Guys I lied but this art will be even better than the one I told you
Where am I? I looked around. Darkness pressed in from all sides, thick and suffocating. Flashbacks surged through my mind—that classroom many months ago, falling asleep in my home, my first disoriented thoughts upon materializing in the void. All of it crashed through my consciousness like a relentless wave. I was here again. I had spent so long in the void, an eternity it seemed, and when I'd received the system, I thought perhaps I'd escaped forever. But this shattered all such hopes.
The darkness vanished abruptly. I woke in a bed—not the worn, lumpy mattress from the dorm room inside the academy, but something entirely different. More comfortable. More polished. The sheets felt like silk against my skin. I glanced around, my eyes adjusting to the light. Everything gleamed with an unfamiliar refinement, from the ornate furniture to the gilded mirror on the wall.
Someone burst into my room, nearly ripping the door from its hinges. The violent entrance made my heart jump.
"King Arthur! Someone demands to speak to you immediately!" The servant's face was flushed, his breathing rapid.
King Arthur? No, no. Another life? A cold dread settled in my stomach. Would I never see my mother again? Never see the people of the academy? Just as I'd grown accustomed to that life, found some measure of peace there, the void had hurled me into another existence. Damn this cursed place. My hands clenched into fists, nails digging into my palms.
I sat up, swung my legs out of bed, and walked toward the servant still standing rigid in my doorway. The floor felt cool beneath my bare feet. "Yes, what is it?" I said, unable to keep the sharp edge of irritation from my voice.
The man stiffened even more, if that were possible. "Someone wishes to speak to you, my Lord." His eyes remained fixed on a point just above my shoulder, refusing to meet my gaze.
Before I could demand more details, a message panel materialized before me. At first, I thought it was the void system—the usual black screen with white text. But no. This screen glowed an angry red, its text bleeding black across the surface like ink through water. My breath caught in my throat.
*You are King Arthur. People call you King because you are the ruler of the void, and the void has shaped itself into a world for you. You are able to leave this world and return to your own at any time. Click more to find out additional details.*
My eyes widened. I'd thought this was another life, another prison, but something felt different. This was the void—the same void I remembered, the same void where I'd first existed in that terrible limbo. Apparently, it had conjured an entire world for me: people, politics, architecture, history, everything. And I ruled it. The realization sent a strange mixture of power and unease coursing through me.
I clicked for more details, completely forgetting the man before me. He shifted uncomfortably but remained silent.
*You are the king of this land and its people. Some do not like you being King, but what do you expect in a world of free will? Knowledge of this world will enter your brain in approximately five minutes. Warning: the inflection of knowledge inside your brain may cause extreme agony and possibly death.*
Death? My blood ran cold. I desperately wanted to flee this world, to escape before whatever was coming arrived, but more text appeared before I could react.
*When you exit this world, time will completely stop. Abilities from this world will appear in the outside world, and abilities from the outside world will also appear here.*
*Ability: Aura*
*Ability Description: Allows you to create a purple-black aura around yourself to boost your strength, speed, stamina, resistance, and health by two.*
I knew this skill. The memory surfaced clearly now. I'd used it once to dodge one of Ten's black spheres when the blackened academy students had been forcefully teleported to the magic academy. The rush of power had been intoxicating. I'd used it again when I'd tried to punch through the wall to reach the third floor dungeon from the fourth. It hadn't worked—no surprise there. The wall had barely cracked.
But along with that memory came another, darker one: what went wrong. Ten taking my power, somehow copying my void ability through methods I still didn't understand, then disappearing into pure dust. The betrayal still stung.
"King Arthur! Are you there?" The servant's voice cut through my thoughts, sharp with barely concealed frustration and perhaps a hint of fear.
I finally opened my eyes. I'd been too focused on the system, lost in the information flooding my mind. "Yes," I stammered, my tone more defensive than I'd intended.
"They are waiting for you," the man said coldly, his patience clearly exhausted. "Follow me."
I followed him down a long hallway. Our footsteps echoed off the marble floors. We walked for what felt like an eternity—nearly five minutes—passing portraits of stern-faced nobles and elaborate tapestries depicting battles I didn't recognize. Finally, we reached a certain room. The door bore a glowing triangle in its center, neither large nor small, covering exactly one third of the surface. The symbol pulsed with a faint, rhythmic light.
I stepped forward, reaching for the handle, but the man quickly blocked my path. His hand shot out, trembling slightly. "No! I shall open it. After all, it's—"
"I'll open the door," I interrupted, my voice hard. I was tired of being treated like a child who needed guidance at every turn.
The man looked startled, his eyes widening, then quickly backed away. "Yes, my Lord. You may do as you wish." He bowed his head, but I caught the flash of resentment in his expression.
I, still unaccustomed to this godly treatment, slowly grasped the doorknob. The metal felt warm under my palm. I opened it. The room blazed completely white, blinding me for several moments. I squinted, raising my hand to shield my eyes.
I entered, my heart pounding. The door slammed shut behind me with a finality that made my pulse race. There was no going back now.
"Nice to meet you, Arthur. May we get down to business?" A man in a white suit sat behind a desk, staring up at me with cold, calculating eyes that promised confrontation. His fingers were steepled before him, and a thin smile played at his lips—the kind of smile that held no warmth whatsoever. it