Darkness, unending darkness. That was as much as his eyes could see.
How mundane, he thought.
Steven's soul floated through the endless nothingness supposed to be the fallen realm of the gods.
And for what felt like minutes... no, gnawing hours, he floated there, weightless and numb, unable to think nor form coherent thoughts. Time itself seemed meaningless in this place. Then, suddenly, awareness snapped back into him.
Steven's eyes widened in realization, his gaze instinctively turning as though he expected to see something, anything within the darkness. But there was nothing.
Absolute, suffocating nothingness.
That realization stunned him even further, leaving his mind reeling as it struggled to process the emptiness surrounding him.
A lump formed in his throat as a dreadful notion struck him. He was supposed to entertain a sponsor… in this?
"Shit!"
What dumbstruck luck, he snarled internally, his brows furrowing as he craned his neck around despite knowing there was nothing to see. And then—
Chime.
The sound echoed unnaturally through the darkness, followed by a faint grey light blooming before his eyes. It hovered in the void like a dying star, barely illuminating anything beyond itself.
Steven's gaze locked onto the forming image of a translucent holographic notification stabilizing before him. Its glow was low, only enough to make his own faint outline barely visible to him.
He leaned forward instinctively at it and began to read.
{Welcome to the Realm of Entry}
{Name: Steven ---}
{You have been chosen}
Steven's eyes widened in shock as the words etched themselves into his mind, his lips parted as he repeated a word that caught his interest, "Chosen?"
The word felt heavy, maybe absurd even. Was this real? Or some twisted joke made by the Realm to play with his senses?
Then Another line appeared.
{Your Sponsor}
{Name: Sponsor wishes to remain a mystery}
{Mission: Remains unchanged… Entertain your Sponsor}
Steven's eyes peeled open even further, his throat going dry as his hands rose instinctively in bewilderment to the holographic projection. This isn't possible, he thought.
The Marked were meant to enter a recorded history of the realm, to be observed, judged, and only when a sponsor takes interest will they finally be sponsored by them.
So how did he, someone who had barely entered the realm, who hadn't even spent a full day within it and did nothing but drift within an unending darkness, already have a sponsor?
Steven was taken aback, his thoughts spiraling as unease settled deep within his chest. More troubling possibilities surfaced one after another.
If he already had a sponsor, then why was his mission still the same? Why did he still have to entertain one instead of returning back to earth?
How tedious, he groaned.
'Does that mean… now that I already have a sponsor, I only need to entertain him to escape this realm?'
The logic felt warped.
If it were a benevolent deity, then joy, hope, or happiness would earn favor. A chaos deity would demand disorder, bloodshed, or madness. But this not knowing who his sponsor meant not knowing what to do to entertain him.
This was truly mundane… and unsettling.
"I'm guessing you're a trickster," Steven muttered, letting his attention drift to the unending darkness on his right as he sighed listlessly.
Chime.
{Your Sponsor is amused}
{You have been rewarded}
{Would you like to view your rewards before entering the Realm of Entry?}
Steven stiffened at this next notification, making him linger for a moment before making his decision.
He preferred knowledge over surprises. If he was being thrown into a realm with unknown dangers, then knowing his strengths beforehand was essential. Without hesitation, he willed the system to comply.
Another sequence of chimes rang out as the interface shifted.
{Rewards}
{Limitless Undead System}
{Dimensional Store}
{Astral Chat}
Steven's face paled, a fresh wave of veneration washed over him not from excitement, but from fear. Fear born from a single, horrifying question.
Who the hell is my sponsor?
Receiving a system before even entering the first realm was unheard of. And not just any system, but one named Limitless Undead which totally sounded overpowered. Coupled with two additional rewards whose implications alone were staggering.
This wasn't generosity, surely Steven felt it was something else that did not bode well, but could not prove it just yet.
Moments later, the initial rush of awe dulled, replaced by clarity. If he was being given this much power for just this realm… then the Realm of Entry wouldn't be simple, It would be hell.
Steven attempted to interact with the notifications, tapping at the floating interface with trembling, malnourished fingers, hoping for further details, apparently nothing happened.
'I guess that's all the information I'm getting,' he concluded grimly.
He withdrew his hand and inhaled deeply, forcing himself to steady his racing heart. Slowly, he exhaled, knowing exactly what came next.
In a low whisper, he said, "Take me to the Realm of Entry."
{Request Accepted}
{Realm of Entry — Fated Colosseum}
---
Steven's vision blurred violently, his senses fragmenting as though torn apart from the darkness all at once and stitched back together into some place different. Slowly, painfully, his eyes began to refocus.
A dim, faint orange glow being the first thing that greeted him. He snugged but could not smell anything. His body felt numb... cold, sore, and unfamiliar. His ears rang with a deafening emptiness, broken only by the distant crackle of flame.
It felt like a game, like a forced integration into another world.
Except this wasn't a game.
Finally, clarity returned. Steven's eyes locked onto a cage made from obsidian bars, roughly forged and cold, their surface uneven as though hastily crafted. Beyond them lay walls of dark brick, aged and cracked, with wooden torches mounted sporadically on them, their flames casting erratic shadows.
Then he noticed something else, that was quite disturbing and strange...
He was swaying.
Not by his own will—but suspended.
'What the hell is going on?' he thought sharply, his gaze snapping downward in panic in curiosity of what he was standing on.
But What he saw instead, stole his breath.
The horrifying realization of what was being done to his body sent his heart into a frenzy. He was hanging in midair and below him stood a scruffy old man unkempt and grotesque. His posture was hunched unnaturally, his long white hair matted and tangled, cascading in filthy waves down his back and face. He wore nothing but torn trousers, exposing a frame of brittle bones wrapped in thin, parchment-like flesh.
This frail creature...this thing...had its hands locked around Steven's bare foot.
And his mouth... His mouth was wide open, yellowed teeth clamped down onto Steven's toes, pressing with brutal intent to tear them off in one savage bite.
"Arrrghhhhh!" Steven shrieked in agony, jerking his leg back violently to break free from the horrid monster.
But the grip of this Fiend was far stronger than the man's appearance suggested. The bony fingers tightened around his foot as the teeth sunk deeper into flesh Steven's flesh.
Steven clenched his teeth, pain exploding through his nerves as he pulled his other leg back and kicked forward with everything he had.
The blow connected sending the cannibalistic man crashing backward, landing hard on his bottom with a howl of pain escaping his broken lips and also releasing Steven's foot as he clawed at his bruised face.
Steven was free from the immediate agony of being eaten alive, But the danger had not ended there.
The moment the man released him, reality struck.
Without the creature supporting his very weight, even unintentionally, Steven was left fully suspended in the air.
A rope that had long been strapped around his neck and connected to the top of the cage tightening as It dug mercilessly into his flesh, cutting off his air in an instant.
"Fu... Gaah!!" Steven clawed at his throat, both hands reaching desperately for the thin rope, but every movement he made only made it worse. Each second, feeling as though the rope was sawing deeper into his skin.
He kicked wildly, legs flailing in blind panic, desperately trying to find something, anything to stand on in order to ease the pain.
But there was nothing... Nothing to save him.
He was going to die, either by getting suffocated slowly till death, Or with his throat torn right open. Not to forget below him was the monstrous old man already beginning to stir from his first attack.
Either way, Steven was going to die.
//Author's note//
Please support this work with power stones and comments.