"All humans hide secrets. The immortal cultivators themselves hide their bare nature from the world, leaving only the remnant image they hand forged meticulously. The mortals grasp dearly to their petty matters, incessantly refusing to bow to the Empire. And now, we will grasp onto the truth that has been hidden.
"You will guide the light into this burdened world.
“Humanity requires a God to lead them all.
“Oh Leader, we give our undying loyalty to your cause.”
"Fuck, what are you talking about?!"
—
Xier had been dutifully staring at the mirror, appreciating the wonderful sight that was shown. He had often spent his days indulging in such activities—after all, where else could he see such a magnificent face? On the seventh floor of his apartment, Xier enjoyed his time with peace.
At the road adjacent to his building, a new project was being planned out to test out the capabilities of self-driving trucks. After countless months of planning, the founders felt confident that the truck would manage to match all expectations.
"Alright! We will be starting now! 3! 2! 1!" the owner shouted to the crowd that had formed to watch.
With his signal, lights started to emanate from the truck, as it began to move forward. A steady pace without any mishaps, the truck marched on. Claps were already beginning to sound out at the fantastical sight of a vehicle moving on its own—it was a step forward for the entirety of humanity.
However, like all plans, there were hidden variables that plagued the theoretical idea from being transformed into a practical set up. In this case, it was the common mistake of forgetting that a car engine may switch into a rocketship engine.
And so, the truck which had quite an average horsepower began to increase its velocity wildly. Of course, not horizontally but rather in the vertical direction. It passed the first floor of Reviol Apartment Housing, the fourth floor, and even the sixth floor before it came to a rest at the seventh floor.
It had stopped at a certain individual who had seemed too busy to notice the truck that had begun to slam into his walls. Xier felt something smash into his body, and before he knew it, he had died.
All that remained was a mirror that continued to carry his reflection.
—
“Oh, dearest Leader, we welcome you.”
“We welcome you.”
“We welcome you.”
Now, Xier had found himself in the middle of a red circle whilst surrounded by a group who all donned a black overcoat. They stared at him without moving in the slightest, only reciting words of greeting. A layer of darkness had enshrouded the room, a single candlelight providing the only light within the area.
He took a closer look at his body and found that his lifelong companion—his mirror—had accompanied him on this journey. No ropes had been tying his hand together, nor had any gags been shoved into his mouth.
Shit, did I get kidnapped? No, damn it, they look like they’re going to sacrifice me!
Xier mechanically turned his eyes to see any hints to where he was, only to lose his balance as he saw a man standing behind his shoulder staring with an odd sense of infatuation.
“What the fuck!”
The man had been wearing a silver mask that covered his face, but it seemed that he had hand drawn a smile onto the mask himself with the teeth opened wide. He grasped onto his mask, and slowly pulled it down revealing a wrinkled face.
He whispered, “Leader, it is I. We believe it was successful. The Holy Artifact has been summoned onto your hands.”
What holy artifact!
Xier scrambled away to increase the distance from him and the old man, but he found himself backing into a different masked man who took his mask off to reveal another worn out face.
“Leader, what is the issue? Has your mana deviated?”
More of the silent bystanders began to speak up, voicing their concerns.
“Leader, is everything fine? Did it work out as you wanted it to?”
“Leader…”
“Leader…”
The voices all muddled over each other, leaving Xier lost on what exactly they wanted him to hear. As he mulled over what was happening, another man began to act.
“Leader, please speak to us.”
About what, damn it! I should be asking you why you kidnapped me!
A suffocating pressure descended amongst the group as Xier remained silent, leaving only the sounds of a flickering fire. Helpless, Xier began to speak.
“A-ah, I’m sorry? I don’t know what you want, but please, I have a family who needs me! Please, let me go! I’ll give you money!”
Xier had no intention to give them money if they let him free, nor did he have a family who depended on him. However, the inanimate masks began to frown as Xier spoke. They shared glances with each other, and had silently confirmed a conclusion.
“Leader…it seems you have deviated your Upper Heart. Do not worry, we will solve this with haste. Rynald, take your squad and search everywhere in the Uriso Empire. I will search from base forward. If required, start the takeover of the Elven Kingdom early to gather the materials."
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Soft murmurs spread throughout the room, discussing the matter on how they would manage to fix their dear leader's issue. The leader in discussion was currently suffering from a panic attack.
Fuck, there’s no way right? Different world? The hell is an Upper Heart—and in all of the Uriso Empire? Elven Kingdom?
The possibility that he hadn’t been kidnapped, but rather reincarnated dawned on Xier, and once it came it took a permanent hold over him.
In fact, they spoke about Mana Deviation before this too. Mana, Upper Heart and an empire that’s never existed on Earth. To top it all off, Elves.
Xier felt that it was stupid to not believe that it was a new world. With such an intangible source, it would be vague enough to solve all issues about logic—making it the perfect reason for Xier to believe in.
As the people began to busy themselves, he began to try and walk away from the group only to be stopped by a human giant. He was at least twice the size of Xier, and had muscles that couldn’t be hidden even underneath the overcoat. The man stared at him, before dropping to his knees.
He screamed, “Oh, Leader...it is always like this. Please, rest Leader. Although we are incompetent, we will manage. Do not burden yourself like this. Please…please stop sacrificing your own life for us!”
Ah, this is totally crazy.
Tears had welled up in his eyes as his body shook on the ground. The surrounding people seemed to have also begun to tear up, wiping their eyes after glancing at Xier. But one man had resolved his will, and spoke up.
