IWillMakeYouBelieveInGod

With all her power, she thrashed one last time.

And surprisingly, she heard a scream.

Dumbfoundedly, she looked at the victim of the sound, only to find he was the man that had pinned her back earlier. He was now suffering from a burn that was so severe and his hands were... melting?

What?

Although she was shocked by this odd progress, she ignored everything around her and she sprinted towards the glass like a madman.

If she had looked around, she would have realized that the room was ablaze by a green fire. The fire melted everything upon touch, not even leaving the floor.

She heard screams of many men who got caught by the impossibly fast spreading fire, and wailed at their muscles that were melting. She had released her friend Katy from the confines of the room, who, as soon as she got the chance, fled the room after one last look at Quana.

She set the hole she had made for Katy ablaze after she fled to not make any possible exits for the others to leave.

Meanwhile, Nelson for the first time looked angry as he stared dead eyes at Quana with a hint of fear, before he looked around him trying to find an exit to escape from.

Alfred barked, with saliva flying from his mouth at the soldiers who charged at Quana, only to be met with her green, eerie flames. 

Eventually with a flick of her hands, the flames swallowed Alfred whole, his shrieks and painful screams resounding everywhere before his ashes went silent.

Amidst this sea of fire was Quana, who was set ablaze, but instead of feeling pain, she felt the arm that had broken earlier healing, which made her pause for a moment.

This confused her but she decided to think later about her weird power and the sound in her voice after saving Xin.

She could now finally save Xin!

However...

The moment she was about to touch the glass to melt it, she heard a heart-wrenching, heaven piercing scream and stood frozen, with her blood running cold.

Never had she heard a scream so painful. Even Alfred's screams of pain, paled significantly in comparison to this one.

It was as if...

He was burning in the deepest depth of the darkest ten hells.

Looking down the glass with a blank gaze, she saw something that made her eyes widen.

She took a step forward, the glass melting as she looked down. Her eyes started water. But instead of normal tears, tears of black blood trickled down, staining her clothing.

"X... in?"

Because standing down, Xin had broken free from the clutches of the chair somehow.

But...

He didn't have eyes. Only empty sockets looking up to her. More accurately, his eyes were held in the palm of his hands, while he looked down on them. 

Red blood slipped down the hollow caves of his eyes, staining his hands and arms with the beautiful crimson color.

He had plucked them out. Himself.

The muscle that connected the eye to the sockets was no by means something that could be pulled out, contrary to what many people may think. Yet he did it.

He slowly smiled and suddenly grabbed a sharp, half chain that had broken off and stabbed them in his ears, deafening them forever.

But instead of pain, or showing any signs of them, the warm liquid trickled down his head as he let out a smile.

"Thats better" He whipsered under his breath, before he slowly raised both of his hand towards his neck, with his left hand placed on his chin and his right hand placed on the back of his head.

"No!"

Melting the glass, the mystical and beautiful painting of a woman set ablaze with green flames reaching out to a young man without eyes burned into the minds of billions of peoples worldwide, forever.

But it was too late.

---------------------------------------

The moment he was about to be executed.

The world had stopped before Xin's eyes.

The air froze.

Time stopped. Space stopped. Life stopped. Laws stopped. Movement stopped. Everything was suspended.

A falling tear from Quana hung midair like a glass bead. Alfred who was shouting, was frozen as well, his mouth open like a fool. Nelson pointing to Quana had stopped wit his finger out, reaching for his gun in his pocket.

The red light on the wall paused mid-flicker. 

Everything was eerily silent. No, silence was frozen as well.

Xin blinked in confusion, before his expression went cold, the corner of his eyes looking around him as he felt something was.

What happened? Why does it almost seem like time stopped?

He looked around in confusion as he attempted to piece up everything. Everyone was still. Not unconscious. Not dead.

Could..... it be I'm hallucinating? No, that doesn't make sense. I've never taken drugs in my life despite selling them. Did I get drugged? No, I don't remember eating anything for the last 48 hours, nor did I inhale something weird. I just drank water.... wait maybe its that? This still doesn't make any sense. Did I die? No, they were still on countdown before a commotion occurred. Just what happened?

Maybe I am in a dream. I can't find any other explanation to whats happening. What is this dream then? Is this... something I'm supposed to see before my death?

"But in the worst case scenario, I either died or...."

A shiver ran down his spine as the second option came up in his mind.

"Time really stopped"

Xin blinked over and over in disbelief, fear creeping into his soul.

There was no color shift. No magical particles. No sci-fi humming.

But in movies, don't they show that when time stops, everything goes white and black?

This realization made him calm down a little. At least he didn't have to worry about this being time stopping. Most likely this is a dream or he just died. Or is it... ?

But... who said time had to stop in white and black. ? In the first place, there is no scientific evidence that time could stop. Then... this means... Fuck 

It was still the same sterile white room.

Still him.

Except—

Alfred's eyes moved, which made shivers run Xin's spine.

"Did... his eyes just move? Then this is really a dream?"

Something is off. Could this be a prank? No, no, this is too realistic to be a prank.

