all even though he was pushing hard, and Nolan's anger reached a new level.
ROOOOOOOOAR
Powerful muscles which he never knew he even had, bulged over his arms, squirming like earthworms in a sprinkle of salt.
"Open!" Nolan roared out aloud, and in the next instant—
GRUUUUUM
It was the sound of the door getting forcefully pushed open as Nolan stepped forth inside the room, but his face instantly changed when he felt his surroundings disappear and what appeared before him was a void of space containing debris of shattered planets and stars.
The area stank of death and chaos, and a mysterious aura that cast intense fear lingered off, causing Nolan's chest to spike up.
One moment he was struggling through the eighth door, but now he was in such a haunting place.
STEP
STEP
STEP
The sound of footsteps suddenly rang out as Nolan froze in shock and slowly turned his back towards where he could feel the sound.
Immediately, his heartbeat spiked uncontrollably.
Right in front of him was a man whose physical features were none other than the one in the statue.
But right now, he was the exact height as Nolan, and in his both arms were two gigantic axes, one oozing with a blue flame while the other oozed out with dark burning flames.
His body was soaked with blood and cuts, and his emotionless eyes stared at Nolan.
In the next instant, Nolan's knee gave in, and he collapsed onto his knees.
The figure looked at him from above, and his poker face slowly disappeared, replaced by a grin that spread to his ears, as he slowly bent to Nolan, their faces just a few inches from each other.
"Become my slave! Oh, you weakling!, and have your life sparred."
In the next instant, the entire world seemed to come to a stop as the singular word buzzed repeatedly in Nolan's head.
'Become my slave!'
'Become my slave!'
'Become my slave!'
'Become my slave!'
'Become my slave!'
'Become my slave!'
"I will become a slave again, like I have always been?" Nolan asked dumbly, and even though he was looking at the man's deep red eyes, he was lost in his own world.
Incredibly slowly, the memories of his past life played in his head.
The haunting day when his fate was decided, the day his mother declared having no knowledge of who he was whatsoever.
The day he was plastered as a slave for 60 years.
The day the realization dawned on him he wouldn't be able to live until 40 let alone 60.
The day he remembered he would never be free anymore.
He had almost forgotten about those days, or maybe he really was trying to forget those days.
But now everything came sinking into his head once more.
"I should become a slave? Why? Why does it always have to be me? Why should I be cursed with slavery through two lifetimes? Why!? Why!? WHY!!? WHYYY!!!"
The thoughts haunted Nolan until his lost eyes snapped open in shock, his right crimson-colored eyes brightening up with an intense light, and in the next instant—
BOOOOOOOOOM
A powerful punch blasted onto the man's face, sending him smashing away like a cannon ball before he skidded to a stop, and his shocked eyes stared back at Nolan who stood crouched, his left eye oozing out with a crimson red light.
"Kill me if you want! I will never become yours nor anyone's slave!" he roared out, every word ringing through the collapsed void.
And slowly, he watched as the shocked expression on the man's face slowly withdrew until it was replaced by an intense devilish grin.
In the next instant, an axe soared forward towards Nolan, and he caught it within his hands.
It was the axe flaring with the red flames.
"Then fight for your freedom, even until death!" the man called out, and in the next instant, he shot forward with speed.
Without lagging behind for a single second, Nolan also burst forth with his speed, rapidly approaching the man, and ten meters away, he jumped up into the sky, both hands holding the axe right above his head, and then he slashed down with every single bit of energy within him,
"BE GONE!!!!"
A powerful roar followed by two axes clashing resounded as the entire void shook, tearing and fracturing to pieces, and in the next instant, Nolan found the entire world before him change, and right before him was the glass.
Looking behind him, a truth dawned on him.
He had crossed the entire 20 meters length of the eighth floor and his hands were now on the seventh door...
Without pausing to think about it, Nolan's hands moved and he pressed his hand on the glass, and this time, he was able to lift it open after exerting his strength, and in the next instant, he stepped in.
BOOOOOOOM
Instantly, the glass beneath Nolan's feet shattered into pieces as his body crouched onto the ground, his hands moving straight for the floor yet they stopped ten centimetres away, as veins wriggled all over Nolan's face, making him resemble a demon.
"I will not bow!!!" he roared out to none in particular, and in the next instant, the sound of bones cracking resounded as Nolan forcefully rose his back up until finally he was on his feet once more.
Taking a single step forward, the ground beneath him shattered to pieces from the monumental pressure, yet he successfully took the next and the next and the next, until he arrived at the glass door of the sixth area...