Dreaded Feeling

𝗛𝗶𝗺𝘂𝗿𝗮 𝗦𝗮𝘁ō

After I went to my room, I felt dread in my heart not from Alice's teasing but something else.

I thought that maybe my self-titled sixth sense named "Death Perception" was still a bit broken after the fight with that black goop so I ignored it for now.

The bell from somewhere rang for midnight yet I was still awake. I already tuned out that feeling of dread and all I was doing was looking up at the ceiling with a blank expression.

As if by instinct, I draw out my katana with an unusually long handle and I put the sharp edge in my throat, a tiny amount of blood trickles from my throat as I place it deeper.

My heart was beating fast and my death perception was telling me, how close I was to death. I tried to cut deeper but it was as if there was a mysterious force, causing me to stop.

I sheathed my katana and looked at the mirror across the room, my eyes were blank with the same expressionless face as blood drips from my throat from the shallow cut.

After wiping it with a cloth, I look at my blade once again, and without even a sigh of disappointment or anything, I headed back to sleep.

It didn't matter anymore, no matter how much I tried, my hand would always stop.

'It wastes too much energy.' I said to no one but myself as I eventually fell asleep.

It was currently late afternoon after we finished a five-star quest, currently, I was in my room doing nothing.

The three women decided to explore a bit more and somehow I managed to leave the group for a while.

"*Yawwwwwn*" I yawned trying to think what to do now that I'm alone.

The dreaded feeling has still not subsided and continued to bother me.

'Now that I think about it, this is similar to what happened in Bellken.' I recounted the events before the battle with that black goop happened.

'This feeling is getting way too annoying.' I said to myself.

'Guess I'll investigate tonight.' As I said that, I left the room and tried to meet up with the trio. I know I can definitely investigate this in the afternoon but there were a lot of things present that I hated at this time of day. Crowds, the sun, and noisiness.

These were things I can tolerate but no matter how dangerous of a situation I was in, I always somehow found a way to do things my way.

I return to the inn late at night and currently, I am wearing certain clothes and a mask.

I was wearing thin and easy-to-maneuver clothes with a pitch-black color and my shoes were no longer the shoes I always used to wear but instead special ones good for stealth which cushioned my footsteps.

My waist had a long knife that I bought back in Bellken attached and after finishing my preparation, I left the room through the window and landed on the grass.

Sharpening my senses, I tried to sense slight differences from the feeling of dread based on where I was going. After going in circles, I eventually found that it was in a direction of the inner walls of Kliyer, where most military facilities and government buildings are situated.

As I approached the gate to the inner wall, many artificials head my way and in response, I headed to the alleyways while trying to figure out how to enter the inner walls but in a stroke of luck, a heavily plated carriage appeared on the side of the road with its wheel wedged between the gap of the brick road.

Immediately, I went under it and grabbed on, I knew that this was going to the inner walls because this carriage was on a one-way road and was also facing the gate which I presumed was its destination.

Four artificials lift the carriage as a yawning man sits in the front before thanking them.

As I approach the gate, the carriage stops for a quick inspection, my heart began to rise but after some time, I finally managed to enter the inner wall. I tried to get out by silently dropping myself to the ground but I managed to break the handles which I was grabbing causing the driver to stop.

Thankfully, I smoothly got out under the carriage and went the opposite way of where the driver was going, and managed to slip through to the alleyways far enough that I can catch my breath.

As I lay my back to a wall, I took off my mask and looked at a dirty window that roughly reflects my face. For some reason, there was a slight smile with eyes more open than before. When I grasped my chest, my heart was beating very fast.

It was the feeling of thrill. Doing an idiotic idea, almost getting caught, and sneaking into an area I wasn't supposed to be in this time made him a feel certain feeling for the first time.

'This...is actually fun.' The smile deepens a bit as I thought of that.

Thanks to this mask, it created a barrier that brought out a side of me that I usually wouldn't show.

Knowing that there was a possibility that I could die if I got caught also contributed to this.

