Something was wrong, I didn't just feel it, I knew it.

I was calm, ice cold in the exterior, completely alien to my previous self. Any emotion that a human can feel, I felt nothing of it. I only saw the situation for what it is and what it would imply. Logical steps and solutions, things that would not fit with the situation started surfacing in my head.

Things I would not be able to see clearly if I was in my normal state. I don't know what state I am in right now, I felt myself becoming a gaping hole of nothingness and not at the same time. Whatever it is, it's allowing me to see the situation clearly.

And there was one thing I concluded from all this.

Something was off from the beginning. From the moment that Mr. Samuel told me to go hunting, there was a deep-seated feeling that something wasn't going right. Because one thing was for sure the moment I was trapped in the forest, it was that no one was watching me.

In every single instance when we had to do something in the forest, I was either with him as he guided me through, or if I had something I needed to do alone, I always felt eyes watching me from the back of my head.

The feeling of being watched was a constant feeling. I couldn't pinpoint exactly where they were and like what I did back home. At that moment, something was blurring my senses, so much so that the path I was walking was uncertain, unsure if I was going in the right direction.

Strolling around, I saw the same rock several times. I ran, walked, and even jumped from a high vantage point, yet no matter what I did, I felt myself become trapped in some sort of realm. A realm that makes me question whether this is even reality in the first place.

I did not panic. I stopped in place and coldly looked around my surroundings. I drew my twin hybrid sword, its blade softly glinting under the fake moonlight. I imbued mana into my swords, glowing a deep hue in response with spots of black in some places.

Holding my swords vertically, I crouched a little and leaped from my position, both hands gripping the handle tightly as I slashed through the air. For a split second, I saw a small tear in reality yet before I could analyze it further, it disappeared and was gone without a trace.

With an indifferent gaze, I calmly peered at a specific spot. Knowing that someone was hiding there. I stood there without a word, only quietly looking at that specific spot. In a few seconds, the sound of clapping echoed.

A man walked out, hands clapping with a big smile on his face. A pair of eyes like the sky affixed its sights on me, his steps relaxed and unhurried with his back straight. I gripped my weapons tightly, knowing that a battle was afoot.

“Well done Cosmo. You did better than I expected. By better I mean, you're here in one piece.”

I didn't reply, only nodding in response. He seemed to be amused, his smile finally showing some teeth as he lightly laughed.

“I thought that at least Judas or Selene would have taken an arm, and I even thought Malekai would be the one to kill you. You are indeed one of the most fun and intriguing people I have met. And I have met a lot, trust me on that.”

With a deadpan expression, I replied.

“Trust?”

“Yes trust! A valuable currency, don't you agree Cosmo. It can build empires and raise them to egregious heights.”

Dark electrical currents started running through his body. Two weapons attached to his sides and back, were slowly pulled out with the sound of metal grating against their cases.

“And… It can also burn them down. Their ashes drifted by the wind, with the memory of them being forgotten and erased.”

“What's your point?”

“Point?”

With weapons fully drawn, a flicker of lightning passed through his eyes. The aura of his strengthened to terrifying proportions. Despite myself being stripped away with emotions, goosebumps still ran down my arm. My grip became tighter, feeling the individual in front of me scarier than even Aki or the man in black.

“There is a point to what I am saying, yet if I tell you… Where's the fun in that.”

He laughed aloud, with his aura turning pitch black as it seemed to cover everything around us. Then surprisingly, it was then gone and concentrated all of it towards Mr. Samuel. His joyous smile was gone and replaced with a steel exterior.

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“Begin.”

As I was about to dash forward, he suddenly appeared before me, weapons pointed at my vitals. I reacted, though barely, as I hurriedly raised both my weapons and blocked them. Our weapons clashed, sparks flying in the air as I skidded through the ground.

He sent a knee hurling towards my face. I was about to block again, yet he vanished in front of me, and felt that he was behind me. Before my mind could process it, my body moved first as I ducked and tumbled in another direction.

Once I got my bearings, I took a stance and looked around. He was gone. Yet the feeling of his death-like aura was still there. He was stalking me, watching me as if I was an animal on the chopping block. Not going to happen.

Breathing deeply, I focused my senses and felt around. My eyes snapped open and before I could react, I felt something hard crash against my sides. A grunt escaped my mouth as I barely raised my arm to defend

The sound of something breaking was heard, yet I ignored it and slashed toward Mr Samuel. He met me head-on as he used his dagger to defend, I pushed forward yet he did not budge. It felt like I was pushing my sword against a mountain.

