Chapter 31: Progress is the Enemy of Stagnancy
There was his o'l reliable black box.
Yet, there was something strange about it.
The cryptic subtle glow that flowed out from it had traces of... something else.
And it felt like, that something else... was watching him, something foreign to even this mysterious object.
WHOOOOSH!!
The golden light leaked out once more from the black box, bathing the boy and the entire space in its golden rays, spilling outwards and filling the entire white space, yet these beams contained a more malice energy to them as a loud-
BOOOOOOOM!
Rung out across the sky, shaking the entire space.
'What's going on?' Oz wondered as the world around him moaned and creaked in agony.
That premonition of danger had not yet disappeared, and so Oz wondered, 'Is it cuz of the box?' the boy continued to watch the box as it shook and sputtered in the air, finally...
The golden light pouring from out the black box solidified into 2 golden orbs that hovered above.
Each of the orbs was massive and looked like the sun compared to an ant when comparing its scale with Oz.
'Wait a minute...' the boy thought as he watched the scene unfold, 'This feels... familiar.'
Just as his premonitions would have it, black slits resembling devilish pupils began to roll down from above the orbs, fully facing the boy and staring him down.
"Heh," Oz muttered as he stared at the colossal floating balls of energy that looked to be eyes, "Looks like no matter what, I can't seem to escape you."
He had a sorrowful, hopeless smile on his face.
"At least make it quick, bitch." Oz arrogantly squinted his eyes at the pair above him.
The orbs began to quiver, perhaps from rage, perhaps from something else.
Yet, before it could instantly decimate the young boy, it began to disperse, fragmenting off into tiny golden specks of light that slowly descended back down towards the black box.
The light resembled millions of tiny fireflies that gently fluttered down, unbelievable for such a dangerous, bloodthirsty being to be so... "Beautiful."
Oz subconsciously muttered out, not realizing he had spoken it until the word parted from his tongue.
Finally, as the army of gorgeous lights reached the black cube that floated motionlessly, they began to melt into it.
An extraordinarily bright glow burst forth, nearly blinding Oz as he covered his eyes and turned away.
Yet at that moment, a strong suction pulled at his chest, pulling the boy off his feet and sending him flying toward the bright center.
"Wahhhh!" he screamed out as his body tumbled through the air, "Shit, shit, shit!"
He saw his body rapidly approaching the black box and he felt his eyes flood with tears and his bones began to reduce to sludge from the high speeds.
If this didn't leave him paralyzed, then this collision definitely would, or worse.
The bright box in the center, which had specks of floating fireflies surrounding it, was fast approaching as Oz moved, so quickly he couldn't even look in front of him to know when the impact would arrive.
So with no other options, he screamed out as his body continued to fly through the air "Gahhhhh!" he knew that in just a few seconds, he'd breathe his last.
WHOOOOSHHH!!
Yet, there was no pain, no feeling of collision, and no sound.
'Did I stop?' Oz strained his neck to look down and see he was still floating.
The black box was right in front of him, yet Oz's eyes widened in shock as the black box was being... eaten!
Few remnants of the box remained, with it now reduced to a small lump, resembling a piece of charcoal faintly humming and continuing to float.
Oz felt a lump in his throat at the sight, 'M-my levels, my bloodline...'
His ol' reliable, black box, "It's gone..." he muttered as he stared at the devoured box.
Not even a single crumb was left of it.
However, the sparkles of lights weren't finished as they began to converge upon themselves, a bright light pouring out from it, causing Oz to cover his eyes with his hand once more and look away.
Finally, after the light had died down, the boy's eyes widened in shock at what he saw.
Floating in the space where the black box had previously been was now a new floating partial box, this one golden with a hateful malicious ooze seeping out from it.
This one was partial because parts of it were missing.
As if a whole chunk had been bitten out with only the 50% of the box remaining there, yet even with that being the case, Oz felt a far more dangerous energy leaking from this object.
Floating in front of him, a strange pulling sensation tugged at him as if tempting him with the prospects of greater glory.
The boy's tranquil gaze held fast on the enticing object, not even thinking for more than a few seconds before slowly reaching out with his hand.
Both were suspended in the air.
