As I went through the hatch, I found myself in a narrow space plunged into darkness. It was the building's storage compartment, a small section hidden between two levels, used to store emergency supplies such as medical materials, tools, and other similar items.
This place was supposed to have another hatch that would allow access to the third floor, but the problem was…
"Where could it be?"
Due to the complete lack of light, it was impossible for me to find it.
"…..Cube, can you light up?"
[…?]
"Like in the cave, when you shone like a flashlight, can you do that now?"
[Ah… right, for a moment I thought you were referring to something else.]
"Something else?"
[Nothing important.]
"But…"
[Nothing important.]
"...Okey."
I decided that, at least for now, it would be best to ignore the cube's strange behavior, under the pretext that I barely had time to think about my next move and couldn't afford to waste even a single second.
[Activating flashlight function]
BEEP.
The cube began to glow with a powerful white light that illuminated every corner of the storage room.
"Mmm…"
"!...!"
Thanks to the light emitted by the cube, it didn't take long for me to find the hatch, which appeared above me on the ceiling, less than a meter away from the first hatch I had come through.
"Bingo."
I moved… or rather, crawled toward it.
-Damn, this place is ridiculously small. There's a serious flaw in the design of this escape route.
I thought as I kept crawling.
I was starting to understand why these kinds of ladders barely existed anymore. In fact, it would make sense to think that, in the event of an evacuation, a superhuman would find it much easier to jump to another building than to move through here.
I was just about to leave, but before I could place my hands on the hatch, something on the wall caught my attention.
"Huh?"
It was a small blinking green light, almost imperceptible as it was hidden behind several boxes.
"What is that little light?"
[…]
"Cube…?"
[I don't know…]
"What? What do you mean you don't know?"
[…]
"Can't you scan it?"
[I'm trying, but…]
[I can't identify anything.]
"…How?"
It was strange, not only because the cube didn't know the origin of that light, but also because, until now, I hadn't seen any other lights in the entire building. In fact, for a moment I thought the electrical system had collapsed or something.
"Well…"
I approached the wall and removed the boxes that were in the way.
Behind them was the source of that flickering light.
"What is this?"
It was a kind of plastic card attached to the wall, covered in strange symbols engraved on its surface and, of course, with that small embedded light.
[No idea.]
"Mmm…"
[Looks like an access card. Maybe it's a key to something.]
"Whatever…"
I brought the card closer to the cube.
[…?]
"Can you store this?"
[Store it?]
"Yes, like with the weapons."
[Well, I can… but why?]
There was something about that card that stirred feelings in me just by looking at it. Maybe it was simple curiosity about its origin, or perhaps… this card was hiding something more.
I held it under the cube's light as I examined it in silence. It was heavy despite its size. It didn't seem to be made of cardboard, nor metal. It was something else. It felt like touching compressed air, forced into the rigid shape of a card.
[Mr. Robert]
"…"
"Just… do it, please."
[…..Alright.]
Beep.
"I'll figure it out later…"
It was time to move on, so I positioned myself beneath the hatch and, right after unlocking it, it slowly opened downward, descending onto me as there was nothing to stop it.
"…"
Without saying a word, I climbed up to the third floor.
....
...
…
Ru'valdrix.
***
"…"
I raised my head through the hatch, cautiously checking the surroundings to make sure the place was safe.
"Huh…?"
But then… I'm not sure what happened.
One moment, I was suddenly standing outside the storage room.
"What the hell…?"
It was extremely dark, much more than in the storage room.
The light created by the cube could barely illuminate a small range around me, but it was enough to clearly make out the details of the place I was in.
It was a room with a structure similar to the office on the second floor, but unlike that one, this room was filled with a strange violet substance with a viscous appearance that covered both the floor and the walls.
It's worth noting that, despite its appearance, the substance felt as solid as concrete. And if you looked at it closely, you could easily find shapes that resembled… faces screaming in agony?
From the depths of my heart, I can say without a doubt that this has been the most terrifying place I've been in today.
BEEP.
[Assigned missions
Code: 78956129999
-Detect the dimensional rift that has distorted the space around the building.
-Seal it using the stigma seal.
-Eliminate the Category 1 Ka'li roaming the upper floors.
Extra condition:
-Reach the rooftop when finished.]
"Missions… that means this is the third floor."
[Yes, that is correct.]
"Ah… alright."
