Somewhere in the vast sea of white, the slumbering eyes fluttered open — as it awakened from the eternal rest.
Cyril found himself stranded in a vast field of nothingness. There was nothing but white as far as the eye could see.
"Where.. am I..?" He managed to utter a question.
He tried to stand up, yet his body felt weak. He couldn't move a single limb as if the body wasn't his.
"Another one.. I see..." Suddenly, a mysterious voice cut through the deafening silence.
Cyril's eyes widened after hearing the voice, his eyes searched everywhere, but he couldn't sense any trace of presence near him.
"Who's.. there..?" Cyril asked weakly.
"Departed soul. Fret not.. There is nothing here that could hurt you." The voice said soothingly.
When Cyril opened his eyes again, he saw a black fox standing in front of him. Its eyes glow like fiery embers, and a symbol is intricately drawn on its forehead.
Slowly, the fox approached him head-on and looked down at him.
"You're in the Land of Ego. And right now, your real body is broken beyond repair. At least.. not without my intervention."
"Your intervention..? What are you..?" Cyril asked, looking up at the fox with curiosity.
"I am the mourning soul that has come to you for a proposal that will benefit you. Of course, in exchange for a small favor.." The black fox pressed its paw against Cyril's forehead.
When the two souls meet, a sudden surge of electrifying power surges through his body, as if struck by lightning.
"A favor.. in a long journey ahead." The fox adds.
His veins twitched violently as his muscle tighten around his abdomen — threatening to give in. Cyril gritted his teeth, forcing himself to bear the pain as he clutched at his heart.
The fox withdrew its paw from his forehead and shook its head, leaving Cyril panting on the ground.
"It seems that you can't yet bear the gift of life. Could it be.. have I chosen the wrong person?" It titled its head.
"Wrong person..?" Cyril pushed himself to his feet.
"You're saying I'm not the person meant to protect the one I cherished? Am I not worthy of your proposal?" Cyril looked into the fox's eyes with contempt and rage.
The fox closed its eyes momentarily before looking up at Cyril.
"I was summoned through your grief and sorrow, your failure to protect the one you love the most. And.. their eventual departure."
Cyril's ears perked up when he heard about the death of his sister. He clenched his hand tightly. For a moment, his face was unreadable, and he might lose it completely.
Then, Cyril spoke again.
"Take me." He said.
The fox tilted its head in confusion.
"Take you? Take you where exactly?" The fox asked.
"Take me to the place of her resting. And let me deliver the equal judgement upon them." Cyril stared at the black fox with unredeemable eyes. His eyes were twitching, and the vein on his forehead became visible.
The fox widened its eyes — seemingly shocked by Cyril's answer. But then it quickly recovered.
"I see. You've chosen the path of vigilantes. But what drives you so?" The fox asked him again, wrapping itself in its fluffy tail.
Before Cyril could respond, the fox said again. "Now you, conqueror of fate. Have you what it takes? Truly?"
Cyril looks down at his feet. So what if he goes back? What difference would it make? He will still be as powerless as the time the blade impaled him. But even so..
"What is the woe of trying? If I die again, you will bring me back won't you? I will never stop, even if it means repeating the same cycle of death a thousand times over..!" He glared at the black fox, his eyes filled with determination.
"So take me. Take me, and bring news of deliverance!" Cyril exclaimed echoes through the nothingness, shattering the silence completely.
"A very wise answer.. and a very childish one. Very well, then accept the fate of your ilk, and face the trial that awaits you.. conqueror of adversities.."
The symbol on the black fox's forehead suddenly glows brightly, as it shoots a ray of light out of it towards Cyril.
Fortunately, Cyril managed to dodge in time before the ray of light hit him as it crashed to the ground, creating smoke on impact.
Cyril fanned his face to clear his vision, as a figure walked out of the thick smoke. His eyes widened when he realized that the man in front of him...
"Now then.. let the Trial.. begin." The fox announced.
...was none other than a copy of himself.
—Penning a new chapter...