(Negary pov)

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"The rules are simple, you see..." I spoke into the emptiness of the hall, my voice carrying a weight of anticipation. "You can ask me any question you wish...and then, I shall return the favor..."

I allowed the silence to stretch, a palpable tension lingering like an unspoken challenge. Amid the stillness, I couldn't shake the distinctive feeling of something watching me with keen interest, its presence hovering on the edge of perception.

'But it's more palpable than before, that's for sure...'

"Lies are strictly forbidden, of course, but silence is perfectly reasonable..." I persisted, unfazed by the weighty silence that engulfed me.

"However, should either of us decline to answer a question, the game promptly concludes...and I depart. There are no victors nor losers in this game. Merely the acquisition of knowledge, and for you, my friend...the opportunity to keep me here until you've amassed enough power to rid yourself of my presence."

I ended my speech without fanfare, simply commanding my flesh golem to remain motionless as I observed the surroundings...

'That thing will be troublesome if it hatches' I thought as I watched the obsidian egg in the middle of the hall, feeling more soul energy gathered inside of it than in both of my souls stacked together

Suddenly, a chuckle cut through the silence like a knife, breaking me out of my musings.

"𝗪𝗲𝗹𝗹, 𝗶𝘀𝗻'𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗳𝘂𝗹" a voice dripping with sarcasm and a chilling aura of authority remarked, coming from seemingly everywhere at once.

"𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗮 𝗯𝘂𝗴 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗱𝗲𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗲𝘂𝗿...𝗜 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗻 𝗹𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲, 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗮 𝘀𝗺𝗶𝗱𝗴𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗰𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗲𝘅𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲...𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝗲𝗲𝗺 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗲𝗲𝗸 𝗱𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗵 𝘀𝗼 𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗱𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆…" The words hung in the air like a shroud of impending doom.

"𝗔𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗲𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘃𝗲 𝗜 𝗰𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘀𝗾𝘂𝗮𝘀𝗵 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗽𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁, 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗜 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘁?" The voice reverberated with a newfound intensity, and it shook the very foundation of the hall, sending tremors coursing through the air and rupturing my golem's eardrums. The downpour of soul energy intensified, cascading down like a torrential rain, its ethereal essence suffusing the surroundings with an overwhelming presence.

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"𝗜𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗳𝗼𝗼𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘀𝗼 𝘃𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻'𝘁 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗵𝗲𝗻𝗱…"

"Enough of this charade. You've got 10 seconds to make up your mind" I declared, my earlier politeness nowhere to be seen. Why bother with such transparent stalling tactics? My words, direct and firm, cut through the tension with a sense of finality just as my sword cut through the wall of soul energy once more, testing how fast its durability increased.

'If I only had a 100 man soul, I might have a little trouble' I thought as the tainted energy continued to increase in quantity...

'But would I lose, I wonder...Nah, I'd win...even with that small amount...'

"𝐀𝐰𝐰, 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮, 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐟𝐟" a childish voice chimed from directly behind me, the words dripping with playful mockery. "𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐠𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭? 𝐈 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭...𝐚 𝐠𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐟𝐮𝐧…"

I felt a cold tingle, as if something was breathing directly down my neck, a sensation that should have sparked concern. Yet, I ignored it, choosing instead to revel in the crazed smile spreading over my features. The chill of impending danger only served to fuel the exhilaration pulsating through my veins...

Ĭ̷̠̺̚t̴̞̳̂'̸͔̮͘s̵̮̺̀͝ ̷̰̍͋d̸̘̲̈̈́e̴̞̚c̷̘̟͌î̷͍͇͆d̸̠̍̊ḙ̷̙͊d̴̩͑͑ ̶̟͕̔t̷͕͙͐h̵͖̣̆̄e̶̬̤͌̈́n̸̙̻̕.̵̯͚̐͆.̸͚͚́.̵͔͝"̷̻͗͊. I whispered, my voice barely audible over the crackling energy surrounding us and yet echoing impossibly through the hall. With a sense of finality, I felt the contract taking place, the ethereal bonds of our agreement solidifying in the unseen currents of power. As I focused my gaze, I could visualize it—a small purple tether extending from me, reaching upwards like a spectral thread, swiftly passing through the ceiling of the hall as if it didn't exist.

It was much more fragile than the one binding Leaf, but it was a contract nonetheless...

'And I'm getting more and more clues pointing in one particular direction' I thought, my gaze lingering on the tether extending upwards.

"𝐒𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐤, 𝐈'𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝…" The childish voice bubbled with excitement, its tone tinged with a hint of mischief, as if unfazed by the weight of the pact just formed. "𝐍𝐨𝐰...𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬, 𝐡𝐦𝐦, 𝐌𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐃𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐧?" The words danced in the air, playful yet probing...and I remained silent, as if not expecting such a question.

The voice teased, and I allowed my golem's smile falter under its taunts. "𝐆𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧... 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐬 𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐌𝐫. 𝐃𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐧…" The words hung in the air, carrying a mocking tone meant to stir annoyance within me. "𝐀𝐫𝐞𝐧'𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐠𝐚𝐦𝐞? 𝐇𝐦𝐦𝐦?"

"Hahaha... My apologies for the letdown" I chuckled, my laughter carrying a ,,genuine,, warmth. "I am, indeed, the architect of this little game... And as for your first question... I do not know what my greatest weaknesses are..."

"𝐇𝐮𝐡?" A single syllable echoed in the hall, laden with disbelief, as if struggling to comprehend my statement.

"I don't know for sure what my greatest weaknesses are...you should ask a more suitable question next time," I spoke languidly, fake amusement lacing my tone.

Even though I had to manipulate my own memories for a brief moment, this was squarely within the rules of the game...After all, I never mentioned cheating was forbidden, only that lies were, and from my subjective point of view, in the particular moment I responded, I was telling the truth...

"Oh, don't give me that look, I spoke amusedly at nothing in particular, my voice slowly becoming colder as I gestured towards the obsidian egg in the middle of the hall. The simple fact that I remain here is beneficial to you...𝙨𝙤 𝙙𝙤𝙣'𝙩 𝙜𝙚𝙩 𝙩𝙤𝙤 𝙜𝙧𝙚𝙚𝙙𝙮"

The walls started shaking violently, the floor trembled beneath my feet, and the air crackled with palpable tension as my ,,friend,, realized he had been tricked. Despite the overwhelming display of fury, I remained serene, unperturbed and uncaring of the display of fury.

'What the fuck you gonna do? Kill me harder?'

I could feel the amount of energy in the cage's walls...and it wasn't enough to prevent my escape...yet...so I asked my question, unbothered by the noise.

"Now, my friend...My first question is...𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙜𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙉𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙆𝙞𝙣𝙜?"

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A.N :

"Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.

Wise words, words that most ignored."

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