Karma instinctively licked his lips. The source of his indomitable hunger eluded him, as did the meaning behind the golden threads and their peculiar behavior. Nevertheless, he had spent enough time idling in introspection; it was time to move on.

A brief examination of his body revealed several minor wounds. A crisscross of long, thin slashes occupied most of his limbs, suggesting a recent encounter with a practitioner of the blade.

Luckily, his internals appeared relatively intact, albeit worse for wear. Given the large pool of blood beginning at his mouth, that likely wasn't the case moments ago, but the medicinal pill had addressed the most critical areas of attention.

Overall, not bad, though most definitely not good, Karma grumbled inwardly.

Finding his limbs responsive, Karma shifted his weight to his side, balancing himself with his arms as he brought his lower body under him. His wounds protested in a flare of itchiness, eliciting a reflexive hiss. Noting the discomfort with mild disinterest, Karma performed a final flex, bringing himself to a stand.

Disregarding the crimson pool at his feet, he surveyed the verdant horizon. Fluorescent hills pocked the length of Karma's perception; many proved barren, save for prolific greenery and the occasional fauna.

The monotony was quickly shattered upon glimpsing his "companions"' egress about the southeast. Peppering the undulating hills were the blurry but unmistakable forms of cabins, many erected with unadorned cedar logs. The further his gaze reached, so too did their frequency grow, until the gleaming wood overtook nature's dominance.

Karma, lacking a prudent alternative, set off toward the timber warren.

Amid his stroll, Karma's gaze idly wandered to the little green pill held within his grasp. No trace of the elusive golden threads marred its glossy exterior; neither did any visible modifications present themselves to his scrutiny.

Unconcerned with his immediate well-being, Karma stowed the pill in his robe's pocket; unfortunately, he was not in possession of a nifty spatial pouch.

Aside from that upsetting incongruity, his robe matched Senior Brother Lione's in all but size—barring for the large splotch of red occupying his stomach region.

It would be unwise to enter unfamiliar territory with the aspect of a butcher fresh from massacre.

Halting mid-step, Karma's pensive gaze fell upon a nearby stream, inciting a slight diversion to his otherwise uneventful journey.

Gentle whispers of rushing rapids greeted his approach. Karma gasped upon finding water so lucid its ebb and flow nearly slipped his notice. Leaning over, his lifelike projection manifested above the riverbed: a male figure sodden red and green.

Karma peered upward at his reflection, discovering a somewhat boyish face with eyes veering on copper-ish brown.

His features lacked Senior Brother Lione's sharp perfection nor Senior Sister Tang's impeccable softness. If he had to put a word to it, he felt he looked … subtle. It was a portrait one's eyes naturally gloss over, a face hidden amongst a crowd—ever-present and never remembered.

Nothing seemed to stand out, be it negative, positive, or even bland, all came up short in capturing ... him.

No. Subtle is perfect. Beauty, sharpness, grizzly—they all carry an implicit quality. I am bereft of quality. I am subtle

Giving himself a final glance, Karma deftly removed his robes, plunging them directly down to the riverbed. His repeated rinsing motions gradually restored the cloth to its pristine state, dispersing a light scarlet haze about the waterlogged soil. When the fabric had thoroughly saturated, he tossed his robes in a soaking heap, deferring the moisture to the sun's purifying rays.

Cupping a handful of chilly river water, Karma splashed it across his face.

Splash-splash.

A wondrous sensation trickled down to his chest, cleansing any remaining blood and alleviating the budding heat stored within his body.

Body and clothes now fully attended to, Karma lightly shut his eyes, basking in glorious serenity.

Cough—"Junior, what ... could you possibly be doing?"

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

Karma's eyes snapped open, staring into the dubious mien of a stern-looking gentleman sporting gold-rimmed robes.

Seeing his inquiry had borne no response, the man loudly elaborated, "For what reason have you trespassed on my property? As an intermediate-ranked disciple, should you not be attending today's introductory lecture?"

Karma blinked, his face a mask of confusion.

Faced with the continued lack of response, the man sighed in resignation. With a wave of his hand, the crumpled robes fluttered amid an ephemeral breeze, weaving themselves around Karma's torso. His figure then blurred, reappearing beside Karma, an ash-grey sword hovering beneath his feet.

Another wave dragged Karma to his side. Bearing an indolent frown and arms folded at his back, he willed the sword to a soaring gait, carrying its two passengers on a journey through the firmament.

