Confinement (1)

'Where am I?'

Opening his eyes, Evan found himself in the same dark void, where darkness reigned absolutely supreme. Already slightly accustomed to the blackness surrounding him, he was less bothered with the suffocating feeling he felt from the first entry.

'So this means I'm not dead, but just in a deeply unconsciousness state on the outside, however on the inside, I'm inside this strange place.'

Still having no idea what this peculiar place was, Evan had a few guesses that it was related to the azure ball somehow.

Having many questions yet no way to find answers, he once again travelled in the darkness as his mind conjured eerie shadows that grinned menacingly.

'This is seriously creepy!'

Shaking his head, Evan took a shaky breath. Having been in this place before, the fear generated by the unknown didn't faze him as much.

His only worry was how he failed to sense the disgusting green abomination that attacked him when he and Astrid were about to make their way back to the outpost.

'For me to not be able to sense him until he flickered into my peripheral vision shows just how high his level is. Does that mean he has advanced in his rank and underwent a qualitative change?'

Wearing a grim expression, Evan felt that the current situation was very dangerous. Having still not recovered fully mentally and physically from the previous series of events, the last thing he needed was to be placed in another perilous situation.

'Ugh. Curse my luck! Also, what did that thing say? Ah, yes. He wants to fatten me up before feasting on my flesh. This is straight out of a horror novel.'

Dissecting the green being's words, Evan managed to glean some information which explained his current situation.

Continuing to walk in the darkness, which rippled slightly every time he moved, he soon arrived at the barrier which prevented him from travelling any further.

Sighing, Evan felt a strong sense of anticipation at being able to relive the memories of his happy and warm days with his family back in his childhood.

Gazing at the white sparks of light which flared into existence, he revealed an excited smile, silently guessing what type of memory he would witness this time.

As the bright light receded, he found himself gazing at a group of kids running about. They screamed, shouted, and giggled as they enjoyed participating in fun activities, which distracted them from the apocalyptic hell outside.

Stopping his gaze on 2 kids in particular, who both shared the same set of enchanting golden pupils, Evan softly smiled.

'Ella! I hope you haven't forgotten about your big brother.'

Chuckling to himself bitterly, an intense sadness washed over him. Gritting his teeth, Evan pushed the sadness away as he focused on reliving the best moments of his life.

Continuing to watch the peace, his smile became brighter as tears of laughter appeared in the corner of his eyes.

'Haha! Ella, I remember the time when you came up to me in tears because your favourite flower in the garden was destroyed. As you were sobbing, you begged me to teach the boys who had decimated the flower by accident a lesson. Of course, after seeing your hurt look alongside that insanely cute face of yours, I instantly agreed. After dealing with the rowdy boys who destroyed your flower, I vividly recall getting you another bright and colourful one from the garden and you instantly forgot about the one that just got destroyed. Also, you don't know this but father gave me one hell of a beating after that, haha. Don't you remember this, Ella? Ella?'

Snapping out of his reverie, Evan remembered where he was as his face, which was full of laughter, became filled with pain. Choking back his tears, which threatened to stream down his face, a dark light bloomed in his eyes.

'I swear I will do everything in my power to get revenge! Just wait, Fletcher Family, your day of reckoning will eventually come!'

As the memory gradually faded, Evan was once again enveloped in darkness on all sides. Wearing a hate-filled expression on his face, the harrowing blackness rippled as if silently agreeing with him.

Feeling his consciousness blur, Evan's mind gradually returned to a cold stillness as his eyes drooped before closing.

***

On the lowest floor of a derelict building deep in the Forbidden Wilds, a set of cages were stored there, trapping many living creatures. Wide cracks covered the grey walls, as the building seemed like it would collapse in on itself at any moment.

In a cage, at the far end of the corridor on the bottom-most floor, a figure was slumped in its cell lying motionless on the floor with two distinct bindings on its hands.

Crawling beside him were countless white maggots and tiny insects which, after the 'collision', became monsters in their own right.

Tearing tiny pieces of flesh from the figure's body, the ant-like creatures carried the fresh piece of muscle on their exoskeleton before travelling through a hole in the wall back to their nest.

Meanwhile, the maggots were burrowing themselves into the newly created wounds caused by the pincers of the small monsters.

Greedily gulping the blood from the figure's body, the white maggots entered a state of bliss where they could begin to have some nourishment.

As the maggots and small monsters combined, assaulting his body, the figure's muscles began twitching.

Continually twitching, the figure's body slightly rolled on the floor. Reaching a crescendo, the twitching finally stopped as the figure's eyes snapped open, revealing a set of bright, golden eyes.

That figure was non-other than Evan, who belatedly realized his hands were bound by some thick material.

Heaving a sigh of relief after finding that his legs weren't bound, he turned his attention to the itchy sensation which proliferated throughout his body.

Moving into an upright position with great difficulty, Evan's eyes widened in alarm, getting a better view of what was lying before him.

'What the fuck!'

Scared out of his wits, he gazed in horror at the small ant-like tearing pieces of his skin before scurrying off somewhere beyond the crack in the wall. Kicking out with his feet, Evan squashed as many of the small ant-like monsters as he could.

As for the white maggots which were leeching off his blood, he circulated his mana around his body silently killing all the maggots in his boy, as it poisoned them to death.