Lost Lands [4]

The jaws of the enormous snake closed rapidly. At that moment, Void didn't have time to react, or rather, he was so preoccupied with his approaching death that he didn't consider the possibility of switching sides.

For those few seconds, the young man stood breathless, staring into the dark depths of the snake's throat.

"Stay still."

Void, who had squinted his eyes, slowly opened them again. The gigantic snake in front of him kept its mouth open, yet it struggled to move.

"How annoying..." Kaiser said, letting out a sigh. "It's a good thing you brought that torch; you would have died if you didn't," he added between laughs, though they didn't seem directed at Void.

Void stared at Kaiser for a few seconds, confused. "Tch..." He looked back at the snake in annoyance.

"Get on the ground," Kaiser ordered again. In an instant, the snake glued itself to the ground, unable to fight the young man's words.

He took a few steps forward. "Stick your katana into its core."

There was a moment of silence. Void looked at him doubtfully. "Don't tell me you don't know what a core is?" Kaiser said, confused.

Void felt his ego shatter; he didn't respond, avoiding Kaiser's gaze.

Kaiser let out a nervous laugh. "That's why you cut the nightmares so... Never mind... behind its head, there's a small engraving, similar to the runes we have."

Void climbed up the snake's head. He could see the nightmare trembling, not out of fear, but because it was desperately fighting to escape whatever was holding it still.

After climbing all the way up and taking a few steps toward the end of its head, Void could indeed find a runic letter engraved in the snake's scaly skin. The rune was glowing brightly.

Void, without trying to search too hard, stabbed his katana in. The rune began to lose its shine and with it, began to fade.

Suddenly, Void fell to the ground. 'What happens now?' he wondered, puzzled. But when he looked, his confusion increased. The enormous snake had also begun to fade.

"That's what happens when you kill a nightmare..." Kaiser said, breaking the silence.

Void didn't look away; the scene was incredible; it was as if the snake hadn't even been there. "That's never happened to me when killing a nightmare..." Void murmured.

"Of course, you don't even kill them by removing the rune..." Kaiser replied.

There was an awkward silence. Amidst all the darkness, illuminated by a faint flame, a whitish energy began to gather in front of them, forming a door.

"That's the exit..." Kaiser walked casually toward the door.

Void watched him walk slowly away. He was confused. How could they know so much about this new world?

With quickened steps, Void approached Kaiser and firmly grabbed his shoulder. "Hey..." he said in a serious tone. "How do you know so much about this world?" he added, confusion in his words.

Kaiser sighed. "Really..." the young man's voice changed. It was no longer mocking, but rather cold. There was a moment of silence, during which Kaiser seemed to be considering his words.

"Just..." The tension increased with each passing moment. "How is it possible that you know so little?" His mocking tone returned. Kaiser watched him out of the corner of his eye with a certain... pity.

Void gritted his teeth. "What do you mean?" he asked, tightening his grip on Kaiser's shoulder.

"When you entered the gates on Earth, the runes explained this new world to you."

"Ah..." Void released his grip on Kaiser's shoulder. 'Really... I don't remember writing that in the novel?' he thought, confused.

"By the way," Kaiser said, rolling his shoulder in circles. "You hurt me, you know that?" he added. Void felt a chill run down his spine.

"Go hop toward the door," Kaiser ordered. As soon as he said it, Void began hopping toward the door.

"No, no, do it like a rabbit," Kaiser ordered again. And just as he had ordered, Void began hopping like a rabbit.

"Uhahahaha..." Kaiser couldn't hold back his laughter.

"Stop!" Void shouted angrily. However, Kaiser didn't seem to hear him, or rather, didn't want to hear him.

When Void finally reached the door, he stopped hopping; the order had already been fulfilled. "Thank goodness no one else saw this..." Void thought, embarrassed.

"Hahaha... I don't believe it..." Kaise said, walking toward the door and wiping the tears from his eyes. "I never thought I'd see someone so serious jumping like that..." he added, trying to stop laughing.

The whitish door faintly illuminated the surroundings of the room, allowing him to see a step.

'I didn't realize I was jumping...' Void thought, staring at the step. Void was about to warn Kaiser about the step, but a desire for revenge ran through his mind.

