PART 1

Alicia white

Yggdrasil time [20:04]

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St… Tss. Pstt

Within the darkness, a place where the eternity of peace and solitude pervades, something seeped into her ears, a buzzing annoyance. But a heaviness weighed on her entire body, lulling her deeper into the void, muffling every irrelevant existence in the world.

Pst… Wake up…

A fleeting airiness filled a part of her, captivating her mind as her body seemingly floated. However, the voice of someone echoed in her ear as if gently pulling her away from the comforting depths of the abyss.

Wake up… Pst.

“Nahh, naaaaaaaww.” Voicing out her dislike, she turned to the side to put distance between her and the voice. “Just… 10 more…. Hours … Let me sleep…”

But, despite her earnest wish, a hand gently tapped over her shoulder, it said, “Wake up… Wake up.”

This foolish peasant.

“Silence…” Words escaped from her mouth, “I deman-”

“Wake up”

“Shut up!”

The voice revealed the anger beneath her drowsiness and halted whatever disturbed her slumber. Mere moments after, when the silence returned, her consciousness drifted slowly to the abyss again.

“Wake up…”

Whoever this vermin, today will be your last day in this Palace.

Alice pledged her commitment as she tried to stay focused, attempting to corral her wandering thoughts. Yet, despite her utmost endeavors, a profound lethargy entangled her, disrupting her connection to the voice and allowing her mind to slip out of her grasp.

All of a sudden, a hand violently tugged her shoulder.

THIS! HOW PERSISTENT!

Internally focusing, she willed her body to rise. There was a surge of anger that jolted her mind awake, but her body felt heavy, resisting her commands. Despite the overpowering lethargy that attempted to pull her down, she managed to peel her head from the ground and awkwardly settled into a cross-legged position with an unsteady body that seemed to fall soon.

Without warning, a cold, wet towel touched her face and gently glided across her skin. Alice found it peculiar as Dianna usually offered her water before any form of assistance.

While Alice knew that Dianna genuinely cared for her well-being, she often forgave Dianna’s rude behavior, but it was different when it came to other servants. However -

How odd.

Alice felt something was amiss within her thoughts, unexplained unease that she could not grasp what it was. Events seemed incongruent, prompting her to access her Mind Networking to review the log records that happened during her sleep, but it proved unsuccessful.

All of a sudden, a peculiar sensation stirred within her, causing a shiver to run down Alice's spine. Amidst the stillness, a soft whisper tickled her ear, urging her, “It’s time to wake up now.”

As if commanded by those haunting words, she pried open her firmly shut eyelids, greeted by an abyss of impenetrable darkness. The once comforting warmth that beckoned her into slumber had dissipated, the soft bedding replaced by the unforgiving hardness of an earthly cold ground beneath her. It felt as though the entire existence she had known before was naught but an ethereal illusion, a fleeting dream.

I supposed I entered Yggdrasil? Was that a dream? But it felt so real. My face is slightly moist even.

The darkness was not so intense that she could not ascertain anything. As she looked around, she could make out the silhouettes of her own body. However, her eyes caught sight of an object resting on her lap, which she assumed was the damp towel she felt before.

Hm? This does not seem… to make any sense?

Her eyes darted around the darkness, searching for the person who wiped the wet towel against her face. Unfortunately, the darkness rendered her limited mind incapable of formulating any hypothetical assumptions, leaving her at a complete loss.

I refuse to believe it… There is no way they will make me spawn somewhere with hostile creatures, especially with unnatural beings… I refuse to believe this!

Alice's hands tightly clenched the wet towel as she tried to speak with composure. “wh-who-whoever you are, sh-show yourself!”

Her voice quivered in the darkness, devoid of any signs of life in this unfamiliar place. Wild imaginations ran amok in her mind as the unnatural cold seeped through her body, and panic gripped her.

She tried to convince herself, but that hardly ever worked. Meanwhile, various parts of her mind ran wildly, wasting energy in pointless imaginations; part of her consciousness subdued her fears and forced her trembling body. She slowly rose from the stone-cold floor and compelled herself to inspect her surroundings.

The stagnant air hung heavy with foreboding. The floor felt solid beneath Alice's feet, but whether it was made of stone or hard-pack dirt remained a mystery.

Lights. Is there no lights? Oh, right. The abilities.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Alice wanted to thoroughly inspect her surroundings before aimlessly wandering through this unholy place. With ease, she commanded her abilities to activate through her consciousness.

A flickering candle-lit fire materialized before her. Its feeble glow struggled to penetrate the thick umbra, providing only meager illumination and warmth.

So it works the same as Last Ark's thought-process key activation.

The dim light revealed the texture of the rough floor beneath her feet and unveiled an intriguing object lying on the ground, which Alice noticed.

The wet towel?

An unsettling feeling gnawed at Alice's mind, but it ignited a sense of curiosity to unravel the mystery of this rugged towel. With a hint of trepidation, she knelt down and cautiously reached for it, only to pick up the metallic scent of blood and the grotesquely moist sensation that clung to her skin. The texture felt alien, something far more grotesque than a wet towel could ever achieve.

Unconsciously withdrawing her breath, Alice's mind raced as she gingerly lifted the object before her. In her trembling hand, lay a discarded skin, its glistening surface marred by crimson stains of fresh blood. A revolting stench, more putrid than anything she had ever encountered, assaulted her senses, drowning her in its nauseating embrace.

Startled, Alice hastily tossed the bloody skin away and took a step back. As she did, an unsettling figure within the darkness moved, its form obscured within the shadow. Alice's instinct kicked in, propelling her to react in an instant.

