Chapter 116: Ch154. Sickness - 9 [SHADOW WORLD]
When Kurt opened his eyes, he didn’t immediately recognize where he was.
He appeared to be in the middle of an avenue, but the place was deserted, with abandoned buildings, billboards turned off, and absolute silence.
There wasn’t a single living soul walking around, no cars parked or running through the streets.
"Where... Where am I?" Kurt wondered, unconsciously asking the question out loud.
"Give yourself a few more moments to absorb the landscape. You’ll understand soon." Another voice sounded near him.
Startled, Kurt quickly turned around, drawing his [MOON SHADOW] and assuming a combat stance.
But when Kurt looked at his hands, there was nothing there.
He held nothing in his hands, while the creature before him just watched, calmly.
"You’re still very skittish..." The thing in front of Kurt said.
Kurt had really let his emotions get the better of him there.
After taking a few deep breaths, he relaxed, still keeping his guard up.
"Where am I? What happened to my friends?" Kurt asked, trying his best to hide the anxiety in his voice.
"Stay calm, Kurt Blake." The creature said. "You’re still agitated, due to overusing that impressive skill."
Kurt raised an eyebrow, confused.
But then, after the creature’s statement, everything slowly fell into place in his mind.
He had fallen ill at Hana at Nagame headquarters, and so his friends organized a rescue group, and went to the United States, with the intention of bringing Doctor Lee with them, so that she could try to cure him.
He tried to use a newly awakened ability, and ended up...
"I’m dead?" Kurt asked innocently. "Are you a reaper, who has come to take my soul?"
From the back of that strange being’s throat came a genuine laugh, full of delight.
"Ah, as I imagined, you humans are truly incredible. Interesting as far as the eye can see, and beyond." He smiled. "Should I clarify things a little more, so that you can come out of this daze, and finally understand your situation...? Um..." He scratched his chin with one of his four hands. "Okay... I’ll do it then."
Suddenly, it was as if the space around Kurt had been occupied solely and simply by that creature.
It was as if the mere presence of it in front of him was capable of dismembering a human being.
And even more so, a most powerful wielder.
And Kurt had felt that presence before.
The shock made his mind return a little to reality.
"You... You are one of them... One of the Conquerors..."
"Mono, at your service." The Conqueror slightly bent his knees, and made a slightly awkward bow. "I’m glad you know who I am. That means you’ve already ventured into Vena’s home..."
Kurt remembered what had happened at the Black Nest, and gritted his teeth.
"You did that to her..."
"Oh, no, no, my child." Mono said, raising his hands, as if defending himself against something. "I was there when the Serpent Queen’s planet was taken, yes, but... Who do you think was the cause of that series of monstrous locks on Vena’s prison door?"
Kurt was about to do something reckless, but the Conqueror’s argument made him freeze in his tracks.
"Does that mean you..."
Mono nodded.
"Exactly..."
"You were trying to get information out of her... But... You were the source of all the information I got from her [MEMORY FRAGMENT]... So what answers were you looking for?"
Mono let out a chuckle.
"It would be too easy if I just told you everything, wouldn’t it?"
Kurt rolled his eyes.
’Why does everything have to have some catch or trick?’
"What’s it going to be this time? A challenge?"
Mono let out another genuine laugh.
"You already have your guard up again, but that’s okay. Yes, answering your question, it’s going to be a challenge. But before anything else, pay attention to your surroundings. Look more closely, and you’ll understand where you are. .."
Kurt looked around, and a chill ran down his spine.
Everything seemed deserted and lifeless on that avenue.
But what caught Kurt’s attention the most, and that he hadn’t stopped to really notice, perhaps because he spent so much time playing with the shadows...
It was that everything around him seemed faded, painted in shades of gray instead of the vibrant colors he had become unaccustomed to paying attention to.
"I’m... In the [SHADOW WORLD]...?"
"Basically..." Mono replied, nonchalantly. "But at the same time, not necessarily."
Kurt placed his chin in his hands, and pondered for a few moments.
"The world I have access to at the moment is not necessarily [SHADOW WORLD]..."
"Yes..."
"Because I haven’t fully earned the right to access [SHADOW WORLD] yet..."
"Yes..."
"And so this part of [SHADOW WORLD] has been hidden from me, and you’ve been watching me all this time, from inside, from the real [SHADOW WORLD]."
Mono clapped his hands.
"Splendid, boy! Splendid! I knew that if you just calmed down a little, and could think with a cool head, you could find the answer."
On the outside, Kurt was a mask of indifference, but inside, even though he had managed to find the answer to his question on his own, there were so many others he wanted answered...
But Kurt knew he wouldn’t get the answers easily.
And that, most likely, he would only be able to understand that piece of the puzzle more, after the challenge that Mono was about to present.
"Okay... And what’s the challenge?"
Mono licked his lips with a greed that sent an icy shiver down Kurt’s spine.
"I will attack you only once." Mono said, his voice oozing a darkness that not even Kurt was familiar with. "If your consciousness survives, and you return here, you will find the answer to your questions, and you will be one step closer to your final destination..."
"And how-" Kurt started to ask.
But before he could finish the question, Mono appeared in front of Kurt.
So close, that the young man could smell the fresh blood coming from the Conqueror’s breath.
Kurt felt the palm of that alien being’s hand, along with his three fingers, wrap around his head as if it were nothing more than a very small ball from some sport that the Conqueror found fun and interesting.
After that, everything around Kurt disappeared.
And when Kurt opened his eyes, everything seemed different again.
There was a familiar little boy standing in front of him, waving at Kurt.
An inexplicable warmth took over his heart, and Kurt raised his hand to wave back.
When Kurt saw his hand, he didn’t find it strange that it looked smaller than it used to be.
"Do you want to play?" The boy in front of him asked.
"Sure." He answered.
He also didn’t find it strange that his voice sounded squeakier, younger...