I turned my head repeatedly, trying to identify possible routes I could take, and that's when I noticed…
"Where's the hatch?"
The door I had just escaped through had disappeared.
"Where? Where did it go?"
[What do you mean?]
the cube asked.
"The hatch, what else would I be talking about?"
[I see… well… yes, it apparently disappeared. That tends to happen.]
"But how?"
[Who knows, there are plenty of reasons.]
"Bu… but… agh, whatever."
Dwelling on that mystery would only be a waste of time. I decided to set it aside and continue with what I was doing.
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
I took three steps forward, but I couldn't bring myself to take a fourth.
"…"
I stood still for a few seconds. I was afraid, and I didn't want to feel that way. That's why I needed a moment to breathe and calm my mind before… before facing whatever was waiting for me on this floor.
Sigh.
Kriiiee…
"¡...!"
-What was that?
[… I don't know.]
"Scanner…"
BEEP.
Instinctively, I asked the cube to scan the area.
[Mmm…]
"Is everything alright?"
[Yes…]
"...You don't sound convincing."
[It's just that…]
[Sometimes I have trouble detecting anomalies.]
"Huh? Are you serious?"
[Yes… I'm sorry I didn't tell you this before.]
"But… you were able to see the entity earlier, right?"
[That was different.]
"In what way?"
[This floor is completely flooded with interdimensional forces, which makes it almost impossible for me to detect any threat unless it is just a few meters away from my position.]
"That… doesn't sound good at all…"
I was about to sink into a deep wave of discouragement when the cube spoke.
[Do not worry, Mr. Robert.]
[At least for now, I can assure you that there is no danger in this area.]
"How can you be sure of that?"
[If there were an entity or a Ka'li near this room, you would have heard it quite easily.]
"…"
[And as you can see, nothing has happened… so far.]
"...Great."
As for the cube's words, I couldn't complain, but I couldn't celebrate either.
I moved through the room, then stepped out into the hallway, and continued forward.
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
The sound of my footsteps echoed loudly, like a reminder of the very solitude I was going through.
"There's too much silence."
[It seems so.]
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
"Mmm…"
[Is something wrong?]
"No, it's just… this place is terrifying… what is that thing stuck to the walls?"
[What?]
"You know, what's all over the hallway."
[What are you talking about? I can't distinguish anything in this hallway.]
"You can't see it?"
[I cannot distinguish it. I already told you about the difficulties caused by interdimensional forces affecting my scanner. That is why I cannot differentiate between what should be normal and what is not.]
"I see… well, this floor looks like something out of a cheap horror movie."
[Please be more specific.]
"Everything is covered in something viscous… but not really viscous."
[More specific.]
"They look like faces…"
[What?]
"Some parts look like faces screaming. Do you think that's a problem, or am I just imagining it?"
[…]
[I'm not sure, but just in case, check it.]
"…Dagger."
I summoned the smallest and easiest weapon to handle. It appeared in my hands the moment I said its name.
I knelt down, placing one knee on the ground, and slowly brought the blade closer to the substance.
Kriiiiiiiiig!
"Huh?"
The instant the tip of the blade sank into it, the substance violently contracted, releasing a wet, tearing sound from within.
Faced with that sudden reaction, my mind could only scream at the top of its lungs.
-Oh shit!
¡¡KRIIIIIG!!
Suddenly, a sharp pillar made of the same substance burst out from the ground and lunged straight toward my forehead at high speed.
CLACK!
I barely managed to react in time and deflect it with the dagger, but I knew that wouldn't be enough.
"Axe!"
I had to respond.
The moment the weapon appeared in my hand, I swung it at the substance, splitting the violet pillar into two halves with a single strike.
KRRRIIIIG!
But that action only made my situation worse.
KRRIIIIIAAAAAAGG!
Formed from the same substance that covered every corner of the hallway, countless humanoid-shaped beings began to emerge from it.
"Oh no…"
In front of me, faceless beings armed with sharp teeth and massive claws rose from the depths of that violet mass, with the sole purpose of tearing my body apart.
"Cube…"
[I'm not entirely sure, but… I think the substance itself is an entity.]
"Ah, great, sooo… what do you recommend I do?"
Kriiiiiaaaag!
[Run.]
KRRRIAAAAG!
I started running as fast as I could while those horrifying beings kept pace with me.
I couldn't fight all of them, I didn't know where to go, and I could barely see. From any perspective, I was screwed.
