Sooner rather than later, a hiss echoed through one of the tunnels behind him. Instantly, he leapt into the adjacent tunnel and crouched low against the ground. He stashed the glowing stone into his backpack to keep its light from giving him away.
Then, in the darkness, the serpent's hissing and the sound of its massive, elongated body dragging across the ground appeared right in front of him. The floor trembled harder than ever, and a strange sensation filled the air.
Nova could tell the monster was enormous from the vibrations beneath his feet and the rocks breaking loose and falling. On top of that, the charcoal-like smell was stronger than before.
'It's in front of me… It's in front of me…'
He held his breath. He shut his eye and waited. His heart began to race once more. Sweat covered his forehead. His entire body started to tremble.
'Again… What's happening to me?' Nova thought as so many unpleasant sensations flooded him.
That primitive feeling that waits within the heart of everyone. One might call it fear, but it was something far more complex.
Fear resided in the mind, but what Nova was feeling resided in his very existence. He needed to survive, yet a superior force threatened that survival. He knew he couldn't win on his own, and that he had no choice but to hide like a frightened rabbit.
'I need to run. I have to run!'
However, the serpent continued moving in front of him. Just how long was that beast's body? In the darkness, there was no way to tell.
'Damn it. Everything always comes down to survival. In my world. In this world. Why does it always have to be this way?'
In his primordial desperation, Nova clenched his fists. For some reason, his Serenity was failing—his calm shattered by the scent of charcoal.
Was it because what he was feeling now was far greater than his primary emotion?
'If I could just know what's going to happen, I could survive. If only I could see more than what I'm able to…'
It's said that hope can be born from desperation. If there was one thing Nova had learned during this short journey, it was that desperation always pushed him further. It wasn't a good way to grow, but at least it was effective in situations like this.
'If only I hadn't gone to Lightflower that day… If I had known what was going to happen, I…'
Regret? Fear? Sadness?
Emotions became so confusing when they blended together. Living under the mantle of Serenity, he had never been able to feel so many things at once. In such a peaceful and safe world—kept secure by the Empaths—he had never experienced anything like this.
Now that he was in constant danger of death, his heart was thrown into a relentless storm of emotions—everything always driving him toward the desire to see beyond what he could see.
'If I had known, I would never have gone there.'
He pressed his forehead against the ground. His single eye opened. He saw nothing but darkness.
'If I don't do something, they're going to kill me. But I already accepted that, didn't I?' he clenched his fist tightly against the black stone. 'No matter what I do, it'll lead me to death. So why do I have to feel like this?'
Ignoring emotions and surviving—that was something he had been doing this entire time. So why was it so hard to keep doing it now?
Only then did Nova realize.
The serpent had already moved away. In fact, there was no sound at all anymore. While Nova was lamenting and spiraling, the serpent had simply gone on its way.
Noticing this, he took out the glowing stone once more. His eye widened when he saw that a kind of black gas coated the walls around him, spreading and floating throughout the area.
'This… smells like charcoal… The energy… The Aberration…'
His eye glowed with the Spectrum of Serenity. The disturbed expression on his face relaxed, returning to his usual calm demeanor. Then, he began to rationally analyze what he was seeing.
'It looks like what Master Li Hu uses with his Spectrum of Fear.'
He stood up and observed more closely.
'Master Li Hu creates illusions, but he can also make his enemies feel an overwhelming fear toward him.'
He extended his hand and touched the gas. His hand was stained black instantly, and his eye opened wide.
'What—?!'
He dropped to his knees. His body trembled, his breathing became ragged, sweat dripping down his temple. Everything he was feeling was Fear.
'My Spectrum is failing. My Serenity…'
What had once protected him from experiencing horrific emotions had stopped working because of the gas.
Staring at the blackened walls, he finally understood what had been happening all this time since he fell. The way he had felt since reaching the depths—the anger that made him throw that stone sphere to the ground, the fear gnawing at his soul, and the paranoia brought on by every sound—it was all because of this.
The walls, the rocks, were stained black and reeked of charcoal. The serpent had passed through here countless times, coating the entire labyrinth with black gas that clung to the surfaces.
'That's why my Serenity kept activating more often.'
Serenity had been activating to protect him from this. Now everything made sense.
He clenched the fist holding the glowing stone. He ground his teeth, resisting the disastrous emotions assaulting his heart. He stood up. Even with his body trembling from fear, he frowned and stared down the long stretch of tunnel ahead.
"I'm not falling for your trick. You'll see that I can overcome you."
Whether it was fear, anger, or paranoia, he would try to endure it all. At the very least, it was the only thing he could do in this situation.
He adjusted his backpack and continued forward. There was no time to waste.
***
According to the communicator, nineteen days had passed since he arrived in this world. That was already a long time. He had been alone for far too long, and it had taken a toll on his mind.
Nova hadn't encountered the serpent again since that day, but that didn't mean the monster was gone. The distant hissing could still be heard.
At the moment, Nova was resting inside a small, unfinished tunnel. He sat on the ground, checking his backpack.
The discouraged expression on his face said everything about his situation.
'I'm out of Sweet Flakes.'
The food was gone. The road ahead was still long, and there was nowhere to get more.
'I have four seeds left. How am I supposed to make them sprout? I don't have water. And I doubt some monster is going to kindly explode itself to help me.'
Gathering his belongings once again, he stood up and resumed his journey.
'If I don't find a portal within the next two or three days, I'll die of thirst.'
But there was some good news.
'The only thing that calms me a little is that I can feel the energy is very close now. I just need to hurry and reach it quickly.'
Simple, right? Well, not exactly. As Nova continued forward, the hissing seemed to follow him. If the Aberration could hear his soft footsteps on the stone, then why hadn't it attacked yet?
'But that serpent is still there. It's like it knows where I am at all times. How much longer is it going to play this ridiculous game of hunting the mouse?'
Nova shook his head. Complaining wouldn't help him at all.
He took a step forward, but suddenly the sound of a rock falling from the ceiling echoed behind him. He immediately turned and raised his guard.
'What…?'
This part of the tunnel was unfinished, so it should have been impossible for something to attack him from behind. But for a moment, he truly believed it had. It caught him completely off guard.
'I think… I think I'm overthinking this.'
There was only one path to follow, yet Nova stopped at the slightest noise. He would look toward its source in fear, then tell himself he was just being a coward.
Who would have thought that this strange paranoia would help him in the future.