Leo spun around, his translucent heels skidding on the floor of black glass. He faced the direction the voice had come from, his fists clenched at his sides.

But there was nothing there. Just the endless, oppressive black void and the silent crackle of red lightning in the distance.

"Yes, it is me," Leo shouted, his voice echoing into the nothingness, "Who are you?"

"Don't tell me you are some other god. I have had enough of the divine interventions from you people. My quota for cryptic deities playing with me is full."

"God?" The air vibrated. It wasn't a wind, it felt like everything from the floor to the wind shook that rattled Leo's teeth.

The Voice laughed. It sounded like tectonic plates grinding together deep beneath the earth, low, heavy, and infinitely old.

"Hmph. You sound... young. And loud."

"And you sound old," Leo retorted, crossing his arms.

"Like, some old rusty VCR."

"But enough of the suspense. Which one of you made a mistake this time?"

"Was it the Thunder God? Black smoke God? Truck God? And where is Lysara? She owes me an explanation for this mess I am in. It wasn't my fault."

The void went silent for a moment. The pressure in the air increased, pressing down on Leo's shoulders like a physical weight.

"Lysara..." the Voice mused. The name seemed to please it, "The name makes me feel something."

"You say you have met a god, little being?"

"Met her?" Leo scoffed, He looked down on the voice, but he was playing it safe, "First you tell me, are you a god or not? I need to know who to file my complaint with."

"No."

The answer was absolute. Simple.

"So 'no'!" Leo threw his hands up. "Finally, a straight answer. So I haven't met a god."

"But you sounded like you have met one," the Voice continued, ignoring the insult. "You carry the scent of their meddling. It clings to you."

"Well, I sound like a lot of things. Don't take me seriously," Leo brushed his hand, then took a deep breath, trying to make a sense of all the possibilities.

There are a few possible scenarios he had in mind, the most prominents being:

He was dead, and this time he didn't trigger any possible chance of a respawn. So he was down here in hell, dealing with a possible nobody.Or, he was not dead, but has been transported to some separate dimension. But then why was he not able to talk with AIVA? Was the one talking to him more powerful than Lysara?

He had to find out.

"Who are you, old man? Are you just some voice in the dark with a bass booster?"

"Interesting," the Voice rumbled, "Ignorance is... flavourful."

"In front of you, I am no doubt ignorant. So why don't you answer my questions?" Leo felt ignored by the Voice.

"But you are weak…" The Voice continued in a tune of his own, "Very weak!"

Leo was losing his patience. He looked down at his hands, which were flickering in and out of existence. He felt light, untethered, as if a strong wind could blow his soul away like dandelion fluff.

"Look, Grandpa Void," Leo snapped, "Can you tell me how I got here in this creepy place?"

"And more importantly, how to get out? I have a very naked, very rich lady waiting for me in a warm bed, and I hate to leave a job unfinished."

He waited for an answer.

Silence.

The red lightning flashed silently in the distance.

Leo tapped his foot on the glass floor.

"Hello? Did you fall asleep? Or did you die of old age while I was talking?"

But there was nothing.

"Hey! I am talking to you! Don't ghost me in the afterlife!"

Minutes passed. Or maybe hours. Time felt slippery here. Leo paced back and forth, muttering curses about incompetent after dead services and customer care.

Why does only he gets such characters?

Finally, the Voice spoke again. It sounded closer now, right behind his ear, though there was no breath.

"You stumbled upon a great secret, little spark. You are the chosen one. Not by destiny... But by proximity."

Leo stopped pacing, "Chosen one? That sounds like a lot of work."

"Take care of the precious little one."

Leo frowned, "Little one? You mean what's in that box? The thing that entered my body from all my holes but one? That's your 'precious'?"

The red lightning turned a violent shade of purple for a split second.

"If anything happens to it..." the Voice growled, a sound that made Leo's translucent bones vibrate, "If you let it be captured... or let calamity fall upon it... I will personally drag your soul back here and feed it to the shadows for an eternity. Do you understand?"

Leo gulps, "Okay. Touchy subject. Got it. Handle with care 'The Box'. Understood."

The oppressive weight lifted slightly.

"You are weak," the Voice stated, sounding disappointed. "Too weak to carry the burden. You will break before you reach the destination."

"Hey, I am Level 4!" Leo argued. "I have legendary gear! I have—"

"Silence."

The word slammed into Leo, shutting his mouth instantly.

"I will help you with the predicament right now," the Voice said, sounding weary, "So that, at least, you can stay alive for a while longer. Consider it... paying you for your service."

Leo threw his hands up in frustration.

"Hey! You haven't answered a single fucking thing! Who are you? What is the box? Why am I here? Why do you guys always talk in riddles? Is there a course you take? 'Vague Mysticism 101'?"

He started ranting, his voice rising in pitch.

"I just want to go back! I have quests! I have a woman to fuck! And a harem to make."

"So stop with the poetry and give me a straight… "

CLICK!

The world turned off.

The red lightning vanished. The faint glow of the glass floor disappeared. The void turned pitch black. Absolute zero visibility. Leo couldn't even see his own hands in front of his face.

"Hello?" Leo whispered, "Did you not pay the electricity bill?"

Then, they opened.

High above him, dominating the horizon, a pair of eyes snapped open in the darkness.

They were colossal. Miles high. Burning with a deep, malevolent crimson light that illuminated the nothingness.

Leo's mouth hung open. He stared up at them, paralyzed.

Inside the burning red iris of each eye, there were thick, black lines—concentric rings that rotated slowly, grinding against each other like the gears of a cosmic clock. They were hypnotic. Ancient. Predatory.

They weren't looking at him. They were looking through him.

Leo felt a pull.

It wasn't physical. It was a hook in his navel, a chain wrapped around his essence.

"Come," the eyes seemed to say, though no voice spoke.

Leo took a step forward. He didn't mean to. His leg just moved.

Then another step.

He started to jog.

Then run.

Then sprint.

He was running toward the giant eyes. He ran with all his might, his translucent feet slapping against the invisible floor. The wind roared in his ears, though there was no air.

He ran faster than he ever had in his life. Faster than his Agility stat should allow.

He didn't know why he was running. He just knew he had to reach them. He had to touch the red light.

Minutes passed.

Then hours.

Leo kept running. His breath didn't hitch. His muscles didn't burn. In this place, stamina didn't exist.

Days passed.

He ran through the darkness, the red eyes his only guiding star. They never got closer, but they never got further away. He was trapped in a loop of infinite pursuit.

He forgot why he was running. He forgot Bane and the rapier pointed at his chest. He forgot the cart.

Weeks passed.

He forgot Seraphine. He forgot the smell of her hair and the warmth of her bed. He forgot the taste of the steak.

Months passed.

He forgot his name. He forgot Earth. He forgot Eldora Online.

There was only the Run. There was only the Red.

He was a speck of light hurtling through the void, driven by a singular, overwhelming command embedded in his soul.

Run.

Run to the source.

After what felt like a lifetime—or perhaps a second—the rotation of the black rings in the giant eyes slowed.

The Voice spoke again.

It sounded different this time. Less distant. Amused. Impressed.

"You are tenacious," the Voice rumbled. "Most minds shatter after the first week. They dissolve into the dark. But you... you keep running."

The giant eyes narrowed, the pupils contracting until they focused solely on the tiny, glowing speck of Leo.

The pressure returned, crushing Leo down, forcing him to skid to a halt. He fell to his knees, panting, though he had no lungs.

The Voice vibrated in his bones, a low growl of recognition.

"And you smell... familiar."

** ** ** ** **

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Author's Note: With this we reach another mileage. This is the 100th Chapter.

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