The darkness didn't last.
A moment later, a brilliant light appeared before Hill's vision. The darkness pulled away like a curtain, revealing a sight so bizarre that it left him speechless.
He was standing in the center of a circular platform fashioned from white marble. A sky high iron cage circled the perimeter of the platform as if it were the base of a bird cage. Above it all, a starry night sky could be seen, devoid of the moon and sun. Beyond the iron barrier, a vast array of seats could be seen, fashioned from black marble and ascending slightly with every row, stretching as far as the eye could see.
The vastness of his foreign structure caused a suffocating feeling to close in on him, making him feel incredibly small.
However, all of this failed to distract him from the phantom pains that were fresh in his consciousness. Letting out a loud gasp, his right hand flew to his chest where he found his faded red shirt seemingly untouched. He patted around for a few moments before realizing that he was indeed using his right hand... which had been devoured by the beast. He remembered it vividly.
"Huh... " He breathed, unable to come to grips as to what was happening. "Is this the afterlife?"
If it was the afterlife, he never imagined that it would be like this. However, there were some strange parallels that he began to notice. The cage, the platform, and the surrounding seats... This was an arena for sure. The cage in particular made it feel like a colosseum, especially due to how tall the cage was.
Why was he in this place? He had no idea.
Perhaps I'll find out soon, he thought to himself as he took a step forward.
Immediately, a chorus of discordant voices sounded from above, sounding awfully robotic yet very clear.
[Welcome,
Hill staggered backward, his head swiveling on his shoulders as he attempted to spot the source of the noise. But he couldn't. It seemed to be coming from all around him, as if the marble seats were speakers of some sort.
"What the fuck?" He muttered as sweat began to emerge from his skin.
[You have fulfilled the requirements of this trial by being exposed to corruption. The trial will begin shortly.]
[Please wait a moment.]
"Hey, wait!" He called out, bringing his hands next to his mouth in order to project his voice. He didn't know exactly what he was speaking to, but it was clear to him that whatever it was, it had acknowledged his presence. "What trial? And why?"
A sudden series of slow, pulsing motes of light appeared within the atmosphere above him, as if emerging from invisible portals. They began moving through the air like fireflies as they collided into each other in violent flashes.
Hill watched in confusion as the light show increased in intensity and his eyes widened as he realized that the motes of light weren't actually motes of light.
They were bits of runic characters, violently clashing together as they created fully fleshed runes. Within a few seconds, four shimmering runes were hovering in the air above him. He didn't immediately recognize what they were because they were in a different language, but for some reason, he began to understand.
It was a timer for five minutes.
The second he realized what the runes were, the ground beneath his feet shook. He looked down at his feet, but his eyes quickly noticed movement in his peripheral vision. Looking forward, he noticed a concentration of shadows forming on the platform, around ten yards from his position. The shadows emerged from the two dimensional surface of the marble platform, and as they rose, they began to form a body.
The chorus of voices from before spoke once again.
[You will be tasked with defeating the
[But if you are able to defeat it within five minutes, you will be reborn, and your soul will be awakened.]
Reborn? So I get to live again? Is that what it's saying? Hill asked himself.
Then, a tremor shot up his spine as he looked ahead.
In front of him, the shadows dissipated into nothingness, revealing the humanoid form of the angler fiend, the same monster that had claimed his life just moments earlier. Its lure still hung from its forehead, and its chest was back to normal as well.
I have to fight that angler fiend again? But... I don't have my shotgun! It killed me so easily despite having a hole in its chest!
Hill began to back up as he stared into the empty eyes of the angler fiend. The sight of the being that had caused him so much pain within such a short amount of time was awful. He couldn't handle it at all. His heart was pounding as hard as it possibly could. Sweat was pouring down his face, and his hands were trembling.
The chorus spoke again.
[All trial participants must be granted the
A long black staff appeared in Hill's hands. His fingers wrapped around it subconsciously, feeling the ungiving sturdiness of the. Turning to look at it, he noticed that it was around three feet in length, nearly half his height. Despite feeling as light as a feather, he could tell that it packed a serious punch.
"L-Leveling the playing field, eh?" He whispered. "Thanks I guess... "
[Your time starts now.]
"Wait, what!?"
As the chorus finished speaking, the frozen figure of the beast burst into motion. The rhythmic clicking of its jaws resumed as it began to move forward, and its lure resumed its pulse.
Fear slammed into Hill's mind, causing him to stumble back for a moment. But then he felt it, a strange indescribable pull that caused his legs to briefly stiffen... and then to walk forward.
The lure! It's pulling me in again! He realized. Letting out a restrained grunt, he tried to control his legs. With some difficulty, he was able to slow down his forward movements, but he still couldn't stop it completely.
Cursing under his breath, he crouched low to the ground and tried to push against the ground in an attempt to force himself backward. Safe to say, it didn't work. He simply ended up losing balance due to his legs moving forward.
The distance between him and the beast had shortened considerably. The beast was moving towards him slowly, and despite his efforts, he was moving towards the beast as well.
W-why can't I fight it!? He turned around, trying to walk in the opposite direction. But his legs felt like they were stuck in place, causing him to flop to the floor. The pressure on his mind suddenly increased, and as he turned around, he noticed that the lure was enveloped in a fiery white light.
The pull was getting stronger.
