Seeking answers isn't always the solution. Sometimes, uncovering the truth can lead to ruin—a lesson humanity has long understood.
Noah pressed forward into the darkness, the dim glow of Ragnarok his only guide. Fear coiled around his chest, tightening with every step. His senses sharpened, ears straining for the faintest sound, eyes clinging to the narrow sliver of light ahead. The air was eerily still—no current, no movement, just an unnatural silence pressing in on him.
The voice he had heard earlier was gone now, leaving him alone with his thoughts.
"Was it my imagination again?" he wondered. "This is the third time. First, the ominous lake tried to swallow me. Second, when I was in danger. But the last one… it felt different. Heavy, yet warm, like it truly meant to save me".
His fingers trailed along jagged rocks, using their sharp edges to guide him. Time blurred in the blackness, but then—something changed. The rough stone gave way to smooth, precisely cut bricks. Structured. Deliberate. Unmistakably crafted by human hands.
He halted, tracing the surface with his fingertips, realization dawning upon him.
"This… this was built. Someone was here before".
Confusion warred with an unsettling acceptance. This land was full of impossibilities; one more shouldn't have surprised him—yet it did. The craftsmanship was intricate, sophisticated beyond what he had expected. But who built it? The creatures that roamed these lands weren't mindless, but their forms weren't suited for such delicate construction.
"Then who?"
The question lingered, unanswered. Dwelling on it wouldn't help. The only way forward was through.
He continued onward, fingers brushing against the stone, feeling the precision in every groove, every carved edge. Even the ground had changed—no longer raw earth, but paved stone, smoothed by time.
At last, the tunnel reached its end. A flicker of relief crossed his mind—he had encountered no monstrosities along the way. But the sight before him crushed that relief in an instant.
Noah stood frozen, his breath catching in his throat.
A massive metallic door loomed before him, towering at least fifteen meters high, wide enough for giants to pass with ease. Cold steel, ancient yet unyielding, formed its structure. And upon its vast surface stretched a grand carving of gold—undeniably significant.
It was a painting—no, a record. A story carved into metal and gold.
His breath shallowed as he took a step back, eyes locked on the enormous mural.
At the top of the image, five armored figures knelt before an unseen entity. Their armor was unlike anything Noah had ever seen—intricate, advanced, almost otherworldly. Their forms were human in shape, but something about them was… off. They radiated an unnatural aura, powerful and overwhelming.
Yet, the being they worshipped remained obscured. Its face had been deliberately defaced, leaving only the outline of a towering figure clad in black armor, its surface engraved with strange, arcane runes. The markings shimmered faintly, exuding an ominous energy that sent cold dread sinking into Noah's bones.
"What… is this thing?" he muttered, unease creeping up his spine. "Something unnatural, that's for sure".
The kneeling figures—four men and one woman—weren't merely bowing. They were praying. Reverent. Devoted. Enraptured.
Beneath this scene, another unfolded. The same five figures now stood in battle, a golden aura surrounding them, making them appear almost divine. But nothing about them was divine. They waged war against an army of human-like beings. The soldiers bore sophisticated armor, wielded advanced weapons—yet this was no battle.
It was a massacre.
Golden lines etched across the steel depicted severed heads, bodies torn apart, rivers of blood. The five warriors moved like reapers of death, cutting through the army as if they were nothing but insects beneath their feet.
Noah's pulse quickened, his stomach twisted, cold sweat running down his face.
"This… this isn't possible. Five people against an entire army? How can something like this be real? Unless…"
Unless they weren't just people.
His gaze drifted lower, to the final scene—the most disturbing of them all.
The battlefield was soaked in rain. But not ordinary rain. The droplets were black, tainting the earth and pooling over the corpses of the fallen soldiers. And as the rain touched them… they changed.