“W-WHO!? S-SHOW YOURSELF!” She yelled.

Panicked by the sudden movements emanating from the darkness, Alice found herself gripped by distress for what she did not know. The flickering candlelight failed to illuminate the obscure figure lurking in the shadows, intensifying her frustration as she futilely commanded the flame to move toward the figure.

Alice, perhaps unable to tolerate the slow-moving light any longer, took the flame and commanded it to stay afloat on top of her palm. With a shaky hand, she moved the flickering fire in a frantic gesture, causing the figure lurking in the darkness to draw nearer.

“St-stay away!” She commanded.

“Pst? Wake up?”

The voice spoke behind her ear.

Wha-

Her hand, suspended in mid-air, was suddenly yanked by an unseen force, violently pulling her down onto the cold, stone floor. The impact reverberated through her, leaving her body trembling and gasping for breath. Paralyzed with fear, she saw that her trembling hand was tightly restrained by pale, thin long hands that emerged from the darkness, while the fragile flame flickered as a beacon of desperate hope amidst the relentless darkness.

Despite the looming threat, her mind remained calm, trying to regain control over her convulsing body. As she did so, she commanded the flames.

Flames go stronger!

However, all hope shattered like fragile glass as something sinister shapes emerged, crawling out from the darkness. Her eyes widened in sheer terror as an otherworldly creature unveiled itself, its twisted and disfigured body. From the depths of the monster's form, an obscure and sinewy appendage wriggled out, a hideous limb resembling an unholy extension of its malevolent body.

Humanely voices seeped through somewhere of the monster, creepily recreating a child-like voice, “It’s awake. This is awake.”

A multitude of hands slithered out from its monstrous maw, coiling and constricting around Alice's helpless hand, while others forcibly pinned her trembling body to the cold ground.

"Re-Release me this instant! YOU DEMON!” Alice desperately shouted.

“It's awake! It's awake!” it repeated.

Alice fought against her restraints, desperately trying to break free from the vice-like grip of the innumerable hands that held her body in place. She couldn't fathom the monster's intentions, but its attention was fixated on the flickering hand that was floating atop her palm. Just as she was about to extinguish the fire, the creature twisted her hand with a sickening snap, shattering bones and tearing sinews in a nauseating creaking noise.

Her piercing screams echoed through the desolate darkness, reduced to a cacophony of anguish and despair. The pain she felt was unbearable as if an inferno had ignited within her veins, pulsating through her torn flesh and shattered bones. Overwhelming waves of dizziness assailed her mind, causing her vision to darken as she struggled to comprehend the violence her body endured.

Augment, take out pain receptors!

Despite her body's reaction, her mind remained strong. She refused to crumble amidst the excruciating horrors, for the flickering flame still floating on her hand, she could see its light trying to escape the cage of hands.

Take out the fl—.

Before she could process the command in her mind, it ruthlessly continued its attack, violently ripping her hand from her torso with an uncomfortable, bone-crushing sound. While her mind struggled to register the pain, her body convulsed uncontrollably, succumbing to the relentless assault it could no longer bear.

“IT'S AWAKE!!” the monster screeched.

Alice let out a guttural groan, her teeth clenched tightly as her arm was violently ripped from her body. Unexpectedly, the grotesque hands slowly unwrapped themselves from her detach hand and caught a glimpse of it. Horrified, she watched as the ravenous monster, driven by sadistic hunger, devoured her arm with a seemingly feral delight expression. The hand and its flame extinguished from life, leaving Alice crippled on the penetrating cold floor.

Augment, stop the bleeding.

Alice's mind filled with confusion, unsure of which actions to take as she grappled with theoretical thoughts that failed to translate into practical solutions. Her mental faculties worked overtime, desperately seeking ways to identify and defeat the monstrous entity. She delved deep into her memory banks, repeating the moment when the monster tried to attack her as she inspected every detail, searching for relevant information to navigate the current critical situation.

Suddenly, she sensed the restraints on her body were slowly disconnecting as if she were being released. Alice remained perplexed about the monster's intentions, feeling thrown away, alone on the cold stone.

tap tap

She heard the sounds of moving away from her until she couldn't sense its presence anymore.

What was that monster? Was it attracted to light? What about sound? What about other things?

Countless thoughts raced through Alice's mind, but she couldn't reach a conclusion. In a few seconds, which felt like an eternity to Alice, she instinctively felt that her bleeding stopped. She remained perfectly still, afraid to provoke the ravenous monster that was perhaps nearby.

This is sickening! System, log me out!

Alice ordered, yet moments passed, and she remained on the ground. Alice grumbled inwardly, and whispered, “System, log me out.”

Despite her plea, nothing happened. Alice sighed, feeling defeated. She couldn't understand why she couldn't log out, but she had a hunch. Just like Last Ark, there must be a specific method for the players to exit the game.

In Last Ark, I had to use a terminal or beds to log out. However, I absolutely have no details for logging out procedures, and there is no use in trying to find it myself. I have to find a player to give me details to log out.

With one hand, Alice lifted her body and surveyed the darkness surrounding her. She sensed that the previous monster was no longer around and concentrated all her thoughts.

I will designate a name for it 'The handgobbler monster', a taker of hands. I have no details regarding other monsters, no details of the surroundings, no everything.

But, despite the odds that were against her, she can assume on one thing -

That monster greeds for light only.

Alice looked over the darkness. She had no other choice but to face it again.

A flame lit once again.