The black walls, soaked in that faint charcoal-like scent, echoed with the dragging of the massive body of the mysterious serpent. The rock trembled with each movement, and dust drifted softly through the darkness.
Over the past few days, Nova had maintained a fixed course. He kept hiding whenever he felt the monster slithering nearby. He stayed silent whenever he sensed something listening from afar. Still, every tiny sound became a form of psychological torture.
His body—his mind—his entire being remained on high alert every single second. Every nerve in his system tightened in fear whenever something out of the ordinary surfaced in the depths of the tunnels.
His eye kept wandering through the gloom, waiting for the impossible. The expression on his face was anything but calm. He was nervous, frightened, and angry—feelings he never thought he would experience. He believed himself unshakable, but when it truly mattered, trapped in a world of Aberrations, his Serenity betrayed him.
Well, it wasn't that his own Spectrum had betrayed him. It was simply far too weak compared to the monsters of this place. The serpent was living proof that there were things far worse out there—beings that easily surpassed humans.
In hindsight, humans were far too fragile without their Emotional Spectrum. Now that Nova's Serenity was partially unusable, he was defenseless in this world.
'It's almost there. I just need to…'
Almost dragging himself along the walls—much like the serpent—Nova fixed his gaze on the darkness ahead, where a gentle breeze of Calem energy flowed from.
Every step he took became one less second spent in this world. Every inch he advanced turned into hope for the next moment. Every breath. Every brief glance. Everything he did, he did to survive.
Beyond Fear, Serenity, or Anger, his instinct told him he had to keep moving—that he couldn't stop for any reason, because stopping meant certain death.
Most of the time, emotions guided the heart. But when it came to dying, instinct took control. It had been that way since the dawn of humanity, and it was probably something that would never change.
The slowest hours of his life passed before his eyes in the darkness. The closer he got to his destination, the slower time seemed to move.
He bit his lip, impatient. He couldn't wait any longer. There was no food left. Hunger had begun to roar in his stomach. His mind was starting to deteriorate.
This was due to the gas clinging to the walls. The negative emotions it generated continued to affect Nova more and more. His paranoia made him see things that weren't there and hear sounds where no one existed.
This time, the distant hiss of the creature echoed again. Even though the monster was still far away, Nova frowned. His mouth dry, he clenched his teeth.
'I have to ignore it. I have to keep walking.'
He was no longer the same Nova who had fallen through the portal. Survival instinct had completely taken over, forcing him to move forward like a machine with a single objective.
'Nothing is going to kill me. I'm not falling for your game.'
At this point, it seemed as though the serpent truly was playing with Nova. Maybe it was watching from the darkness, amused as it observed the boy slipping into madness. Maybe that made the meal taste better. Despair, anger, sadness, loneliness, fear. It might even have been a sadistic serpent, one that took pleasure in watching its prey suffer.
How would the rest of the journey go? More of the same. Walking. Walking. Continuing to walk while listening to the serpent hiss and drag itself along the walls. Hiding. Resting. Repeating the cycle.
Another day passed—the third one. Nova, resting while seated on a rock, stared silently at the image displayed on his communicator's screen. At this point, it was the only thing keeping him sane: the image of his mother and his uncle Viktor.
His dull, solitary eye—a reflection of both mental and physical exhaustion—mirrored the faint glow of the screen. The device's battery was in critical condition.
A notification appeared at the top of the display:
[Warning: Low battery. The device will shut down soon.]
That was the last thing he wanted to see. His only source of inspiration would vanish like sand on the surface.
'Poki… I still remember when you were just a heavy, strange egg…'
The egg Nova was holding in that photo was, in fact, Poki before being born.
'Viktor… how hard was it to get it? It must've been expensive…'
A faint smile formed on his face. The memory brought him a bit of peace. With that, his Serenity activated once more. His emotions were momentarily numbed, though the worry and paranoia of being trapped here with the serpent had not disappeared.
In the end, the screen went dark. Darkness once again enveloped Nova's expression.
'…I see…'
He closed his eye.
'I'm never getting out of here.'
Even so, he took a step forward. When he opened his eye, the path revealed itself—a faint light stretching from the depths of the tunnel.
'But I'm not giving up yet. I'll do that once I know I'm already dead.'
He followed the light. His body was weak. His mind exhausted. Everything about him was a mess, yet his instinct continued to force him to take one more step.
That single step became many. The path grew shorter. And when he finally stopped, he found himself inside a vast, mysterious chamber within the tunnels. It was a wide, empty space, like a dome hidden inside the black stone. Dozens of holes lined the walls, connecting to other tunnels.
His eye shone at the intense light emanating from within.
'Finally…'
Above him, embedded in the black stone ceiling, rested a large, round, radiant white rock, softly pulsing with energy that spread throughout the area. The entire space carried a gentle, homelike atmosphere that caressed Nova's Spectrum.
His Serenity activated once more, resonating constantly with the rock's energy. The golden light of his Spectrum wrapped around his body, calming his fear, his anger, and his paranoia.
Hypnotized by the life-giving light, he extended his hand, trying to reach it.