Bodies twisted, grotesquely reshaping, bones reforming and flesh torn, warping into the very monstrosities Noah had encountered before. Their human forms melted away, replaced by elongated torsos, scaled black skin, four powerful legs, and arms ending in jagged, razor-sharp talons.
Noah's breath hitched. The scene looked too real to be a mere carving. He could swear the golden lines shimmered, shifting like a mirage. The events unfolding before him felt… alive. This wasn't just an artist's vision.
This was a memory.
This wasn't just a war.
It was a transformation.
And it had happened before.
The mural filled Noah with an overwhelming unease. It wasn't just discomfort—it was something deeper, more primal, pressing into his mind like it was trying to pierce through his soul. The revelation that the monstrosity he had fought earlier was once human sent chills racing through his spine.
First, it had been an unknown virus plunging the world into chaos. Then, the machines' bizarre behavior had cast him into these unfamiliar lands. Now, this place with its unnatural atmosphere and the black rain—rain that turned humans into night-dwelling abominations. How was anyone supposed to cope with this?
A wave of dizziness washed over him, his mental fortitude stretched to its limits. He felt like he was unraveling. It would be so easy to let go, to surrender to the madness creeping at the edges of his mind. But he couldn't. He wouldn't. There were still things he needed to do, wrongs he had yet to rewrite.
With a sharp inhale, he steadied himself. He was getting used to the absurdity his life had become. Taking a step back, his gaze traced the towering gate before him, its immense steel structure disappearing into the shadows above.
He forced himself to look away from the mural. There was something about it—something insidious. The longer he stared, the stronger the feeling of impending doom became, like it was whispering into his very soul. He shook his head, trying to clear the fog in his mind.
"Should I see what's inside? There's bound to be something interesting, right?"
The chamber beyond called to him, but the sheer size of the steel door made it obvious—this was no ordinary entrance. He placed his hands against the cold metal, its surface rough with the scent of rust thick in the air. Gathering every ounce of strength, he pushed.
Nothing.
He tried again, gritting his teeth, every muscle in his body straining against the unyielding steel. It didn't budge.
"Hah… I guess I'm no Hulk", he muttered under his breath, panting. "It's a dead end. No way I'm opening this alone".
A pang of disappointment settled in his chest, but he had no choice but to move on. Wasting time here meant giving whatever lurked in the dark a chance to catch up to him.
He adjusted his grip on the severed creature's arm he had been carrying. It was getting heavy—his body was exhausted. He hadn't stopped moving, hadn't had a moment to breathe between one crisis and the next. His limbs screamed for rest.
"Maybe… maybe I should stay here for the night".
The tunnels were eerily quiet, and for once, there were no sounds of the abominations prowling nearby. It was far from ideal, but at least here, he wouldn't be out in the open.
His gaze flickered back to the mural, wary of its oppressive presence. As long as he didn't look at it, he would be fine.
"Yeah… that's it. I need to rest and recover. It would be nice if I had a burger right now, wouldn't it?"
And with that, he made his choice.
Noah let out a slow breath and dropped the severed arm onto the ground with a dull thud. He turned away from the towering gate, sinking down to sit against the cold stone. There was no way to start a fire for warmth, but at least the machine's energy provided a faint comfort—a subtle heat radiating against the chill air of the tunnels.
He stared at the arm, lost in thought. The dim glow of Ragnarok cast flickering shadows across the walls, their shapes shifting with every slight movement. The confined space amplified the light, making it easier to make out his surroundings.
Then, something caught his eye—his own shadow, stretching across the uneven stone.
"Oh, you finally decided to show up now that I'm safe, huh? he muttered, narrowing his eyes at the silhouette".
The shadow did nothing, of course, but that didn't stop him from glaring at it like an old enemy.
"Well, that's your habit, isn't it? Disappearing when things get tough like the coward you are. But somehow, I actually missed you. He let out a dry chuckle, the sound echoing faintly in the tunnel. But see? I survived. Bet you were hoping I'd drop dead like everything else, huh?"
