The purple screen glowed.
NO. BUT, YOU WILL MEET YOUR MANAGER SOON !
"What manager? And what do you mean by one viewer?" Yael's grip on Celia is slightly tightened.
OH, WELL, YOUR ENTERTAINING FOR US DEMONS ! YOU CAN CALL ME ABADDON !
"Abbadon..." It left his tongue bitterly.
Celia's newfound light dimmed, on top of her head. CELIA'S SOUL: 69%.
"Demons," Yael echoed, the word tasting of static and old, forgotten graves. It wasn't a metaphor. The cold, amused cruelty finally had a source. This wasn't just a perverse game show. It was a survival show now.
Abbadon has many meanings in many other holy books and so on. But it generally refers to something related to destruction, death, and the underworld. Not many people know about this demon at all.
Yael shook his head and thought about Celia. Her soul was going pretty fast down in the void. CELIA'S SOUL: 57%
He went to his invetory and saw only 1221.1 PAPP. left. Now he just had to remember what controls were to open the shop.
CELIA'S SOUL: 56%
The number was a scream in the silence. A countdown faster and more final than any Papp timer. Her light wasn't just dimming—it was dissolving, into the hungry void around them.
Abbadon's purple screen pulsed with silent, amused observation. A demon enjoying the spectacle of a fading soul.
Yael shut his eyes, blocking Celia's flickering form, her blue white hue turning more and more invisible by the minute. He didn't think of menus, he thought of inputs. The muscle memory of a thousand gaming hours. The feel of his old, battered keyboard. The sequence he'd used.
It wasn't ALT + SHIFT + BACKSPACE for the deep debug. That was for hacking. For the shop… it was the store key. In most games, it was B. Or I for inventory. But this wasn't a game. It was a hell with an economy.
He thought of the first time he'd seen it, after the Death Service. It had appeared when he'd…
…reached for a resource he didn't have, to solve a problem that was killing him.
He focused on that feeling. The desperate need. The lack. He focused on his Papp, on the number 1221.1, and he mentally reached for something to buy with it.
A soft, chime-like ding echoed in the void.
And a soft glow of gray showered his face. The store.
AVAILABLE:
[ITEM] SOUL-ANCHOR CHARGE (SINGLE USE): 800 PAPP
Stabilizes a linked soul for a limited duration. Prevents dispersion. Does not restore memory.
[ENVIRONMENT] POCKET SANCTUARY (10min): 500 PAPP
Creates a temporary, low-threat zone. Blocks external observation (Standard-tier).
[DATA] DIAGNOSE SOUL-LOSS CAUSE: 100 PAPP
[TOOL] EMOTIONAL RESONATOR (FRAGILE): 150 PAPP
Amplifies positive emotional feedback in a 5m radius. High risk of feedback loop.
[INFO] ABADDON'S WATCH-LOG (LAST 24H): 1 PAPP (CURRENTLY FREE - PROMOTIONAL OFFER)
[ITEM] SWORD_OF_VOID (SINGLE USE): 1000 PAPP
Break through the void once.
For Yael the first and last options were tempting. If he took the first one he'd save Celia. If he took the last one, he'd get out and Celia's percentage would stay the same. But he could earn the money somehow later and get it for Celia. The first thing was to get out of here.
He pressed the Sword of Void. It got into his hand. "Celia. Hug me, tightly." She clinged to him like a life-line. He got ready and swinged the sword around the void. It cut through like a sharp knife against paper. It wasn't even a minute before light flashed him and they were in the middle of nowhere in DD.
"Brother, where are we?" Celia asked softly, still clinging onto him on his back.