'This is why being alone is more fun.' I said talking to myself with a tiny bit of denial as I put the mask back on.

Going back to the streets, I looked closely at the streets.

It was empty and clean with more than twice the amount of artificials patrolling the area.

I was also a bit confused about the lack of inventions like cameras and rifles when considering a natural path into the creation of artificials.

'It was as if the inventor was obsessed with artificial and nothing else.' I thought as I was sneaking around the artificials.

I figured that the feeling came from the very center of Kliyer but instead it had gotten weaker. I went back and forth trying to see which direction it is by using my senses but soon found out that it lead to a sewer under me.

Thankfully, it was in one of the alleyways so I focused on lifting the heavy lid without worry. Going into the sewer, I immediately dashed backward while pulling his knife from the sheath.

An artificial was in front of him staring blankly at me but soon it then started banging its head into the wall. I immediately calmed down and decided to not do anything and instead watched as I explored.

As I explore further there, I also notice that there was no sewage in this particular part of the sewer and only had more artificials doing random things with one of them, dismantling its leg and then attaching it back again while another was scraping its hand onto a wall making a very unpleasant sound. There were many more artificials doing what seems to be doing specific things but I couldn't identify them because of how dark it was.

Then finally I found a light on the other side of the sewer and immediately, I dropped my stance and cautiously approach.

As I approached, the light invaded my eyes but before long, I regained my vision again, what I saw was a giant factory with artificials running it.

'So rusty and old, this is probably the work of those rouge artificials.' I thought.

'But strangely none of them possess human traits' The artificials were only working on something big with some guarding it with equipment meant for human soldiers. They worked silently and the clangs of their body, their tools, and the machines were the only thing that made any kind of noise.

I was reminded of a theory back in my world about how when robots killed humanity, they would have only seen it as a wall that they needed to destroy and not as an actual threat.

I look at the artificials behind me, they were broken and useless, they decided to abandon the broken ones instead of fixing them.

I tried to look deeper trying to see what they were working on but the slippery moss made me slip causing me to fall. I tried to stab the wall with my knife, trying to stop the fall but it seems, I was not strong enough to pierce the metal causing me to fall on my back.

I spit out saliva and felt my back had cracked a bone or two and before long, a bunch of artificials approached the area.

Thanks to my fast decision-making, I tolerated the pain and he rolled under one of the machines that were making parts for their arms.

'They move like a tactical swat team.' I calmly thought as if I wasn't in a situation where I could die instantly after making a single sound.

'There was saying about how creatures can smell your fear or something, not sure if that applies to robots.' The artificials pass me as they stay alert.

'I really like gambling with my life eh? But then again not like I or anyone would really care if I die or not.' As the last artificials last passed him, I waited for a minute or two before leaving.

I went to a silo-like structure with stairs leading to the top and found an artificial with a crossbow guarding looking around the area, as I silently approach it.

"Don't stab it yet, Don't stab it yet, Don't stab it yet, Don't stab it yet," I repeated to myself. There were two other artificials in the area which could see me if I killed the artificials now. Not to mention, I was also intoxicated with this new feeling known as thrill which made me seem like I was fooling around to anyone who could read my inner thoughts.

The other two artificials look away from the artificial in front of me and immediately, I stab the artificial core in its chest before slowly and silently hiding it by dragging it back to the stairs.

Thankfully, none of the other two cared about the missing artificials so I killed them as well using the same methods.

There were only three silo-like structures so there were no further artificials that could see me.

Looking around, I saw two tunnels, one with a comically large exit sign above it and the other has a faith glow running out of it. Usually, I try to secure his exit first but the glow made me infatuated for some reason so I immediately went to the glowing tunnel.

'I really haven't been having fun in years...' I thought sadly to myself before putting it in the back of my head and deciding to forget about it.

Reaching the end of the tunnel I found many artificials praying and repeating the words: "Machine God."

And I looked at the figure with a body of a young man however everything about him was pitch black and goopy. The figure looks back at him and immediately the sense of dread becomes, one alerting of impending death.