His voice felt strange—foreign after so long in silence.
Still, it was comforting, in a way. Even if he was just talking to his own shadow, at least he wasn't entirely alone.
He sighed. "You're still my cursed companion, I suppose. So, tell me—what do you think of this land?"
The shadow gave no answer. It never did.
"Yeah, figures. Noah exhaled, shaking his head. I need to gather my thoughts anyway. I've been running nonstop, but now… now I have a little time".
His gaze drifted warily toward the mural, but he quickly looked away.
"Oh, and one more thing—don't stare at that damn painting. His voice lowered. It'll eat away at your mind".
Saying it out loud made him feel unhinged. Talking to a shadow? He'd truly lost it. But still… there was a strange comfort in pretending it was listening.
He pulled his knees up, resting his arms over them, and began organizing his thoughts.
"First… the twin suns, he murmured. Scorching, relentless. It's hard to believe a planetary system could sustain two, and with different ages, no less. The white sun is dying, so this whole world is a time bomb".
His fingers tapped idly against his arm as he worked through the logic.
"The only possibility that makes sense… is that one of them wasn't originally part of this system. Maybe it diverged from a nearby planet's gravitational pull and was eventually captured in orbit here. Well, that's something you can only see in science fiction movies anyway".
He stared at the tunnel ceiling, mind spinning through calculations, searching for some explanation that fit.
There was so much he still didn't understand. So many pieces that didn't add up.
"I need to start thinking outside the box, Noah muttered to himself. What if the laws of physics here are… different? So far, nothing makes sense—monsters, lakes with tentacles lurking in them. It must be something else about this whole world".
It was a possibility. Physics, after all, was still an undiscovered frontier in many ways. Who was to say this world followed the same rules as Earth?
He scratched his chin, deep in thought. Then, another realization struck him like a bolt of lightning.
"Wait… how come I'm not hungry? Or thirsty?" His brows furrowed as he glanced down at himself. "After everything I've been through, I should be starving, right?"
His fingers instinctively traced the smooth, intricate silver lines across his chest—the nine wave-like markings that had appeared after the machine merged with his body. The shimmering blue light pulsing beneath his skin felt… alive.
Ever since this thing fused with me, I've felt… different. Something changed about me, something I can't understand! He pressed his palm against his chest, feeling the faint hum of energy beneath. "I've suffered so many injuries, but I'm healing just fine. Is this machine altering my body somehow? Am I still considered human? I don't think so. Not anymore".
He turned toward his shadow, as if expecting an answer. But, as always, it only mocked him with silence.
"When did it even merge with me? Everything happened so fast", he muttered. His mind drifted back to the moment he fell through the fractured ground, the sensation of teleportation wrenching him into this unfamiliar land. The way the machine fused with his body—it felt like something beyond human comprehension, an otherworldly surgery that should take millennia to perfect. "A miracle in disguise… or a curse? Either way, I'm stuck with this thing inside of me". But the pain he endured upon waking in this place had been unbearable, a suffering unlike anything he had ever known.
A wry smirk tugged at his lips. "And that shockwave back there… it was powerful. What if I could control that energy?" His mind wandered for a moment. "I'd be like one of those comic book superheroes…"
The thought was fleeting. His smile faded.
"…Except I didn't save anyone."
The weight of his losses settled heavily on his shoulders—an ache he knew would never leave him.
A faint hum resonated from his chest, as if responding to his emotions. This machine—it had brought him here, transported him to another world. If it could do that, what else was it capable of?
Noah squeezed his temples, willing his memories to surface. How had he even created such advanced technology? It was decades—no, centuries—ahead of its time. And yet… he had done it. Somehow.
"How?" he muttered, pressing his fingers harder against his head. "How did I come up with this? If I did, I should remember the schematics, right?…But I can't".
Flickers of memory flashed through his mind, distant and hazy, like trying to grasp a dream slipping through his fingers. The knowledge felt alien, like it had been placed inside him rather than discovered.
