Up until now all Konrad had known was a great big fog. Everything unclear, only driven by the actions of others. This great fog had covered most of the beliefs and opinions that would have formed. Thus, Konrad could only struggle against his illusions. He held a dreamscape right in his hand - and then it was lost.
A hideous behemoth walking close by - its terrible weight shaking the earth beneath it. A ravaging landscape hoping to whistle out the last living hopes. A wasteland that deems each survivor unfit for its surface. It was a terrible place - and Konrad had believed his way out was right before him - a place that was not the facility, a place that did not have any Church Lords - it was his own perfect imagined freedom.
But O, freedom never comes to those who wish for it. But perhaps that is only in the realm of humans... for in the realm of deities, where the borders of science and magic intersect, becoming the same. There nothing named impossible exists, merely a weakness upon their powers. A concept such as freedom - if only there was a god powerful enough to grant it. In this world, there is no promise of freedom.
No matter his determination, if not even the deities were powerful enough - who were. But where there is light, there is dark. And where there is power and weakness, there is ambivalence. A thorn or prick in the road, and a God that follows nothing at all.
A clinching, horrible feeling clawing upon his chest, like the prickly souls of half a hundred rotting souls had culminated in his body. A sharp pain leaking from his head down his spine. A horrendous feeling as the fog slowly evaporates, and a world of nature comes forth.
[ The Contract of Aphaim activates... ]
A blindness that was upon, slowly faded. He could see his rotting body once more. He could in juxtaposition see the beautiful vivid nature around him. And only then, when he could no longer see the wasteland - could he finally see a city.
'Then why couldn't I see it!?'
The city was not even far away. It was right before his eyes. No illusion could make this disappear - maybe invisible, but not completely. This was a real authentic city, nothing could take that away from him. Had all his life been a lie? For sure the Church Lords had had their reasons for lying about the cities, but how come? How come a city was stood right before him - with walls as tall as trees, with buildings as large as mountains.
He could not help himself from going up to wall and caressing it. It was the first time he had seen something constructed by humans in a long time. It was the first time he had felt comfort in a long time. He was encompassed by the gentle comfort of the stone wall - infused by all sorts of metals no doubt.
And right from behind a strange leapt at him. A blunt force struck at the base of his head, and Konrad was knocked unconscious without a moments notice. He had been defenceless, nothing could stop it...
***
With drowsy eyes Konrad awoke standing in the middle of a room. It was netted on all sides except a large wooden door, reinforced with metals. The floor was covered in sand and the roof was shining with far too bright lights. The room must have been larger than most facilities, but the section surrounded in net couldn't have been larger than a house.
Seeing humans for the first time since his journey began he couldn't help but feel a bit elated - even though these humans would shout and laugh rabidly like feral dogs. He would hear it in an unfamiliar language - or perhaps he just couldn't understand these terms.
"I betted on the Epsilon! He's gonna win me some Durs!", this man had both his arms waving at the air, signifying to the Epsilon to fight with all his might. "Last guy was shredded apart by this fella, he couldn't even stand half a minute running around in the cage. So I got a safe bet, why bet on the human I mean..."
'What? Who's the Epsilon?'
"Ah, there the bastard comes...", said one of the other men, a little less excited for what was to follow. "Ugh..."
Epsilon entered through the gates. A creature which could only be described as a huge venomous insect - with clawed mandibles, jet black chitin scales along its body. It looked like the combination of a humanoid creature and an insect. It dwarfed in comparison to the behemoth - but its horrible insect like face which only could be compared with human intellect... It made it a terrifying beast to be up against.
Eight legs, like a spider. Four arms like a praying mantis. Huge clawed mandibles like an ant. A terrible combination - this creature was unlike the other rotting creatures. It possessed some kind of intellect, but even force than that? It had defence, scales of chitin similar to his own blade. If he could not slice through it, what could he do.
[ Epsilon-1 Project of Rot ]
"Greetings..." said Konrad in a weak voice, not having spoken for a long while. "I don't think I'm supposed to be here..."
Then the crowd would become rowdy, yelling in excitement, "Kill him! Kill him!" This was human nature at its worth - entertainment.
He would attempt to converse - but when he heard the horrible insect screech to his side, boring into his ears with the most horrible of noises. He knew he had to do something...
"Ah come on! I didn't even try to use the Contract... What? Am I always going to have bad luck?"
...
Both partners of the underground battle would engage in focus - knowing that each only had one objective, to survive. The creature of the rot would not have the same line of thought - or so he thought. It was being intelligent, not attacking straight away. The cheers in the background only made him want to fight less and less - but the second he decided to flee, the horrible insect leapt at him...