Chapter 269 268: First Tribulation of Hell; Reunion
"Ughh."
"I so much hate this."
Inside an extremely simplistic room that contained nothing more than a bed, wardrobe, desk, and a chair, was a teenager who groaned as he struggled to sit up on the bed.
The teenage male held his throbbing head, and his dual colored eyes, struggled to dispel the haze that was in his eyes.
A minute later, the throbbing headache of the teenage male ceased, and his light blue and deep violet colored eyes looked around.
"This…?"
The teenage male's dual colored eyes contained a confused light as he inspected the room he was in.
The more the teenage male observed the room, the more confused he got.
BANG!
"Onii-chan! Wake up!"
Corey trembled.
Not because of the loud sound of the door being slammed.
No!
It was due to the voice.
The unmistakeably familiar voice that he would never forget no matter what.
He slowly, very, very slowly turned to the door.
A blank expression appeared on his face as he gazed at a sixteen year old girl who had the body of a lady in her twenties.
The sixteen year old girl had long black hair, black eyes, and a mischievous smile.
With her hands placed on her hips, and her nose almost reaching the sky, she had a haughty look that made it seem like she was looking down on Corey.
"A- An- Anna?"
Corey's pupils trembled.
"Huh? You're awake? That's strange."
Anna mumbled while still retaining her posture.
As Corey had an expression of disbelief at the fact that Corey had woken up so quickly, Corey himself was in extreme disbelief as he looked at Anna.
The person he cared for the most.
The person that was his main inspiration to attain strength, to become stronger.
Corey's mind was in shambles as he gazed at his sister, Anna.
"Mom and Dad are waiting for you to eat your food. Don't take too long."
Anna said, and just as it seemed like she was about to walk out of the door. She abruptly turned towards Corey, and…
Whoosh
A water balloon appeared in Corey's vision, and he reflexively tried to release his hexagon barrier.
But,
Splash!
"Heh."
A sneer appeared on her face, and she quickly ran out of the room while slamming the door shut, lest she faced her brother's wrath.
Corey remained like a statue as his eyes never moved from Anna's previous position.
"She's not fake."
"This is not an illusion."
Corey mumbled as his eyes still contained a light of disbelief, confusion, and… hope.
He completely ignored the fact that he could not activate his skill- Hexagon Barrier. But, instead, his mind was on something else.
Something that mattered greatly to him.
The main reason Corey's mind had always been in shambles was due to one fact which he had realized ever since he saw his sister.
Everything that had occurred was not an illusion.
He was not trapped in an illusion, and neither was the room- which was his, nor his sister were illusions.
Everything was real, especially his sister.
There was a reason for Corey been absolutely sure that his sister was real.
His Eyes of Dreams and Nightmares.
Whenever Corey looked at beings or objects that possessed a consciousness, Corey always saw either a light blue cloud atop their head, or a deep violet cloud atop their head.
Sometimes, it can be both.
Corey could not deactivate this ability, and after experimenting a few times with some weak individuals, he realized that the light blue cloud was the dream or sometimes, dreams, of the individual.
He called it, The Dream Cloud.
And, the deep violet cloud represented the nightmares of the individuals.
He called it, The Nightmare Cloud.
Corey could not passively see the dreams or nightmares of the people he looked at. Though, if he wanted, he could decide to observe the dreams and nightmares of people.
Also, he could get a feeling of what the dream or nightmare of an individual was if he focused on the individual.
Objects or beings without a consciousness did not possess a consciousness, and without a consciousness, those beings could not dream.
When Anna entered his room, the first thing that attracted his attention was the dream cloud above her head.
It was larger than average, and when Corey focused on it, he got the feeling of… immaturity radiating from the dream cloud.
When he sensed the feeling of his sister's dream cloud, he could not help but have a strange feeling.
He was not really surprised by the feeling he got from it since he knew had always been playful and immature way before the apocalypse.
Although, Corey knew that there was a possibility that his sister was actually fake, and could be a monster that was extremely proficient in disguising itself as somebody else, Corey didn't think that was the case.
His intuition told him that his sister was not a monster, but a normal human.
Corey decided to stop thinking about his sister, and instead focus on something else.
Something that was also sort of important.
He was as weak.
He didn't have the superhuman strength when he maximized his stats.
His Paragon body was also severely weakened.
He could not use his Tri-Pupil Eyes.
He could not use his Eyes of Omniscience.
He didn't have mana.
He couldn't unleash his skills due to the absence of mana in his body.
It was a strange feeling to Corey since he had already become so used to mana, and not having it was like cutting off his limbs.
'What a strange tribulation of hell.'
Though he didn't have his mana, his superhuman strength, and skills. His body was still stronger than even most body builders.
His physique was still that of a Demi-Paragon, and it was not something normal humans could comapre to.
As Corey noticed these changes in his body, he could not help but wonder what was going to be in store for him in this world.
Was he going to go through what he went through in his original life?
Was the tribulation of hell going to make him watch his family die once again?
Was this how it wanted him to despair and be sad just like in the vision he saw?
Corey did not know, but he had an unyielding determination to not die just like he did in his vision.
He would survive no matter what.
And, he'd make sure he doesn't give in to despair.
"Well, time to see my 'parents'."
Corey exhaled, then he smiled as he stood up and walked out of the room.
His heart pounding in anticipation and slight fear in what the first tribulation of hell was going to throw at him.
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