*Boom!*
The ground rippled with unnatural intensity, vibrating under his feet as the chaos in the distance unfolded.
Antara was certain that a fight was erupting within the Black Sphere, he needed to move faster, the sketched world around him was slowly dissolving.
'So this is the Faded Strokes.'
Around him, inanimate objects moved on unnatural, human-like limbs, all twitching like grotesque imitations of life.
They muttered incoherently, their voices distant but grating. Colorless and sketched in lifeless shades, they were faint yet disturbingly vivid, each the size of a person with uncanny movements.
Antara pressed forward, his path forcing him to pass close to the strange entities.
Two objects, a chair and a shoe, lingered beside him, twitching and shaking.
"GrkKRKrkaKRKKaH..."
"WhshHHHwhshHSHHsH…"
They followed him for minutes, but they lost interest and dispersed, shuffling off to merge with the shadows.
As he moved through, he observed the bizarre scene.
Most of the objects seemed locked in their own worlds—some sat dejectedly, as if mourning a heartbreak; others pirouetted like lifeless ballerinas; a few played, aimless yet meticulous, mimicking animal gestures with eerie precision.
But one stood apart.
It lingered behind him, trailing in silence.
Unlike the others, it made no sound. It had been there since the moment he walked, and Antara could feel it—staring.
Watching.
His anxiety surged as a shiver tore through him, but he didn't dare look back, it could have consequences.
He subtly quickened his pace.
"So, you noticed."
The voice came suddenly, disembodied, and echoing faintly behind him. It moved closer, gliding beside him.
"Tsk, tsk. What a mistake."
Through his peripheral vision, Antara caught a glimpse of the object—a weathered urn.
"Hey, hey! I have a weapon that can ensnare any monster, strip them of their abilities, restrict them—bind them completely. And, oh, if you so desire, it can attack too. Deadly. Efficient."
The urn's voice pitched higher, brimming with an almost manic glee.
"But why, you may ask, am I giving this to you? Ha! Because we're the same. You and I—we share the same goal, the same fate, the same ugly face! Everything in this world is interconnected, but we—we're far closer than the rest!"
Antara didn't respond, he kept walking, his expression as blank as his resolve.
"You should talk back when someone's talking, right?"
The urn's voice turned sharp, edged with irritation, as it moved to block his path. Its hollow, unblinking eyes bore into him, affixed to a grotesque body supported by oversized human limbs.
Antara shifted seamlessly, brushing past its side as if it didn't exist.
"I'm getting angry, you know?"
A rough, monstrous hand gripped his shoulder, its strength immobilizing him completely, he couldn't move.
"Bad things might happen if you keep ignoring me."
Antara sighed, his demeanor collapsing in resignation.
"You should have talked to me from the beginning."
As he began to turn halfway toward it, the grip on his shoulder loosened ever so slightly, seizing the fleeting opportunity, adrenaline surged through his veins, igniting his muscles.
With a sudden burst of strength, he tore free and sprinted with everything he had.
Antara wove through the scattered inanimate objects, maneuvering between their grotesque forms while never daring to glance back, his sole focus was on escaping this damned place.
'That urn… it could kill me.'
A sound tore through the air, sharp and abrupt.
Before he could fully react, something massive collided with him from the side.
The urn.
It tackled him with brutal force, sending Antara hurtling through the air, his body tumbled like a ragdoll, helpless against the momentum, slamming violently into the trunk of a tree.
*Thud!*
Antara grunted.
'Damn it, that hurts.'
With ragged breaths, he looked up and saw the urn standing before him, its hands rested against one another.
"Did you think I couldn't harm you?"
Antara didn't entirely trust the woman's words, but there was truth in them—something just about the urn was truly unique.
Slowly, he pushed himself to his feet, blood trickling from his lips, their eyes met.
"Now this is the right kind of communication—eye to eye."
Antara's gaze snapped upward, shock twisting his expression as the urn mirrored his gaze, he unsheathed the dagger strapped to his belt, summoning every ounce of strength, he hurled the blade toward its eye.
