21. I/You/Me, and the Champion-Class Calamity.
What was happening here?
I hesitantly followed the creature, my mind racing with questions and dread.
The dojo's interior was like a labyrinth.
One that seemed to increase in complexity every few minutes.
I noticed how shadows moved and the walls adorned with weapons that seemed to drink in the light every time the shadows moved over them.
rather than reflecting light, it seemed to reflect darkness that made the walls shift in ways that were unnerving as certain directions ceased to exist in my perception.
Each step I took felt like walking deeper into the maw of some ancient beast that devours hope itself.
Considering the things I had to deal with all the damn time, I wouldn't put it past the world to have at least one of those lurking somewhere.
Oh, really? Now the I that is you remembers the fifty-four extra....
The silence was broken only by the soft, disturbing clack of the dead, former man's movements.
Yeah, and your subconscious screaming at you/me/I.
It echoed as a sound that should have belonged to a marionette rather than a living being.
This is the worst Idea I have ever had across all the other-
Because even if this was a man at some point, he was actually a goddamn puppet made of flesh and bone now.
...
I wondered what bastard I would have to kill in order to get revenge for whoever else this guy had stolen away.
Why am I/you/me a moron? There's not a chance in hell of success here!
We passed through a series of dimly lit corridors, each more oppressive than the last. The air was thick with the scent of incense.
Perhaps it was something meant to mask another more sinister smell.
At least my experience will merge with I/You/Me soon, and I'll stop making such shitty mistakes.
As we approached what I assumed was the grandmasters chamber, my hand rested on the hilt of my set of daisho and as choice paralysis and sheer terror set in I looked up.
Its weight was a comforting reminder of my readiness for whatever awaited.
My mind refused to comprehend what I was looking at.
Except the chattering of my teeth and the widening of my eyes in existential dread hit me full force.
My mind began to fray into different streams.
De Ja Vu
De Ja Vu
The door was an ominous affair, carved with symbols that didn't match any language or magic I knew, yet they whispered of power, of death, and of control over the very essence of life in a way that was inherently wrong.
De Ja Vu
De Ja Vu
MOVE MOVE MOVE! RUN!
Soul Eradication!
Impossible Threat!
The creature pushed open the door without knocking and I followed dully as my mind refused to comprehend what was happening.
A Room that was wrong.
When had we even entered?!
"Why do I feel like there's more than one me in my head?!"
Revealing a room that was both grand and grotesque.
'Because *!^@n keeps making you and the people we love forget! He refuses to face the facts of how reality works and he keeps ^&!!&^%!&! *!!^!^*&!^* *&!&*!, and since we don't agree with being goddamn evil, he just keeps doing it!'
I heard my own voice, but it was so indistinct that it burned my brain to consider it.
The walls were lined with shelves and books.
not of books, but of jars containing... I didn't want to know. Blood? Organs?
In the center, a man.
'That THING is a devourer! What even is that?! How can someone turn themselves into the antithesis of humanity?! This pressure is impossible!'
What appeared to be a man.
He.
It.
Sat with his back to us.
His hair was long and black, Grey like death.
similar to Kirin's, With no vitality and devoured life around it.
but where Kirin's hair spoke of vitality, Not comparable to anything living.
This man's hair seemed to thing in the place an form of a man absorbed everything. light, to drain life from the room. Reality itself.
"ASHAKUSHAIGHDYGTQ"
"Another seeker of the dark arts, or perhaps just lost?" His
--It's--
voice was like smooth
--a shriek of absolute nonsense and tearing death.--
cold steel, cutting through the stillness. He turned slowly, his eyes glowing
---drinking in light---
with an
---unnaturally---
light, not unlike t
--he eyes of the Devourers bore into me with madness of a devourer that used to be human but threw it away for a violent fantasy of hell and the power of destruction.---
but without the madness. Instead, there was a cold, calculating intelligence.
---
"…"
I tried to scream and begged my body to fight back but reality moved ahead without my input.
---
"I seek to join your dojo to train, to learn whatever techniques you offer," I said, keeping my voice steady. My eyes continued to scan the room, noting the slight movements in the shadows, the whisper of a presence that wasn't quite there. This was no ordinary dojo; this was a den of necromancy, perhaps even a foothold for the Devourers' influence.
---
"…"
---
Influence I must-
---
FUCK YOU!
---
Have.
---
I'd rather die permanently!
Whatever fantasyland bullshit was happening in front of me wasn't me! What is going on?!
---
He smirked, a chilling expression that didn't reach his eyes. "You think you can handle the darkness here, boy? Many have come seeking power, but few leave with their souls intact."
---
"..."
Give me back my body and mind, you bastard!
---
I knew then I had to tread carefully. This wasn't just about making a name for myself; this was about uncovering the rot beneath this city, about understanding how such dark magic could exist so openly. I needed to know if this was another piece of the puzzle in my fight against the Devourers, or if it was a trap, a way for them to harvest more souls, more power, for the coming of the Prime Devourer.
----
"I've faced darkness before," I replied, my tone firm. "I'm ready to face whatever you throw at me."
---
'..... This is the most asinine...'
---
What kind of fantasy evil shitbook bullshit is this?!
---
His smile widened, revealing teeth that were too sharp, too perfect. "Very well. Let's see if you can endure the first lesson."
---
"..."
I started to feel wrong...
---
Worse than before...
---
As he stood, the room seemed to shift, the shadows growing denser, the air chilling further. I prepared myself, not just for a lesson in swordsmanship but for a battle against something far more
---
Insidious and horrible!
This was insanity!
---
and I was willingly diving into its heart to find answers, to grow stronger, to protect those I loved from a fate worse than death.
---
'... I think whatever projection this devourer is having is a bit more than just bonkers.'
I felt a splitting for a moment, and I knew once that splitting began I wouldn't like what happened next and there would be no more looping and no more chances.
---
"."
A feeling of being yanked through time and space hit me as his words barely finished.
The world twisted, reality bending and snapping back like a rubber band stretched too far.