Chapter 30: Punishment
"Darkness Within?!"
I didn't know what the system was talking about, what all this punishment meant…
What had all of this to do with me? I wondered as the situation turned into something very similar to the last one. A room, without exit… The only different factor was the lights that kept pulsating until they abruptly came to a stop, filling the room with darkness.
The system continued its introduction of my punishment;
[To overcome failure, one must overcome the biggest obstacle of all… The doubt within one's heart… The evil within… and even the demons they carry. Since ancient times evil has thrived by overcoming the weak minds of their souls, but once in a while those who stand up to fight and prevail come out stronger than ever. Gaining clarity and confidence beyond measure.
Punishment; Face Your Inner Demons.
Defeat what's holding you back, brace yourself, for there has never been a tougher challenge before…
Reward:
+1 to all Stats, Mind resistance +2, ???.
Failure may result in the corruption of one's self.]
Reading the punishment mission didn't make a lot of sense, but it was clear what the system wanted. The system wanted me to prevail. To come out on top, getting rid of anything that could stop my process. Becoming stronger in too!
The mission needed a bit of time to process, in which I had the chance to look around the area. "Had I ever been here before?" I said as I wandered around. In the center a huge spherical object could be seen, curious about it I approached the object without a care in the world. It seemed to partially have a translucent body as the light of the room traveled through it at times, yet oddly enough reflected it too. It wasn't the oddest thing about it, because it seemed to create ripples around its body from time to time.
That on its own wasn't that odd, but, there wasn't a water source, was there?
Captivated by it I didn't take the system into account as I tried to touch the object.
Cold to the touch the object began to ripple all over as if my touch had triggered a chain reaction. For some reason, I could feel warmth filling my entire body as a result.
Within moments the room began to shift, leaving the liquid structure which had captivated me behind. The system's final message before all hell broke loose;
[Synchronicity with the soul sea has completed, The player is ready to receive its punishment, Starting mission, preparing rift.]
"Preparing rift? Wow…"
Before I could even register what was about to happen the entire area shifted,
almost as teleporting me to a different dimension, the cybernetic ruins I found myself in previously had sifted to an urban look. Almost like the areas I had been living in within my previous life. What was the reason for this? Why was I here?
[Punishment commencing, Survive till the timer runs out.
Failure will result in death, allowing your inner demons to take your body for themselves.]
[Timer staring: 05:00:00]
The timer began to count down, but did I see that right? I had to survive for five whole hours?!
Unprepared for what was to come, I tried my best to brace myself for the unknown.
But what happened in front of my eyes was worse than I could have ever imagined,
worse than what I had experienced till now. "Is… Is that… No… It… It can't be?!"
I yelled in disbelieve as a giant meteor fell from the sky, only to collide into the city in front of my eyes, presumably killing all life within. A Gigantic mushroom cloud could be seen in the distance… The light of day got covered by a cloud of dust, blocking the sunlight as far as my eyes could see. Was this my punishment? Seeing all that I love to come to an end?!
No… This couldn't be real… What was there to do now that everything had gone to hell?
Shortly after impact, a shockwave hit the lands, blowing away all life that survived the blast. Caught in the blast, I too got thrown backward. Crashing into multiple walls my fall got broken… Damaging my bones and muscles… After the shocks had subsided I found out although sore, I hadn't broken any of my bones. I didn't know why this was happening which was why I decided to take a look at where once the city I had found my roots in had been.
[04:00:00]
It took me a while, but finally, I arrived at the foot of the city that once stood at the center where the meteor had struck. Ruins as far as the eyes could see, but no signs of life anywhere I looked, none… Shocked by what happened and overcome by an emotion I fell to
my knees, what was there to do? Millions of lives had been lost… Nothing was left in a hundred miles radius, except for the meteor and the crater it had created.
[03:00:00]
That was when I realized the mission had started long ago. At the foot of the crated, I saw it… The Meteorite caused chaos within the area, looking closely the meteor had cracked. Radiation a mysterious light, similar to that of the room I had been in not too long ago.
It pulsed as if alive when suddenly its color turned more sinister…
Deep violet smoke began to ooze out, spreading the cracks, the meteor fell in half,
revealing what was inside. Pulsating and twitching what I saw defied all logic…
It was not human, or was it of this earth… A heart or could it be the core of the meteorite maybe? Whatever it was… it kept pulsating intensely… The twitching and pulsating core closely resembles that of a pulsating heart, a cocoon? but for some reason, that idea didn't make any sense… Was the meteorite alive? It couldn't be, right?
Whatever it was inside of the rock, it was still alive.
Suddenly the twitching abruptly stopped, which was followed by a high-pitched screeching sound. Pain struck as it directly attacked my hearing. Trying to cover my ears a message popped up.
[It has awakened! Survive till the timer runs out; 02:55:35]
Not much time had passed since finding the crash site, but know I had to fight whatever was inside?! I couldn't believe my eyes as I came face to face with the twitching core. Awaking from its slumber was a creature who had been inside of the meteorite for all this time…
A creature unknown to this world… Had difficulty moving as it was still inside the meteorite.
With a final roar echoing throughout the world it broke the exterior of the meteorite which supposedly had been the shell of its cocoon. Trying to make sense of it all I did my best to
recognize the characteristics of the being. As it fell to the ground covered in goo it quickly became clear that it wasn't too big, but the way it looked was alarming to me.
A monstrosity had set foot on the earth we walked on. Covered in scales, spikes, and even a liquid-like substance. I couldn't avert my eyes. The collision with the area had reached its toll as the being had cracks all over its body.
Goo seeped out of them leaving corroding spots on the ground.
"What in the hell did I find myself in now?!" I shouted in disbelieve unable to believe my eyes. I couldn't move… As I kept staring it became apparent that the being wasn't normal in the slightest sense of the word, with not two or four, but six legs!
It lay there motionless on the ground until the light began to shine through the cracks of its body. Like the smoke that escaped the meteorite earlier, dark violet light began to shine from its cracks. Almost like a booting sequence sound could be heard coming from its core.
This was it… Did I have to fight a being like this? A being with razor-sharp claws…
Scales all around… Even covered from top to bottom with spikes?!
"Hell No!! You got to be kidding me?! The system wants me to fight against this abomination?! No way… I'm out of here!"
I wanted to move, I wanted to get away, what was this for punishment?
Did the system want me to get eaten by this otherworldly being? So many questions surged through my mind, but none were answered… I couldn't believe this…
An extraterrestrial reptile? Stop fucking with me!
I had to get out before it would notice me, but I was frozen…
Frozen to the point of frustration… The motionless body began to twitch…
Something similar to hydraulics could be heard. Then suddenly the being opened its eyes.
A set of eight eyes could be seen lighting up one by one. It scratched its head as it got used to its new environment. Still unaware of my presence it blinked a couple of times.
I wanted to get away, I truly did… It took a while to regain control of my body.
As confusion, fear, and disbelieve made me unable to move…
I wanted to leave this place as fast as I could without any doubt in my mind I turned around.
I had a chance to survive if only I could get away…
But when I turned, the ground I was standing on at the edge of the crater started to rumple,
quickly it crumbled down making me fall down the edge…
Aside from me a lot of rubble fell, which softly fell against the being's leg.
Captivated by the sudden touch it wanted to know where it came from,
looking my way we locked our vision together. It had seen me…