*Chingk!*
The piercing ring of metal meeting an unyielding surface reverberated through the air as the dagger shattered upon impact.
Antara froze, his eyes wavered, the hilt slipped from his trembling grip, his hands throbbing with the force of the recoil, it was as though his weapon had struck something impenetrable.
'I'm doomed, aren't I?'
Antara's plan had been simple—injure it and leave this place as quickly as possible. He knew the blade Quivara had given him was sharp, capable of lethal damage. Yet, he hadn't anticipated this.
"I got tricked."
The urn scratched its head.
"I should kill you, but... I sense something in you—a lone man, with no one to distrust. Am I wrong? For that, I forgive you."
The urn continued.
"Still, it was a valiant effort, but mortals cannot harm me. Your strength is no greater than that of a slug wielding a sharp blade."
It paused, almost savoring the moment.
"Nonetheless, our paths have crossed—this must be destiny! A destiny! The variable!"
The urn's voice rumbled, as it raised its arms high.
"You're still not talking, huh?"
The urn's arms gripped Antara's shoulders tightly.
"Do you know why we are fated? Do you? Because we are the same. The same! We are believers in its counterparts! Pursuers of the improbable! Blinded by their own depravity?! How dare they?! How dare they!!!"
The urn's voice brimmed with zealous fervor.
Its hollow eyes bore into Antara, and for a fleeting moment, the urn seemed... enamored.
Antara's expression twisting into something primal, bestial. Rage simmered beneath the surface, seething and volatile. Madness flickered within his gaze, and if he could, he would have torn the urn apart with his bare hands—again and again.
"That's it! That's it! The eyes of conviction!"
The urn pointed toward the Giant Hands, where destruction occuring.
"That Monster - he's part of it, an Apostle of Depravity! Look at yourself—so small, so weak! You have nothing! Can you even grasp the otherworldly disparity between you and them? How will it change, you ask? It begins now, because I am here!"
"Fine. What do you want?"
Antara forced himself to calm down, his rage subsiding, though his ears felt as though they might bleed from the urn's fervent, overzealous declarations.
"Hohohohohoh… That's the word I've been waiting for - my companion."
It stepped back, its massive hands moving toward the open slot at its top. Slowly, it plunged one of its hands inside, the grotesque squelching sounds akin to a ravenous wolf tearing into its prey.
It pulled its hand free, the grating noise of rusted chains rang out.
"This is my finest 'Armament'. Its name will be revealed once you have formed Affiliation."
Antara stared at the chains, rusted surface shifting like the scales of a snake, the end of the chain was a point blade.
"A mortal cannot wield an Armament, but that's why I'm here! Now, touch the chain, my companion."
Antara's gaze shifted from the urn to the weapon, a deep, foreboding feeling gnawing at his instincts. Yet, there was never an option to begin with, was there? If he didn't touch it, his life would end at the hands of the urn.
"Hesitation is defeat."
Above, the colossal monster forced its massive head through the fractured sky. Half of the sketched world had already crumbled, dissolving into an endless void. The Black Sphere's chaotic battle was nearing its climax.
"Damn it."
The chains coiled around his right arm like a feral, burning serpent. It felt as though his flesh were submerged in the deepest, insidious fires, every second stretched into an hour, the pain too unbearable.
"ARGHHHHHH!"
He collapsed backward, lying flat on the ground, his gasping breaths uneven and shallow, his left hand clutched his right arm tightly, seeking even the faintest shred of relief.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Name: Antara
Affiliation: Soulmate Enhancer (Locked)
Charm: (?????)
Love Attunement: (?????)
Armaments: [◼◼◼◼◼◼]━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
[◼◼◼◼◼◼]:
[Grade |?|: (???)]
[➢ ??? ]
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
"The ritual is complete."
The urn turned its back to him.
"Climb onto my back. Time is not on our side, and the path forward is perilous. I'll guide you to the exit—my companion."