Oh hell nah.
Yash broke the bridge...
And now we're falling.
Why did he do that?
We've been falling for what feels like forty seconds.
We still haven't reached the bottom.
Well... I guess the moment I see the ground, I'll just teleport and avoid the impact.
I think we'll survive.
A fall like this shouldn't seriously injure us anyway.
Whatever.
...
Wait.
Where are the others?
My eyes widened.
Now that I think about it...
I've been falling alone for quite some time.
Just a moment ago, they were right beside me.
Where did they go?
Something hit me.
Is that the bottom?
Water?
I'm...
I'm drowning.
That's impossible!
I can't drown!
What the hell?!
I can't speak!
I can't even scream!
I'm suffocating.
Graahhhh!!
Something silenced even my own thoughts.
Where am I?
Everything is black.
This doesn't feel right.
The endless darkness has swallowed me whole.
As far as I can see...
There's nothing except darkness.
...
Wait.
I saw something.
Two people.
My voice returned.
Finally!
I sprinted toward them, screaming.
[Pratik]: Where are we?! Hello?! Can you hear me?!
I shouted as I ran.
The closer I got...
The more shocked I became.
The two figures...
Were me and Yash.
I'm sure they were us.
But we looked older.
I looked around twenty-one years old.
Yash looked like an eighteen-year-old.
Yet there was no joy in their reunion.
Both slowly drew their swords.
[Pratik]: Why are we fighting?!
I screamed.
They couldn't hear me.
Why?
Why would we fight each other?
I could hear them shouting each other's names.
Then...
Their swords collided.
The entire world split apart.
No...
Not the world.
The darkness itself.
Everything around me cracked open.
Then realization struck me.
This darkness...
It's my Range Shiftling.
I couldn't even recognize it because of the overwhelming bloodlust...
...and because of how enormous it had become.
Its range...
It was nothing like mine.
It stretched far beyond the endless void my current Range Shiftling could ever cover.
Just as I tried focusing on the battle...
I noticed a body lying before me.
I stumbled backward and began crawling away.
I couldn't see the face.
A white cloth covered it completely.
But...
It looked like the body of a woman.
The very next moment—
Planets burned.
People fled in terror.
Countless slaves were dragged away.
Entire worlds were consumed by corruption.
The aftermath of that battle wasn't confined to a single world.
Its consequences spread across countless others.
Destroying everything.
Have I...
Become heartless?
Have I lost my humanity?
What...
What am I doing?
No.
This can't be me.
This has to be a dream.
Yeah...
I've had dreams like this before.
Dreams where the world collapsed.
Dreams where Master Krishna beat me up during training.
Dreams where...
Master Krishna...
Walked away from us.
It's just another nightmare.
Nothing more.
[Pratik]: I just need to wake up! Should I slap myself?
I asked myself.
I slapped my own face, hoping I'd wake up beside my friends.
Nothing changed.
I was still here.
[Pratik]: Seems like I need a harder slap.
I slapped myself again.
Harder.
Still nothing.
Then harder.
And harder.
I kept slapping myself.
Soon both my cheeks had turned bright red.
They hurt.
But I couldn't stop.
I kept hitting myself over and over again.
[Pratik]: This has to be a dream! I don't want to stay here! Please... somebody get me out! I don't want to see this! I don't want to live here! This place is hell!
Tears finally rolled down my face.
This can't be happening.
Am I...
Trapped here forever?
Just as despair began swallowing me...
I sensed a presence.
It had been here from the very beginning.
Why hadn't I noticed it before?
Maybe...
I had been too overwhelmed.
[Pratik]: Who are you?
I asked.
The moment I spoke...
Everything changed.
The visions...
The battle...
The destruction...
Everything disappeared.
The darkness faded away.
Completely.
When my eyes adjusted...
I found myself standing before a pond.
No...
It was a valley.
Blue crystals illuminated the surroundings with a faint, mystical glow.
...
I'm wet.
