I carried a smirk on my face as I looked at my results , though I had no idea how many days it had been .
To me it felt like a minute but as I looked down I understood.
There was no more water on the surface .
Almost instinctively I jumped in surprise and with that I had succeeded , the notification had told me so but I wanted to see it for myself . If I was to pass and awaken my soul core then I had to escape this place.
***
Litei was too deep in his thoughts that he forgot the shack was sinking . It was amazing that despite the fast descent of the shabby structure , it felt to him as if it were not in motion at all.
Soon he snapped out of it , what was at hand here was his survival not his inner monologue of determination. That much he understood. And he started to look for any methods of escape from the peril of free fall. Now that he could walk freely without any problems he no longer had time to waste with collecting essence .
For the next thirty minutes Litei scanned for exits in the dark room . Sadly there were none that he could find . Giving up , he returned to the exact same spot he was sitting on. If there was no escape then did the system lie?
No....
Creak!
'Wood!' , Litei jumped up from his position and surveyed the shack again ; he could feel the vertigo now , it was now becoming even more difficult to breath for him . His neck was stiff , he felt like he was getting choked by a pool of cemented concrete. Each moment was a suffocating , he would try to move but even if it were by an inch , his body wouldn't budge.
It was frustrating.
So frustrating , to get a glimpse of hope and then to have it all snatched from your grasp. And make it worse he didn't even know if he was dreaming or not . That's why it frustrating for Litei ; after all the work he had put in , only to be lost within a matter of minutes .
Despite it seeming to be mere seconds , the shack mercilessly fell into the abyss . The vertigo and pressure upon him increasing with each moment , struggling was futile , even he himself knew that . No matter how many times he tried , it was still the same.
Now... , he just wanted it to end.
That is what went on in his mind for the next— , no...he didn't know how long it had been , but for as long as he was gazing at the endless black through the small hole on one of the shabby walls wooden walls of the falling shack , nothing changed .
Maybe it had been hours , maybe days , it didn't matter , what mattered was the fact that it had been long enough for him to forget counting the time. Why was it falling slowly? It should have hit rock bottom by now , right? Why? It should've happened by now , so why is it still falling?
The more he thought about it anger and despair crept into his mind causing him to lose focus once more and pass out . Amidst the pressure , Litei's body which had become limp , lying on the ground started to quake.
It moved slowly , trying to get up ; it stumbled a few times but eventually stood up without being affected by the pressure , and he was still.... unconscious.
An hour or so passed.
His body retaining the same position , his eyes were still closed , his breathing was no longer erratic but had calmed . His clothes came in full light as flickers of energy gathered around him , piercing the darkness surrounding him .
It was like before , when he was absorbing the core essence , however that time he was awake , it was a peculiar sight . Though young Litei had lost consciousness due to the severe pressure of the descent but what his body was doing at that moment was remarkable.
Absorbing essence particles even while he wasn't awake , although his mind had closed itself , his body.... it remembered.
The process stopped , his eyes opened .
He had regained consciousness again .
Litei looked at his hands then his legs , they no longer shook and now that he noticed , the vertigo and intense pressure were gone . His face almost lit up , he was now grasping at that tiny sliver of hope once more , the smile that was on his face faded as quickly as it came .
He looked around the space he has in , there was now some light making it easier to search for any exits , and so he went back to the floor . But this time he didn't sit down to collect essence , he hit the floor panels gently in order to not injure his right hand and it worked.
Creak!!
Again.
Creak!!!
'Okay now I know , I wasn't imagining it . The floor board actually creaked , which means that I can break out of here .' , he thought that maybe if could somehow make an exit himself than maybe , just maybe , he could jump out of the shack right before it hit the ground .
It was a foolish plan , it was an outrageous plan , but nonetheless it was something . He couldn't afford to let his journey end here ; there were still many things left he had to do. So he made up his mind to go through with it .
He stood up and walked to the wall with the small hole and began to kick at it with all his strength. He kicked and kicked but it wouldn't budge , though it was wood it felt like a sturdy brick wall like the ones in the bunkers he lived in when they traveled around .
"I see... , this system is really a shitty one isn't it. Back then I tried so hard to make them even crack a little , I kept nudging but it wouldn't budge . That's when Dad explained that only the ground was fragile to penetration." , it was just like back then , he hit the wall again , paying close attention to the sound it would make and just like he suspected it made no sound.