"¡…!"
And as if things couldn't get worse, the entire hallway began to twist, as if it were trying to make me fall.
"Damn it… I can't… I can't anymore…"
I was getting tired, not physically, but mentally. I felt something inside me consuming me as I struggled to take one more step.
krrrriiiaaag!
Once again, I heard those horrible sounds, but this time they were different, more distant. It was as if those entities had chosen to let me go.
"…Heh."
But before I could even feel a hint of relief, a monster appeared out of nowhere right in front of me.
¡¡¡KRRIIAAAAAG!!!
It swung its claws at me. If it had hit, it would have ripped my stomach open effortlessly.
"AAAH!"
Luckily, I reacted in time, driving my axe into its neck before its claws could reach me.
"…Ngh!"
It wasn't easy. The creature's skin was as hard as concrete, or at least that's what it felt like.
-Not yet… I need to use more power.
Using all my strength, I swung the axe again, and this time the blade went through its neck, decapitating it.
Tac… tac.
Its body and head fell to the ground without showing any sign of resistance or life.
"I… I did it."
Kriiaaaag.
As I struggled to catch my breath, the corpse suddenly melted, dissolving back into the substance covering the floor. The grotesque scene nearly made me vomit.
"Agh… that's disgusting… huh?"
That violet mass began to contract… in a disturbingly familiar way.
"¡...!"
And then I remembered.
I had seen this before.
Fiiussh.
Another pillar shot up from the ground. If I hadn't reacted in time, it would have pierced my chin and gone straight through my brain.
Kriiiaaag.
But apparently, I wasn't allowed even a single moment of relief, because the instant I dodged that attack, both the ceiling and the walls began reacting the same way the floor had earlier…
"Sh—!"
Pillars burst out from every direction, lunging at me with the intent of turning my body into a human pincushion.
CRASH!
BOOM!
Every attack I dodged slammed into the walls with overwhelming force, unleashing deafening impacts that shook my concentration.
Slash!
That brief distraction was enough for me to get injured in the side of my abdomen while barely avoiding one of the many attacks.
-Shit, shit, SHI—
"¡…!"
What a mistake… because of my own stupidity, I failed to notice the sharp pillar heading straight toward my face at dangerous speed.
-…..I'm an idiot.
Time around me slowed down as I forced my mind to think of some solution to get me out of this situation, but nothing came to mind. To begin with, my posture was terrible: I was standing on one foot, maintaining my balance to dodge another pillar that was trying to pierce my leg. Because of that, I had no point of support that would allow me to evade the next strike. On top of that, there was the fact that this pillar was already, at the very least, less than five centimeters away from piercing my forehead.
-There has to be something, a solution, anything…
I did it wrong.
I made a mistake.
If I had been more careful, maybe… no.
…..No, no, no, no, NO!
I was thinking the wrong way. I had felt it for a while now. I had to stop… stop thinking.
What am I doing?
Why am I doing this?
You must cling to something, a purpose.
Your heart and mind must be in sync.
You must help the hero.
You must survive.
That's what I want… that's what I want to achieve right now…
That is my caprice…
...…
....
…
MAKRATIZ
FFFUUUUAAAASSSH!
Dark rays burst from my body in all directions, destroying everything in their path.
Kriiieeeeeg!!
This agitated the substance, causing it to create even more pillars and beasts that lunged at me with murderous intent.
KRIEE….!!
But before their attacks could reach me, I cut them down. I cut every single one of their attempts to kill me.
"Sword…"
I wielded the axe and the sword fiercely while being backed by those sinister black rays.
KRIIEEEG….!
SLASH!
One of those beasts tried to attack me from behind, but the rays held it back just long enough for me to turn and destroy it with a precise strike from both weapons.
Not bad.
A mysterious voice, coming out of nowhere, echoed in my head, but I didn't get distracted, because I knew who it belonged to.
-Specter…
It was that mysterious being with the appearance of a king wrapped in darkness.
It seems your heart has begun to break free. Well done.
-…Thank you.
Krriiieeeeg!
Slash!
-You're the one launching the rays, right?
-Thank you very much.
Fffuuuaaaasssssh.
It is not me who does it.
It is you.
-How is that possible?
There are things that only happen when your entire being clings to a purpose… but in your case, it is a caprice.
-….Great.
SLASH!