With a sudden cry, he grasped the black staff and stabbed the butt end of it into his own shin. The pain shocked him out of the trance. The moment of clarity was brief, but it was certainly enough. He scrambled away from the beast and let out a series of shaky breaths.
Looking up at the runic counter, his heart skipped a beat as he realized that it now read three minutes and twenty seconds. Time was running out. He needed to do something quick.
Feeling confident, he lunged forward and swung hard for the beast's head. However, unlike the rest of its body, the angler fiend's jaw was too quick. Its jaws snapped shut on the staff, and the sound of metal bending echoed through the empty space.
Hill tried to wrench the staff away, but the beast twisted its head, wrenching the staff from his grip.
Panic shot through him as he stumbled backward.
Damn it! I should have gone for its damn legs! Now I don't have a weapon to use against it!
The lure flashed brightly once more. But before his legs could begin to move, he slammed his knuckles into his face. The enthrallment departed swiftly.
He turned and sprinted away from the beast. Reaching the iron cage, he grasped the rungs and began to climb. The enthrallment returned, but he already figured it out. Swinging his head back, he slammed his nose into the iron, causing blood to spurt out and clarity to decloud his mind.
The beast followed, walking up to the cage and bumping into it. Watching nervously, Hill observed as the monster grasped one of the rungs, and with a lucky pivot step, it found its footing on a lower rung as well. Within seconds, it was climbing, albeit as slow as a sloth.
Hill slammed his fist into a rung to break the enthrallment, and then resumed his climb, creating more and more distance between him and the beast.
Why are you doing this? a voice in his mind whispered. This is so damn pointless. You know you're just delaying the inevitable. There's nowhere to go. You threw away your only means of harming the damn beast! Just GIVE UP! END IT ALL!
He winced, biting down on his lip and drawing blood as he climbed even higher. The thought of giving up seemed enticing. He had already died to the beast once, and while it was incredibly painful, it was over quickly.
But then the word "reborn" appeared in his mind. It was like a beacon of light in the overwhelming darkness. An uncertain light.
He had no idea what it even meant. Would I be reborn as a baby? As a fully grown man? As my current self? Would I be back on... Earth?
There were so many uncertainties.
Is it even worth fighting for?
He wasn't sure. He wasn't too enthusiastic about having to endure the hell he had been through over the past four months. He had seen his family get ripped to shreds right in front of him. He had been too late to save them. He had pulled the trigger a second too late. That guilt had hung over his shoulders ever since then. It would continue to hang over him if he were to be reborn as well. He knew that very well.
But he remembered the last time he locked eyes with his mother. Her icy blue against his crimson. Her smile against his sobs.
Would it really be right to just... give up?
This is an opportunity. You just have to take it.
Slamming his fist into the rungs once more, Hill climbed higher. The ground beneath him seemed distant, he was definitely over seventy feet up now. The angler fiend was surprisingly close, as it seemed to have understood the rhythm of climbing.
Breaking himself out of the enthrallment once more, he looked towards the timer.
Thirty-three seconds.
His eyes widened. He was running out of time.
Shit! What the fuck do I do!?
Looking down, he watched as the beast drew closer. It seemed to be struggling. Its limbs were visibly trembling, and it even seemed to be sweating. Hill was still pumping adrenaline, but he knew it was a matter of time. Something had to be done before his body gave out, and before the timer hits zero.
Within five seconds, he brainstormed several different methods to try and kill the beast. He definitely couldn't hurt it with his bare hands and feet. It would have to be by fall.
But the seemingly optimal plan of waiting for it to draw close and then dislodging its grip by kicking it seemed foolish. Its jaws were simply too dangerous and too snappy. He would lose a leg, and then he'd fall to his death. Not to mention, the enthrallment seemed to affect his legs more than his upper body, so kicking it wasn't even a sure option.
As a result, there was only one option that he believed would work. It was definitely risky, and the chances of success were low.
But he had to try.
There was no other choice.
Letting out a hiss, Hill let go of the cage.
The beast reacted immediately as it noticed the human boy suddenly plummet towards it. It leaned back and snapped its jaw, catching the boy's left arm. However, it hadn't expected the boy to wrap its body around its torso.
The pain had shaken Hill out of the enthrallment completely despite his close proximity. He wrapped one leg around the beast's lower torso, and then with his other leg, he pushed against the cage, causing both the beast and himself to plummet.
Okay! It worked! Now all I have to do is land on top of the beast and cushion my—
It was a foolish plan.
Both bodies slammed into the marble surface at the same time, bursting open and causing blood and guts to splatter the platform.
Everything went silent.
After a few seconds, the chorus spoke again. This time, however, it sounded much different.
[System Error. Impossible outcome achieved.]
[Seeking Higher Authority... ]
The marble platform began to glow as a powerful orb of light began to descend from the skies above. The black marble seats and the iron cage adopted a brilliant sheen as well, as if honoring the arrival of the orb.
The remnants of Hill's body began to shimmer as it entered a vicious cycle of disintegration and reconstruction. It was as if the molecules didn't know what to do.
The voice that spoke next wasn't like the chorus from earlier. Instead, it sounded like a human, but not human at the same time.
"Oh, for the love of... of course an impossible outcome was achieved. I didn't even know that was possible. I mean, of course, who would expect an impossible outcome anyways. What could have possibly—"
A brief silence.
"Ah. That's... interesting."