What's your Wishes?

Splat.

The sound of a small splat echoed in the air, followed by a red slow stream of blood flowing from my chin. With a wince, I instinctively raised my hand and pressed it against the small wound, feeling the sticky warmth of blood on my fingers - the blood trickled down my fingers, leaving a faint red trail.

"Ah, used to pain huh?" he commented at my reaction to the slash.

I gritted my teeth and took a deep breath, trying to steady my shaking nerves.

"Okay, I got it. I'll join your party..." I replied with a rough exhale.

He lowered the katana, the sharp edges now tinged with a little amount of blood.

"Well, I don't mind either way."

"Do you enjoy hurting people?"

He chuckled, moving around the katana that had inflicted the cut on my chin.

"Not particularly. But I do what I have to do."

I couldn't help but notice that his ragged clothes had completely disappeared, probably due to his swift and active movements before that caused them to slip off and fall to the ground.

As a result, his naked body was exposed, revealing a lean, well-built frame that caught my eye. Faint but visible lines of muscles rippled across his torso, highlighting his six-pack abs and toned chest.

His arms were chiseled with defined biceps and triceps, while his legs displayed a sleek muscularity.

He raised his eyebrows.

"I don't swing that way, sorry," he said as he covered his privates with his free left arm.

"..."

I stood there, silent, not finding his joke funny.

"..follow my words," he suddenly announced.

"Okay…"

"With the power of all-seeing eyes, I call forth their mark," he began, his gaze fixed on me. "—submit to my will, grant my wish. Let their mark be etched upon my soul, their power mine to command."

"..do I really have to repeat all that?"

"Yeah."

My neck hairs stood on end as I began to repeat the words.

"..W-With the power of…"

"—all-seeing eyes."

"A-All seeing eyes, I c-call forth…their mark…"

"Submit to my will."

"Submit t-to my will…grant my wish. L-Let their mark be carved up—..."

"It's etched upon my soul and their power mine to command."

"Their mark…be etched upon my soul, their power mine to comm…and-"

As I finished the last phrase, a sizzling pain shot through the back of my hand.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!

I fall to my knees and clutched my 'injured' hand.

My vision blurred, and all I could hear was the sound of my own screams as the pain consumed me.

"FUUUUCKKK!!!! AGH!!!" I howled, gritting my teeth as the pain continued to pulse through my body.

"...welcome….ance—"

As I stood there, I felt an inexplicable sensation of emptiness, a void that seemed to swallow me whole. The ringing in my ears grew louder and louder, piercing my eardrums with a deafening screech.

But as soon as it came, the pain was gone, and I found myself standing upright, puzzled by what had just happened.

Confused, I looked around, trying to make sense of what had just happened.

And then,

I gazed down at the backside of my left hand and my eyes widened in surprise as I beheld a mysterious mark etched onto my skin.

"What the hell is this?" I muttered to myself, staring at the symbol in disbelief.

As I studied the mark, I couldn't help but wonder if it was some kind of party emblem, indicating my membership in his called so party.

"A logo," he spoke up, his voice calm and casual. "You know, like a symbol or something."

"A logo?" I repeated incredulously, still trying to wrap my head around the weird shit I found myself in. "Why would I need a logo?"

"Yep," he replied. "There's no fancy system or interface here. Just a logo on your hand, plain and simple."

I raised my gaze up, at him, slowly.

"Hey, don't look at me like that," he shrugged. "Since there's no system here, like I said before, they just put the logo directly on your hand. It's kinda weird, I know."

I was taken aback, to say the least.

"My name's—"

"Wait. Why do I need to feel that before?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Of course that goddamn pain."

"Oh, that," he muttered, scratching his head in thought. "Well, you see, the sensations that you experienced earlier, the ones that you felt, saw, and heard, they were all just an illusion."

"Wait a minute," I interrupted. "What do you mean an illusion?"

He looked at me with a perplexed expression, as if I was asking a question that was obvious to everyone except me.

"The thing you felt, saw, and heard before was just a mere illusion," he explained. "I've experienced it too. Whenever you feel that pain, it's just your mind playing tricks on you. Did you do anything particular when you felt it?"

I tried to recall my actions and realized that I had kneeled down and covered the back of my hand.

"Nothing out of the ordinary."

I couldn't help but feel a little disoriented at his explanation.

"So... it was all in my head?"

"Exactly," he confirmed with a nod. "When you were feeling the pain, I just saw the mark slowly forming as you stood there with a stoic expression."

I nodded, still trying to wrap my head around the bizarre experience.

"Why would my mind conjure up an illusion of pain in the first place?"

He leaned in closer, his eyes locking onto mine.

"Who knows? Maybe it's just the game's way of making things feel more real. Or maybe there's a deeper reason behind it, something we haven't uncovered yet."

I pondered his words for a moment, wondering if there was more to this game that was weird enough for me.

"Well, there you have it," He continued. "Your mind conjured up an illusion, nothing more. Anyway, my name is Nio, make sure you remember it." He flashed a grin. "You can call me Noire though," he added, as if an afterthought.

"Why Noire?"

"Well, people called me like that in this game," Nio explained casually. "So I guess it just stuck."

"A nickname…"

"Do you want one too?"

"I'm good…"

"Oh! what's your name?"

"..—Igara Youta," I replied hesitantly.

"Youta it is then," Nio declared.

I closed my eyes, feeling a bit uncomfortable with how quickly Nio was trying to become buddy-buddy with me.

"Aren't you being a little too familiar?" I announced, opening my eyes back.

Nio shrugged, unfazed.

"What do you want me to call you then?"

"Igara is fine," I sighed.

"I don't really care either way, Igara," Nio said with a dismissive wave of his left hand.

"Sure, Noi."

"It's not Noi, it's Nio," Nio corrected me.

"Can you give me my katana back now?"

"Oh yeah…"