Jack braced himself as the undead creature charged at him again, focusing on regulating his breathing and qi channeling. Black Miasma exploded around the creature when it had covered half the distance towards Jack, and its speed increased dramatically, taking Jack by surprise.

He dodged to he right, but felt weak in his knees when the claws missed him by barely an inch this time, feeling a small breeze land upon his nose. He smashed his qi imbued fist at the monster again, this time with a scream of his own- sending the creature flying back once again, half embedding it in the orangeish-grey soil of the platform.

Jack knew that there would not be a third time. If it sped up any more than it presently could, he knew he wouldn’t be able to dodge. But it was more than that. It was…. Learning. That was what his instincts were telling him. Nothing Jack did would hurt the creature, so it would just getting back up and coming back at him until he died- like being trapped in an eternal, unending nightmare.

“Luna,” Jack called out, and his small cat leaped up in his arms. Based on what Jack knew of this place, his strategy should work.

‘Focus,’ Jack chanted to himself, as he tried to sway his massive Qi reserves once again. One step, two steps, three steps, and then a loud boom echoed out.

“Whoooaaaaaaa,” Jack was capable of superhuman feats by this point, but he couldn’t help but exclaim with exhilaration at this moment. He had channelled Qi in the bottom of his soles, before heading towards the edge of the platform. A trail of Qi was left in his wake, as Jack blazed through space- heading in the direction of an adjacent platform that was empty.

He was flying.

“Fuck yeah,” Jack muttered with a grin on his face, wondering how the creature would react to his quarry just… flying away.

That smile though, was soon replaced with an ugly expression. Because he stopped midair, his qi still burning through the soles of his feet, unable to make him budge any longer. The next moment he felt another force of attraction, which was much stronger this time- it was pulling him towards the center, where the two mystical forces were located.

“No, please, no, no,” Jack muttered under his breath, trying to break free from the restriction. But the more Qi he used, the faster the attraction got and the next second his surroundings were a blur.

He smashed into another island, but this time he had expected it. It only took him a couple seconds to reorient himself, and another few seconds to get back up to his feet. He got up just in time to see three bright flashes of light slam in front of him.

He would never get used to the process of life blooming in front of him, but Jack knew that this period was also the moment where they were the most vulnerable. He was facing down a greyish-black furred lupine with only three legs, a four foot brownish-white colored creature that resembled a goblin and a white furred long necked four footed animal.

‘Do not hesitate.’

The creatures each looked more disoriented than the last, but after seeing what that undead was capable of Jack wouldn’t take any risks. He charged, crossing the distance in an instant before releasing every inch of Qi he could, pouring it all outwards.

A loud boom echoed out, and Jack was drenched in the blood of three different types of creatures the next second. A part of the ground had been eroded from how powerful his Qi blast was. The creatures lay at his feet, parts of their body scattered all around in a gruesome scene that made Jack want to vomit.

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“This is wrong. It’s too easy,” Jack knew that when it came to this new world, nothing was easy. He felt a weird tingling on his skin, and realized in the next second the blood on his skin and over his warrior outfit was gone. No it had left him, and headed toward where the carcasses were strewed.

Jack didn’t know he still had the capacity to process more horror- apparently though, the human race seems to have no upper limits. The blood coagulated together to form a sign on the ground, a sign simple enough that even he had no problems understanding the unknown alien entity’s intention- an arrow made in blood, pointing towards the center of the space- where the tendrils originated from.

“Oh, fuck no,” Jack stumbled backwards, and falling on his behind. Somehow, knowing that the system’s trial was hijacked was even more terrifying than the system being behind it.

“Who are you? What the hell do you want from me? Why not approach me in person?” Jack asked out loud, tired of the smokes and mirrors. “Damn it, show yourself!” He got back around and yelled towards the sky, his emotions overwhelming him in a moment of weakness.

What he did not expect was, that the skies replied. Just not in the way Jack expected them to.

Two tendrils of energy snaked across the sky from opposite directions: one shining with a golden, bright radiance, while the other a mix of deep red and black, exuding a disturbing aura that Jack now found akin to the undead monster he’d encountered, in Jack’s general direction.

If this entity wanted him dead, Jack did not have any illusions that he could fight back. But it seemed contrary to its actions, for it was the one that had lead him there. Was a mere refusal enough to make the entity kill him? Why go through all the trouble then? Also why did it use such a primitive form of communication? Signs was the method of communication early humans used, outdated by tens of thousands of years even for human civilization. Was he misunderstanding something. Why kill him if it clearly wanted something from him?

An answer rang out in his mind, one that had been staring at him in the face the entire time.

‘Luna.’

“No!” Jack screamed in anger, eyes bloodshot from the almost inconsolable hatred he felt at that moment. His reflexes were sharp as lightning, as he picked up the nearest carcass belonging to the now dead lupine creature, while mentally telling Luna to run.

He’d forgotten one, crucial factor. While Jack was evolving each time he levelled up, Luna had remained the same physically and her reaction time was just that of a normal house cat. The tendrils were seconds away from making contact with Luna, and Jack had personally seen what they were capable of.

‘Move,’ Jack felt a burning sensation in his right arm as it overflowed with Qi, his anger fuelling him to as fast as he could. A blue trail was seen as Jack threw the carcass at Luna, who’d only managed to take a single step forward- at that moment he knew he could only block one of the tendrils, a notion that tore at his heart, but he didn’t let that make him hesitate. He chose to block the disturbing black-red tendril as a tear flowed down his right eye, not sure what consequences his decision would have.

The black-red tendril made contact with the carcass, reducing it to ember the moment it made contact, but dissipating at the same time. The golden tendril struck Luna directly on the head, causing her to faint instantly.

Jack had already began sprinting over to her before, reaching barely two seconds later. He reached for her, grabbing her and holding her tight in his arms before crouching with her in his arms, shielding her from any further retribution.

Jack had been beaten, bruised, faced opponents larger than him, faced impossible odds and survived, but nothing could make him angrier than he was now. He realized that when the human body reaches its limitation to process anger, all that remains is calmness. Eerie calmness. If Luna died, this entity, demon, whatever it was, would die too. That would be his objective, until either he perished or the entity perished.

Jack reached out with their mental bond, his heart pounding, unsure if he was ready for the answer he’d receive.

“Luna? Luna, are you okay?” Jack asked, with building anxiety in his voice.

“.....Jack?”