VIII

"Home sweet home," Atharion say, smiling while entering hjs room. "Even though it's just a room." The room is huge, containing a large bed, a large office table with multiple books, dataslates and a cogitator, four bookshelves, and have 4 servo skulls hovering around.

"Master Atharion," one servor skulls state while hovering Infront of him. "Do you in-need of our service?"

"Not now," Atharion reply, while walking towards his bed. "I plan to have a rest, after all, I have been training for whole 3 years, now I finally have the chance to have a long rest." The servo skulls bionic eye light up three times before hovering to other place.

While he laying down, closing his eyes to rest, he can feel the room have gone quiet , other than the sound of servo skulls hovering. He remember the past 3 years. The years that he train and learn endlessly, worrying the test results everytime. Soon, he fall asleep with this thought still lingering in his mind.

Now, he have enter a special place inside your mind. A place for the last 5 years, he still can understand what is it's, other than it help him to train and learn more things that the Nine can't provide now. And he casually take the book, a book cover in red and blue, with shimmering gold trim. A book that contains all type of knowledge, governance, warfare, construction and more.

While a hammer is floating beside him, its main color is black, with silver trim on the handler.

Fog form around him, muffling the sound and creating a silent, eerie atmosphere. He can hear faint sound of movement coming out of the fog, sound of an animal walking or flying inside it.

===============================

982.M35

"Huh? Where am I?" Richard look at his surroundings, which a fog have surrounded you. "Shouldn't I suppose to be inside the capsule? Why am I here?"

Suddenly, Richard heard sound of footsteps coming from Infront. "Hello," He shouted into the fog. "Is some body there? I need some help!"

After yelling for two more times and received no feedback, he decide to walk in the fog. 'If I walk straight, then I might meet the person that make the footsteps.'

While he's walking, he realize the fog is starting to become thinner. Just then, he see a person, with suit of armor and a sword on his left hand. "Hey, can I...." Before he can finish the sentence, that person started to attack him. Richard raise his sword on his left hand to protect himself. Only when the swords clash, the sound make him realize. 'When did I have this sword? And when did I wearing this armor?' Realize that, other that the sword, he's also wearing an armor now.

While he parrying all the attack coming from that figure, he yelled at man. "Wait, why do you attacking me? I only need your help to escape this place."

"Killing you is my duty," the armored man replied coldly, his voice devoid of emotion.

Panic surged through you. Richard didn't understand what was happening, but one thing was clear, this man intended to kill him.

Richard does his best, using the knowledge he currently have to parry the man attack and create chances to strike him down. While trying for it for 15 minutes, Richard suddenly can't see the man that is just right Infront of him, and suddenly he see his back facing you. 'What? Why did his back facing me? And where has his head gone?' Before Richard can process what is happening, he feel something grabbing his hair and when it pull him up, Richard see a helmet, the man helmet.

*Gasp* after breath in a lot of air, Richard starting to cough violently and puke a little, while his hand move to his neck, hands trembling as the truth hit him. 'I just died, didn't I! That's wasn't his back, it's mine!!'

Panic engulfed Richard, and he stumbled backward, struggling to comprehend what had just happened. Richard sure he just died, then why is he still here, breathing, hearts beating. Is it a twisted dream or a hell that the four chaos gods create for him?

But, before he can collect himself. He hear it again, the footsteps. Richard raise his head towards the sound. This time, he can hear it more clearly, the sound of armor clanking, the metallic scrape of a sword being dragged across the ground. There he is, the man that just kill him.

"You can't escape me, Richard." the man said, his voice cold and void and without any hesitation, he lunged at Richard with his sword.

Richard quickly throw yourself to the sides and scrambling to get on his foot, sword at hand, ready to face the attack. "I don't who you are and what is going on, but I going to defeat you!!" He said to the man.

The man gave no response, save for the eerie silence that followed. He simply raised his sword again, the blade gleaming menacingly, and advanced toward Richard.

Just like that, Richard fought the man again and again, dying at his hands countless times. Each time, he grasped more of his attack patterns - only to fall once more. He tried to create opportunities to counterattack, but every attempt ended in failure, his strikes become faster and more precise than Richard defense.

At first, the frustration was overwhelming, but slowly, Richard began to adjust. One death at a time, he improved. And then, in a moment of triumph, Richard landed a blow. His sword sliced through the man armor, and he staggered for a brief second. Excitement surged through him. 'He can bleed'.

But before Richard could press the advantage, something horrifying happened. The moment his life slipped away again, everything reset. The man wound was gone, and he stood before you as if untouched, just like a boss resetting in a game when the character you control dies.

The realization hit hard. No matter how many times he injured him, each death reset everything. It felt hopeless. But a a determination rose inside him, to escape this blasted world and this man pay for what he has done. If this was like a game, then Richard would learn, adapt, and fight until he found a way to win—no matter how many times it took.

===============================

Sound of armor clank against the floor. The man now kneel in front of Richard, injury all over his body, strangely no blood coming out of the wounds. But Richard didn't take note of it, as himself is full of excitement. "Finally!!!" He scream out loud. "Finally, you're the one that kneeling! You're the one that full of injury! You're the one that going to died!" He say it to the men, coldly. As he rise the sword and swing it down, aiming at the neck. He think that he hear a faint chuckle coming from the men. Before Richard can confirm it, he already severed his head.

As his head hit the ground, and amor sound loudly from the ground, Richard think to himself. 'Finally, this nightmare should end now, with him defeated, I should be able to leave this place.'

Then, Richard close his eyes, release his sword and try to embrace just a short moment of true silence and peace.

A sudden sound of something pierced into something resonance in the empty fog.

Cough Cough

Richard cough out blood, and see a spear pierced through his body from behind. When he look behind him, he see the helmet - that cursed helmet

"Why are you here?!"

It is him, the man that he just kill, the man tormented him, now holding the spear that killing him.

"I already say it, Richard"

"You can't escape me "