Am I going insane?
Vincent twisted and turned. All around him were ruins; crumbled and damaged buildings that appeared spherical and made out of metal and glass. The scene was apocalyptic, the sky had no birds, and the air smelled like exhaust and smoke.
That, and a lot of buildings were on fire, hot and heavy with black flames.
Was that the unknown condition? Getting teleported to a random place? No, it probably involved that champion bullshit.
Jesus Christ! What kind of condition is that?!
There was black fire! What the hell even caused black fire?! Was there an Itachi going around, burning shit for fun?!
Realistically, it was probably a chemical reaction or… Vincent thought about the fact he was teleported there. Or something far more sinister.
Black flame caused by a chemical reaction or magic black flames. Both sound shitty for me!
Am I in the middle of a damn war? I could get caught up in it…
Vincent facepalmed himself. Well, I expected something really bad from accepting the condition… And I got something far more insane.
Kinda added up.
Okay… But what if this was a hallucination? I mean, reality or mind games, it had to be the latter.
Vincent touched the weird ground; the rough sand marked his hand. And he could smell the acrid smell of chemicals and smoke, and feel the hot flames licking his skin. Every single one of his senses matched the environment.
There went his damn hope. And he didn't have his phone on him to contact that weirdo.
Vincent honestly didn't know how to feel. He was happy that he was alive and wasn't getting killed. But… one of his goals wasn't simply to get somewhere safe.
Vincent's other goal was to eventually see his family again. He wanted to apologize for his sudden disappearance. Gervio made it impossible for him to contact them, after all.
It was clear to Vincent that his goal was impossible due to his predicament.
"I am never going to see my family, friends, or home again, am I? Instead, I am going to die in this damn world."
So much for a world of freedom. Vincent guessed he was technically free since he wasn't on Earth anymore.
Vincent started moving. The limp didn't even return! It was amazing! He couldn't help but smile at his right leg.
Two years of limping because of Gervio, gone just like that.
When Vincent thought of all that bastard did to him, a part of him actually wished Gervio would appear in this world, so he could find him, and kill him. After all, Gervio would have no friends or influence to help him, and hopefully no gun.
Whatever, nothing could be done about it. That bastard was now a statue back on Earth. That was good to know at least.
It was one thing for a person to die, it was a second thing for them to have a humiliating death, or better yet if he wasn't actually dead, and instead was just suffering.
Vincent smiled at that prospect.
Okay, back to moving. Vincent had to at least get to a shelter so he wouldn't get caught up in whatever the hell was going on here.
He looked around and set his eyes on a damaged building with an entrance and made his way into it.
It was one of the few that weren't on fire.
Vincent walked across long sheets of broken glass and torn-apart black metal that lay in front of the building.
As he walked, Vincent thought about everything that occurred and was occurring.
What if he didn't throw the meth package? Then what? He would be stuck in the same cycle of selling drugs and getting beaten up.
Was there really no better option? Was getting teleported to this ruined world… really the only one?
Vincent's mind kept replaying the events that took place, and he fell upon an answer. Yes, it was the only option. If he didn't accept the condition, he would be dead.
When Vincent entered the building, he was met with mostly darkness and a trashed place. It was hard to maneuver around due to the massive pipes and beams laying all over.
"Hello...?" he said in a low voice to alert anyone.
Vincent thought that if there were aliens here, there was no way they could understand English anyway. As he moved about, he passed weird furniture. There were some shaped like an egg with a flat surface on top—all torn apart.
The rotten smell of flesh and blood didn't make it any better. Whatever had gone through the building wasn't human, probably something in a frenzy. The disgusting smell did confirm that people had been here. But Vincent doubted any person was currently hoarding this place unless they lacked a nose or wanted to take a risk with getting a disease.
He didn't want to be killed by surprise or anything, so he kept looking around—hoping to find a weapon. Just to be armed, he picked up a meter-long pipe that was rusted and bent.
A minute passed and Vincent came across nothing. Suddenly, he had a flash of black with random visions—pointing him towards something. He recognized the deathly chill, which caused the hair on his body to stand on end.
"You can see me, can't you?" Vincent said, referring to the mysterious caller. "If so, can you explain what the hell is your deal?"
There were no visions or anything. This damn bastard was ignoring him again. Well, whatever it wanted him to do was clearly bad news, Vincent thought. He decided to ignore it.
Then he took a look at the skeleton and the black flames that covered many buildings. How long was it going to take for him to get caught up in whatever destroyed this place? Whoever or whatever was responsible for such destruction wouldn't show him mercy, there was no doubt about that.
He needed to be prepared. But what if he was being lured to danger? There was a possibility, but Vincent doubted it. It wanted him to be its 'champion' after all. Even if he didn't understand what it meant exactly, he knew one thing: it wanted him alive, for now at least. It was an extreme gamble, but so was waiting to be caught up in some sinister war.
Vincent got up and followed the directions. It was in the same building and near the wall. He climbed over some broken columns, nearly slipping and falling in the process. It didn't take him long to reach the location.
In front of him, a blue light shone a glitchy blue aura on a treasure chest.
Eh? Please don't tell me it wants to give me money, Vincent thought. What the hell am I going to do with it when I am not on Earth?!
He took a deep breath in, trying to calm himself down. Hopefully, it was something that would help him survive here. Needless to say, he opened the lid, and what was inside raised confusion in him.
It was a sword. A long silver sword. The chest box was maybe ¾ of a meter long, yet a sword about 80 centimeters long sat in it.
Oh. I think this thing is a lootbox, Vincent thought.
It was weird. Inside the lootbox was a deep white space that appeared like it belonged to a different dimension. Vincent drew the sword and stared at it. Weapons and magic lootboxes couldn't just be lying around here for no reason. It must be to help fight whatever was in this world.
Why did I end up in this absolute shithole of a situation? Vincent thought.
He swung the sword up and down, trying to get a feel for its weight. It wasn't too heavy. The weight felt just about right.
"Got anything other than this? Maybe a staff that shoots ice balls?" Vincent asked, hoping the caller would respond back, but instead, he got a croak from nearby.
A shiver ran down Vincent's spine along with a truly dreadful feeling. It sounded like a lion on the verge of death mixed with the cries of a toddler.
Vincent slowly turned to his left and looked down, where the mountains of debris were piled. Under it, a red boney humanoid creature screeched. It glared at him and made ugly movements with its jaw.
Vincent stared, his blood running cold. He took a step back until his back hit the wall of the building.
What the hell is that thing? Vincent thought.
The creature's screeches grew louder and more vicious along with its movements. It desperately tried dragging itself off the debris, screeching in pain because it was tearing its body in the process. The creature's clawing of the floor and the ripping sounds of its flesh reverberated throughout the room—a disgusting symphony that made Vincent want to puke his guts out!
This thing was insane! It was willing to rip itself apart just to kill him?! A deep fear ran across Vincent's body, but in that exact second, he gripped his sword so tight, his palm turned red.
I have to kill it now, Vincent thought.