"Ha , hahaha." , he laughed . All he could do was laugh , the system was really a shitty one , not only was it vague , but it also extracted this entire room' stability from the memories of the bunker walls he had spent months trying to crack .
Stepping back , he went to the ground again . It was becoming a recurring thing with him and the wooden floor of the doomed shack . Though , this was the last time .
Litei raised his fist , waited and smashed it right through the floor board , pulled it back and kept up the same cycle till a full circle wide enough for his body to go through.
He wasn't an idiot to just punch through while he was in the middle , he. was now standing on his two feet when he landed the final blow to the wooden floor , and unexpectedly he fell through.
The pressure he had felt a while back came back , and with a vengeance . It was the wind in its highest density , like a rock as big a city slamming his lungs , exasperating he struggled to breath like before but even worse he lost his ability to even take in air .
He could slowly feel his own life force slowly fading , it was a miracle that he hadn't been torn to shreds the moment he had fallen through the hole he made . Memories of his family , the people he met when they were traveling who made an impact on his life flooded his mind , tears started to stream down his cheeks but they would only rise up.
It was sort of ironic looking at them , 'You have fallen to the depths of the Abyss. Rise . That's what you said right? . You have completed the first half right? . Congratulations! right!? . The next phase shall begin immediately right? . You called me the Child Of Destiny , didn't you....you shitty system!!!!' , rage ; all he felt was rage , he no longer cared about anything else . He was angry at the system , no that wasn't quite right , the system was not to blame it was himself.
Had he not been a brat , had he not wasted time being affected by that stupid pressure , he now realized that what he had felt in the shack was nothing .
How could he complain about that?. Something that was like a fraction of the enormous intensity he was feeling right now , then what was he angry about , this was pathetic . He was pathetic . But there wasn't any solution to this level of useless , there were no options left .
Gradually he gave in to the feeling of helplessness and no longer struggled to survive . He knew it was pointless to struggle and only let it all in. And soon a bright white light appeared in front of his falling body. It touched him , he could feel it's warmth , he was ready to go , he thought it was time . Embracing the warmth of the light he truly felt at peace , all the regret , doubt , anger , pain , love , joy and sorrow were all gone .
He's lips pulled up and a smile formed on his calm face , it wasn't a happy smile , it was a wide smile , it was a smile of fulfillment. Although he was still young , he felt like he he'd spent a lifetime in this dream and with the memories of his life outside of this place , well— , he couldn't help but smile .
The light fully encased him in it's warmth , his smile unrelenting , his thoughts were calm as he said goodbye to his parents and acquaintances , but it was all cut short when he felt something in his mouth.
A mouthful of sand came out his mouth , his body was aching severely from all parts and to make it worse it was freezing. He raised his head , looking around he saw stars , no they quite weren't stars and it also wasn't sand . The more he looked and observed the body of starry sand he came to one conclusion ,'This! , it's a sea of stars!.'
[♦]
[Congratulations!!🎉]
[The Second Phase Of Your Quest Is Complete.]
[Well done , Child Of Destiny.]
It was the usual barrage of messages and following that would be followed by the voice of the system. He was still waiting for a particular notification , one of the second reward.
[Congratulations!!]
[Faded was your light , to flicker it did not , to shine it did not , to quake it did not . Dawned is your light , thus you have received a new path , [Spectre - Child Of The Forgotten People] ]
'Status'
Type : Probationary
[Name] :
[Core Level] : Dormant
[Progression] : [0%-------------------------------------181%------------209%]
[Attributes] : Dream
[Grade] : Quinciple
[Mastery] : Beginner
[Innate Skills] : None
[Weapons] : None
[Path]. : [Spectre - Child Of The Forgotten People]
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Author's Note~❄️
What you think about this one?
Does it deserve some love and support?
If so help Litei get something in his arsenal he might need it in the coming chaps.
Also if you like this story please collect , don't worry I'm not gonna drop it. This one will be seen through to the end. 500+ Chaps .
And if you have time check out Origins Of Blood (RE) by Bloody_Potato. Really good.
Also no chapter tomorrow next one on Tuesday.
~❄️~