"Well," the Reaper says, "shall we get started, then?"
The moment I nod, the darkness surrounding us begins to change.
The empty black space ripples like water. A wide stone platform slowly forms beneath my feet, followed by tall pillars that stretch so far upward that I can't see where they end. Strange blue flames ignite along the edges of the platform, illuminating the area without producing any heat.
I look around in amazement.
"You can create anything you want in this place?"
"Almost anything," the Reaper replies. "This realm is connected directly to my soul. As long as I possess enough power, I can reshape it however I please."
"That seems useful."
"It is. Unfortunately, my declining power has limited what I can create."
The Reaper raises one of his skeletal hands.
A dark mist gathers above his palm before forming into a small black sphere.
"This is death energy," he explains. "It is the foundation of every ability I will teach you."
I step closer to examine it.
The sphere looks like a hole cut into reality. Even though it's small, staring at it makes my body feel cold.
"Am I supposed to touch that?"
"Eventually."
"That doesn't sound very reassuring."
The Reaper chuckles.
"Before you can use death energy, your body must become capable of containing it. A normal human body would be destroyed instantly."
"Yeah, you mentioned the whole being-torn-to-pieces thing."
"You remember well."
"It was difficult to forget."
The Reaper closes his hand, causing the sphere to disappear.
"Your physical body died in your world. What you currently possess is a spiritual body formed from your soul. It can be strengthened much faster than a living body, but the process will not be pleasant."
"How unpleasant?"
Instead of answering, the Reaper waves his hand.
A massive stone block appears several feet above me.
I barely have time to look up before it crashes down.
The weight slams me against the platform.
Every bone in my body feels as though it has shattered at the same time.
I try to scream, but I can't even draw enough air into my lungs.
The stone block disappears a few seconds later.
I remain on the ground, staring blankly at the Reaper.
"What the hell was that?"
"The beginning of your training."
"You could've warned me!"
"I did. I told you it would be unpleasant."
"There's a difference between unpleasant and crushing someone with a giant rock!"
The Reaper tilts his head.
"Would you prefer a smaller rock?"
"That isn't the point."
I attempt to stand, but my arms immediately collapse beneath me.
Strangely, the pain is already beginning to fade. I can feel my body repairing itself far faster than it should.
The Reaper watches me carefully.
"Each time your spiritual body is damaged and restored, it will become stronger. By repeating this process, you will eventually be capable of containing a small portion of my power."
"So your training plan is to repeatedly kill me?"
"You are already dead."
"You know what I mean."
The Reaper ignores my complaint and raises his hand again.
Another stone block appears above me.
This one is even larger than the first.
"You have got to be kidding me."
It drops.
For what feels like several hours, the Reaper destroys my body in every possible way.
I'm crushed beneath stones, thrown from impossible heights, struck by waves of black energy, and forced to stand inside blue flames that burn through my skin without consuming it.
Each time, my body repairs itself.
Each time, the pain becomes slightly easier to endure.
I stop screaming after what I believe is the twentieth round. Not because it hurts less, but because screaming doesn't accomplish anything.
The Reaper finally lowers his hand.
"That will be enough for now."
I lie face down on the stone platform.
"I hate you."
"That is understandable."
"How long have we been doing this?"
"Approximately sixteen hours."
I slowly lift my head.
"Sixteen hours?"
"Time functions differently here. You will spend two weeks in this realm, but almost no time will pass outside it."
"That's convenient."
"It is necessary. I cannot allow you to disappear for several weeks whenever you travel between worlds."
I force myself onto my knees.
Despite everything that happened, my body feels different.
Lighter.
Stronger.
I clench my fist.
The movement produces a faint pressure in the air around my fingers.
The Reaper notices.
"Your spiritual body has already begun adapting."
"How strong am I now?"
"Compared to an ordinary human, you are several times stronger."
"That quickly?"
"You are no longer limited by human biology. However, physical strength alone will not be enough to survive in the worlds I send you to."
The Reaper extends his hand.
A long weapon begins forming from the darkness.
A black wooden handle appears first, followed by a curved silver blade. The weapon resembles a scythe, although it is much smaller than the one normally associated with Death.
The Reaper throws it toward me.
I barely manage to catch it.
The moment my fingers wrap around the handle, a sharp pain shoots through my palm.
Black lines spread across my skin before disappearing beneath my sleeve.
"What did you just give me?"
"A soul weapon."
I examine the scythe more closely.
The blade is covered in tiny symbols that seem to move whenever I'm not looking directly at them.
"A soul weapon is connected directly to its owner," the Reaper continues. "It will grow stronger as you do. It can also be summoned or dismissed whenever you wish."
"How do I dismiss it?"
"Imagine it returning to your soul."
I focus on the scythe.
For a moment, nothing happens.
Then the weapon turns into black smoke and flows into my palm.