As Oz neared closer and closer, it felt like reuniting with a piece of himself that went missing.
HISSSSS!
It whizzed in the air, past his hand, and straight into his chest.
WHOOOOSH!!
Oz's body was sent flying back and tumbling across the blank white floor, sprawling and spazzing on the ground in pain as a blazing sensation coursed through every part of his body.
Even the tips of his eyelashes and the edge of his fingernails felt overwhelming agony.
The boy gritted his teeth and squeezed his eyes, trying to contain the pain and control himself from screaming out, yet as the blistering pain took a tighter grip on his body, he failed to contain it any longer.
"AAAAAAAGGGHHHHHHHHHH!"
A scream far louder than he had ever done and far longer than even before blared out, and with that wail, a golden beam of light shot out from his mouth and reached far into the white void.
The beam was wider than the thickest of trees and denser than the hardest of metals, yet it looked like a column of pure golden light that shook the surrounding area.
Huffhuff...
Finally, as the pain winded down and the boy regained his bearing, he lay there on his back, his arms and legs sprawled across the pure white canvas that stretched on forever.
He opened his eyes, his black eyes now a renewed golden glow that slowly dimmed down to an even purer black.
Huffhuff...
The boy's chest heaved up and down, and a thick sheet of sweat painted his face; however, as the boy continued to catch his breath, his eyes staring off into the void, a smile crept onto his face, as that most beautiful sound and long-awaited message had arrived.
[Ding]
[System... Evolved]
A huge smirk was spread across Oz's face as he lay face up on the ground, 'Welcome back, little box! Or rather..."
The boy grasped his chin, thinking whether this little box was truly back or if this was something else entirely.
"How-"; however, before Oz could even check his status or examine the changes to his boxy companion, his mind experienced the feeling of whiplash.
WHOOOOSH!
"Ughhh!" Oz grunted out as it felt like his soul was sucked out of his body.
Images rushed past him, far too fast to comprehend, till he noticed that the white area around him was gone, and he now standing in a barren field, 'Wut the?..' Oz whipped his head around, examining the area.
A familiar red sky gushed with greed from above, and the sound of burning crackles entered the boy's ears.
"Is this?.." Oz had begun to piece 2 and 2 together, "But why?.."
Then as if something was calling to him, Oz glanced over at the remains of the cave, now reduced to a pile of rubble.
Yet, even so, he felt something... pulling him there.
Then, without warning, a huge column of golden light shot from underneath the rubble and into the sky, yet strangely not disturbing a single pebble as if the cave wasn't even there.
As this powerful beam launched a loud-
BOOOOOOM!!
This sound erupted from above, cracking a hole in the heavens and causing the world around Oz to shake before finally crumbling.
CRACKSHHH!
The world around him shattered like glass, leaving Oz the whims of the void as he fell through total darkness, a sensation of powerlessness coursing through his entire body, fearing for when he would meet the ground and splat to this death.
"Ahhh!" Oz yelled out as his body shot up, and returned to the blank space he was in before.
He looked around and gazed at the white endless world he was in.
As the boy thought back to what he had just seen, a subtle golden glow twinkled in his mind.
"I see," he murmured.
Having seen the golden box that looked to only be partially completed and now, after just experiencing whatever the hell that was, Oz had a... theory.
"That light is the rest of the box." he leaned back onto his hands as he stared at the endless sea of white above, "Which means..."
The boy closed his eyes and sighed, and he titled his head down, "Heheh... heheheh.... HAHAAHAHAHAAAAA!" his small chuckles burst out into maniacal laughter that reverberated through the entire chamber of blank space; however, not even an echo of his voice returned.
He was here alone.
Nonetheless, the boy continued, "Which means..." a greedy light shone in his black eyes that now shifted into a golden hue, "I gotta go back to that hell hole."
He then peeled his eyes with a coy smile, "Explains why I had that feeling to ask about that smuggler..."
With that plane around him began to shake, a rumbling sound blaring through the area, "Well," Oz smiled to himself, "It's about time I woke up anyways."
And with that...
CRACKSSHHH!!
The white space shattered, fragmenting into pieces and dropping the boy into the dark void, soon expecting to wake up.
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