After that, he left the building quietly, sticking close to the walls as he looked from side to side. The streets now looked like a perfect transit route for a giant serpent. They even created a strange feeling of claustrophobia.
'Damn... I'm trapped.'
Outside it was a tangled maze; inside, a silent city where even the smallest sound carried — a perfect death trap.
Nova would have preferred to stay and fight the Sand Octopus one-on-one rather than this horrific thing. Judging by the large size of the building's door in the square, the reptile's head was enormous, which left open the possibility that its body was even larger.
'I have to get out of here, and fast...'
He felt determination flood him.. He had already faced death twice. A third time was nothing. Although in the past he was a city boy who never knew real hardship, today he would learn that life could be just as cruel as any Aberration.
He continued moving between the houses.
His best chance of escape was to follow the energy trail. If there was also an asteroid with Calem energy in this place, the portals must be opening constantly. In that case, there is a way to escape. Just survive the giant serpent.
The minutes passed with each step. The monotonous silence is terrifying, but even more terrifying are the constant hisses echoing from the tunnels.
Nova, of course, was not afraid.
'Lately, my emotions have been shutting down more often. It's something that hasn't happened to me in years.'
Accustomed to living by imitating emotions until he knew how to feel, he doesn't know how emotions really work. When his emotions are about to rise to a certain point, his brain automatically shuts them down.
As always, Serenity saved him from his own mind.
Curse or not, this time Serenity is a great help. Keeping a cold, emotionless mind is perfect for survival.
'But it's also very useful.'
The journey continued without complications.
The energy still felt like a gentle breeze in the distance, but it wasn't so far away anymore. It's only a matter of time before he finds the real thing.
***
He followed the tunnels, hoping to reach the end.
The hissing was still constant and eerie, but it was still quite far away. The real danger comes when you hear the Aberration crawling on the ground. That's when Nova must hide.
The glowing stone in his hand lit the way, making the path easier to pick out. The path was clearer, making it easier to move without bumping into sharp rocks.
'How much further? The energy is getting stronger...'
The source of the energy pulsed like a distant heart, sending faint beats through the darkness. It was something that happened on ancient Earth as well. In the beginning, the pulses caused humans to become infected with the mysterious Psychological Virus. Today, those pulses serve to keep the planet alive.
The hours would pass without incident. It's a boring road, but survival isn't always fun, exciting, or full of battles against unreal monsters. Walking has already become a habit for him, and he will continue walking until he reaches his destination.
When the hisses offered to stop, too distant to be heard, Nova sat down to rest.
He stared at the glowing stone in silence.
Everything around him was so lonely. The dark stone, the deathly silence that remained when the Aberration moved away, the constant thoughts of danger lurking in the darkness, the faint smell of coal emanating from the walls.
As he stopped, Nova realized how alone he was, and he couldn't help but have the kind of discouraging thoughts that anyone in his situation would have.
'Will I have to do this for the rest of my life?'
Run. Fight. Survive.
'That would be so boring.'
He closed his eye. He imagined his world again.
'It wouldn't be so boring if they were here.'
A team of four friends, exploring and fighting monsters. Sounds fun, fantastical, and cool.
'If I make it back, I'm definitely taking a vacation. I want to rest. I'm so tired.'
Deciding to stop the brief rest, the heavy thoughts, and the memories of the past, he stood up and continued on. However, as he did so, the hissing sound could be heard again.
Now the hissing was almost at his ear.
Nova immediately leaned against the wall.
'Why? It wasn't that close before!
Run? Stay? My God, this question is too common.
He remained silent, waiting. The dragging sound was heard nearby. The ground shook, dust fell. He looked up. The sound was coming from some tunnel on the surface...
Seconds later, everything was silent.
"Man... I have to hurry."
Knowing that the danger had receded a little, he walked quickly to shorten the distance.
With the path in a straight line, sometimes he could hear the hissing that made his bones tremble. At other times, the crawling beast made the walls shake. In the end, silence clung to the area.
