Arun appeared in the real world, and the first thing he wanted to do was scream.
He wanted to yell with every ounce of air from his lungs to wash away the terrors he felt.
But he couldn't.
His body lay motionlessly beneath the ceiling. Forget yelling; he could barely even open his eyes.
All of his sensations were intensified. A chilly wind brushed past his skin, and his sweat-drenched clothes heightened the sensation even further.
He could see everything—every corner of the room was clear to him, as if the sun was shining on a summer day.
Suddenly, he felt an itch on his arm, and he saw eerie white markings crawling up toward his neck.
Arun wanted to rub the marks away, but he couldn't move his arm.
The only thing he could do was feel.
Faint chatter from the neighborhood echoed in his ear.
A nauseating smell invaded his nostrils.
Moreover, he felt a profound sense of dread, as if something terrifying was approaching—a monstrous, terrorizing force whose arrival seemed inevitable. Nothing would stand in this force's way. Instead, it would devour the peace, destroy prosperity, and corrupt the very air he breathed.
It wasn't just a feeling; it was tangible—like a predator's gaze waiting to strike its prey.
In this gaze, Arun felt like a tiny insect hiding in a fragile shelter, one that would be destroyed with a simple wave.
Wait...
Then Arun noticed the source—a small ant scuttling beneath his sofa.
The overwhelming fear was coming from it.
I can sense its emotions? Arun realized. He tried to open his eyes, to get a better look at the creature, but his body remained paralyzed.
Is this Hive mind?
Just as he thought this, a holographic screen appeared in his vision:
[Corruption: 97%]
[Warning! You are corrupted by the sources of the Apocalypse, and part of your Soul has been corroded.]
He stared at the floating words.
This was the thing bothering him, and it was the reason for his paralysis.
He recalled his second death in that apocalyptic world, where corruption appeared for the very first time.
At the time, he had dismissed it, too focused on awakening his talent to care. Now, the consequences of his negligence were clear.
When he successfully awakened his talent, excessive energy began to corrupt his soul.
First he was confused, then suddenly transported to a desolate realm in the void, where dazzling white and blue web clashed against each other.
There, the corruption skyrocketed as if meeting its origin, a source of nourishment that elevated it to the next level.
Only then did he understand what it represented.
It displayed a health bar, a fuel that allowed an individual to access the other world.
Upon reaching 100% corruption, it would become unusable, and the consequences of such action would be eternal annihilation—permanent death.
If he ever reached 100% corruption, he would die in both reality and the other side.
This conjunction sent a shiver down his spine. Didn't that mean he had been unknowingly courting death, trying to win her over to access the Underworld?
This is bad... Really bad, Arun muttered internally.
His thoughts raced:
How can I stop this?
How do I reduce corruption?
Maybe if I just stop going back... Maybe I just need a few days to rest...
That's it... let's do it...
[ Corruption: 95%]
The rate was subsiding. Relief began to set in.
That's it. Staying in the real world can reduce the corruption.
I will not go over there.
The helplessness from the void, where his actions were stripped away from him, was a wake-up call. As his mind scrambled for a plan, he glanced at the screen again:
What should he do now?
He was sure that next time he accessed that other world, he wouldn't be alone. The insectoid would be there, along with a batch of humans for the experiment.
[Corruption: 92%]
[Warning! Apostle, the Apocalypse is calling for you, the Servant, to accomplish its task.]
What!?
Arun's heart pounded in his chest, the warning flashing brighter, almost searing his mind.
The room around him seemed to ripple, the edges of reality fraying.
He tried to resist, but his will betrayed him.
Darkness swallowed him whole, and when his vision returned, the chamber was waiting
The atmosphere was all too familiar.
A group of humans stood shackled with heavy chains.
From them, Arun could feel overwhelming fear and an acute sense of despair, begging for death to arrive. It would be their salvation from the misery they suffered.
Beside them stood that black humanoid insect, its mandibles and claws ready to strike him and harvest his soul.
From this insect, he felt hope and devotion, as well as euphoria?
This insect was full of fanatic devotion, with a yearning palpable in the air.
Suddenly, he heard a voice coming from out of nowhere. It was the same melodious female voice—the overseer of the experiment.
"Where did you come from? You smell like a fellow colleague... When did you embrace our mother?"
Startled, Arun thought to himself, Embrace your mother??? When did I do that?
Although Arun thought this in his mind, the female somehow heard him.
"Ah, so you still don't understand, do you? Mother's embrace is all around you, suffocating you with her love—her eternal love. She nurtures us, guides us, and we are all bound to her will...You can feel her desire, can't you?... It's pulsing through the air, begging you to surrender, to accept her protection. She's already inside you,We all are."
'This... I don't...'Arun was about to say, but he stopped and simply played along "Yes, I feel it..."
"You ignorant child... Why do you lie? We are all connected with Mother's mind—Forget it, I'll teach you how magnificent Mother is for now abort the experiment. We have successfully made a human one of our own."
As the voice said this, the insectoid human blurred into motion, too fast for Arun's eyes to follow.
Splat!
A head burst like a watermelon. A chest was shredded. Limbs were severed becoming dangled and useless.
The massacre was swift and horrifying.
As if the gruesome events were insignificant, the creature stopped beside Arun, gesturing toward a tunnel that seemed to be the chamber's exit.
"Why?" Arun asked, his voice trembling.
"Why did you kill them?"
"Oh, don't worry about them." the female replied casually.
"We can always get more. But you, you are something special. You've tasted her love, haven't you?"