Maheim opened his eyes wide. He was the ruler of darkness and night… his face seemed to tremble slightly.

“You met some really great people. Since I can see your face twitching from here… are you that afraid of them?”

“I’m afraid,” Sedum quietly replied.

“It’s not like you to be this scared. I hope you don’t disappoint me.”

“They’ll come soon.”

“I’ll take care of it. Ok, let’s wait and see. Let’s see if they’re as great as the stories you told me about them…”

“You’ll regret it.”

“Haven’t you done something you regret anyways?” 

“You’ll regret it more.”

“…”

“Father…”

Episode 2. Book 4: Choice – Chapter 7

Biyeon and San nervously watched the physical changes happening in Sirid Square. The square was rapidly changing. It was amazing to see such a large s.p.a.ce change so brilliantly and completely.

“Is this a dream or real life…” San muttered.

“Yeah…” Biyeon agreed while she blinked.

Their surroundings, in a radius of several kilometers, were dramatically changing. Some things were turning over, other things were sticking out, and some parts were rising or falling. Then, a brilliant flash of colors shone in the entire s.p.a.ce. The color change felt like a large TV display leaving only RGB (Red/Green/Blue) pixel panels for color tuning... but on a 3-dimensional world…

Walls that surrounded the square started rising to endless heights up towards the sky… like a World Cup stadium, the walls bent inward, enclosing the s.p.a.ce inside like a jar. In the confined s.p.a.ce, primary colors started swathing the area. It was as if they were looking through a round kaleidoscope. 

Biyeon frowned.

The primary colors represented violence. It forced one to feel very tired. Thus, the combination of primary colors bursting out was like sharp, violent screams.

“Shall we start?” Biyeon asked.

“Not yet… wait a little longer,” San replied.

In the places where the ground collapsed, strange things started bouncing around in all directions. Living things were gathering together and separating, creating a uniform pattern like a ma.s.s multiplayer game. Perhaps it was the act of preparing a formation for battle.

“How many are there?” 

“Over a thousand.”

“What the h.e.l.l were these guys doing for these past hundreds of years? They wouldn’t have anything to eat here.”

“I don’t know… It feels like an illusion, but we need to check.”

The two moved carefully. San stood in front and Biyeon supported his back.

[Are you thinking of getting rid of those?]

[Not really… there are too many. What was the rule for this game?]

[The rules were to be negotiated.]

[But?]

[But now, it’s probably a powerful demonstration from the experimenter, right? I don’t think the experimenter appreciated your genteel way of speaking.]

[So, they want to see what we’re made of first?] 

[Maybe…]

San scratched the back of his head. He had an unwilling expression.

[Let’s play along for now. Only reveal what is necessary and no more…]

[I understand.]

The two ran to the side of the newly created arena. They planned to go around the square. They were pa.s.sing the 2nd Stage of Acceleration and entering into the 3rd.

Now, the shape of the lower square had completely changed. It was now impossible to distinguish between a three-dimensional and a flat surface with the naked eye. The rain was still falling and drenching their clothes, but in some places of their bodies, an unknown light was flas.h.i.+ng and reflecting outward.

The two’s faces hardened. Even the noise in their minds was loud, like turning to the wrong channel on a television set. In short…

“What the h.e.l.l is with this disruption… I have no sense of distance.”

“The technique they’re using is disturbing sight and hearing. I feel like I’m in a 3D movie theater… The scene changes speed faster than riding on a roller coaster. I can’t make any sense of it.”

“It’s definitely very dangerous…?” 

“Very dizzying…”

“Danger!”

San swung his sword while moving to his side. Biyeon was on the lookout to cover their rear. A monster popped out of nowhere. Only its head was visible as if an artist didn’t finish drawing the rest of its body. Purple blood splattered from the head, leaving a mark in the air. San wiped his mouth. He looked quite surprised. Instead of dripping down, the blood spreads like paint suspended in s.p.a.ce, only to slowly flow down after some time.

Biyeon’s eyes narrowed. Common sense and everyday physical laws were being broken. Biyeon quickly took a step back. As if her movements were a signal to attack, countless monsters popped out of nowhere and started attacking while hissing. They were coming out of thin air. The two swords instinctively flew at the incoming enemies.

Flying in, creeping in, running in, appearing, disappearing… big things and small things… everything and anything imaginable came at them from every direction. Their numbers couldn’t be counted. The two sensed that what was happening was real, not a picture. They also sensed that it was very dangerous.

Something like a transparent wall appeared and slowly pa.s.sed them. The two were left with a sticky feeling as if they were licked by some animal’s tongue. Biyeon wiped the sweat off her forehead. Her eyes opened wide. Her palms were red. Blood… Her blood started flowing out from her exposed skin.

“What the h.e.l.l…”

The monsters constantly appeared. When they suddenly appeared, they were cut down by the two’s swords and were sent back to the other side of the painting. Even in that short time, a razor-thin, sky-blue membrane plane swept dozens of times past them. Their bodies, strengthened by Acceleration, could not be cut, but their clothes were becoming rags.

