Gabriel floated in an unknown space, feeling a cold deep within his soul. It felt uncomfortable yet it wasn't painful at all.
Even though he couldn't see anything in his surroundings. He didn't even know how vast his surroundings were, yet he could still feel as if he wasn't there alone. There was another presence.
That presence didn't make any sound or any movements at all, yet somehow it was clear to Gabriel that there definitely was someone.
"Who are you?" Gabriel asked, even though he didn't expect any answers.
"Are you sure you want to know about me?" A voice fell in Gabriel's ears, stunning him. That voice came from right behind him, as if someone was speaking right in his ears.
Gabriel hastily moved away, stunned that he didn't even realize when the other person came this close to him.
"Why won't I be sure?"
He didn't know why the other person in this darkness talked as if Gabriel should've been hesitating to ask this question. He hadn't fallen asleep.
His consciousness was directly sucked into this place. It was similar to what he experienced when he was pulled into the prison of darkness by Lira. He didn't think that this time he was in a dream.
"Because once you know... you can't forget..."
The voice was calm yet composed when the other person spoke. However, something was really unique about the tone of the person. It was as if that person had existed for an eternity and seen through the things that none could've even imagined in their lifetime.
Gabriel remained silent. He didn't understand why but that voice was somewhat familiar. He didn't notice it initially, but the more he heard, the more familiar it sounded.
He closed his eyes, trying to remember to the best of his abilities.
After a few seconds, Gabriel's eyes opened in shock.
"You are... Karyk!"
In his shock, he didn't even control his voice. It was so loud that if he was outside, he could've been heard from a few blocks away easily.
He never met Karyk in reality, but he had lived as Karyk in his dreams. It was in the dreams where he heard that voice! It was his own voice in the dreams! This voice was what he heard when he lost control of his body in the dream when fighting against the Goddess of Nature!
As Gabriel stood shocked, there was a period of silence.
"Am I?" After a brief period of silence, the voice was heard again, once again coming from near Gabriel. "Or are you? Or are we?"
One after another, three questions came from the other person. Even though it sounded like the other man was just speaking randomly, but for Gabriel, those words were not that simple.
"What do you mean?" he asked.
The surroundings became even colder. Even Gabriel felt as if he was going to be frozen at that place if he stayed there for a single moment longer.
The darkness around Gabriel disappeared, changing into a slightly brighter surrounding. Finally, Gabriel wasn't standing like a blind person in the middle of nowhere. However, his new surroundings were just as surprising.
When the darkness disappeared, Gabriel found himself standing in the middle of a vast sea. As far as the eyes could see, there was only this sea and no land! What was even worse was that this sea wasn't filled with water! Instead, this entire sea was filled with nothing more than purest of blood!
"I'll ask you again. Are you ready for the consequences?" The mysterious voice was heard again. "Once you know, the future that you imagine for yourself will disappear. All you'll receive is pain and suffering..."
****
"What is happening? What is this scary suppression?!" Jia yelled, unable to even stand up. "How can something like this exist in this place? Who is this man?!"
Gabriel's body was floating mid-air in front of the little girl. It was clear that this suppression was coming from the seemingly ordinary young man! Unfortunately, none could even get close to him at the moment.
The Staff of Death was floating right next to him. Even Jia felt as if she was going to die if she even dared to step closer to Gabriel at this moment!
"The lock is opening." Only four words came from Alion in response.
"Lock? What lock?" Jia glared at Alion. She felt as if the man before her already knew what was happening. Despite all that, he didn't warn her in advance which was frustrating for her.
"You wanted to know who he was, right?" Alion asked, letting out a heavy sigh. "Now that the seal is opening, you'll receive your answer soon enough."
****
In another place, the Spectre who helped Karyk travel through the sea of souls also looked in the direction of the Ancient City of Gods.
In front of the specter, a young man was sitting on his knees. All the veins around his neck were popping up as if it was hard for him to remain still under this pressure.
"Is it finally the time that you've been preparing for a long time?" The young man, with the Mark of Light at the back of his left hand, frowned.
"If his seal really opens, then..." He raised his head, looking at the sky, as if he was somehow able to look at the shackles that were around the world clearly.
The worldly shackles were trembling and even some cracks could be seen clearly around those shackles.
****
"I'll ask you again. Are you ready for the consequences?" Gabriel stood in the middle of the sea of blood when he heard. Once you know, the future that you imagine for yourself will disappear. All you'll receive is pain and suffering..."
Now that he could clearly see, he turned around, looking directly at the source of the voice.
As he turned around, he finally saw the person who was standing behind him. Even though he already knew who that person was, he still couldn't contain the trace of shock in his heart.
Behind him, stood a young man who looked as if he was only in his late twenties. He had long yet beautiful silver hair that came down to his waist.
The man was wearing clothes that looked quite ordinary yet special at the same time. Even in ordinary-looking clothes, the man was just so handsome that he looked as if he was a Royal Prince of one of the greatest empires in the world!
The man was the Death Star... The Lord of Death who made everyone tremble with just his name alone! He was Karyk!
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[Author Announcement 1/3/2023: I've released a book that will take part in the WSA 23 competition. The book is titled "Eternal Villain"... A story about a person destined to be the greatest villain. The main character is blessed (Or Cursed) with a book that can grant any of his wish that he writes on it, but also at an equivalent if not worse cost!
You can find it by searching the title on Webnovel directly.
Even though it has only two chapters for now, if possible, please read the book and give your valuable feedback. If you like it, don't forget to add it to your library. I am sure you won't be disappointed :)]
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