Just as Tintless passed through the portal, Captain Benu, with his body covered in the shimmering blue light of the Nexus Portal, said, "Gal, are you sure about this? Can we trust the boy?"
Standing behind him, Commander Gal, with his thick mustache, remained silent as he stared at the portal, watching it slowly shut.
With the room now in total darkness, he answered in his deep voice, "Whether or not we can trust him at this point is irrelevant. He has already entered the Nexus Abyss. We can only hope he makes it back with the Supreme Nightmare Core or aids others in doing so."
Having said that, he turned to leave, and upon stepping through the doorway, he stopped and, from the corner of his eye, looked at the silent dark figure of Captain Benu.
"As for the former, judging by your outstanding actions, I would say you concur with my plan, Captain."
Left alone with those words, Captain Benu slowly looked at his right hand. Due to the faint blue light that slipped through the doorway, he could still see faint bloodstains.
"Purpose."
He repeated the colorless boy's words before muttering to himself, "Old friend, is this what you had to endure being our captain?"
...
Thud!
With a slight tap, Tintless, clad in a tight grey T-shirt and baggy gray pants, landed in the new environment: the Nexus Abyss.
It was the first time he wore anything on his body—clothing was a luxury only the rich could afford—and at the moment, he would have started fantasizing about how good he looked. However, his eyes were stunned by the environment that greeted him.
He stood on a hill whose sides were wrapped in roots, and below him were an assortment of flowers arranged in orderly patterns, circling the tall hill.
To his left, daisies with their rich white petals and brown centers sat firm. Right next to them were the roses, then came the yellow-petaled sunflowers, and finally, at the right end, were the Quincys.
They all bloomed under the magnificent radiant sunlight that shone from the clear blue sky.
'These flowers are as big as a grown man.' Tintless was stunned.
Lifting his head and staring into the distance, he noticed that he was on an island ridden with the gigantic flowers.
He traced the lapping waters on the shore and, with some effort, made out another island in the distance.
It appeared to be a huge mountain with ragged edges, and on either side of it were large ships tilted on their sides.
'What kind of man drives his ship straight into a mountain?' he sarcastically thought.
Then his thoughts turned serious as he recalled the contents of the information he received prior to entering the portal.
'The Nexus Abyss, a pocket universe unlocked by the Nexus Key, is a universe of otherworldly species and landscapes that obey the will of the wielder for twenty years.
And so, the species in here will try to stop me from obtaining the Supreme Nightmare Core, which should be, if I recall correctly, located in the direction where the sun sets.'
With the sun looking all young and hanging firmly in the clear blue sky behind him, he could tell it was just about morning here, and as such, he had more time to prepare for the coming journey.
He knew exactly what to do.
He sat down, and with a simple thought, radiant colors appeared, forming a rectangular screen.
[ THE EQUILIBRIUM SYSTEM
1. Emotional Balance Interface
2. Core Shards
3. Host Status
4. Target Scan ]
Ignoring the first and second options, for he had never understood their contents no matter how hard he tried, he went for option three.
[ HOST STATUS
Host Name: Tintless
Host Title: The Mole
Body Evolution: 80% Dimension 1 Being
Energy Level: 38%
1. Faculty ]
After a while of contemplating when the spaces of name and title were filled, as well as how awful the title was, he opened up the Faculty section.
[ FACULTY
INTRINSIC FACULTY;
1.Strength (Grade 4
2.Speed (Grade 4)
SPECIAL FACULTY;
1.Elastic Body (Grade 3) (Awaiting Energy Refill to Upgrade)
2. Emotional Erasure (Non-existent at the moment) ]
'So this is the reason for my abnormally low power these past weeks.'
He was afraid that the entire Faculty section was dim like its subsection, Emotional Erasure.
Luckily, it was all attributed to his energy depletion during his encounter with the Baby Nightmare.
'Thirty-eight percent now. I would imagine it was zero when I fell on the bridge, but how on earth was I able to move in the Death Valley a couple of minutes later? Plus, I should have died due to the poisonous spikes.'
The last time his energy level hit zero, it took about a week for him to get back to his feet.
Taking a reprieve was always a way to restore his energy, but at the moment, he suspected there were perhaps other ways he was not aware of.
'I guess I'll get some rest as I pay attention to the direction of the setting sun. Only then should I embark on my mission.'
With this train of thought, he dismissed the colorful screen and planned on making himself a place to lie down.
'Good thing I'm all sleepy.'
He extravagantly flared his hands as he yawned.
After a while, he tapped his lap as he slowly stood up. He made his way to the edge of the hill when he heard a rustling sound from below.
It was as though someone was wending through the gigantic flowers, quietly approaching the hill.
Apprehensive, Tintless scanned the surroundings but surprisingly saw nothing strange.
'Mmm, guess my mind is so exhausted I have begun hallucinating.'
However, that theory did not seem to fit the scene he saw after he took a few more steps.
'The flowers are alive!'
TIC!
In the next second, the world seemed to blink, and the atmosphere all of a sudden shifted.
Tintless no longer stood on a hill.
No gigantic flowers, shore, or sea lay below him.
And certainly no clear blue sky hung above him.
The gray boy in his grey T-shirt now stood in a room lit by a swinging lamp!