The deeper Silas moved inside the Scorching Rift Cavern, the hotter the temperature became; the air was making him lose his stamina, body was completely drenched in sweat.
It was kind of the heat that didn't just brush the skin—it crawled inside, burning the lungs from the inside out, making it difficult for one to breathe.
The walls around him were glowing with the veins of molten rock, bleeding orange light that made the entire passage feel like a living creature who's breathing fire for blood; every breath he took tasted like ash and copper. Every step he took felt like he was walking deeper into the throat of a furnace.
He wiped the sweat on his forehead with the help of his right sleeve, then wiped the dirt off his cheeks with the back of his hand.
His jacket was little more than a charred layer of fabric hanging off his shoulders, and his boots stuck slightly to the heated stone with each step. Still, the exhaustion on his body didn't bother him half as much as the thought clawing at the back of his mind.
"Hey, system," he muttered under his breath, his voice low, kicking aside a small chunk of hardened magma with his boot. "BE straight to me, don't lie. Where do you think that I rank right now... power-wise?"
[Do you mean on Planet 288—Earth—or across all five universes?]
Silas froze mid-step, blinking slowly, which gave a clear sign of his confusion. Sweat dwelled up on his forehead as his voice came low, a bit shaky. "W—What? Planet 288? What the fuck?"
[Yes, host. Earth's planet number is 288, and there are a total of five universes.]
Silas froze, his hands started trembling, eyes widened. "F—Five fucking universes?"
[Correct.]
His eyes widened completely, whole body started to stiffen. "What the FUCK did you just say? Are you kidding with me right now?"
His voice was loud, echoed inside the chamber, bouncing off the walls and making the molten veins ripple like disturbed water. Someone from far away shrieked and ran away.
[Host, please lower your voice. And maintain decency.]
"You want me to lower my fucking voice? Are you fucking serious, bitch!?" He threw his arms up, eyes turning white, sudden shock impulse kicking in.
"You just dropped some cosmic horror lore on my head like it's just a normal weather report? You think I'm not supposed to panic and stay sane!?"
[Stabilising emotional levels.]
"What the fuck even is that now? Wait... don't you fucking da—"
A cold rush of wind passed into his nerves, slowly travelling through his body, going to each part of his body, first washing the chest with it, then going to the limbs and finally to the brain, until every spike of the panic was snuffed out of his body.
His breath steadied slightly, heartbeat returned to normal.
Silas blinked in shock, dazed. "Did you... Did you just drug me?" His voice came, a glimpse of shock still buried inside his tone.
[Neural Pulse Regulator activated. You are now calm.]
He raised his hand as he touched his palm next to his face, and sweat rolled down his temple to his cheek. "Alright... fine, just tell me my ranking on just the planet Earth." His voice came, low, steady.
[Planet 288 – Rank #38,980 out of 50,000 Awakened.]
He stared ahead, completely blank for a moment. "So, I'm basically a shit in the world of the awakened."
[Accurate.]
A low groan escaped his mouth. "Okay, that's understandable. I was just an F-Ranker a few days ago, I'd take that for now at least... And what about universe-wide ranking?"
[Current estimated ranking: #6,231,000,000 out of ~7 billion.]
Silas blinked, not once but thrice. Completely dumbfounded by the statement of the system. "I'm sorry... but can you confirm if you just mentioned billions?"
[Yes, Host.]
He stared into the middle distance as if trying to reboot his brain. Then his knees buckled, and he fell straight to the ground.
[WARNING: Host unconscious. Initiating Instant Shock™.]
"NO—wai—"
BZZZZZT!!
Silas spasmed on the floor like someone had plugged his soul into a power outlet.
"AAAAAAGH—MY FUCKING SPINE!!"
[Welcome back, Host. (｡•́‿•̀｡)]
"STOP. USING. FUCKING. EMOJIS. YOU. DUMB. FUCK." He held a hand over his heart, still twitching immensely. "I swear I'll download a virus into you and watch you suffer like a bitch, you blue fucker."
[No refunds, host. It was you who wanted to get another chance in life.]
Silas let out a loud sigh as his heart started to beat a bit faster. His voice came out low, tone was annoyed. "Yeah, now I have to fucking deal with you for my entire life. Such a bad destiny. Ugh..."
Silas let out a loud groan, but after a while, he pushed himself up from the ground and brushed the dust off his clothes. Then, he began to walk once again. Something had changed in his eyes—not fear, not panic, but a cold, stubborn determination that'll make him push past his limits.
"So, basically I'm trash," he muttered under his breath. "Cosmic trash. Universal level dirt, fine by me. It'll take me long enough to reach the top."
A long sigh escaped his mouth as his hand touched the hilt of his sword, which was tied around his waist.
The heat of the dungeon was brushing his face, which made him sweat a lot. "I'll climb from the bottom to the top, one monster at a time... then, being strong enough to wipe out an entire continent with just one slash."
The tunnel was shimmering with the heat until it almost hummed. Ahead, the passage opened into a wide chamber which led to a room.
The walls inside the chamber were cracked open like ribs of a volcano, rivers of lava weaved between the raised platforms, which were lighting the whole room in a flickering glow.
The moment he stepped inside further, shadows beside him started to shift slightly.
From the dark corners came Infernal Apes, their bodies were completely covered in molten fur that glowed like burning embers—only visible areas were their mouth, eyes and limbs. Behind them came two Lava Stalkers, their serpentine forms were weaving through the cracks in the floor with glowing scales.