I must admit that, somehow, it wasn't difficult to hold a conversation with the specter while continuing to fight.
BOOM!
Though I couldn't say it was easy either.
KRIIIEEEEGG!!
Soon, I found myself overwhelmed by the consistency of their attacks.
-Damn…
I knew it wouldn't take long before the substance found an opening in my defense, so I started running.
KRRRIIIEEEGG!!!
I moved through the hallway, fleeing from the attacks while destroying every obstacle in front of me.
SLASH!
I intended to find a place where there were no traces of that horrible purple mass, but over time, I began to think this hallway had no end.
-Cube, can you see any area where the substance isn't present?
[Negative. According to my scan, the entity is present in every part of the third floor.]
The cube's words sounded discouraging at first, but then I realized something.
-Entity… this thing is an entity?
[Correct.]
-If that's the case, then…
"!"
I stopped, since there was no need to keep running.
KRRIIEEEG!
Once again, I fought the forms of the substance.
I dodged each pillar attack with precision.
I cut down the bodies of the beasts.
And apparently, I was launching rays that struck in every direction.
I kept fighting for a couple more minutes, waiting for the entity to give in.
KRRIIEEEG!!!
I used the axe to block a pillar aimed at my side, but the force of the impact was so overwhelming that I was forced to let go of the weapon before my wrist broke.
From now on, I could only use the sword.
-Just a little more…
CLANCK!
-I had to endure…
SLASH!
-Just one more second…
BOOM!
The substance had reached a point where its attacks no longer followed any pattern. Now it just threw everything it had at me, trying to overwhelm me… and it was succeeding.
CLANCK!
Soon, not even the rays were enough to stop the wave of horrifying beasts charging at me, which forced me to move even faster and swing the sword with even greater force.
-One second…
KRIIIEEEEEG!
-Just one more…
SLASH!
-PLEASE!
CLANCK!
I lost the sword. I couldn't maintain my grip after blocking the slash of one of the dozens of beasts that wanted to kill me.
"DAGGER!"
BEEP.
At that moment, when I was about to be crushed by the weight of every blow launched by that substance, I threw the dagger. It flew at a surprisingly slow speed. In fact, from an external perspective, my action could be considered a bad throw. But none of that mattered anymore, because this dagger was loaded with a strong purpose.
The desire to survive, to win, to save, to return home—all of it resonated within me at the moment I threw the dagger, and now those desires empowered it.
That might sound foolish, but both my mind and my heart told me it was true, so I clung to that idea. And of course, there was also that whim—the one that wished with all its might for the dagger to pierce the skull of one of the beasts, specifically the largest one.
What was the reason behind this?
Well… I thought it would look cool.
Wooossshh!
Even while in mid-air, the dagger was claimed by the darkness—the same darkness that moments ago had been protecting me. Now it enveloped it, forging a mantle of absolute void that devoured its form and expanded its steel until it became a weapon twice its original size.
Driven by my own will, the dagger multiplied its speed in an absurd way, and with that, the weapon finally pierced the beast's skull.
BAAAAM!
But it didn't stop there. It kept moving forward, destroying the inside of its skull before exiting through the back of its head, and then crashing into the body of the substance on the wall.
KKKRRRRRIIIIEEEGGG!!!
What happened after that can only be described with one word… chaos.
BOOM!!!
Without anyone being able to foresee it, the substance adopted an extremely aggressive behavior against everything around it. It was as if that violet mass had suddenly lost its sanity… if it ever had any.
Its body began to twist erratically, smashing against the walls and itself with such violence that every impact made the entire hallway tremble.
KRIEEEG!
At that moment, its actions were not driven by anger, much less by hatred. Just hearing one of its horrifying screams, similar to that of an animal in agony, was enough to deduce that the substance felt nothing but pure pain at its highest expression.
Krieeg… egg…
Out of respect, and perhaps compassion, I decided to show it mercy and give it the same treatment I would give to an animal going through the same condition.
Tap… tap.
I advanced a couple of meters through the hallway until I came face to face with one of the weapons I had lost. It was the axe, lying calmly on the ground without a single scratch on its structure.
Tak.
I picked up the weapon and, without saying a single word, retraced my steps, heading toward the few remains of the substance that were still moving.
Kriiiee… iiieeeg…
"….."
SLASH!
I swung the axe and, with a precise strike, the substance met its end after being cut one final time. What little remained of its body spread across the floor, losing all trace of "life."
