Testing (IV)

"True. The media does not like to talk about such superstitious things. It would scare people or make you look like some insane person." Angel was calming down. "You seem to have a straight head, unlike the many people here who think they will become some grand superhero."

"Are you sure this Academy is not for creating superheroes? You have stated yourself that we will become heroes one day."

"Yes, there is a difference between a Hero and a SuperHero. A hero is a normal person who saves a life through normal methods. They are the true faces of today's society of heroes. We are not in a comic book world. So do you believe you will become one yourself?"

Kiyro shrugged. "I don't know, sir. I'm a student forced to come here with a bomb strapped to his neck." He tapped his fingers on the silver collar.

"Just a student, you say? I hardly see it as that. Please be reassured that the silver collar is for safety reasons."

"I highly doubt that." Kiyro lazily stated that Angel's words were playing with him. "Nowhere in the American constitution is a law that states that regular citizens can be strapped to the neck with an explosive. This is kidnapping, and our rights are being taken from us." He smashed his hands in anger. The pent-up frustration of being trapped in this forsaken hell hole was not to his taste.

All his freedom was taken away from him, and his only comfort was in the game. His future is gone, the answer for his brother elusive, and a psychopath in front of him talking about heroes. To him, things couldn't get any stranger.

"Who said that we are on American grounds?" A sliver of mischievous smile erupted from Angel's face.

Kiyro felt a very uncomfortable feeling coming from Angel.

"You are in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, a man-made island hidden from the world." He proudly stated like nothing was wrong with it. "No one is going to find you here."

His heart dropped to his stomach. Was what Angel said true? He felt panic starting to rise. This made the idea of escaping ten times more difficult than before.

"You're not kidding, a-are you?" Kiyro stuttered, trying to take this all in. "I mean, a man-made island?"

"I was joking, kid. Relax." Angel snorted when he saw Kiyro's face contort.

This kid is fun to tease, though this is an artificial island. Ah~ What would I give to kill him and the others now? They all seem to have quite high-quality souls. The last time I touched a single soul was before my last artwork. I'll be patient for now and wait for the fruit to ripen. Angel's voice intruded into Kyros' thoughts.

"Eh..heh…he..h.." Kiyro weakly chuckled. He knew that he was walking on a thin line. "Are we done with the test?"

Angel thought it over for a moment. "Actually, yes. You may leave." He waved him off.

Kiyro got up and headed towards the exit. He turned towards the wall and noticed the card sticking into the wall. A black shimmer of energy pulsated around the card, and pieces of the black shadow decorated the wall like confetti. Then, he shuffled straight out of the room with silent hurried steps.

#####

Oct. 14, 2054. Wednesday. 2:33 AM

It took both groups to finish a clean copy of the world of both the Living world and the Spirit World Dungeon map up to the 40th floor. Everything about the Spiritual World was almost the exact mirror of the Living world; the only difference was the monster's power was three times stronger than their forms in the physical world. In addition, new abilities that he did not see from the physical plane were shown in the Spirit world.

This gave Zero's team a lot more experience, allowing them to push through in levels, but the trouble started the moment they died.

"Damn it." Agnis cursed while stomping out the Mummy that was slowly dissipating. "What does it take to obtain freaking armor! Their attacks are too dangerous with nothing but our spiritual weapons."

"Be glad we are brought back at the beginning of the first level when we die." Zeraph voiced his opinion. "If not, we would all be fighting in this forsaken death trap."

Zero's group was on the thirty-eighth level, slowly trekking through the Pyramid's dungeon. The dungeon was damp and humid, reminding Zero of Georgia's summer weather, which he especially disliked. For some reason, he could feel himself sweating even in the spiritual world.

Even the air was rank and stifling, making it a bit difficult to breathe. The only light present was Agnis' flames and the magician orbs that danced around them. His group closely stays together, watching over each other's backs. Zero, Agnis, and Zeraph were leading the group from behind. The darkness from behind was ten times more difficult to bear than Elron, who was leading the front.

Monsters constantly attacked the front and the back, but it was worse in the back. Zeraph, Zero, Elron, and Agnis were the only strong enough to hold back large numbers of monsters by themselves. The group was much more at ease to know that their strongest was watching their back while Elron took the front.

The monsters were a lot more vicious and powerful, and only a rare few would drop a piece of accessory or a weapon. Even still, this gave a huge boost in fighting power to Zero's group. They were all armorless with no item recovery but the clothes on their back.

"Calm down, Agnis. The creator did not make this game impossible." Zero spoke. He was carefully scanning their surroundings for any traps or possible monsters ahead. "We got some drops, you know."

"Yea, but we can't even use these drops that we obtain in this world with the other world and vice versa. I mean, seriously? I get the saying you only leave with your birthday suit when you die, but this is quite a bit of a setback in conquering this dungeon. Not only that, the penalty for second death is a lot higher than before…." Agnis's voice trailed off with displeasure.

"True. You lose three levels and have to walk through the Void, but it's not that hard to recover, you know."

"I'm not like you. Walking through the Void is a lot scarier than I ever anticipated. I'm not the type to get scared easily, but this is on a whole different level. There is nothing there, Zero.

It's…..terrifying." Agnis shuddered. "I thought I was in there for thousands of years."

"I know I'm not a fan of dying, but she has a point." Zeraph worded with a slightly uneasy voice.

"I never felt so alone. It felt like my soul was unraveling every second and becoming nothing…no one…I was just no more." Even Zeraph zoned off, and the light in his eyes became

cloudy.

Zero understood what they meant. The Void was not something that any one of them had ever experienced in their life. He could still feel the cold, piercing darkness that enveloped his existence. He would stay unmoving, accepting his death like it was natural, letting his existence disappear into the unknown. It was when a light orb appeared before him that he was guided out of that depressing darkness. The constant warmth of that light helped him move forward, a soft voice echoing in his ears and soul telling him to keep going. Repeatedly stating everything is going to be okay.

They finally reached out from the void and entered the Church of Infinity Resurrection circle. He feared that he would've stayed dead in a vegetable state if it was not for that light orb. So far, everyone in his team had experienced the Void, and they all shuddered at the thought of dying a second time. This made everyone more diligent in staying alive, even in the spirit world.

"See, you got that same look that everyone gives off."