At this moment, Xin started to shiver unconsciously. Something was really wrong. What is happening?

"H... ello there?" For the first time in his life other than when he was younger, Xin felt timid when he spoke. His mind was calculating and trying to find what could've happened without any results.

Did... time really stop? In the novels he read, he remembered that when time stopped, everything turned grey.

So why... was everything the same color? Why did the man's eyes up there look at me?

No, how?

The man's eyes, lifeless, snapped toward Xin.

"You are not ready."

Then Alfred froze again as if he had said his part of the script.

Xin's pupils dilated as he recalled Alfred's words. Why did Alfred tell him this? What does he mean by he's not ready? No, just what the fuck is happening?

One of the guard's eyes twitched. Her lips opened.

What came out was a feminine sound--- her sound. But what came out wasn't hers.

"You did it wrong."

Another voice, this time from Nelson.

He spoke on a different frequency with her lips twitching violently.

However, what horrified Xin wasn't the sound.

It was that she spoke backwards

"̶.̶e̶v̶e̶i̶l̶e̶b̶ ̶u̶o̶y̶ ̶e̶k̶a̶m̶ ̶l̶l̶i̶w̶ ̶I̶ ̶.̶d̶o̶G̶ ̶n̶i̶ ̶e̶v̶e̶i̶l̶e̶b̶ ̶t̶'̶n̶o̶D̶ ̶u̶o̶Y̶"̶

The woman repeated it.

Once.

Twice.

Thrice.

Quadrice.

Another voice came.

It wasn't the man's, it was the woman's.

But... there was only one of the same woman. So how? 

With his heart rate increasing, Xin looked around at the source of the voice.

Xin's breath caught.

This wasn't guilt.

This wasn't justice.

This was something he didn't deserve.

Another same voice came from somewhere else, not in sync.

Another of the same.

And another. 

Another.

Another.

Another.

Overlapping.

His vision changed.

He saw it. The place. It was scary. Really scary. Afraid. Dread. Fear. Screams. Empty. Infinite.

His head flew from his body.

No, he got crushed.

No, he melted.

No, he--

No?

What am I thinking?

Badump.

What is this feeling?

What is this cold feeling on my heart?

Why is my heart frozen?

No, what is the concept of frozen anyway? Its the state where a substance—typically a liquid—undergoes a phase transition into a solid due to the removal of thermal energy, resulting in the cessation of molecular translational motion beyond vibrational constraints within a fixed crystalline or amorp-

Wait, lets stop. Stop for a moment.

No, what is this thing called concept?

No, who am I?

No, what is the meaning of who?

But what is the meaning of meaning?

WhatistheparadoxicalmeaningofmeaningthatIdontunderstand?

A grip.

A cold, Invisible grip.

Cold fingers curled around my heart. Warm~ But cold?

He gasped. His eyes wide.

Badump. Heartbeat.

Its tightening.

It hurts.

Its hurts so much.

Am I going to die?

Is this death?

Cold sweat mixed with tears and snot ran down his face.

Was this what he thought was fun?

Was this... called fear?

0.0000000000001 miliseconds. Only that time.

But it was enough.

Hallways that stretched forever. Voiceless things crawling backwards through time.

His own rotting corpse, eyes stitched open, whispering something he couldn't hear.

A sky, painted in hundreds of colors, with a ship flying overhead.

When he tried to look at the sky, he was forced to look down, as if an invisible pressure was stopping him.

A mirror with no reflection. And behind it—

Was his face.

However, it was different?

"You are the eighth-th-th-th-th-th"

The voice glitched and the voice of Nelson came out, speaking.

"Chose-se-se-se-sen-n"

Nelson's face glitched through all kinds of colors, twisted and turned as if a bug in a broken program.

Woah.

How colorful.

Colorful like butterflies.

Like grass.

Like blue.

Red.

Green.

Black.

Yellow.

And mostly--

White.

The grass, trees, and hills.

Infinity is funny. Why is the sand grey? Why is the ocean grey. What are those houses. Why are there alot?

Just-

Whywhywhywhywhywhywhywhy?

yhwyhwyhwyhwyhwyhwywh?

Why is it.... so funny?

Haha.

I feel it.

It is close.

Oops, I heard the whispers in my ears for some reason. They make me tingle.I shouldn't have listened to them.

Oh, what pretty eyes I have. Maybe I should just take them off to look at them better.

Xin slowly raised his fingers that were freed somehow and time resumed.

The entity disappeared.

Bye, bye uncle.

Unbeknownst to him, an upside down black broken heart tattoo appeared at his nape.

SPLURT!

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGH!"

Oops, I forgot I can't see without eyes.

Why is my sound so ugly? Why does.... my scream lack art? Maybe I should take my ears too?

Sure.

SPCH!

Ah, thats better. Muuch better. No ears to listen to my ugly screams now.

My hand is so warm. Ah, how wonderful?

I feel something. It feels familiar. 

Wait, what was familiar again?

I forgot.

Meh, who cares.

Let us say bye-bye to everyone and make a grand debute.

"Bye-bye, I am not sorry"

Hm? What is sorry?