...
And that was how our battle ended. The substance had died and, apparently, it took with it all the beasts and spikes it had created with the intention of killing me. They melted like flesh incapable of holding its own form, yielding to an invisible heat, collapsing into themselves until they fused into that violet mass spread across the floor, where their remains, with each passing second, lost their color until they turned into a dead gray, identical to the ashes left behind by a fire once it has burned out completely.
"Aaaah… aaah…"
I had won. That was the first thought I had when I caught my breath. I didn't feel tired, much less injured, but I knew very well that my body had to be on the verge of collapse at that moment. If it hadn't been for the adrenaline rush, I wouldn't have been able to do even half of what I did in that dreadful hallway.
"BRruuauaag…!"
That perfectly illustrated my point: I had just vomited a large stream of blood, showing just how messed up my body was.
"….."
-Damn…
"!"
At that moment, as I unconsciously watched my blood spread freely across the floor, I noticed what the substance had been covering beneath its horrifying mass.
"Th… thaa… what is that?"
[Yes.]
[That is a corpse.]
In front of me lay the lifeless body of a person.
Glup.
This person… their body, everything about it, was destroyed, as if someone had taken the time to break each one of their bones with precision, while draining every last drop of fluid from them, leaving nothing but an empty shell.
"What the hell happened to this man?"
I must admit that, if it weren't for his face and the agonizing expression distorting it, it would have been much harder for me to identify what species he belonged to. There was something deeply "human" in that expression, something that reflected the terror this person must have felt.
"Eeek…"
I had seen that kind of expression before, a long time ago… maybe five years back.
[According to my scan, I can conclude that this superhuman suffered the same fate as the others.]
"The same?… Ah!"
Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed something… something that gave meaning to the cube's words. It wasn't just one corpse. The hallway I had been moving through was filled with lifeless bodies, all of them in the same disturbing and deplorable state.
"…..Why?"
[It appears that the entity was using the energy from their bodies to evolve.]
"Evolve…"
[Yes. This entity could be considered at least a grade 2, but if it had more time, it would have reached grade 4 without any difficulty.]
"….Wait, isn't this what they're doing to the sundrel below?"
[Correct.]
"Ah, good, good, good, good, good….."
"…"
[Mr. Robert.]
"Yes?"
[Well done.]
"What?"
"You're congratulating me? Why?"
[What do you mean 'why'?]
[You just defeated at least a category 2 entity. That deserves praise.]
[Well done.]
The cube said in a surprisingly cheerful tone.
The way it said it sounded a bit silly, but it was right. This substance… I mean, entity… was much stronger than the one on the lower floor. Being able to defeat it was enough proof that, somehow, I was becoming stronger.
"Ah, yeah, thanks, Cube. Although, if I hadn't known it was an entity, I would have…"
-I would have died.
Glup.
I remembered the words the cube told me when we were on the lower floor, while fighting that three-armed entity:
Just strike it and let the necronian steel snuff out its lights.
That's where the idea that shaped my plan came from—to hit it without stopping, without thinking, until the entity stopped moving.
[You did very well… but you still have to complete the mission.]
"The mission… ah… right… how much… how much time do I have left?"
[13 minutes.]
"13 minutes?!"
[Yep.]
"Damn it, I need to find that damn rift."
I was about to rush off to complete all my missions, but before I could—
ROOOAAAAARG.
The sound of a distant roar made me reconsider the idea of running blindly in the dark without knowing where I was going.
"Cube…"
BEEP.
[Now that the substance's lights have been extinguished, the influence of interdimensional forces on this floor has decreased. Thanks to that, my scanner has better clarity than before.]
"Ah… that sounds great. So, can you tell me what's over there?"
I said while pointing toward where the roar came from.
BEEP.
[There are five in total.]
"Five?!"
[All of them are category 1 entities. They are weaker than the substance and should be at the same level as the entity that used to roam the second floor.]
"Okay…"
I retraced my steps.
I picked up the sword from the ground and pulled the dagger that was still deeply embedded in the wall.
Sigh.
A lot was going through my mind. What I saw here had affected me deeply, and that scared me, because if I hesitated now, if I made even the slightest mistake, I would perish.
The only thing I could be sure of was that, if my heart and mind aligned at a single point, my will would allow me to endure every blow from any threat lurking in the darkness.