Cold and unfeeling. Dull but full of terrors screeching at the distance, inhumane roars going up and down at the valleys, gurgling and suffocating sound of death ever creeping slowly. However, right now. All he could hear was his rough-heavy breathing, his panic-stricken heart going full throttle as the beat goes faster than his sprinting towards safety. Turning away from him, behind him was a swarm of large insects. Mosquito-like, large red swelling buttocks and insidious-looking needles ready to suck-up blood of unfortunate victims. Only when a feminine voice echoing towards him did he finally hear his surroundings.
'That's right.' In his hesitation, he was almost caught by the needles before he rolled away. Dodging every bite that came up to him, needles missing him by a hairbreadth - As blood squirted away from his cheek, he push towards his palm at the swarm of recovering giant mosquitos where he wanted them to be, and under his weary breath did he forced an utter of a chant. The unknown language was only heard by him as a heat-searing blue flame came flourishing out from his palm, from thinning to thick and wide-spread that swallowed the swarm. The cone shaped flame blast did its job as it slowly faded out of existence, leaving the scorched remains of foul-smelling burnt mosquitos.
When the deed was done. A suffocating feeling crept on his lungs, he preemptively endured it as he turned towards the voice. "Oh yeah..." In his vision, he saw nothing, no fellow humans, not a party of armor-wearing and sword-wielding friends, a staff-wielding loner who cannot stop reading books nor the loner cannot stop holding his staff, or the most dashing group he ever saw; the priestess, the hero, and their loyal members. All he saw was the endless night-sky, a cold ground, and an army of monsters marching towards him.
The suffocation grew stronger as did his headache, he turned around to run away again - Only to see humanoid monsters with bulging belly, their hideous fatty areas made them repulsive to look at. Turning away from the sight. In his left, his head met the furious swarm of mosquitos. In the right, he met the undead, their gurgling sounds snapped him back from his panic as the inhumane roars from upfront, the screeching noises from the left, and the stomping sounds of an army marching from his back. All he could thought was, 'I'm done for.' And he accepted it all.
All of it, the running, the monsters, and his betrayal to his fellow people. He cannot back down now.
As the surroundings go bleak from the gigantic monsters covering up the shining stars, he heard voices again, this time - He is forced to relive that moment again. Surrounded by enemies, fighting for his life, dodging vital attacks, and taking unwanted hits. He endured of it all, the pain in his lungs, the headaches, the stumbling on his tongue as he failed to chant, spitting saliva-filled with blood towards the enemy to let out his anger. However, all he could hear was the voices in his head screaming his name, "Cain!" "Aid us with your magic!" "Don't run!!! You bastard!" Once again, it happened so fast. He could only struggle and bitterly aid his people but the self-preservation in him urged him to run away. And he did, his suffocation in his lungs that day was now worth nothing on this day. Firing up flames from his palm downwards from the air, landing terribly with a bent-foot, conjuring up swords of flames to give him time to recover, only to be overwhelmed again by the monsters taking over the same spot, gargantuan foot on top of a monster he just killed. "Ahh..." Cain struggled to even open one eye, as even his own blood tried to hinder his remaining vision. Even himself was trying to fuck him up. Like he did to many people.
But, what was in his head now? Cain survived the cruel and grueling nights of this world. Always forced to keep himself moving under the never-changing sky of dark, always bothered by others who was too weak to keep themselves whole, and the others who boast their powers to only be needing his help again. And all of it, he didn't care as long as he lived. However, he was still human, and that was his only weakness. Not his barren pool of mana, not his fragile ego, not his unattractive face, nor his slow brain. He was just a human full of emotions and he had let these emotions go rampant for so long. Now, they are all coming back to him. He hates the taste of suffocation in his lungs, he used to hate his low mana output because of it, but it helped him hide from monsters who could sense mana, and only if he have realized this before. He could've survived, survived, and didn't bother joining his fellow humans who was just like him but given better options. The priestess with her ridiculously massive mana, and the hero... 'Oh boy...' They were all just a huge dot on the monster's radar, and Cain used this excuse to push his guilt away after his desertion. Now, he just accepted it all, all of it. Now, in his head. There is no more running.
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For the first time of a very long time, Cain finally smiled. Not a fake smile he showed towards his fellow people, not the fake smile he showed himself, and not the fake smile he showed towards his frightened enemies. It was a smile that doesn't care anything at all.
Eyes that always so focused, now just a dot bent-on surviving this mess, ears always so focused on the little things, now silent and just doesn't give information anymore, and the lungs he hate, now makes him breathe so fluidly and gives him the satisfaction of living. Along with the dance with the monsters, did his headache toned down, as he started to enjoy the monster's company. As he slowly bury himself to death, Cain give his best, his hard effort to give his last company, an expression they will remember, even the dumbest, the silliest, and the most mindless monsters here. He will give them a fight worth to remember. Because, everything, even humans enjoy fighting.
As the last nail of the coffin was sewn, Cain stumbled with his irrecoverable bent-foot as he splat out blood from his torn-down tongue, his eyes veiny and bloody, his body worn down from the injuries he received, and the thought in his head, echoing like a storm. 'I still feel alive.... After all of these years... I still feel alive...Oh, far away..." Like a song playing on repeat, like a record broken, Cain sung his head out, and stared at the ground with empty eyes. His body still, nothing could save him now, he could not move his body to stand up anymore to perform, and his enemy will now award him. For all of his worth and his efforts, everything was led to this--A decapitation, his death.
Now, did the blood stopped hindering his eye...
Like all life, everything exists for Death. This was his design, nothing even a God could break it. However, this world was not the design of Death. As the final hour of the day, the world shook down to its core, the monsters snapped out of their victory now panicking for life, cracks on the lands, eruptions of lava spewing out of control, and a glowing wisp coming out from the cracks of the world falling apart.
It hovered over the headless body of Cain, as it stared down for a moment. Receiving all of the data it needs, all the things that happened here, and all of the things that awakened it. He looked at Cain with surprise. Then, it did a blimp sound of a sort, then becoming still like a lightbulb.
[Number 554, Number 9 Suitable Candidate has died.]
[Number 9 Suitable Candidate did not accomplish his mission nor did he sacrificed for the humans to victory as what had happened in the calculation.]
[Instead, he betrayed his race... Everything. Not even, his infatuation towards the priestess did he do anything good towards the good of his race.]
[However, an interesting thing has occurred. Number 9 Suitable Candidate has completed the true mission of this world.]
[And has attained and manifested the skill all by himself.]
[Since, he accomplish such thing. Number 9 Suitable Candidate will be transported over to the True World. This tutorial has finished.]
As the last thought disappearing of the white glowing wisp. Did the world shattered, and everything turned to dust, disintegrating out of existence like the wisp.