Right.
I really was drowning a moment ago.
What is this place?
"I am the cursed one, O Shadow Lord."
The voice echoed throughout the valley.
A reply...
Finally.
I looked around.
Left.
Right.
Behind me.
No one.
[Pratik]: What Shadow Lord?! Who are you?! Where are you?! Where are my friends?!
I asked nervously.
Silence.
Then the voice spoke again.
[VoT]: Seems like we have met too soon. However, our meeting was fated. You may not recognize me, but I am the Valley of Truth.
[Pratik]: Valley of Truth?
[VoT]: Yes. I am the Valley of Truth, the cursed one who possesses knowledge of things that have been erased.
[Pratik]: I don't care. Where am I? How do I get back to my friends? Where are they?
I asked hurriedly.
I couldn't waste time here.
[VoT]: I see. It seems you reached me by accident. Your friends are still falling through the valley. Time flows differently around me. While we are speaking, they are still falling. One day here is equivalent to a single second in the Living Verse.
What...
What is he talking about?
[Pratik]: Then how do I return?
[VoT]: I shall send you back myself. However... you must answer one question first.
[Pratik]: You said you know everything, and now you're asking me?
[VoT]: My knowledge is limited to the present. Unlike you, I cannot see the future.
He paused.
[VoT]: After manifesting Shadow Lord... what will you do with your soul?
[Pratik]: I don't know who Shadow Lord is, and honestly, I couldn't care less. Just send me back.
[VoT]: This is the first time someone has been so eager to leave me. There are countless entities who wish to visit me, yet fail throughout their entire lives. I shall return you to your world. However...
Listen carefully.
You carry something immensely dangerous...
And unimaginably powerful.
Beware of him.
The moment the one residing within you fully manifests...
Fate itself will begin hunting you.
I couldn't understand a single thing he was saying.
I just wanted to get back.
Still...
There was one thing I wanted to ask before leaving.
[Pratik]: Before I go, tell me something. What was that darkness I witnessed earlier? Who are the people you've met? And... who exactly is Shadow Lord?
A brief silence followed.
Then the Valley answered.
[VoT]: The darkness you witnessed... was you.
[VoT]: Shadow Lord... is you.
[VoT]: He has already been reborn within you. You are merely his vessel.
The words echoed through the valley.
I stood there, unable to process them.
The Valley continued.
[VoT]: As for those I have met...
I have encountered many throughout history.
Including the real Shadow Lord...
One hundred and fifty thousand years ago.
Another silence.
[VoT]: With your questions answered...
It is time for you to return.
For we shall meet again.
Of that...
I am certain.
[Pratik]: Hey, wait—
Before I could finish...
A crushing force pressed against my entire body.
Everything around me twisted.
The valley vanished.
The blue crystals disappeared.
The next instant...
I was falling again.
This time...
Alongside my friends.
We had finally reached the bottom.
Yash landed smoothly.
Both hands remained inside the pockets of his shorts as if nothing had happened.
Mala crashed into a cluster of gigantic rocks.
The rocks exploded apart.
She simply laughed.
Surya landed carefully in the water without much trouble.
As for me...
I ended up with my head buried deep inside the ground.
...
What the hell?
Even though I had teleported all of us to reduce the impact...
I somehow ended up with the worst landing.
Life really is unfair to me.
The cheeks are still swollen.
To be continued...
---
EXTRAS:-
HUNTER MARSHAL ON QUEST 5
Following the defeat of the giant, the local goons and smugglers were finally imprisoned by the Dragon Empire.
Marshal Griho extracted valuable information from them.
The mastermind behind the entire racket...
Was none other than the Seven Starred Personnel—
Haidoro.
The greatest criminal of the last century.
There was even a possibility that Hunter Dragon Crocus was somewhere under his protection.
After piecing together the information...
Hunter Marshal Griho immediately set course for Isolated Dimension 777.
His hunt for Haidoro...
Had officially begun.