The strange lines briefly reappear across my skin.
I concentrate again, imagining the weapon returning to my hand.
The smoke emerges from my palm and reforms into the scythe.
"That's actually pretty useful."
"It would be embarrassing if a weapon created by Death were not useful."
"Does it have a name?"
"No."
"You created a magical scythe but didn't bother naming it?"
"Names hold power. The weapon must earn one through your actions."
That sounds unnecessarily dramatic, but I suppose magical weapons have their own rules.
The Reaper steps backward.
Another weapon forms in his hands. His scythe is much larger than mine, with a blade longer than my entire body.
"Attack me."
"You want me to fight you?"
"I need to determine whether you possess any natural combat ability."
"I've never used a scythe before."
"Then this will be educational."
The Reaper disappears.
My body moves before my mind understands what happened.
I raise my scythe just as his blade strikes.
The impact launches me across the platform.
I tumble along the stone floor before managing to stop myself.
The Reaper is already standing in front of me.
His scythe comes down again.
I roll to the side, narrowly avoiding the blade.
A deep cut appears in the stone where I was lying.
"You could actually kill me with that!"
"You are already dead."
"Stop saying that!"
I swing my scythe toward his side.
He blocks it effortlessly.
For the next several hours, I attempt to land a single hit on him.
I fail every time.
Whenever I attack, he blocks.
Whenever I defend, he breaks through.
Whenever I try to escape, he appears in front of me.
By the end of the training session, my body is covered in cuts, and my arms feel as though they're about to fall off.
The Reaper finally lowers his weapon.
"You are terrible."
"I told you I've never used a scythe before."
"That is not an excuse."
"It's a pretty good excuse."
"You hesitate before attacking. You think about every possible consequence instead of committing to your decision."
"That sounds like a good thing."
"Not in battle. Hesitation will get you killed."
"I'm already dead, remember?"
The Reaper pauses.
"I dislike it when you use my own words against me."
I smile slightly.
"I'll keep that in mind."
The Reaper dismisses his scythe.
"Your technique can be improved later. For now, we will move on to magic."
The blue flames surrounding the platform suddenly vanish.
Complete darkness returns.
I can no longer see the Reaper, the pillars, or even my own hands.
"Is the darkness necessary?"
"Yes. Death energy is easiest to sense when no other energy is present."
I hear the Reaper's voice directly in front of me.
"Close your eyes."
"They're already useless right now, but fine."
I close them.
"Focus on the space within your body. Ignore your thoughts and search for something that does not belong."
"That explanation is incredibly vague."
"Magic cannot always be explained with words."
I attempt to follow his instructions.
At first, I sense nothing.
Then I notice a faint pressure in the center of my chest.
It feels like a second heartbeat, although much slower than the first.
"I feel something."
"Focus on it."
The pressure grows stronger.
A freezing sensation spreads through my chest and travels down my arms. My fingers begin to tingle.
"Do not resist it," the Reaper says. "Allow the energy to move."
The cold reaches my right hand.
I instinctively open my fingers.
A small black flame appears above my palm.
The darkness around us immediately disappears as the stone platform returns.
I stare at the flame.
It moves slowly, almost as if it's alive.
"This is death energy?"
"A very small amount of it."
"What can it do?"
"At your current level, not much. It can weaken living creatures, damage spirits, and destroy weaker forms of magic."
"That sounds like quite a lot."
"You are only capable of producing enough to harm a small animal."
"So I can defeat an aggressive rabbit?"
"Perhaps, if the rabbit is particularly weak."
I glare at him.
The Reaper raises one finger.
A wooden training dummy appears across the platform.
"Direct the energy toward it."
"How?"
"Imagine the flame moving."
I focus on the dummy.
The black flame floats away from my palm and travels through the air at the speed of a slowly thrown ball.
It strikes the dummy's chest.
For a second, nothing happens.
Then a small black mark appears on the wood.
"That was disappointing."
"You expected to destroy it on your first attempt?"
"A little."
"You possess no patience."
"I'm supposed to create chaos across entire worlds. A tiny burn mark isn't going to frighten anyone."
"Power requires time."
The Reaper walks toward the dummy.
"When you first enter a world, most of your abilities will be restricted."
"Restricted by what?"
"The laws governing that world. Each world possesses different limitations. Some are filled with magic, while others possess almost none. Some worlds are physically stronger than your own. Others are far weaker."
"So my power changes depending on where I go?"
"To an extent. Your soul will remain the same, but the amount of energy you can use will depend on how much the world can endure."
"And what happens if I use more than it can endure?"
"You could damage the world."
"That sounds useful for creating chaos."
"It would also destroy you."
"Less useful, then."
The Reaper places his hand against the training dummy.
The black mark I created spreads across its entire body. Within seconds, the dummy collapses into ash.