Their immense speed reduced the surrounding hills to a blur, their robes fluttering relentlessly amidst the battering winds. The mysterious stranger, ear twitching and brow quirked, stole a peek at Karma, noting the same confused expression plastered across his features.

Stupefied, he couldn't help but wonder, Did he hit his head? Or is he just stupid? A bit of both?

**

Karma maintained his confused stare throughout their journey, his gaze simultaneously intently concentrated and dazedly unfocussed.

Despite the many shared symptoms of a concussion, the root cause was not as the mysterious stranger surmised.

Admittedly, he was baffled during their introduction near the pond. However, any prior confusion had long been replaced by his current target of interest.

In Karma's vision, several golden strings jutted out from the stranger's body, though they only became visible once the distance between them had shrunk.

Furthermore, unlike the infinite golden net from before, these threads tapered off quite quickly. Karma's leading hypothesis was that these strings did, in fact, stretch far and wide, but he currently lacked the requisite means to follow their journey through the void.

Another attention-worthy aspect was that, compared to the thread binding Senior Brother Lione and Senior Sister Tang, the threads attached to this gentleman were much thicker.

What the mysterious stranger interpreted as confusion was Karma's attempt to simultaneously capture the golden strings in totality. In doing so, his brain constantly processed all of his peripheral vision rather than honing in on a single entity.

Karma's efforts were not without gain, for he genuinely did gleam something from these golden strings. When he initially set eyes on the golden threads, his curiosity had evoked an unknown mechanism, causing the blurry image of a self-devouring serpent to materialize within his consciousness. Thereafter, the serpent's actions would significantly speed up to an extremely high degree whenever he laid eyes upon the golden strings. Even more peculiar, the unoccupied area its form encircled would rupture in response, spewing dense volumes of unintelligible information.

Despite its lack of specificity, 'information' is a most apt descriptor. Karma's mind's eye was inundated with all forms of data, the most common of which included runes, abstract symbols, auditory snippets, images spanning various dimensionalities, and raw emotions. Any attempts of decryption quickly proved futile. Not to mention quantity, the contents were of such absurd complexity, even viewing the jumbled mishmash induced migraines.

Karma, both a vessel and spectator, was reduced to fascinated awe. His eyes remained locked to the madness amid the excruciating pain racking his mind. The act did not bring about any unexpected revelations; the ceaseless flow of information was nonsensical as before. Similarly, the pain did not subside, only growing stronger.

Karma forgetting the world by no means meant it had forgotten him, for the voyage was on its final leg.

Under the meticulous control of the mysterious stranger, the sword tilted downwards as their velocity waned. Hills again took shape, the roaring wind quieting to a soft whisper. Beneath, green grass had unknowingly made way for a tiled floor.

Karma remained unaware; his internal world had shown no indication of the passing of time.

As the sword leveled with the ground, formless power circulated within the mysterious stranger, preparing to disembark. Though insufficient to break Karma from his reverie, the flow of qi slightly stimulated Karma's own qi. Consequently, tiny motes of white light invaded his consciousness, nudging him back to awareness.

Light? On a whim, he willed the particles forward in a direct collision course with the spinning serpent. As they drew closer, an invisible pull took hold, their forms quickly disappearing. Before he could investigate further, a powerful pulse engulfed his being.

"Hello? Hello!?"

A loud voice shook Karma's psyche. Fluttering awake, Karma and the mysterious stranger began round two of their climactic staring contest series.

Opposite Karma, the mysterious stranger experienced an intense sense of deja vu. As an onslaught of anger seized him, he exploded, "Junior! If you don't wipe that stupid expression off your face, as the heavens as my witness, I will wipe it off for you!"

Karma reacted immediately, tapping into his body's innate functions in hopes of a suitable response.

Pulling on a memory that felt the most similar, his features took on a solemn visage. Bowing deeply, he intoned, "Apologies, esteemed senior. I recently hit my head and am known to be quite stupid. I cannot say which trait is responsible, though I suspect it's a bit of both."

The change of expression and heartfelt apology lightened the man's mood. Nodding briefly in acknowledgment, he was just about to resume speaking when he froze wide-eyed, mind rumbling in the inaugural commencement of Staring Contest: Third Edition.

Those … those were nearly the exact words I thought moments ago. Did I guess perfectly? I'm overthinking! Surely, it must be a coincidence.

Shaking away his uncertainty, it was his turn to awake confusedly, staring into the eyes of another.

What's worse, why did that expression look familiar?

"..."