Kaden dismissed the entity's words, his gaze never leaving its unsettling form. He watched it with wary eyes, muscles tensed, ready for any sudden movement. For a while now, he had been dreaming of a moment like this, a chance to exact his revenge.

But he didn’t move. A doubt lingered in the back of his mind, gnawing at him as he watched. He wanted this, yes… but he had no illusions about his strength or capability. The entity was undoubtedly far stronger than him. Was he being impatient?

The surging anger blinded him, clouding his judgment as it continued to rise. The longer he stared at the entity, the more his fury grew. His mind screamed for vengeance over and over, drowning out all else.

This was his chance… right here in front of him, just as he had hoped for.

In a blur of motion, his form shifted, and he lunged forward, racing toward the entity. With every step, the invisible force that permeated the space grew more oppressive, pressing down on him like a massive weight. But Kaden’s resolve was unshakable. He hated this thing with every fiber of his being.

The entity, as though resigned to its fate, remained motionless, watching Kaden's approach with a detached, almost bored expression.

Almost within reaching distance, the force grew so intense that Kaden grunted in pain as he moved. Hazy beads of sweat formed atop his vague form, dripping slowly as he pushed forward.

He was close now; his arm snapped back, muscles coiling with tension. With a scream he unleashed a powerful punch. Desperation fueled the strike, making it wild and clumsy.

It sliced through the air and made contact—or so he thought. As his fist met the entity, it met no resistance, dissolving parts of the hazy mist as it passed. Kaden stumbled forward, nearly losing his balance as he barreled right through the apparition.

He skidded to a halt several feet away, dropping to his knees in shock. His wide eyes darted back to the entity, which had already reformed, entirely unharmed by his attack. His heart pounded with frustration and disbelief. Rising to his feet, he turned to face his enemy once more, anger still burning fiercely within him.

"Calm down, brat..." the entity's voice cut through the silence like a cold blade, its eyes gleaming with an eerie light, a warning in its tone. "I told you it's no use."

Kaden scoffed, dismissing the entity’s taunts without a second thought. His fists clenched tightly as he charged again, unleashing a flurry of wild, uncoordinated punches. They struck the mist in quick succession, but none had the effect he wanted. Each strike dissipated the mist for a brief moment, only for it to reappear as if nothing had happened.

Meanwhile, the invisible force continued to bear down on him, sapping his strength with each passing second until he could do no more. Breathless and defeated, he was forced to stop his assault and retreat.

“You’re not very bright, are you?” the entity yawned, its voice dripping with a tired annoyance. “Stop wasting your energy. No matter how much you try, the result will stay the same.”

Kaden, still wary, glared at the entity with undisguised loathing. “Why should I listen to you?” he spat, every word laced with contempt.

“Tsk... you ungrateful little brat.” The atmosphere grew heavy with a sudden, palpable danger as the entity's form pulsed, the invisible force momentarily intensifying within the void. “Try to show some respect. I did just save your feeble mind.”

Kaden staggered under the renewed pressure, his hazy form quivering weakly and filling him with doubt. “What are you talking about?”

“Oh, you don’t remember?” the entity said, snorting in disdain, “Honestly you are... utterly pathetic.”

“Fuck you!” Kaden roared, leg twitching and almost falling for the obvious provocation.

“Ahh… of course. Your worthless little mind has yet to figure out the truth of this space. So quick you are to lose control of yourself. I was wrong in my previous assessment—you are even worse than pathetic.”

“Easy to be cocky when you refuse to fight. If you’re so sure of yourself, stop whatever you’re doing and face me!” Kaden barked, fists clenching so hard his hazy form began vibrating from the force.

“That thing I’m doing? You misunderstand. I’m not doing anything. Your mind is so limited that you can’t even comprehend what is happening. Perhaps that is why you were so easily consumed by the madness.”

“The madness?” Kaden’s mind reeled as fragmented memories flooded in—images of him in his skeleton form; devouring the goblin, lost in hunger as he stumbled down the cavern, the whispers in his ear as he collapsed... lying helpless on the floor, too weak to pull himself back up.

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How had he forgotten all that? In those moments, hunger was all he could think about, but as soon as he was transported into this space, it had all faded from his mind.

His form shuddered.

“Hm? It seems you remember now… hurry up and thank me then you little brat.”

Kaden frowned, his mind recalling the shadowy tendrils reaching out to ensnare him. He spoke with doubt in his voice, “You mean... those tendrils were you?”

“Indeed,” the entity replied, a ghostly semblance of a smile twisting within its hazy form.

But Kaden was unimpressed. He scoffed, “And so what? Even if you did save me, it’s your fault all of it happened in the first place! You fucking brought me here and turned me into a damn skeleton! I bet you have something to do with the hunger and madness too!”

