The night is deep and the sky above is cloudy, veiling the solemn light of the moon. The city is sleeping, though a few establishments are necessarily open for nocturnal people's convenience.
In a humble neighborhood, there is a two story house within a wooden fence together with a pretty lawn in the front and a garden on the opposite side. Looking from the outside, the first floor is completely dark. But on the second floor, a certain room has light flashing on the window.
In that room there is a young man sitting on a black office chair locking his brown eyes on the computer monitor lying on a wooden desk. Suspiciously, a box of tissue papers lies on the same desk. He often uses it to relieve himself mainly on fictional characters.
The young man appears to be in his early twenties and possesses black and unkempt hair that is under a wired headset. He has his hands simultaneously on a keyboard and mouse. Intense key clicks and slams from the mouse drags fill the silence of the dark. Currently, he is playing an online game which features dungeons and dragons.
"..."
He has been facing the computer for hours grinding in that game. He is farming for the materials his character needs for a quest. This is his daily routine for months since the game's release.
[You died]
(Damn it!)
His character just got killed by a ridiculously overpowered and HP-inflated boss, which is an oversized mimic. This is the fourth time he tried and failed. He cannot pass that monster since he encounters it.
The game is quite difficult even for a competitive player like himself. Passing that level requires masterful dodging and accurate attacks. Right now, he is not on that level yet, and so are most of the players.
(Well, I think I should stop.)
The shorter hand of the clock has passed two. He closes the game and shuts down the computer before he throws himself to his bed facedown.
He rolls around in order to get his back on the mattress and stares at the ceiling. The amber night light on the wall emits the lowest light setting. He takes a glance at it before his closes his heavy eyes.
Crackle!
The moment he sleeps, lightning and thunder rages in the night sky and rain begins to pour over the city.
◆◇◆
About an hour has passed and rains are creating a harmonious system from hitting the houses' roofs. The empty street is filled with shallow puddles, which fluidly flows to the drainage.
In a room of one of the houses is where a young man is soundly sleeping. The shadows of the running raindrops on the window pane are being cast into the room's floor by the street lamp outside.
Amidst the calming sounds of the rain, a shadowy figure slowly and creepily emerges at the center of the room. The figure does not have any distinctive feature or any form other than being a condensation of black mist with two pale blue dots.
By the movements of the two pale dots, the figure seems to be looking around the room. Seconds later, it turns its attention to the man sleeping in the bed before it slowly approaches him and stops beside the bed.
"I finally found you, one of the countless fragments of [———]."
With an androgynous voice, the shadowy figure utters those words in a joyful yet calm manner. It is feeling excitement, but due to its limited strength, it does not have the energy to show it. Even though its words are falling into no ear, the figure still continues talking.
"After exploring countless worlds, I found you. Pardon me for my current appearance as this is all I can pull off to manifest myself into this unsupernatural universe."
The figure then extends its misty body to the young man and the black mist grazes his skin.
"Perfect. This fragment has been through twelve incarnations. All I have to do is to extinguish this life so that you can proceed to the enlightened worlds, a step before the world for your perfect incarnation."
Pushing the extended mist into his body, the figure finally gets the grasp of the young man's life force.
"Pardon me for doing this to your host, dear. Please forgive me."
Whoosh.
Once the shadowy figure clasps its grip, the life of the young man ultimately ends. Even with the absence of mystical energy in this universe, the figure can still use a single attempt to instantly kill this young man.
With the absence of his heartbeat, the young man dies peacefully. Suddenly, a pale golden light emerges from his body and then quickly vanishes into the air.
That is the young man's soul, which is the fragment of someone important to the mysterious figure, departing this universe.
"Wherever you go, I will follow. See you next time, [———]."
Once the figure finally fulfills its mission, its eyes loses its light until they disappears. Without a force to hold it, the black is easily blown away by the breeze and scattered through the room of a dead man.
◆◇◆◇◆◇
At night time... Somewhere far, far away...
"A new dungeon, huh? Interesting."
In the living room of a villa in the middle of nowhere, a woman is lounging lazily on an exquisite sofa with a piece of paper in her hand. Her body is covered by nothing but a piece of white bath robe.
She just reads its contents and she smiles out of the excitement from the latest news in the kingdom. It seems like there is a dungeon discovered in a forest within the kingdom.
According to the reports, the dungeon is reportedly to be an underground kind and it is said to be quite massive for its type.
The first ones to discover it were terrified to approach near it as they could feel the ominous atmosphere from it.
The low table in front of her is where her half-drunk glass of wine stands. Her lip marks are noticeably visible through the glass.
The woman is seemingly looking like a person in her late twenties to mid thirties, the range she considers the physical prime age of a woman.
She is a woman with a fair skin tone and has vibrant indigo eyes and long and silky lavender hair. Her body is pleasantly shaped, having prominent chest and curvaceous hips and waist that would make any woman feel insecure when she is around.
Both men and women admire her. For them, she is considered the peak of beauty and maturity. Some can argue that her beauty is as dangerous as she is captivating. Under her elegant and composed demeanor, she conceals her true nature, which is a mystery yet to unveil.
"This dungeon is reportedly big. I better see it myself."
"My lady, the bath is ready."
"Excellent."
Notified by her servant, the paper burns in her hands and the letter instantly turns to ashes, which is blown by the breeze. She stands up elegantly and walks her way to the baths.