We pulled back, and with a split-second delay, we clashed once more as I sent various slashes and stabs toward him. Sometimes feinting yet it failed every time. The sound of steel kept ringing out, thunder and lightning continuously snaking around the battlefield. I sent a wave of thunder towards Mr Samuel and he did the same, causing a slight shockwave that sent the whole situation into chaos.

Using the confusion, I blended in the shadows and observed Mr Samuel. Once the dust settled, I saw him waving it off as he lightly looked around. Thinking that I successfully hid, I changed into another spot yet once I did.

I felt his gaze boring down on me, with my cover blown I didn't wait for him and darted towards him using {Lightning Movement}. In a blink of an eye, I was close enough to send several slashes and I did. From every angle, I slashed and stabbed, not using the same movement or motion twice in a row.

Keeping myself random and unpredictable. I sent a knee and there was a slight grin at the side of his face. He also did the same and used his knee. In a flash, I used {Lightning Movement} in place, and was now on his right, sending a kick flying towards his face.

He was wide open, the motion of his knee defending still continuing. Yet his eyes were looking directly at me, I connected yet I wasn't able to connect to his face. He used his right arm to defend and soon we were at a standstill.

The air seemed to have gone still, the cold air slightly blowing against our faces. The fake moon lightly shone on us like the spotlight of a stay play, we locked eyes as we peered at each other for what seemed like an eternity.

Despite feeling like I wasn't myself, questions still kept popping up in my mind, with them showing on my face. I don't know how, but Mr. Samuel seemed to have understood it. At that moment, I thought I was finally able to see through him. Just for a little bit.

I saw something contained in his eyes, was it pity? sadness? maybe even anger? Or all of it. I did not know. All I know is that the situation was already like this, and ending it here once and for all felt wrong. We both felt it, as Mr. Samuel just gave a light smile and nodded.

I did not realize it until now, the times when I only knocked out the others. Not outright killing them, since despite my not-so-fully-human state, I did not kill them. I did not shed any blood, even more than what is necessary.

The smile Mr. Samuel gave, felt like reassurance. That it was okay. Maybe I was wrong. His gaze, I felt, gave out so many meanings and conclusions that I could have derived, yet I concluded the only thing that felt right at the moment.

…and it was to stop holding back.

We recoiled, standing face-to-face with each other. Weapons pointing towards the ground yet not unsheathed. I closed my eyes and breathed deeply, opening my eyes as I felt that I saw the world a little clearer.

The surroundings' illusions seemed to have worn off. Reality seemingly shifting and changing by the second, soon I felt that no more boundaries were holding back my senses. Yet one thing still stayed.

The moon still hung in the sky, with the forest blowing a chilly wind as it billowed our hair. His expression changed, replaced with complete seriousness, as if he was waiting for this moment. I was too deep down.

Without a word. I emerged in front of Mr. Samuel without the use of lightning. His eyes slightly popped out as he defended my slash, yet it was not one. I sliced, stabbed, and forced my way to cut the person in front of me down.

Our positions constantly shifted, thunder seemingly following our every step. From an outside point of view, we were clashing in different places at the same time.

I lightly ducked his dagger, its blade lightly reflecting my face. In less than a second, I saw my reflection, my eyes stripped away of all that was me, all the things that made me who I am. Something was indeed wrong, and maybe it was with me.

Our weapons collided, loosening his grip as I threw his dagger off to the side, backing away and widening the distance. For a moment our constant clashing stopped.

I raised my sword and used it as a mirror, reflecting my current appearance. I saw my eyes void of anything human, and my hand lightly shook as a result of that realization.

“What have I done…”

I looked back at Mr Samuel, as he quietly observed me from a distance. He only shook his head in response. I saw his appearance, his clothes being tattered, open wounds appearing in several places as there was light bleeding from it. Looking at myself, I wasn't any better.

I bit my lower lip, as I only now fully realized what I have become. I didn't want this. I didn't even know what this was. My arms sagged, and the grip on my weapon loosened as it fell to the ground with a clang. I looked to the stars, trying to look for questions about my problems.

Problems of which, I don't even know how it came to be.

“I won't fight. Not like this.”

“Cosmo you can't-”

“Kill me if you must, Mr. Samuel, but I won't fight you, I don't want to hurt my friends.”

“Damn it.”

The moon suddenly glowed with all its splendor, as a presence seemingly made its entrance. Their aura covered the entire field, it made me feel like I was in an empty place, void of sound and even oxygen.

“How disappointing.”