_Chapter Begins_
The wooden abomination opened its maw wide and lunged straight for William's head.
The creature's jagged teeth were mere centimeters away from him.
But in the end, instead of biting into his flesh, the abomination's fangs sank into the massive shard of mystical glass behind him.
William had seemingly vanished.
The giant shard—already laced with cracks from the earlier impact—finally gave in and shattered.
The glass began to crumble right where the abomination stood.
Meanwhile, William emerged from the reflection of another shard about fifteen meters away from his previous spot.
He breathed heavily, his eyes fixed on the direction of the collapsing shard.
"That… should hold him for a while."
The abomination had buried its teeth deep into the mystical glass and couldn't free itself.
It was going to get trapped beneath the falling rubble, whether it liked it or not.
Still, William wasn't foolish enough to believe that would last.
He knew perfectly well that the debris wouldn't contain the monster for long.
He had to get as far away as possible before it broke free.
"Better get to work, then."
With that, William dove into the reflection of a nearby shard and began moving through them at supersonic speed.
Traveling through reflections was a bizarre experience—anyone else would've gone insane from the sensation.
Having no physical body, yet still possessing thoughts and emotions, was something that defied reason.
Thankfully, William had already experienced it a few times, so he was somewhat accustomed to it.
But what truly haunted him weren't the strange sensations—it was the memories of the twelve times he had died.
He could pretend to be composed all he wanted, but deep down, being eaten alive a dozen times by that monstrosity had left scars no reflection could hide.
"Gods… I don't have time for this."
As much as William wanted to sit down and catch his breath, he couldn't.
It was only a matter of time before the abomination broke free from the shattered glass.
And once it did, it would track him down without hesitation.
He had learned that the creature's sense of smell was unbelievably sharp.
So sharp, in fact, that it could detect him from at least a kilometer away—maybe more.
He didn't know the exact range, but he knew enough to fear it.
Then came the sound he dreaded most.
A deep, thunderous boom echoed from behind him—the unmistakable sound of enormous shards being thrown aside and shattered.
The abomination had already freed itself.
And worse, it was closing in fast.
William liked to think he thrived in hopeless situations… but this?
This was too much, even for him.
He hurled himself out of the reflection and landed on his knees, wincing in pain.
Then, he noticed something strange.
"Well… that's convenient."
His wounds were healing. Slowly, but clearly.
Every human healed naturally—but this was far from normal.
"Some kind of regeneration ability…?" he muttered.
He wasn't sure whether this was a property of Hell itself or another power from the purple orb.
But at the moment, it didn't matter.
This healing wouldn't save him—it might only prolong his suffering.
In the few minutes before the abomination's arrival, William had come up with another plan.
A desperate one.
If his previous plan had been reckless… then this new one was a straight-up death sentence.
Once again, it centered around his single ability—but this time, he wouldn't just glide through reflections.
This plan would only work if every one of his wild theories was correct.
The odds of that? Almost zero.
But he had to try something.
William picked up a small shard and examined it, his expression hardening.
Then, the wooden abomination appeared—towering over him once again, its claws scraping against the hazy surface of the mystical glass.
It was mere seconds away from striking.
But this time… William struck first.
Without warning, he lifted his arm and hurled the shard toward the creature.
The abomination didn't react—after all, what could a pebble of glass possibly do to it?
And then—
William vanished.
He reappeared from the flying shard, still hurtling toward the abomination's skull.
The creature's purple eyes flared with furious excitement as it lunged forward, jaws open wide.
And then—it happened.
The abomination bit down.
But instead of flesh and blood, its teeth met the shard of mystical glass.
William was gone again.
The shard shattered between the monster's jaws, fragments raining down around it.
It froze, its head darting left and right, purple flames flickering with confusion.
It could feel William nearby—but couldn't see him.
Couldn't pinpoint him.
It was like there was a hole in its senses.
And inside that blind spot, hidden deep within the reflection of the abomination's glowing eyes, stood William—smiling faintly.
"It worked…"
He hadn't been sure it would, but somehow, it did.
He was hiding within the reflection of the creature's eye.
He wasn't certain if the purple lights were capable of reflection, but he had gambled on the logic that if the creature could see, its eyes must reflect light.
And since his ability allowed him to travel through reflective surfaces—then, in theory, even eyes could serve as a doorway.
That theory had just been proven true—and it had saved his life.
He had survived when hope itself had abandoned him.
But now came the real problem:
What was he supposed to do next?
If he emerged from the reflection, the abomination would detect him immediately, and the hunt would resume.
William sighed internally.
"Maybe I should take this chance to rest… gather my thoughts… and come up with a real plan."
It was probably the right call.
He had too much new information to process—and after twelve brutal deaths, he needed to recover, both mentally and physically.
For now, it was time to simply sit back… and let go.
_Chapter Ends_