The moment the black aura pierced his body, Wei'en felt the world spin as he began to fall.
It was like falling into a dark, bottomless abyss.
Wei'en's eyes were open, but all he could see was darkness. There was no light at all.
He opened his mouth to scream, but no sound came out.
Everything around him was dead silent. All he could hear were his own ragged breaths and the frantic THUMP-THUMP of his heart.
This went on for a long time—so long that he lost all sense of time's passage.
Maybe a day, maybe two.
Maybe a month, maybe two...
There was only boundless loneliness and despair, as if he were trapped in an endless void.
After an unknown amount of time, Wei'en felt solid ground beneath his feet. He mumbled, "What in the world is going on? Where..."
He stared blankly at his surroundings. In this completely empty, dark, and desolate space, a gigantic eyeball floated in the air.
It pulsed with an eerie black light.
A ghostly green halo suffused the eyeball's surface, radiating a sinister and bizarre aura.
It constantly shifted its shape and expression. At times, the sclera would twist into a hideous grimace; at others, the pupil would become a bottomless abyss.
As it changed, the surrounding space warped and grew unstable. The ground began to sway, as if everything was dissolving.
Several shadows circled the eyeball, drifting about and exuding a strange, treacherous aura.
Wei'en stared at the eyeball, and it seemed to be staring right back at him.
A cold, malevolent aura enveloped him, making his body tremble involuntarily.
He wanted to turn away, to look aside and escape its gaze, but found himself bound by an invisible force, unable to move an inch.
It was as if it wanted to plant a seed of fear and despair deep within his mind, letting him sink into oblivion.
And he could do nothing but stare back at the eyeball, forced to endure the anxiety and fear.
'So this is what they call "a single glance that lasts ten thousand years"?' Wei'en thought with a wry smile.
After another unknown eternity, he suddenly found that the eyeball wasn't so terrifying anymore.
'It's just a big eye taking up the whole space, no different from that giant withered tree I saw earlier.'
'No matter how it changed its shape or its gaze, it just kept cycling through the same old looks: hideous, insane, profound...'
"After a while, Wei'en wasn't scared anymore. 'You think you're so tough? Grow some mouths and try to eat me, then!'"
Just then, a line of shimmering, distorted golden text in the Gonzalez language slowly materialized.
It seemed to fight its way through the dim void, solidifying from a phantom image.
The text on it read—
[You have successfully resisted the corrosive effects of a trace of the Origin of Despair from the Lord of Despair, Gulaier. Evaluation: The ignorant are fearless. Special Reward: Spirit Level +2, Resilience Level +2.]
[You have learned the name of the Lord of Despair, Gulaier. Gulaier's awakening progress +1. Current progress: 1226/100000. Special Reward: Origin +1.]
Wei'en stared blankly at the two lines of text, feeling an overwhelming sense of familiarity and relief.
'My panel, here to save the day...'
"Gonzalez!!"
Suddenly, a frenzied roar echoed through the space—a cry from the Endless Abyss, a shriek carried on a sweeping gale.
Simultaneously, the giant eyeball began to warp violently, melting into the surrounding darkness.
Then, countless withered, twisted arms shot out from the eyeball, reaching for Wei'en with an air of infinite madness and despair, trying to bind him.
'Damn it, this thing wants to take me down with it!'
Wei'en felt the pressure on his body release. He could move.
He quickly faced the arms, raised his gun, and fired. "You son of a bitch, go to hell!"
BOOM!
As the gun fired, a flash of light engulfed everything. The dark, empty space began to shatter, and then...
THUD!
Huh?
Wei'en's head spun, and a numb pain spread across his face—the kind you get when someone gives you a shoulder throw and slams your face into the ground.
"Wake up, Wei'en! Wake up!"
Huh? Huh?
THUD!
"Wei'en... I told you the death rate for the first mission was high. How could you be so careless...?"
Huh? Huh? Huh?
THUD!
After being slammed into the ground for the third time, Wei'en struggled to shout, "I-I'm awake... AHH—"
THUD!
"Wake up, Wei'en... Huh?"
Marco, who had been swinging with great gusto, suddenly heard a voice and thought he was imagining things.
"Wait, Marco! He's awake!" Lisi quickly reached out and stopped him.
Marco quickly set Wei'en down. Seeing the light return to his eyes, he patted his own chest. "I really thought he wasn't going to wake up. Thank goodness..."
Wei'en shot him a resentful look, rubbing his left cheek, then his right.
'Thank goodness my ass. Why don't you try being slammed on the ground a few times?'
"Uh,"
Seeing his expression, Marco scratched his head awkwardly. "I saw you weren't waking up, so I tried a method Old Jack taught me..."
"That's enough," Lisi interrupted, raising a hand. She walked up to Wei'en, her expression grave, and asked, "Your name?"
"Huh?"
Wei'en gave her a puzzled look. 'My name?'
Marco and Ariana both froze for a moment, then their brows furrowed as they stared at him, awaiting his answer.
As for Tina, she had been clutching the corner of his shirt ever since he woke up.
"What do you mean?"
Lisi raised the Two-Handed Axe in her hands to her chest, fixed her gaze on him, and asked again, "Your name?"
"Wei'en Loft. Why... why are you asking that?"
Lisi let out a breath of relief and lowered her Two-Handed Axe. "It's nothing. Just a necessary procedure after being exposed to corrupting power."
Marco and Ariana relaxed as well, the same thought crossing their minds. 'That's Lisi for you, always so strict!'
Seeing their expressions, Wei'en asked cautiously, "So... I'm okay now?"
"Of course! Congratulations on escaping the Death God's summons," Marco said, clapping him on the shoulder with a hearty laugh.
Wei'en feigned ignorance. "What was that black aura just now? It was terrifying."
Meanwhile, on the panel in his mind, the words "Lord of Despair Gulaier" were still clearly displayed, pulsing with an eerie, dazzling black light.
"There,"
Ariana pointed to the tentacles around his body and chuckled. "The Power of Despair. It's a type of Power of Faith, something cooked up by those scumbags in the Despair Sect."
"Huh?" Wei'en was startled when he saw him. "They really grew hands and mouths?"
He saw that the tentacles surrounding Ariana, which had previously only had eyes, had now sprouted claws and mouths. They were grabbing wisps of the black aura and devouring them hungrily.
Ariana: "..."
'He knew his current appearance was a bit frightening, but wasn't that reaction a little over the top?'
"It's good that you're alright, Wei'en."
As she spoke, Lisi glanced at her watch. "We need to report this location to our superiors as soon as possible. Let's get back to the mission."
PS: This is an extra chapter. There was a lot to cover, so it took me a little longer to write.
PPS: Shamelessly begging you all to keep reading, my friends!
I'm not even at 80,000 words yet, and I have to compete in the third round against popular authors who are already past 100,000. I need your support!!
Seeing how hard I'm working, please give me some extra support. I'm begging you.