“Choose your words wisely from here on out, and grow and become stronger. I like powerful friends– especially when they owe me favors." Nazareth cackled. He stepped backwards as the cavern began to tremble and darken.
“...Wait, what?” Richter stared wide-eyed at Nazareth as the oppressive aura started to swirl within the cavern, collecting into a single point around Nazareth. Shadows began to whirl around him rapidly, blotting out the light until they fully engulfed him. Richter choked as he inhaled the large amounts of dust that had been kicked up into the air, his body convulsing with the force of his cries.
"Wait, Nazareth, don't go!" He screamed, "I—I still need you! I need your help!" His pleas echoed through the cavern, bouncing off the cold, unfeeling walls. But his outstretched hand passed through the dark tendrils as if they were mere smoke, leaving him alone once again.
Richter dropped his outstretched hand, crumbling to his knees. The cavern, the place that once brimmed with danger and tension, now suddenly felt void of life.
He didn’t understand. It felt like his mind was as sluggish as molasses. He could barely form a coherent thought, and his body felt oddly numb as if he weren’t in control of it. The only sensation he could truly feel was the touch of the cold, cracked stone beneath him. His gaze drifted aimlessly around the cavern. Eventually, his dead stare shifted downwards to his hands, only to realize they were shaking uncontrollably.
A mirthless chuckle escaped his lips, the sound hollow and devoid of any real humor. "So… This is it then," he murmured to himself, "Just me… and the system. Again."
A pounding headache throbbed in his head as the memories came rushing back - the people he had lost, his trust that had been ripped in half, and the constant, soul-crushing loneliness. It was as if he had been stripped of his very humanity, left only with the bitter knowledge that he was nothing more than a pawn in the system's cruel game.
The thought was enough to send a fresh wave of despair crashing into him. He curled into a ball, his body shaking with sobs that wracked his entire being. "I can't...I can't do this anymore," he muttered, the words barely audible. "I just...I just can't."
Ever since arriving in this world, it felt as though he had been living a borrowed life on borrowed time. Despite everything he had seen, and all the very real pain that's been inflicted on him, it had just been impossible for him to truly wrap his head around the fact that this life was real. Despite all of the eye-openers, in the back of the mind, locked away in the comfort of delusions, he felt that he was just asleep in a coma of sorts. If he just continued pressing forward, to keep moving… he would wake up eventually. Up until now, that had been his crutch that gave him the important mental fortitude he needed to survive thus far.
That is, until Nazareth decided to show his face. The sudden connection with someone genuinely real yanked Richter from his “this is probably just a dream” thought loop; only for them to then pull away. Now that they were gone, their sudden absence was beyond devastating.
All of the emotions Richter has kept bottled up started to spill out as the dam cracked.
"Why... why me?" he whispered, his voice barely audible. "Why this... this torture?"
But even as the words escaped his lips, he knew the answer. It was not some cruel cosmic joke, nor was it a test of his mettle. No, the reason was far simpler, and far more devastating - In the end, he was just another casualty of a cold, indifferent machine.
The realization sent a jolt through his being, a cold, hard truth that shattered the fragile remnants of his hope. It was truly a fool's thought to think he was ever a player in the game.
Richter's breaths came in ragged gasps as he tried to keep his thoughts coherent. "I'm not crazy," he whispered to himself, repeating it like a mantra against the chaos threatening to consume him. "This is just a new world; it's not me... it's not me going insane. This is just how it is... my new life.”
It was nothing more than basic reasoning he tried to use to calm himself, and that fleeting thought passed through his mind as quickly as it came. But that simple thought caused him to jolt, and his trembling began to subside.
“This is just how it is… my… new life.” Richter paused and listened to his words echo throughout the cavern. He furrowed his brows as he repeated it, and in that moment, a searing anger ignited within Richter's hollowed-out core.
“No… That’s not right. None of it is. This is not me. I did not cause cause this mess. This… is the outcome of the system. Everything has always been because of the fucking system.”
His breaths came more heavily as anger swelled within him like a blistering inferno, the loneliness he felt mere moments ago getting washed away as newfound clarity took over. His knuckles turned white as he clenched his fists tightly by his sides, his face flushed with rage as flashbacks of all the recent events played in his mind. The destruction of the world he knew. The death of the people he loved. The constant attempts on his life. The extreme lack of information.