Nova tried not to pay too much attention to it. If he got distracted and made noise, he would definitely be killed. Of course, he didn't know if that monster could hear, but it was better not to take any chances.
He walked. He walked on and on. He didn't stop, and maybe he never would. The silence around him is stressful, but the monster stalking him turns that stress into a suffocating emotion, causing a lump in his throat and making his body tremble in resonance with the loud shuffling sound.
This whole situation has made Nova start asking himself the same questions as he moves forward: When will it appear? When will it leave? How far away is it? Can it hear me? Can it smell me? Does it feel the fear that I am incapable of feeling?
These were questions that Nova had never asked himself about the Aberrations in his entire life. In fact, his questions never had this strange feeling of fear and paranoia, which was very unnatural for his personality.
The further he went, the more he felt his breathing become heavy. Sweat dripped down his forehead. With every slight noise, his whole body went on high alert. His eyes wandered through the darkness of the tunnels, as if he expected the Aberration to appear at any moment.
Once again, the serpent appeared, moving along the top of the tunnels. The ground shook again, and Nova turned his gaze back to the ceiling.
He had reached an intersection between four tunnels. He looked in every possible direction, hoping the serpent would not appear suddenly.
'Are you thinking of coming this way? Where will you come from?'
The constant questions began to make Nova paranoid. Every time his body overreacted to the slightest stimulus, whether sensory or otherwise, it was as if he were scared all the time.
This time, however, it would be worse than all the other times.
The ground shook. The hissing echoed. Nova felt a chill and tried to anticipate where the beast would come from. A strong smell of charcoal emanated from the walls, a smell that was becoming increasingly suffocating.
Sooner rather than later, the hissing came from one of the tunnels behind the boy. Immediately, he jumped into the other tunnel to the side and crouched down on the floor. He put the glowing stone in his backpack to prevent the light from being seen.
Then, in the darkness, the hissing of the serpent and the sound of it dragging its heavy, elongated body happened in front of him. The ground shook harder than ever, and a strange sensation filled the air.
Nova could feel that the monster was too big from the vibrations of the ground and the rocks breaking off and falling. In addition, that smell of coal was stronger.
'It's in front of me... It's in front of me...'
He held his breath. He closed his eye and waited. His heart began to beat fast again. His forehead broke out in a sweat. His whole body began to tremble.
'Again... What's happening to me?' Nova thought as he felt so many unpleasant things.
That primitive feeling, which lies dormant in everyone's heart. You could say it's fear, but it's something even more complicated.
Fear lies in the mind, but what Nova feels lies in his very existence. He needs to survive, but a higher power threatens his survival. He knows he can't win alone, and that he has no choice but to hide like a frightened rabbit.
'I need to run away. I must run away.'
However, the serpent continues to move in front of him. How long is the serpent's body? In the darkness, there was no way to know.
'Damn it. It always comes down to survival. In my world. In this world. Why must it always be this way?'
In his primal desperation, Nova clenched his fists. For some reason, his Serenity was failing, as his calm was shattered by the scent of charcoal.
Is it because what he feels now is much greater than his primary emotion?
'If only I could know what's going to happen, I could survive. If only I could see more than I can...'
It is said that hope can arise from despair. If Nova learned anything on this short journey, it is that despair always took him further. Although it is not a good way to progress, at least it is effective in these kinds of situations.
'If only I hadn't gone to Lightflower that day... If I had known what was going to happen, I...'
Regret? Fear? Sadness?
Emotions are so confusing when they mix together. Living under the cloak of Serenity, he could never feel so many things. Living in such a peaceful and safe world, because the Empaths kept him safe, he could never experience anything like this.
Now that he is in constant danger of death, his heart has been on a constant roller coaster of emotions, always leading him to the desire to see beyond what he can see.
'If I had known, I would never have gone there.'
He touched his forehead to the ground. His one eye opened. He saw nothing but darkness.