Why did I say that?

meh, lets not care bout it.

Well, then bye-bye. Lets see the colors together next time.

CRACK

Xin broke his own neck.

-------------------------------------------

She held his corpse that was smiling to the end, even after all the grosteque things he did to himself.

Quana's empty gaze slowly caressed the young man's cheeks on the ground, with the tears of blood flowing down her dull eyes.

Salty, clear tears mingled, dripping on the young man's satisfied expression.

"Why... does... my heart hurt so much?" She whispered.

[The host has met the requirements]

[World Evolution will start]

[The New World will now initiate. Get ready]

[....]

[Mana injection into GH-16 from higher authorities will commence..]

[Congratulations host! You have successfully unlocked the title: First Mana Inheritor. You will be rewarded accordingly. Calculating reward...]

The world around her trembled, the ceiling collapsing, the ground splitting, the walls falling, but she paid it not heed. 

She leaned down and kissed the young man's forehead softly, her lips brushing off the young man's forehead.

She vowed.

"I swear...."

To.

"I will take revenge for you."

Destroy all.

"I will bring you back, no matter what it costs, so please rest until you come back."

All those that took him from her.

Nelson had escaped. But not forever.

With her cold eyes that held nothing inside them, she slowly raised her body and looked emotionlessly at the cause of the trouble at the upper section of the glass.

She wasn't the only one who thought this.

Eliza who had watched the livestream as well, was crying in her room and had awakened a 'system' as well.

[Reward has been decided! You have been awarded with the weapon 'Bloodletter' based on hosts current mood! Race has been changed --> Vampire Countess. Would you like to commence evolution? [Y] / [N] ]

Using her mind, she quickly figured out how to click on the thing she assumed was a 'system' she once had heard from her younger sister Ekidna once in novels.

[Host now has 8 empty slots in her inventory. Would you like to summon Bloodletter?]

Nodding her head in response, an ominous looking rapier with a blood-red blade appeared in her hands.

Paying no heed to the fear of the gazes on her, she launched herself to the broken glass and walked inside.

[Congratulations, Host has went from Level. 1 ---> Level. 2. Good job, Host! You have now met the hidden conditions to awaken your bloodline! Continue? [Y] / [N] ]

Quana sighed out and clenched her bloody hands that held the rapier.

In a smooth movement, she destroyed the ceiling and gazed at the distant, bright full moon in the sky.

".... What a lonely moon..."

She watched quietly and impassively as the dark sky visibly darkened, and heard screams in the distance of millions of people.

A second, third, and fourth planet suddenly appeared, several times the size of the moon. 

And...

Crashed into the moon. 

An explosion occurred, with the moon blowing into pieces in yellow and orange seen from earth, a shockwave occurring and blowing everything away, including buildings, millions of people, the seas turning into tsunamis, earthquakes, tornadoes, all sorts of natural disasters.

Yet, stood a woman in a black gothic dress with her rapier, her dress fluttering violently in the shockwave that was akin to that of millions of nuclear weapons, yet she did move but a single step from her initial position.

She closed her eyes, inhaling the cold air around her not that building had been fully destroyed and blown away by the four shockwaves of the moon.

"Now... the moon won't feel lonely"

She unequipped her rapier, and sat on the ground softly, weeping silently at her dead adopted child. She walked towards his corpse that was the only thing she had shielded from the shockwave.

She cried for a while before she wiped her tears using her sleeve.

She stood and walked forward with a cold expression.

She would change her fate.

And bring back her love.

Later on, Quana would get the title "The Velvet Guillotine", being known for her evil, bloodthirst, violent, and short temper.

But that is a story for another day.

------------------

CRACK

Reality fragmented where the young man was once for a moment before going back to normal.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Hello everyone,

Arc 0 of Liminality: Part 1 of Arc 0 has concluded.

Ok, I will be honest.

Was there a lot of things I lacked in my writing in the first part? Yes.

Grammar was acceptable? Yes.

Plot and flow odd and sometimes bad? Yes.

Edgy? (You wish).

Too slow paced? Maybe.

Dialogues and internal monologues too generalized? Probably.

Uh, what else... ? Well, there is too much to list down. You get the idea, don't you?

In layman's terms, that is why I decided, I will take a few days to plan part 2 and prepare it. In the future, I will be posting one chapter every 1 or 2 days since I need to include things like deeper character internal monologue and dialogue that makes sense and less generalized, plot twists, better reactions, more concise personality, less edgy more realistic, better word choice, character development, better flow, - Look I get the idea. I'll be referring to other novels for this so...

(*Gives round of applause*) I'll be referring to *Ahem* The infamous world building, concepts, and cosmic horror or Lord of Mysteries, the emotional depth and understanding of Re:zero, and the writing of Deviant: No longer a human.

So yeah, anyways, to another time. Also, this is more of a request, but I ask of thy readers to join my discord server which is found in the synopsis of my novel. I need more time to organize everything. For any questions, join the server. For donations, join the server. For anything else, Join the server.

Anyways, I give thy my adios and...

Sayonara!

From your favorite author,

IndeeditismesoObey