Fortunately, whatever was pa.s.sing them couldn’t penetrate Archon leather. There were many wounds, but strangely, not much blood came out. How come their blood just oozed over their clothes? 

Still, their bodies felt sore.

Biyeon pulled on one of her clothes’ drooping shoulder straps. It was like fighting with wet air.

They constantly felt something creeping on their skin. They felt the crazy frustration that one has when one can’t scratch something that itches… Based on their senses, they knew that they had fought in this s.p.a.ce for at least three to four hours. They cut down one opponent after another. They believed so. They thought the end would be near…

[What the h.e.l.l is this? There’s no end or limit?] San communicated while panting.

[There’s no fatal attack… that’s what’s… bothering me…] Biyeon replied with an annoyed, tired tone.

[Do they intend to run us ragged?]

[No… maybe they’re measuring our physical ability… doesn’t that seem likely?]

The wave of attacks stopped for a while. San took a rough breath and rolled his tongue inside his mouth. At the tip of his tongue, once it pa.s.sed his lips, he tasted something salty and fishy. It even had hints of a sweet taste, like a chocolate drink… it seemed like their opponent’s blood. Funny enough, it was as delicious as nectar.

“Is it a 10-minute break?”

Biyeon took a breath. She was very short of breath. She felt something was strange and off. She got tired too easily. Her body felt too heavy. Did she bleed out too much? Not so. She definitely felt that something was off. Her head started to spin.

‘How on earth will we get out? Is this a magical construct? There’s no hope of finding a way out if we continue to engage the enemy under their terms. We’ll die of exhaustion. Wait, what did the monster look like?’

She took a quick breath and pondered her questions.

‘Purple skin with thick veins exposed, round triangular black eyes, shark-like teeth, and hands and feet with claws like scissored hands… ugly things that bounced up and down… genitals? And?’

Biyeon swallowed a sigh. Although they were fighting against these enemies, they couldn’t visualize their own enemies at all. Abstract… They were like three-dimensional versions of a Jackson Pollock painting. The image of the enemy was fragmented and blurry. It was superimposed on the surrounding background without outlines. If so, their senses were giving them false signals. Their senses were being tricked.

‘Not like this!’

The attacks were starting up again. This time, the enemies came in faster. The intensity of their attacks also increased significantly.

If they didn’t accelerate further, they’d suffer. Their bodies were as heavy as wet cotton…

[It sounds crazy, but I think we shouldn’t believe in our senses?]

San seemed to have reached the same conclusion as Biyeon.

The two were currently deciding on whether they should raise their level of acceleration. Should they show their abilities that they had hidden up to now? These were the abilities they had saved to use as their last hand…

The situation reminded them of the weird rules created by the Nill and Null in the first place they entered. The forces that dominated this three-dimensional s.p.a.ce… This square was designed with similar rules. Filled with something like a spider web…

[It’s dangerous, but let’s increase our acceleration one step further. I need to check something.]

The two increased their bodies ’ acceleration. Their acceleration went from the 3rd to 4th Stage.

During that brief moment, another round of hot energy swept through their body as if they were licked by an animal’s tongue. San and Biyeon’s eyes shone at the same time. They got a clue.

Biyeon noted that the appearance of this world was not very different before and after their acceleration. Even with their increased acceleration, they could not focus on specific parts of the world.

There was also no blue s.h.i.+ft, a sensation that made objects appear blue when approaching them rapidly.

This world was furiously trying to catch up to their level. The intelligent system was ‘trying’ to create the appropriate contextual world.

“Of course…”

“d.a.m.n… release Acceleration!”

The two released their Acceleration almost simultaneously. Like a joke, the illusions disappeared and the familiar Sirid Square reappeared in its place. It was still raining, and mercenaries could be seen marching in formations far off in the distance.

The two instinctively looked around.

“Are you ready to behave properly now? a.s.sholes?”

They heard a neutral voice, neither a man nor a woman’s tone. The two turned their heads. They frowned. In front of them, a man and woman in their thirties sat leisurely on a nearby gravestone while looking at them.

“Ah! d.a.m.n…” San cursed.

“This can’t be…” Biyeon managed to say before losing her voice.

San and Biyeon screamed at the same time. San ground his teeth. Biyeon opened her eyes and bit down hard on her lips.

“Why is Dite…?” Biyeon moaned.

They saw Dite’s empty expression looking back at them. She had on a lifeless expression, drained of all blood. Her long neck was held by the large man. Her slender legs shook in the air. Her lifeless body was wavering in the wind like a ragged doll.

***

“Did you say it was Sirid Square?” asked Hanyoung.

“That’s what they asked about,” Yeria answered again.

“Let’s go! There will probably be a clue when we get there!”

In the rain, a group of people rushed to leave. They were the Han-Sung clansmen. It was a powerful party, including Hanyoung, who was considered the next generation of Legends, Hanjun and Hanya, and the second-level Awakened Warriors Han Soun and Han Sohun.

A foreboding wind blew. People call it a lucky wind. At the tail end of this wind, there would be a new ‘destiny’ for everyone involved.