'If I don't do something, they're going to kill me. But I already accepted that, didn't I?' he clenched his fist tightly on the black stone. 'Whatever I do will lead to my death. So why do I have to feel this way?'
Ignore your feelings and survive. That's something he's been doing all this time. Why is it so hard for him to continue that way?
Until now, Nova realized.
The snake had already moved away. In fact, there was no longer any noise. While Nova lamented and whimpered, the snake simply went on its way.
Realizing this, he took out the shiny stone again. His eye widened when he saw that a kind of black gas was spreading across the walls and floating in the area around him.
'This... smells like coal... The energy... The Aberration...'
His eye flickered with Serenity's light. The haunted look drained from his face; calm returned.
'It's similar to what Master Li Hu uses with his Spectrum of Fear.'
He stood up and took a closer look.
'Master Li Hu creates illusions, but he can also make his enemies feel a deep fear towards him.'
He reached out and brushed the gas with his fingertips — the skin blackened instantly. He staggered, breath catching.
'...?!'
He fell to his knees on the ground. His body was shaking. His breathing was ragged. Sweat was dripping from his temples. Fear flooded him — raw and bone-deep.
'My Spectrum is failing. My Serenity...'
What once protected him from feeling horrible emotions had stopped working because of the gas.
Looking at the black-painted walls, he understood something that had been happening all this time since he fell. How he had felt since he arrived in the depths, the anger that led him to throw that round stone on the ground, the fear that gnawed at his soul, and the paranoia that the sounds generated in him, was due to this very thing.
The walls, the rocks, are painted black and smell like coal. The serpent has passed through here countless times, covering the entire labyrinth with black gas that has adhered to the walls.
'That's why my Serenity was activating more often.'
Serenity was activating to protect him from this very thing. Now it all made sense.
He clenched his fist where he held the shiny stone. He gritted his teeth, resisting the disastrous emotions that were raging in his heart. Then he stood up. Even with his body still trembling with fear, he frowned and looked at the long tunnel ahead.
"I'm not going to fall for your trick. You'll see that I can overcome you."
Whether it was fear, anger, or paranoia, he would try to resist it all. At least, it was the only thing he could do in this situation.
He adjusted his backpack and continued on. There was no time to waste.
***
According to the communicator, it had been 19 days since he arrived in this world. That was already a long time. He had been alone in this world for a long time, and it had affected him mentally.
Nova hasn't had another encounter with the serpent since that day, but that doesn't mean the monster is gone. The hissing can still be heard in the distance.
Right now, Nova is resting in a small, unfinished tunnel. He is sitting on the ground, checking his backpack.
The discouraged expression on his face says it all.
'I'm out of Sweet Flakes.'
The food is gone. The road is still long, and there is no other place to get more food.
'I have four seeds left. How do I make them sprout? I don't have any water. And I don't think any monster will offer to explode into pieces to help me.'
Gathering his belongings once more, he got up and resumed his journey.
'If I don't find a portal in the next two or three days, I'll die of thirst.'
However, there is good news.
'The only thing that calms me down a little is that I feel the energy is very close. I just have to hurry and get there fast.'
Simple, right? Well, not so much. As Nova resumes his journey, the hissing sounds seem to follow him. So, if the Aberration hears his soft footsteps on the stone, why hasn't it attacked yet?
'But there's still that serpent. It's as if it knows where I am at all times. How much longer is it going to play this ridiculous game of cat and mouse?'
Oh well. Nova shook his head. Complaining wasn't going to do him any good.
He took a step forward, but suddenly the sound of a rock falling from the ceiling was heard behind him. Nova immediately looked in that direction and raised his guard.
As expected, this part of the tunnel is unfinished, so it's impossible for anything to attack him from behind. But for a moment, the boy believed it was. That took him by surprise.
"I think... I think I'm overthinking it."
There was only one path to follow, but Nova always stopped at the slightest noise. He would look fearfully at the source of the noise, then tell himself he was just being scared.
Who would have thought that this strange paranoia would help him in the future...