I can't trust them. They took me back to that godforsaken box! Every part of my body felt numb and fuzzy, but it didn't hurt, and I wasn't hungry, but my anxiety was far worse.

I stumbled as I ran through hallway after hallway. It was strange even with how I'm feeling. My mental map was clear enough that I knew where to go, and my body listened to me well enough.

I struggled to breathe as I ran past the guillotine room. I feel like my lungs are made of lead and have a stone roiling around in them. It probably has to do with this mask. I tried to rip it off, but it won't budge, like that damn cork, and if it's like the cork, then my head would come off before the mask.

I rounded a corner and saw the light from the exit. The spider was there but split in half, so I ran past it and out the door. All that greeted me was brick walls and the smell of fertilizer. God, it smells like shit... The sewers?

[SAINT'S TRIAL]

COMPLETE

You will now be registered as a Saint

Say confirm to start the process of obtaining rewards and Saint transformation

If you want to decline, you can do so now by saying decline 3 times

[Warning this will be painful and time consuming]

I was elated to see the window and wanted to confirm it immediately. So I said it. "Onfum... Pofur!.."

Nothing happened to my frustration, and I tried a few more times with no response. It won't accept it unless I say it clearly!?

Well, I can't do it right now. The text disappeared as I looked around, disappointed for where that light was coming from, and saw a hole in the roof. Looking at the wall... I could climb that.

I started climbing, leaping from grip to grip with surprising ease. If I didn't feel the need to feast on people's flesh earlier, I would be excited about this.

"Liiiittllle onee." I looked back and saw the one in the trench coat, Echo was slowly waving at me from the doorway while the pink one, Pulse, was behind her. Why is she talking like that?

"Leof meh alon." My speech still came out weird, and the mask didn't help. I scratched at the mask for a second as Echo tried to understand what I said. Why can't I talk?

She could tell what I was thinking apparently and slowly approached while talking. "Ooooh, yyou'rre tooonggue iss nuumb. Buut I'mm soorry I cann't leaave yoou aalonne iit's daangerrouuus heeree, liittllee oonne."

I looked around and saw numerous black shadows shifting strangely as they encroached around us. "Lie tha?" I didn't wait for her response and jumped to the hole and pulled myself out in a clean motion.

The hole was in the center of a road, and the sight was confusing. The buildings looked fine, and people were littering the sidewalks... in the middle of a fracture. Is the fracture over?

They can help, right? I walked over to one of them and reached my hand out to them, but the person backed away and screamed with horror. "What the hell are you!" "What's wrong? Oh god, what is that!?"

My heart throbbed as They all turned to me with looks of disgust or horror and started talking. "Is that an animal?" "It looks more like a freak to me." A-a animal? Freak?

My heart started drumming in my chest and backed up as more surrounded me, and the lights grew brighter. "Why is it wearing that?" "Because it bites! I've seen those masks before." I haven't bit anyone!

I couldn't take anymore, I wanted to leave, but turning around to leave showed they were surrounding me, and they had a spotlight bore down on me. "I think it might be a fractal!" "How did the Saints miss this one!" "I'll call them and report it." They can't do that! I haven't done anything to them!

They wanted to restrain me, hold me here to have me killed or locked away, again! I chose to charge through them. "We can't let it escape. It will eat the children!" "Save the city!" ""Save the children!"" """Save the city!""" Why do I have to live like this!?

Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

Confusion swept through me as I went straight through them and tumbled to the ground. "You were always meant for this."

When i got up, the crowd was gone, and the buildings were broken now. The only thing here was rubble and cars. I might be hallucinating.

"Heey, waatchh ouut!" I glanced at the hole. They were fighting, and I didn't want anything to do with it right now, so I ran to a nearby alley.

The alley was littered with rubble, trash, and doors to the buildings, most of them broken. I chose to walk into what looked like a diner.

The whole place was a mess with food and plates scattered around, and furniture turned over. I stopped just in front of a steak knife. I wonder if that would let me get this thing off.

I grabbed the knife and started attempting to cut the strap of the mask. The knife slipped against the strap and gave me a cut. Motherfu... I took a moment for my anger to fade and tried again.

I tried a few more times before deciding it wasn't working and went to put the knife down. "Wai, I have a poket!"

I was apparently too numb to realize a hoodie was put on me, and so the knife went in the pocket the hoodie had.

*Whoosh* A gust of wind went through the room, and it gave me a sense of dread. Where have I heard that kind of wind before?