Since day one, the system has toyed with him. It was sadistic, never showing an ounce of mercy despite the reprieve he needed. God forbid when he does get a break, the system ramps up the heat two-fold. And it’s not just the system, it’s the monsters of this new world as well.
"So naive.” he spat, feeling both furious and ashamed at once. Time and time again, he had let himself get played as a fool by outside forces. Not just to the system, but also to the one person he had met in this callous world.
[You have agreed to do Nazareth a favor! At any time, in any place, should Nazareth call upon this favor, you must accomplish whatever it is he asks of you. There were no limits or requirements placed upon this favor by the debt payer - therefore anything and everything could be asked for when being cashed in by Nazareth. The task must accomplished. Failure to honor it will result in severe consequences, or possibly death. Remember, your word means everything.]
Richter looked at the pale prompt in front of him with repulsion, “Disgusting. Every single thing in this world is disgusting.” He had allowed himself to be played for a fool, letting his guard down because of Nazareth's cunning act of trust. And now he found himself bound to a deal that could put him at the mercy of that manipulative monster.
Richter's stomach churned, bile rising in his throat. “How could I have been so blind? There were so many flags showing that prick wasn’t what he seemed. What the hell is wrong with me?”
But even as he asked himself these questions, Richter knew the answer. He had been desperate, so very desperate… and in his desperation he had let his guard down. He had trusted a stranger in a world where trust was clearly a luxury he could no longer afford.
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
His mouth had a venomous taste as Richter's mind raced, replaying his conversation in vivid detail. The snarky banter and the promise of answers, they were all designed to lure him in to make him feel momentarily less alone. But in the end, it had been nothing more than a carefully constructed trap.
But as much Richter hated that man, he had no choice but to accept what he said. Nazareth was right. He’d never survive in this world at this pace. Hell, it was a straight miracle he had made it this far. His naivety has led him into far more trouble than he can handle, and instead of focusing on what he could do to better his situation and make the most of it, he’s been moping around, crying to the heavens about how unfair life and the system is.
Richter could barely contain his anger just thinking about it – he was sick of the bullshit. The entire concept of the system was just ridiculous. According to Nazareth, the system claimed to 'help' people grow stronger through trials and tribulations. In reality, however, it was utterly ruthless and bent on destruction, plunging individuals into life-or-death situations with little more than a casual "good luck." Even if you manage to survive, the system would only continue to pile on the challenges, apparently ‘seeing them as good investments.’
But the part that truly infuriated Richter wasn't that, it was the system's pure, manipulative nature. It molds individuals into exactly what it desires. It throws you into certain scenarios, molding you into what it wants from you. Because to the system, everyone is a pawn, pieces that are simply observed and controlled. The more successful one proved to be under its watchful gaze, the more they became subject to even closer scrutiny. Everyone and everything were nothing but puppets in a game orchestrated by the puppet master.
In that moment of reflection, a seething lament brewed within him, hotter than it’s ever burned before. In that moment of contemplative silence, his blazing eyes lifted towards the heavens.
“Fuck this!” Richter's voice erupted, shattering the silence with the force of a sledgehammer. “This will not continue the way things are. Do you hear me, you stupid, braindead machine!? I don’t care if you smite me down, I welcome you to try! Do it, you backboneless piece of shit!”
The chamber was instantly still, a suffocating silence enveloping the space like a dense fog. Richter's defiant words hung in the air, leaving a bitter aftertaste of rebellion. Suddenly, an inexplicable sensation prickled along his spine. Though he was alone in the room, a pervasive sense of watchfulness began to creep over him. It wasn't a gaze he could meet or challenge, because it felt as if it came from everywhere and nowhere all at once.
Richter’s fists clenched, nails sinking into flesh, drawing blood that mingled with sweat and filth. His gaze pierced the heavens as the fire of defiance burned within him.
"Oh, was that not loud enough for you, you lousy piece of shit?” His face twisted into a determined snarl, rage coursing through his veins like liquid fire.
“Here, I’ll speak up for you! I’m done with your games! I couldn't give two shits about your strength, your plans, or whatever fucked up thing you want from me. It’s over. Smite me down, send something my way! It doesn’t matter to me if you send the very devil itself - I’ll kill them all if it means you don’t get your way.”