"Eventually, you will be capable of doing this," he says.
"How long will that take?"
"That depends on how quickly you grow."
"And how do I grow?"
"By collecting fear."
A small symbol appears in the air between us.
It resembles a black circle surrounded by several sharp lines.
"This is the Mark of Dread," the Reaper explains. "It will be placed on your soul before you leave. Whenever a living creature fears you, the mark will absorb a portion of that emotion."
"And that emotion makes me stronger?"
"Yes. The more intense the fear, the more energy you receive. However, fear created through rumors or stories will be weaker than fear experienced directly."
"So I need people to know who I am."
"Precisely."
I stare at the symbol.
This is beginning to make sense.
I'm not being sent to randomly destroy things. I'm supposed to build a reputation.
The more terrifying that reputation becomes, the stronger I become.
"What happens if I kill everyone who fears me?"
"The fear they have already produced remains yours, but dead people cannot continue generating it."
"So killing everyone would be inefficient."
"Extremely."
"Good to know."
The Mark of Dread moves toward me.
Before I can react, it enters my chest.
A wave of pain tears through my body.
I drop to one knee as black lines spread across my skin. Unlike before, they continue climbing until they reach my neck.
Then everything stops.
A faint image appears in front of my eyes.
World Raider
Name: Shin Sasaki
Race: Human Soul
Rank: Unawakened
Dread: 0
Worlds Raided: 0
Soul Weapon: Unnamed Scythe
Abilities:
Death Energy — Level 1
Soul Weapon Summoning — Level 1
World Translation — Locked
World Gate — Locked
I blink several times.
The image remains.
"What is this?"
"A simplified representation of your soul. I designed it using ideas taken from your world."
"It looks like a game."
"I believed you would find that easier to understand."
"You were right."
I focus on the word Unawakened.
"What does my rank mean?"
"It means you have not gathered enough Dread to fully awaken the mark. Once you do, your abilities will grow considerably."
"How much do I need?"
"One thousand points of Dread."
"And how much fear does one person give me?"
"That depends on the person and the intensity of their fear. A moment of concern may produce less than one point. True terror could produce dozens."
"So I need to terrify a lot of people."
"That is the purpose of a World Raider."
The status disappears when I think about closing it.
This is starting to become more interesting than I expected.
"What is World Translation?"
"It allows you to understand and speak the languages of the world you enter."
"That seems important."
"It will activate automatically when you arrive."
"And the World Gate?"
"That ability will eventually allow you to travel between worlds without returning here. For now, I will open the gates for you."
The Reaper raises both hands.
The pillars surrounding us begin to shake.
A massive doorway forms at the far end of the platform. It is made from dark stone and covered in hundreds of glowing symbols.
A cold wind flows from the empty doorway.
"Is that the gate?"
"Yes."
"I thought I had two weeks of training."
"You do. I am merely showing you what awaits at the end."
The center of the doorway begins to shimmer.
An image appears within it.
I see a large city surrounded by stone walls. Beyond those walls are forests, mountains, and villages connected by dirt roads.
People travel in wooden carriages, while armored soldiers guard the city gates.
It looks exactly like a medieval fantasy world.
"This will be your first destination," the Reaper says.
"What is it called?"
"Elaris."
The image changes.
A castle now stands at the center of the city. Its towers rise high above the surrounding buildings, and banners displaying a golden lion hang from its walls.
"This region is controlled by the Kingdom of Asteria. It has been at peace for nearly eighty years."
"Which means the people aren't afraid of much."
"Correct."
"And you want me to change that."
"I want you to create enough fear to awaken the Mark of Dread. How you accomplish that is entirely up to you."
The image shifts again.
This time, I see a young woman standing in a dark forest.
She has long silver hair and is wearing torn clothing covered in blood. Several armored men are chasing her through the trees.
"Who is she?"
"Your first opportunity."
"What does that mean?"
"You will understand when you arrive."
The image disappears, and the gateway returns to darkness.
The Reaper turns toward me.
"For the next thirteen days, you will train your body, your magic, and your ability to use your soul weapon. When your time here is over, you will enter Elaris."
"And if I'm not ready?"
"You will enter anyway."
"Of course."
The Reaper summons his enormous scythe once again.
The blue flames surrounding the platform become brighter.
"Your break is over."
"I didn't realize I was on a break."
The Reaper disappears from my sight.
I summon my scythe just in time to block his first strike.
The impact sends cracks spreading through the stone beneath my feet, but this time, I remain standing.
The Reaper pauses.
"Better."
I tighten my grip on the scythe.
For the first time since my death, I feel something I thought I had lost.
Excitement.
Thirteen days from now, I'll enter another world.
A world filled with magic, kingdoms, and people who have no idea what is coming.
I smile.
"Let's continue."
END OF CHAPTER 2