(Written while listening to: "Can You Hear It?" by Aviators on YouTube)
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""He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." "
Quote from "Beyond Good and Evil" by Friedrich Nietzsche
<<<>>>
Abyss stared at Laito.
Quite literally.
As the reincarnated boy was falling, he could finally see the fast approaching "ground" after hours since he begun his downfall.
Well… not exactly ground, but an enormous plain of perfectly smooth, transparent "glass" that stretched endlessly in all directions, beyond where Laito could see in the powerful white light his body was giving off at the moment.
But the weird glass(or maybe ice, considering the cold) plain was not the problem.
No.
There were…- things below it.
Eyes.
Humungous eyes, of all shapes and colours.
The smallest one that Laito noticed was the size of a large lake. The largest…- it was impossible to tell… but bigger than the eye could see.
Some lidless, some with lids. Some with vertical pupils, some with diagonal, circular or even multiple. Some stared emptily into random directions… some moved rapidly around glancing here ant there.
Most of them stared directly at Laito, closely following his descent.
Descent, that was coming to an end.
Laito repositioned himself to prepare for impact.
'160 seconds.' He started the countdown.
—
'100 seconds.' He gave himself some leeway to begin counting earlier, with consideration for his slow thoughts, which were burdened by Mana flooding his brain.
—
'60 seconds.' He seriously hoped that the glass/ice that the plain was made of wasn't natural, so that it would withstand the force of his body hitting it, as he did not want to have to face the monsters below.
'30 seconds.' At that point he closed his eyes and finally casted the Spell he has been maintaining all from the time when he was captured by the shade bat.
Mana surged, amplifying the Spell.
'10 Seconds.' He opened his eyes and started doing flips in air… Huh?
'3' He strengthened and pointed his legs straight at the ground.
'2'
—
'1!'
He planted himself on the glassy surface…- in stereotypical "hero landing pose".
Perfectly executed.
—
But why?...- Nevermind.
He didn't suffer any damage.
After all he casted [Mark of Invulnerability]. It's "cool down" time refreshed long ago.
Again: According to Tome of Warding, the Spells from it works on every subject, as long as they are powered by Mana, no matter if it's mortal or divine.
Gravity is natural law of existence, e.g. "very high level". To defy things like that is the domain of gods.
Regardless: Mana powered [Mark of Invulnerability] says "No damage", hence: NO DAMAGE.
Even fall damage.
Laito stood up casually and nonchalantly dusted himself off, as if he tried to farm aura points(he had none) despite nobody being present to see that.
Nobody human at least.
'Damn… these eyeballs… creepy.' Thankfully the ground withstood his metaphorical ass slamming into it, so the situation wasn't THAT bad.
Another piece of good news…
Although the surface flat transparent plain was empty as far as Laito's eyes could see, now he realized that there was a glaring exception to that.
Just a kilometer away from where he stood, was an object.
An anomaly on top of otherwise empty space.
'There…- it…- is.' Laito thought tiredly. If he wasn't burdened with overflow of Mana, he would be surprised that he didn't notice it earlier.
After all it was undeniably the object the light was guiding him towards.
'The Gate.'
Just as Laito's ROB told.
It stood there on top of a circular platform made from black stone.
It wasn't particularly big. Maybe thrice as tall as an adult man.
But its presence was imposing, even though It stood seemingly inactive.
Made from the same rock that Its foundation was built from. A stone arch.
Entirely covered with carved runes. The same type that the Tome of Warding was written with.
Laito focused his senses and moved towards the Gate.
The light he followed, instead of just glowing brighter in the Gate's direction, now started to focus and condense, forming something akin to light-woven rope, which looked as if it was desperately trying to reach the Gate. It was still too short for that moment. Laito had to get closer.
And he did.
Step by step. He dragged his pained body, under watchful gaze of Eldritch Titans from below.
He wasn't that far off from the Gate, yet every step felt like an agonized eternity had passed.
Laito's vision started to swim. His senses began to fail. At some point the air bubble he shaped earlier has disappeared…- and yet somehow he still walked as if he didn't need to breathe.
The truth he didn't at that point. Or more precisely:
He couldn't.
His organs started to melt. Lungs included.
The effects of [Mark of Invulnerability] have long passed… Laito was dying.
Maybe he should be dead already, but…
The laws of reality behaved the more abnormally the closer he got to the Gate.
Time-space was warping, the sound moved despite no air present to carry it.
—
There was a cacophony of sourceless whispers, murmuring primordial forbidden knowledge that would kill anyone too weak to bear its burden.
Thankfully, Laito couldn't hear anything at that point.
Mana has almost entirely substituted the cells that build his body.
He had almost basically no flesh, nor blood left.
Only light.
He should have been dead.
His body devoured and disintegrated by crystallized Essence of Creation…-
Mana. The crystillized, undiluted manifestation of Creation. It is from its dilution one can obtain The Flame.
Laito's Mind and Soul would soon follow the fate that his body suffered.
But they didn't.
Laito's Soul unknowingly resisted and even took hold over the encroaching Mana.
The Attribute: [Divinity of Light]
As the Reincarnator, Laito's Soul was already accustomed to contact with Mana once, despite him not knowing that.
It was when his ROB processed his reincarnation. The enigmatic Entity did… something, to Laito back then.
And now, Laito's Soul was the one holding his body in one piece. Not the other way around.
He was in pain no more.
He felt nothing.
The boy shaped construct of pure white light dragged itself stiffly, as if automatically, closer and closer to the Gate.
The condensed rope reaching out of it struggled intensely to try to reach further and further, it was dancing through the folding space as if eager to reach its goal.
And then…
It connected.
[A tether has been established].
Nightmare Spell whispered with glee in its voice, to nobody as Laito's Mind was almost gone.
The light construct tripped on the edge of the stone platform, falling like a puppet with its strings cut. It laid still for a moment, connected to the Gate with a thick rope of flowing Mana.
And despite not having eyes, nor eyelids anymore:
–
–
"I" Blinked
'Whoa… what happened?'
Laito's consciousness awoke from within his Soul.
<<<>>>
[??? years left until MHA plot beginning]
[Chapter End] The story is not over yet
My tipping jar: [email protected]/marasis (change "@" into "a")
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Author notes:
🥳We have passed 100k views!🥳
I have taken many "liberties" in terms of slightly altering the basis of "world building" of both MHA and Shadow Slave. It was already showing, but from this point onward it is going to become more and more glaring.
Especially during the appraisal. I might have even overdone it, but well... at least I have fun writing it!
Thanks, and see ya soon!