“Perhaps...” the entity mused, its form shifting in a vague gesture resembling a shrug. “Nonetheless, the truth remains that I saved you.”

“Why? I know it wasn’t for any sort of altruistic reason.” It didn’t even matter, Kaden did not care one bit what excuse it could put together. No, he didn’t owe this entity anything.

“Must I have a reason? You seem to be forgetting something here. You belong to me—I bought your soul—I brought you back. Everything you have is because of me!” For a brief moment, the atmosphere grew heavy once more, quickly passing as the entity calmed down. “…Forget it. All you need to know is that the alternative was too costly... it would take far too much time.”

“Time?” Kaden muttered, his mind churning, struggling to decipher the entity’s motives. “So you’re in a rush?”

“No matter… there is no need to concern yourself with that. I believe I’ve said enough,” the entity concluded, its form beginning to dull as it receded into the shadows. “Go back for now. We will meet again soon. If it is still your wish then, I will fight you.” Its last words echoed through the void as its presence faded.

“Wait, what? You’re running away?!” Kaden panicked as the entity disappeared from view, taking the oppressive force with it. He sank to his knees, a mixture of rage and helplessness overwhelming him. “Fucking bastard, come back here!”

The realm of shadows began to quake and distort before his eyes, the void rapidly collapsing around him. His vision blurred, compressing as he was forcefully pulled out of the space, the cavern ceiling gradually coming into view above him.

A hideous, mocking laughter echoed faintly in the distance, soon vanishing without a trace. Alone in the cavern’s silence, Kaden closed his eyes as the frustration boiled within him.

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Laying in the stillness, he thought about his recent experience.

Just what was that space?

It puzzled him; the answers eluding his grasp. In that place, he had taken on a vague form. It shifted and changed—resembling nothing, yet at the same time, eerily reminiscent of his human self.

He opened his eyes, scanning his surroundings and comparing them to his memories. As far as he could tell, he was in the exact same spot where the tendrils had attacked him, as if his skeletal body had not moved at all.

But if that was the case, then how did he get to that space? Had he traveled there with his mind? How much time had passed?

The questions swirled in his mind, threatening to give him a headache. Pushing away all the unanswerable questions, he considered other matters.

He hadn’t managed to get far from where he killed the goblin before he fell, and with no clue how much time had passed since, he knew he needed to start moving.

“That fucking bastard,” he muttered under his breath, slamming his hand into the wall. With a sigh, he collected his bone spike and began walking.

It was quickly becoming clear that his emotions were getting harder to control. Often he found himself being consumed by them, succumbing to their influence. Even now, thoughts of revenge kept popping up in his head, overpowering everything else.

Was that the madness?

He didn’t know, but whatever it was, he couldn’t let it control him. The frustration continued to grow inside him, threatening to bubble over if he didn’t do something.

Taking a deep breath, he focused on clearing his mind. He tried to think of other things, but everything seemed to make him mad in some way.

He searched his mind for happy memories, but quickly realized that he had few of those to speak of.

Maybe he could… just focus on his walking?

With no other ideas, he decided to give it a shot, focusing on his feet and counting the steps.

One… two… three…

He quickly fell into a rhythm, sounding out the numbers within his head.

Seventeen… Eighteen… Nineteen…

It didn’t take long before he began to feel it working. The counting served as a perfect distraction, allowing his emotions to fade into the background.

Ninety-five… Ninety-six…

Sometimes his concentration lapsed, but he quickly brought it back, continuing to count up from the last number he remembered.

One-thousand-two-hundred-and-twenty-four…

His focus faltered as a faint dripping noise caught his attention. It was soon followed by another, piquing his curiosity.

The sound was familiar, and he was certain he had heard it before. Deciding to follow it, he made it his new focus, determined to find the source.

Soon, he noticed a hint of light shining from around a distant corner. The feeling of déjà vu grew stronger within him, drawing him toward the light like a moth to a flame.

This was definitely somewhere he had been before.

Forgetting to be cautious, he approached the corner, peeking around it with reckless enthusiasm.

His eyes widened as he saw the massive cavern lit up by glowing luminescent rocks on the ceiling. Below, a large pool of water reflected the soft light, twinkling and dancing across the water.

It was strangely comforting to him in this moment.

He recognized all of it immediately, lost for words as he stared at the magical sight. The memory of the girl’s cries and her face as she was choked to death inside the slime were by no means a pleasant one. Yet, it didn’t bother him now.

Finally seeing a familiar part of the cavern brought a tremendous sense of relief, a connection to something real in this surreal nightmare. If he had been capable of tears, they would have filled his eye sockets.

It was like a picture from a dream, and as he relived the memory of the girl’s final moments, an idea began to form in his mind.