"It… came from a dream?"
A sharp pain lanced through his skull, nausea creeping up his spine. Dizziness overtook him, a suffocating fog clouding his thoughts. It was as if something was actively preventing him from remembering. The harder he tried, the more elusive the truth became, retreating just beyond his reach.
Noah exhaled, steadying himself.
"I'm still alive. I don't care if it's a nightmare or a dream. I will continue to survive and get what I want", he reminded himself. "Time will uncover everything".
His gaze shifted to the severed arm beside him.
"This might actually be useful", he murmured, running his fingers along the hardened scales. They were dense—tough as stone. The claws, razor-sharp, gleamed under the dim light.
Then, there was the blood.
Thick. Black.
It reeked of decay and oil, a foul mixture of rotting flesh and machine lubricant.
Noah narrowed his eyes, but exhaustion was eating at him. "Let's get some sleep and worry about all of this later", he muttered. With those words, he faced the wall and closed his eyes to get some sleep.
He quickly drifted into a sound sleep like a baby with no worries, his breath steady and his body finally resting.
Until he entered a dream state. It wasn't an ordinary dream—it was like astral projection. He found himself floating in a large white room without any features.
"Oh, come on! Now I can't even get a moment to shut my eyes? What is this?" He looked around, trying to understand what was happening, when he noticed a figure floating in front of him. It wasn't human but something similar. He couldn't perceive the facial features of the figure—it had a form between solid and liquid, something unexplainable. It had no eyes, no nose, or any regular features, only a mouth with white teeth and a smirk on it.
"Finally, we meet!" The voice echoed through the space, directed toward Noah.
He was confused and somehow dizzy from the floating. "Who… who are you? How the hell do you know who I am?" He was starting to panic and, at the same time, prepared to face whatever would happen.
The entity answered, and the voice was the same one he had heard many times when he was in danger—only this time, it had a figure revealing it. "I'm no enemy… I'm you… I'm the nameless inside of you!"
Noah was getting more confused by these words. "What the actual hell does that suppose to mean? Cut the crap—who the hell are you?!"
The figure smiled. "That doesn't matter now, nor will it ever… You are in grave danger. You… you need to keep moving. Enter the chamber, and you'll find your way."
Everything about this entity was confusing. Figuring out riddles was never Noah's strong suit. Anger washed over the panic. "Are you kidding me? I won't let you keep playing me anymore! You bring me here, then give me answers. Where am I, and what am I supposed to do?!" He paused for a while, waiting for the figure's reaction, but the entity kept smiling and looking at him—if it even had eyes.
"Even if I want to follow your advice and enter the chamber, there's no way I can open that giant gate. Do I look like a superhuman to you?"
The entity kept smiling at him with awkward silence. Remember, nothing is lost. It's only transformed. It was like mocking his questions. Without leaving a second for Noah to react, the room was diving into darkness, and he fell into a deep hole.
His eyes opened in panic. He found himself still lying on the cold ground, only this time, a surge of heat was rising inside him. He felt dizzy, and his stomach churned. He couldn't control his breath; his blood vessels were filled with strong energy.
The machine's hum was getting louder, and the blue shimmering light was getting brighter. It was the same sensation he had felt before when he was fighting the monstrosity and before the shockwave was released—only this time, it was more powerful.
He tried to stand up and muster his strength. Aaaaaaaah! A loud, agonized scream escaped his mouth, and then, a powerful surge of energy was released from his body. A blue light brightened the space in an instant, only stopped by the surrounding walls and the giant gate.
Finally, the heat inside him was calming down. He crashed to the ground, catching his breath, his skin filled with sweat. Not again… next time, give me a notice!
Once he said the words, a loud cracking sound echoed in the tunnel. It was coming from inside the walls—something was shifting inside them. It was the sound of a moving mechanism, followed by the towering gate slowly opening, releasing all the dust.