A shimmer of light bounced off a see-through disk in mid-air rapidly approaching me. By the time I realized what it was, the canary had already grabbed my arm and started to fly off with me.

Luckily, it didn't hurt, but I could see it damaging my arm, so I grabbed my new knife, and I gouged out its neck with the knife.

It let go and dropped to the floor when catharsis hit me as I stared at the fractal bleeding out. Why does this feel so nice? *Ding!*

[Congratulations! You have killed a Lv3 Hive hawk before becoming a full Saint. You will be given 10 shop points when you confirm your rewards. You are poisoned. Please get assistance from nearby Saints!]

Poison? Ohhh, that makes sense. I lulled my head to look outside as I flicked the blood off the knife and put it in the pocket.

Two who followed me jumped out of the hole at some point and were looking around warily and then occasionally to me with a complicated expression... Wait, they're injured? The two had cuts on their limbs and face.

Shadows jumped out from the shadows of the rubble next to them to attack over and over. I could count 6, at the least, and It was a downhill fight unless they got rid of the rubble. Should I say something? They did warn me. I could have overreacted, and the text says... No, let's leave.

Echo locked eyes with me and mouthed 'run' before she went to fighting. I looked down and saw I was wearing a hoodie that had Pulse on it, It was soft. Guilt welled up in my chest. What kind of person would I be if I ran? Certainly not one. I would be proud to show her!

I took a breath and stepped outside and preceded to shout out to them. "Break the ruhle, ge rih of e shaows!"

Echo and Pulse turned to me in horror and worry. Pulse was the first to take my advice and broke a piece of rubble with a whip. We watched as a large black mass shifted around, trying to find a shadow to hide in.

They took the opportunity to hit the mass and repeated the process of breaking and hitting the blob hidden in its shadow. It reminded me of flipping rock and picking up the bugs or lizards scurrying underneath. Wait, what? Where did that thought come from?

They slowly took control of the fight, only getting a few more scratches. I watched them turn the tide with hope, but my gaze flicked to a shadow going for my throat. Oh, me too now?

On instinct, I backed up and watched as the shadow melded back into the darkness of the alley and came back somewhere else. How many are there? What even is it?

I avoid it as it went for my limbs and throat, over and over. I soon saw a pattern, and it felt so... slow, so bland. I caught the sharp blob and tore it apart.

The black mass faded, showing a dagger in my hand and a person dressed in a dumb black onesie with a blank expression. Is it a person?

I grabbed the handle and weighed it in my hand. Its blade was wavy, and it shimmered like it was wet. It's quite well balanced. Nice.

He charged at me. So I stepped back and swung the dagger in front of me to get him to back off, but he didn't, and the knife met their neck. *Shunk*

Blood splattered my hands as the person and their head fell like a sack of bricks, and blood pooled below them. I dropped the dagger with a stiff hand. W-what why didn't he s-stop?

I turned to Echo and just saw her staring. "I thought he wou-" "She didn't even hesitate." What? I thought you would understand.

Pulse turned with her whip and walked closer while she switched it out with a needle. "She's evil!" I didn't mean to kill him.

I backed up as my hope died when Echos anger filled expression yelled at me. "There's no way we would accept you now!" Oh, I ruined it. Like always.

Fear flooded into me as they got closer and closer. "You know how this ends." They're going to kill me.

I turned around and ran down the alley. It split off in two directions so I tried to round the corners but I slipped as rounded the corner and scrambled forward on all fours. "You can't run away from this!"

I got my feet and kept running as I heard the steps getting closer and louder. Turn after turn took until there was a dead end. "Why would you get away with this!" "hey trie to ill me!"

I looked back, and there they were, Echo with a bottle and syringe, and Pulse was stepping closer. "That's no excuse, and you know it!" "Was I suposed ho di hen!?"

I tried to climb the wall, but they grabbed me and pinned me to the ground as they took the mask off. "You need punishment." "Wha?! No!"

Tears streamed down my face as the bottles contents went down my throat. "You won't disobey anyone else with this." "Noo, please, not again!"

Pulse held me down, and Echo pushed the syringe into my arm. "Please, I'll listen, don put me back."

Echo pushed the plunger down and answered with a smirk. "You never listened before so you'll never be safe now."

All of sudden, my terror disappeared like it was a trick of the light, Echos smirk turned into a sad expression. I looked around as my world spun violently. "Oh, what did you- urp!"