"Seriously, I love my ability..." While Kaiser was feeling proud, he took an empty step. "What is this...?" Thud, Kaiser fell face first to the ground.

"Pft... Hahahaha..." Void began to laugh uncontrollably. "Tell your ability to help you with that, hahaha."

Kaiser looked at Void, embarrassed. "Yeah... I'm not going to let you use your ability on me..." Void said as he walked out the door.

Kaiser watched him leave the room and after a few seconds tried to stand up. "Come on... What kind of people are these that don't even respect you?" he stammered, slapping his clothes.

He walked toward the exit with an annoyed look, like a child. He walked through the door.

The cool night air hit his face, the sound of crickets quickly reached his ears, and with it... "Boo!" exclaimed a man next to the door.

"Eek!" Kaiser took a step back. "Ugh... Do you all want to laugh at me today or what?" Kaiser said in an annoyed tone.

"It was just a scare, Kaiser..." the man responded with a calm smile. He had long white hair, which was tied up. His eyes were yellow and his skin was brown. The man was wearing a dark knight's suit and had a huge greatsword on his back.

"I thought you weren't interested in completing this ruin..." the man asked, watching the whitish energy disappear.

Kaiser began to walk. "It just emerged... By the way, Blake, haven't you seen anyone else leave?"

The man shook his head. "I see. What's their goal if not to leave this world?" he wondered, looking up at the sky.

At the same moment, Void was staring at the dark horizon over a cliff. The world visible from his position was immense: cultures, empires, monsters, a history full of mysteries... It was simply spectacular.

For Void, who had seen everything evil on Earth, this was a place where he could forget about following imposed guidelines.

A world where all he had to do was venture into danger—that was the feeling he was seeking when he began his novel.

'After going through all this, I have a clear goal in mind... To complete my own novel,' he thought resolutely as he gazed at the endless horizon.

He felt a sense of freedom, even though it felt empty. Even if this was what he'd wanted his whole life, how could he rest easy with the man who had helped him his whole life in a coma?

And not only that, but now Arthur found himself in a lawless world, unprotected. Void let out a sigh. Hundreds of bad thoughts began to cross his mind. His goal of completing the novel had to wait, his duty to protect his only family was more important.

A memory flashed through Void's mind...

Footsteps echoed along the stone walls of the hallway.

"Hey, why do you want to fight alone?" Kaiser asked, confused. "Even when I offered you entry into the Order, you didn't want to..." he added.

"So you remember, bastard," Void said, gritting his teeth.

Kaiser looked away. "What?"

"Tch..." Void clicked his tongue angrily. After a moment of silence, he responded. "That way I can just focus on myself, without needing to protect others..." His voice took on a slightly emotional tone.

"That's useless..." Kaiser replied, his words serious. "What's the point if you die? It'll all end there... Remember, no one is strong enough alone, even I look for companions," he added.

Those words hit Void hard, yet it was a reality he couldn't deny.

"No matter how strong one is, there's always someone stronger," Kaiser said, his gaze piercing the darkness in front of him.

Silence reigned in the halls again. The echo of his footsteps was the only thing audible.

"Do you know what a counter is?" Kaiser asked, his mocking tone returning.

Void looked at him, bewildered. "Damn bipolar..."

He shrugged. "I suppose you don't know... A counter is a person who counteracts another. This also exists in runic abilities, which is why no one can be the strongest..." Kaiser explained.

"I see..." Void thought, concentrating on the explanation.

Kaiser continued. "Somewhere in the world, there must be someone who is the opposite of your exchange ability, and there must also be someone who is the opposite of my obedience ability."

"My counter is you, damn it..." Void thought angrily.

"That's why we gather in groups, not only to avoid dying against that counter, but to be able to face something even more dangerous: the nightmares," Kaiser said, seemingly concerned by the last thing mentioned.

"We slayers are divided into six groups: control, of which I am a part, support, tank, destroyer, launcher, and finally, your group, assassins," Kaiser explained. "That's why I need you in my group. With training, you could be the perfect assassin, and why not, be among those considered the strongest..." he added.

Those last words were the last thing Void remembered about the conversation. During that time when he was thoughtful, he walked through the forest in search of something. And after moving through the fallen branches of the trees, he found it.

"You've finally returned..." Kaiser said, glancing back.

"I have a condition."