Noel was just present in what could be called nothing .
There was no falling sensation this time.
He opened his eyes he looked beneath him and saw his legs were there he was standing perfectly .
"I never thought that just standing properly would give me so much joy .
"He said A small laugh also escaped from his mouth as he thought of his situation.
Let's see first where I am for now .
He looked ahead and saw The tower was gone.
The circular plane was also gone.
He stood inside a narrow corridor made of smooth black stone.
No seams. No markings. No sky.
Only a single door at the end.
He tried to walk but suddenly it felt heavy he was having problem when walking.
"Why am I feeling so sluggish now is it because i am tired no that can't be the reason. Noel murmured to himself .
Oh yeah it could be still there .
Noel touched his chest and he felt something there .
The artifact it's still there. Hah what a lucky haul for me I guess .
"This artifact will be award from this strange dungeon . Noel said
But then he looked beside him backwords upwords and below thee was a silence .it silence was absolute.
He took one step forward—
Pain exploded through his right leg.
Aaah his face twisted in pain .
He collapsed instantly.
Not from impact.
From absence.He looked down and suddenly his leg was gone.
"My... My ... Leg where . Is it"""
Whereeeeee is my leg Noel shouted loudly .
But no sound came just silence
No sign of bleeding was there it was just Gone.
"As if something had decided that part of him had already ended.
Noel hit the floor, breath tearing from his lungs.
Hah hah . He gasped for breath .
He suddenly felt again that something was taken from him he turned towards where his thigh should have been.
Nothing.
No no .... No...... How .. is this all happening .
"Noel mind started going hayware . because all of this .
"He couldn't even think rationally.
He again looked at where his thigh should have been but now it was .
Just smooth darkness beyond the torn fabric.
No blood.
No wound.
Just removal.
The system flickered violently.
[Temporal Displacement Detected]
[Body Integrity: Compromised]
"What comprised you idiot I am dying here slowly without even knowing how my limbs are being severed from me turning me into a crippled is this how you are comprising . Noel cursed at system .
[Foul language detected : ]
[Warning: your stats will be presented in negative if it happens again ]
He gritted his teeth.
Seeing. The system interface.
"You .. No i can't even curse at this thing.
"He felt that his damage was not something physical.
This was something beyond his understanding.
He dragged himself forward using his arms.
Another step— then suddenly.His left hand also vanished.
"The pain came after Delayed.A heartbeat late.
"Aaaaahh he shouted trying to grab the place where his left hand should have been .
His scream echoed down the corridor but did not return.
He fell onto his side, vision blurring.
The artifact pressed against his chest.
Tick.
The sound returned but this time
Louder.
Tick.
The corridor stretched longer.
The door receded further away.
Tick.
His right arm dissolved next.
Not cut.
Not torn.
Erased between one second and the next.
He lay there now—half-existent.
Breathing.Thinking.Dying.
Noel laughed weakly.
"So this is just a game of my suffering.
Tick.
His heartbeat slowed.
Not naturally.Forced.
Each beat separated by too much distance.
His thoughts began to fragment.
He could feel something pulling at him—not outward—but backward .Reverting him.Undoing him.
Like he had never entered.The artifact grew warmer.
The ticking accelerated.
Tick tick tick tick—Suddenly—
Everything stopped.No sound.
No pain.No corridor.Darkness.
Absolute.
Noel floated in nothing.
Then—
He opened his eyes again.
He was standing at the beginning of the corridor.WholeComplete.
Legs intact.
Hands steady.
Breathing fast.
He stared at himself.
No wounds was there No damage.
But he remembered.Every second of dissolution.
Every fragment of himself disappearing.he looked down.
The artifact was unwrapped now.
Floating slightly above his palm.
The fractured core inside trembled violently.
The rings rotated slowly—out of sync with one another.
A voice echoed—not loud.
Not grand.
Cold.
"WHAT IS A LIFE WORTH IF IT CAN BE UNDONE?
Noel didn't answer.
He walked forward again.
The corridor remained unchanged.
He reached the midpoint—
And his left leg vanished.
He did not fall this time.He adjusted.
Shifted balance.
Continued forward on one leg.
Pain lanced upward.
His vision dimmed.
Tick.
His right eye went dark.
He stumbled.
Still moving.
Tick.
His hearing disappeared.
Silence swallowed him.
Tick.
His chest hollowed.
Breath became impossible.
Yet—
He did not stop.
He crawled.
Dragged.
Pulled himself inch by inch toward the door.
The artifact pulsed brighter.
Not with light.
With resistance.
The fractured second inside it stabilized slightly.
Tick.
The corridor trembled.
Tick.
Time recoiled.
Everything snapped.
Noel slammed into the door—Whole.
Breathing.Intact.
The corridor cracked like glass.
The door shattered outward.
He fell into a vast chamber of rotating rings—hundreds of them—each representing moments overlapping one another.
Past.
Present.
Future.
Some decayed.
Some frozen.
Some accelerating beyond comprehension.
At the center hovered the artifact's reflection—massive, cosmic in scale.
The system roared back to life.
[Phase Two – Evaluation Complete]
[Conclusion: Subject Maintains Continuity Under Erasure]
[Synchronization Increased: 37%]
"Noel fell to one knee, sweat dripping down his face.
"He understood now.
The trial was not asking whether he feared death.
It was asking—
If he could remain himself when time denied him existence.
The artifact descended slowly into his hand.
"The fractured core no longer trembled wildly.
"It pulsed in rhythm with his.heartbeat.
Not perfectly.
But closer.
The voice returned.
Softer now.
TO CONTROL TIME, YOU MUST FIRST SURVIVE BEING DENIED BY IT.
The chamber dissolved.
Darkness folded inward.
And Noel felt something shift inside him.
Not power.
Not yet.
But alignment.
Outside—
In the real world—
A full hour had passed.
Inside—
Noel had died twenty-three times.
And still was walking knowing he could be dead one more time