“Leader, although you may struggle to remember us, you should remember the artifact due to your close contact. We have the subjects ready, please confirm that Agarth's Mirror works as recorded.”
He clicked his fingers, making a small, slimy blob appear on his hands. It seemed translucent, though there was a tint of green covering it. The man began to clutch his hand, squeezing the blob, and the blob had taken a different form to match his hand.
“Please, Leader. Lift the mirror.”
Under the eyes of all the people, Xier reluctantly moved his pocket mirror up and faced it towards the blob.
A light dawned across the room stemming from the mirror. Xier thought he saw a mouth manifest in front of the mirror, before he felt his sight blank.
And the blob had disappeared from the room, alongside Xier.
He found himself transported once again, now in a vast expanse of plains. Next to him was the little blob, jumping about.
“Tweep! Twewep!”
It’s a little cute?
The blob, which Xier decided to name Squishy, jumped onto him whilst making adorable sounds. A sensation of tranquillity washed over him as he witnessed the mellow expanse filled with a myriad of flowers that swayed under the wind. Though in a strange predicament, he thought that it wouldn't be bad to appreciate the sight for a short while before he tried to understand what was happening.
Squishy was of a different mind, however. Squishy planned to have a feast. It began to try and swallow Xier whole.
Its appearance began to morph, becoming multiple times larger than its original size, and had been tainted with a crimson colour. Eyes had formed onto the creature, voraciously staring at Xier. The instant Squishy had shown signs of change, Xier had dashed off to protect himself, and he had been right to do so.
He was now in a cat and mouse chase with Squishy, who was leaping with its mouth open wide towards him. A sticky substance was dripping out from its, burning the ground the instant it made contact and also scorching Xier's sanity.
Although Xier managed to run for a short while, he couldn’t maintain the pace for long. His legs had grown far too tired and his breath was almost completely out. He was forced to slow down, allowing Squishy to catch up to him. Squishy opened wide—and engulfed the powerless Xier.
Acid had burned through his body, reaching all the way down to his bones. His body began to lose structure, becoming nothing more than a gooey substance. Without any time to even scream about injustice, Xier experienced death.
“Argh!"
He had returned back to the plains, and Squishy had become his original cute self. It jumped again, but Xier had instinctually ducked his body to prevent any contact before even realising what was happening. Squishy gazed at him, before it morphed back into the abomination of an organism.
With a slightly larger head start, Xier sprinted away whilst stressing on what had happened.
I died for sure, but now I’m back to the beginning? Wait no, damn it, I died?! Again?!
A rookie mistake.
Too caught up in his own thoughts, he had subconsciously slowed down, letting Squishy to eat him again; if there was one respite for Xier, it was that his death was nearly instant.
“Damn it!”
Squishy jumped.
Xier ran.
Squishy ate.
Xier returned.
These four motions repeated for a time period that Xier couldn’t recognise. He feared for a life in which he would undergo these motions for an eternity, never to live a proper life again.
First, it was an overwhelming despair that even binded him from running from Squishy.
Is there…any point in running?
With any sight of hope lost, he thoughtlessly stood still as Squishy feasted on him. He reminisced about his time on Earth, and the unfairness of the entire situation. Whilst enjoying his days of lazing about, he had been thrown into a loop of death where he couldn't even hope to survive.
After his thirteenth death, the sorrow began to morph into a more primal emotion—rage.
“Ah, fuck! Fuck, fuck, fuck! Leave me alone you shitty slime! Damn it! Arghhhh!”
Rather than meekly accept his death, Xier began to flail his arms regardless of the futility of it all; he kicked the formless blob for as long as he held consciousness, he even attempted to copy Squishy’s method of eating their opponents though it was unsuccessful.
But, no matter how much he tried, there was no change in the inevitable outcome. By the hundredth death, Xier had stopped counting. He had entered the final state of defeat. Insanity.
“Hahaha..hahahaha…Squishy~, come, come! Let me hug you! Let’s enter a new world, together! Squishy, I love you! Who's my little good bo–!"
Xier was swiftly eaten.
Over and over, he 'played' with his pet Squishy for a few insignificant seconds before it got too hectic for survival.
However.
As the days passed , Xier felt something enter within his body. It began as a small seed, but had been steadily growing after every repetition. From the heart, it had seeped throughout the torso, arms and legs—and now, it began to reach into his head. Only was it then that Xier could regain his sanity.
FFF-Rank [Mana] → FF-Rank [Mana]
Huh?
The fog that had pervaded his mind cleared up, leaving him in a state of confusion. What had seemed like an eternity suddenly switched back to the present moment, and one that had a drastic difference to his eternal suffering. The dreary sense of doom had been replaced with a wave of refreshment, invigorating him from the toes up—a feeling that became amplified as he realised something.
Squishy had disappeared.
Replacing the blob was a monotonous voice that boomed throughout his head.
—
‘Initialising performance rating…’
‘FFF-Rank [Absorption]’
‘FFF-Rank [Mana Manipulation]’
‘FFF-Rank [Technique]’
‘Overall Rating: FFF-Rank [Ego Depiction]’
‘[1/2] Ego Dissolution remaining.’
'Are you actually serious? No, fuck, I can understand even an F-Rank rating, but FFF? Why the fuck did you even come here then, you stupid bastard! Are you crazy? An Ego Dissolution was used on a slime?! Get the hell out of here, and decree my will upon someone else!'
—
A light shone into Xier’s eye, blinding him for a few short seconds. When he opened his eyes again, the masked figures had returned to greet him.