Eternal Collapse
Chapter 2. The Demon of Cause and Effect
"Want to fight, you bastard?" I shouted, laughing. "Then let's fight!"
I took a fighting stance and… in the next instant I felt my head separate from my body.
…
I found myself back in that white space. Everything was the same as before: endless emptiness, the table, me sitting at it, and across from me — that same being who had sent me to this world. I still couldn't make out its face.
"How do you like your first impressions of the new world?" it asked.
"The place itself is quite beautiful. But the creatures that live here aren't exactly friendly," I answered.
"Heh-heh," it chuckled. "You just happened to run into one of the worst beings you could have encountered there."
"Did you decide to mess with me by sending me straight to the strongest creature in this world?" I asked.
"I never said it was the strongest," it replied calmly. "There are ordinary humans here, as well as beings with immeasurable power."
"That doesn't matter. What happens to me now? Did I fail the test?" I fired off several questions in a raised tone, trying to pressure it.
Though it was stupid. My methods wouldn't work on such a powerful being anyway.
"This isn't any kind of test," it said. "This is your new world."
"But I just died."
"You cannot die," it laughed quietly. "I won't let you die. Even if you beg for it."
So, I would be revived again now. But why? What was the point of keeping me in this world?
While I was lost in my thoughts, it spoke:
"Try not to lose your head again. Use the power I granted you."
I didn't have time to reply. The white space — and the being itself — vanished in an instant.
The next second I was already standing in the same spot — on the beach.
And about ten meters away from me stood the demon.
"So that's why I couldn't see the cause and effect of your death," the demon said. "Your regeneration is too strong and too fast. Even a severed head reattached itself to your body."
Adrenaline was still surging through me.
"You still don't get it," I shouted. "It's not me who's trapped with you — it's you who's trapped with me."
I charged toward him, focusing as hard as I could on his movements. But he vanished from my field of vision in an instant. I spun around — he was standing behind me.
I blinked, and he was already right up close, swinging for a strike.
Surprisingly, I managed to react to his attacks. I channeled all the magical energy my body was emitting into my arms, crossed them, and blocked.
His blows were still powerful. I was thrown back again, but this time my arms stayed intact.
So, I could reinforce my body with magical energy.
He appeared in front of me again and repeated the strike. I managed to block once more.
Most likely he could teleport a certain distance, but he couldn't move at the same speed. I couldn't see how he moved, but I was able to react to his attacks.
Still, his strikes were insanely fast. I blocked at the very last moment.
He appeared behind me again and kicked me in the spine. This time I didn't manage to react.
I quickly got up, blocked his next swing with one hand, and struck back with the other.
He flew back a couple of meters.
For now, reinforcing my arms with magic was the only thing I could do. So, I had to use it as efficiently as possible.
But my new body wasn't trained at all. My brain knew how to fight, but the body simply didn't know how.
I got too caught up in analysis and didn't notice him teleport behind me again.
I turned around.
The last thing I saw was one of his chains wrapping around my neck.
And in the next instant I lost my head again.
…
The being was sitting across from me again.
"I thought you'd last longer," it said.
"Sorry. I did everything I could. But the body you gave me doesn't let me unleash my full potential. Apparently, the previous owner never trained at all," I complained. "And also — I've started giving in to emotions way more. That never used to happen."
"This body had no owner before you. I created it specifically for you," the being answered. "As for emotions: the soul is directly connected to the body it inhabits. So, a teenage body will inevitably influence your thinking, character, and everything else."
"You could've made something better," I said.
"I gave you the necessary minimum. Everything else depends only on you," it said. "And now you even have something that was taken from you in your previous life. You were castrated, weren't you?"
There was nothing to argue with. It had given me everything I needed. The rest was up to me.
"I'm tired of meeting you here every time. So next time after death, you'll simply revive on the spot," it said.
"What, you don't have time for me?" I smirked.
"I have all the time of this world," it smirked back.
After that I opened my eyes on the beach again.
…
"Why won't you die?" the demon standing in front of me asked.
"You still don't get it, stupid demon? I'm immortal," I answered.
He froze and stood silently for almost a full minute.
Then he vanished in an instant.
I looked around, but he was nowhere to be seen.
…
After the battle I was covered in my own blood. I needed to wash it off my face, hair, hands, and clothes.
I waded into the water up to my knees and washed myself. Then I took off my clothes and started rinsing them right in the sea.
The water wasn't particularly warm, but it couldn't be called cold either. These places really did resemble the Mediterranean coast, though the sea itself felt completely different.
I washed off the blood as best I could and decided to climb that hill again — the one I hadn't managed to reach because of the demon. Hopefully this time I wouldn't run into him.
I hadn't gone far before my untrained body reminded me of itself. My breath caught, and my legs ached.
I sat down on a rock and for about ten minutes just looked at the sea and the surrounding nature. The air here was crystal clear. Everything around was peaceful. The birds kept singing, and the cool sea breeze made me shiver from time to time since my clothes were still wet.
I was wearing black summer jeans, white sneakers, a black T-shirt, and a coat. My usual autumn outfit. But here it felt like the beginning of summer, so I took off the coat and walked around in just the T-shirt.
After resting a bit, I continued the climb. The hill turned out to be much higher than I had expected.
Finally reaching the top, I let out a relaxed breath.
But in the next instant this world surprised me again.
Before me stretched a wide green valley, flanked by mountains on both sides. A river flowed right through its center. And along the river stood an enormous city.
Judging by its appearance, it was medieval — with stone walls and roofs made of ceramic tiles.