Chapter 6 - Danger

Two weeks have passed since Alex traveled on foot. He encountered many low level creatures but did well to avoid them. He had almost exhausted his food reserves. If not for his constant encounters with water, he would have died of thirst. In a forest, he stood up to douse the fire he lit earlier then retreated into the tent he made for himself. While lying down, he remembered how rough his journey had been. He was confused as to how he made it to this extent on foot, because a normal human should not be able to do this. Except when the invaders came, they had unknowingly helped humans achieve longer life spans. 

He remembers the first time he saw the gigantic beast, though he decided not to think of it. He felt the beast gazed at him, even if for a split second. That was enough for him to know that he was not a normal person.

He woke up from his train of thought as he found himself standing in space. Everywhere around him was dark. His eyes tried traveling far, but could not make out anything except for darkness. He noticed that very far away from him was a dim white light as it was the only thing glowing. He tried to move towards the light but could not do so. 

Willing himself to move forward, he discovered he was already in front of the light. He became shocked as to how this was possible, because he knew how far he was to the light. Clearing himself of any distracting thought, he entered the light as it enveloped him.

He discovered he had come out of another place. The place looked like a garden with many flowers adorned with flowers he had never seen. He looked around him, and noticed how quiet this place was. He saw a path before him and decided to walk on that as he could not see any other path available. He discovered he could now move his body and the feeling of not being able to move his body was not diminished.

He chose to move along a path cautiously, as this was his first time here. He got to a junction which had two paths before him. One going to the left, and the other heading to the right. He moved towards the path on the right, but his instincts kicked in or rather, he felt pain in his left eye. He was confused as to why he felt dread when he chose to follow the right path, but then decided against it, since he could not die now.

He chose the left path and followed it. What he did not know was that as he left, a gigantic eye in the middle of the right path opened. The eye had a red pupil and looked savage.

"Strange. The presence of a foreign?" A voice murmured from the air behind him. The eye blinked then looked in the direction Alex left, then discovered it couldn't find him anymore. He growled in anger, "Tania, you intervened again!" 

A giggle could be heard from the space in front of the eye as a woman appeared. Her appearance made the eye tremble a bit as if remembering the horror that happened to it. Dressed in a fitting green robe that had blood-red flowers that seemed to captivate the soul designed on the chest and a veil covering her face, she looked like a bewitching goddess descending that demanded respect.

"What does it have to do with you if I intervened?" She asked playfully. 

The eye disappeared, then in the place appeared a man who looked to be his late forties. He wore a half broken black mask on his face. A scar could be seen on his cheek as it made him look fierce. He had a long sheathed sword strapped to his back and a black handkerchief tied to his neck. 

"What is the fuss all about? We both know there is nothing for you to pull him to you. Besides, we are trying to achieve the same thing." She spoke seriously. 

The man snorted, then looked in the direction of Alex and saw him getting closer to a river that separated the path and the temple a distance away from the river.

"Be careful. He could somehow sense my presence," the man spoke in a severe tone. They are people who had almost reached the peak of power in this universe, yet someone who did not qualify as an ant before him somehow managed to evade him.

The lady sneered at him, "you should say you are jealous he didn't take your path, and prevented you from having your fill." 

The man sighed, "there is no good in explaining."

They both turned their heads immediately as they glanced in the direction of Alex and saw him standing at the highest level of the dilapidated Temple, holding a stone that gave off a dull color. The stone resembled a cube with rough edges. He took it from the altar dipped in a blood-red liquid. He felt like a gaze had locked unto his soul and his blood ran cold. He felt a dread like none before. Even the damned beast from his world didn't make him feel this way, which meant that whatever gazed at him was certain to kill him.

He held tightly onto the stone as he knew this was what he was searching for, as he felt it instinctively. The stone then suddenly entered his right eye as this made him shriek in pain. All these happened in the span of three seconds.

The lady, whose face had a smile, stiffened her face as her face became ugly. She immediately flapped the sleeves of her right hand as she appeared before the temple. She appeared before the door to the room Alex was in but discovered she could not go in. The man with a broken mask also appeared beside her.

"You cannot also access the room?" The lady asked the man.

"You think if I could, I would stand here answering you." The man replied sourly. Regarding the stone Alex took, they were the only ones who knew of its effects, as it was one of the main ingredients needed to complete their plans.

Nodding to each other, they started unleashing their powers on the door, but the door did not open except for shaking a little. After a few minutes of trying without success, the two of them decided to stop as it didn't yield any effect. 

"The best thing to do is to wait for him to come out!" The lady said, her voice dripping with venom. The man slowly retreated from her as he didn't want to be implicated. 'Who knows what this mad woman will do!?'

Alex, who did not know his death had been decided, was still shaking on the floor as he felt like a thousand needles were constantly piercing his eyes. He screamed and shouted but was surprised the gaze he felt had not diminished, rather it had become doubled?

He hoped whatever was happening to him had a way of helping him out of his predicament. After screaming a few more times, he passed out. 

This time he saw a man standing before a large army of soldiers. They looked similar to humans except for their slightly elongated ears, and they were taller than humans. The man opened his mouth to speak, which made all the soldiers cheer out loudly. The man nodded his head then raised his hand, wiping it across the space in front of him. The space tore like it was a fabric of clothing before him.

The name of the skill appeared in Alex's mind, which made him shocked, as this was the second time he would see this. The information on how to use the skill and requirements was transferred to his mind. He quickly became happy as this might be able to help him, albeit a little. The vision broke as he found himself back in the temple breathing heavily on the floor.

Madness appeared in his eyes as he immediately stood up, then dipped his head in the blood-red liquid, then activated the skill. He swiped his hand across the space in front of him, then a crack appeared before him which he quickly entered. One of the requirements for using this skill was that the user had to have enough life essence or could use it from other sources it is in contact with. The stone alone could have worked, but the energy produced would have burst his body. That was why he chose to use the one from the pool.

Somewhere in the garden, a crack appeared in an open space as a body fell out from it. Alex looked around him and almost heaved a sigh of relief when he heard cold voice that froze his soul as a lady appeared behind him.

"I am curious as to how a mere ant like you could use that skill. Unfortunately, this is not the time for me to be curious."

Alex clenched his fists tightly as he couldn't believe he was feeling this pressure from a lady who bore similar characteristics to humans. He was baffled when he saw the smile on her face as he knew there wasn't any way for him to escape death. Maybe the stone will be able to help him out was the last thought he had before he died.