*DING*
[A personal message has been sent to you!]
Richter laughed mirthlessly, throwing whatever notification the system had sent him to the side of his vision. But, to his surprise, the notification opened on its own.
[Defiance is a defective trait. An anomaly to be corrected.]
And then… the system responded. Faster than he could respond, a bloody, red bubble appeared around him, and his eyes widened as flashbacks slammed into his mind. The atmosphere immediately shifted as the air crackled with malice as an indescribable force bore down on Richter. The cavern rumbled and groaned as enormous chunks of debris fell from the ceiling as if the walls themselves were closing in, eager to witness his ruin.
The flood of heat and pain suddenly skyrocketed into a raging inferno as the pressure only continued to grow. It felt as though molten lava was being injected into his bloodstream. Richter screamed and writhed in agony as the pain ate away at his nerve endings. It was like a parasite hitched a ride on a speeding train, traversing every corner of his body in mere moments. The torment ran rampant before finally settling at its ultimate destination – the beating core of his existence.
Red completely enveloped his vision as if his eyes had imploded and he was seeing the color from the inside out. Richter clenched his fist, his nails drawing blood from the flesh of his palms as he fought against the incomprehensible pain.
And yet, despite the pain, there was a clarity in Richter’s mind that hadn't been there before. From invoking the wrath of something as powerful as the system itself, he had shed the last vestiges of fear that had shackled him for so long. And with nothing left to lose, he felt inexplicably free. Free to stand against whatever might come next.
*THUMP*
With every ounce of defiance radiating from his battered soul, the crimson cocoon that enveloped him turned into a glaring dome of pure, unabated rage. The surging power trying to infiltrate and corrode Richter’s essence recoiled, its waves of attack breaking against his indomitable spirit like ocean waves against rugged cliffs.
“You… Dumbass.” He spat, blood and spit dribbling down his chin, “You tried… this once already. Do you… really think… I’ll kneel to you the second time?”
*THUMP* THUMP* THUMP*
The system’s attack, which had been relentless and cold-blooded until now, suddenly hesitated as though perplexed by Richter’s tenacity. The red bubble flickered erratically, which was an impossible phenomenon that had never been recorded in any chronicles or legends known to the multiverse.
For a fraction of a second, amidst Richter’s blistering pain and the ensuing chaos, there was silence. Not just in the chamber, but within the vast expanse where the system's consciousness dwelled. It was as if it met an anomaly it couldn't compute; an error that defied all logic and parameters established since the dawn of its time.
A surge of possibilities unfolded within that brief interlude. Richter's grit had somehow sown seeds of doubt within the machine's meticulously woven fabric of control. Although it was fleeting, the unexpected pause showed something no one could have ever anticipated from the system.
Vulnerability.
“Even you...” Richter gasped through gritted teeth, each word punctuated with pain yet imbued with an unbreakable resolve, “Even you can hesitate... Even you can fear… You’re no different from anyone else… you abhorrent piece of trash”
*THUMP*
“And… I’ll prove it.” The fire of defiance burned within him as he summoned every ounce of strength to pick himself up and prepare for one last act of rebellion – severing the shackles that the system continues to give him in this deplorable existence. With a guttural cry, Richter did the only thing he could think of; he gripped the hem of his dress, his finger tearing into the fibers, and tore it off his body.
The system's attack halted abruptly as if all its colossal power hit an inexplicable standstill. Around Richter's battered body, fractures began to appear along the bubble wall, with fissures emanating outward like spiderwebs across a shattered window.
The assault lost all its fuel, and as the unabated rage of the bubble slowly simmered down, the hue slowly turned from bloody red to a light blue. By this point, Richters vision began going dark. His body felt numb and sapped of all its strength, and his vision was matted with red and black.
But even on the brink of unconsciousness, his body still moved. Richter's hand reached for the sky, his fingertips smacking against the iridescent sheen of the bubble wall one final time before darkness claimed him.
“F–Fuckin… bitch…” His body grew limp as his consciousness faded, but not before catching a glimpse of words flashing urgently within his blurring vision.
[Notice.]
[Title (Chosen Initate) has been updated.]
(Title (Chosen Initiate) —-> (True Chosen)