I ran toward the entity at full speed, with no intention of stopping.
RROOORRR!
Clearly, the latter was waiting for me. I could see how it moved its sharp claws eagerly, anticipating the deadly blow it was about to deliver to me.
ROOOOAAAAR!
The moment I set a foot within its striking range, the entity launched a powerful swipe from above with the intention of destroying my entire body in a single attack.
I did not stop.
I kept running while that attack approached my skull faster and faster, as if it were a meteor about to crush me.
Ffffiiiuuuuusssh!
But before its claws could touch my skull, I jumped toward the ground and slid between its legs.
CRASH!
The sound of the wooden floor behind me being destroyed by the fierce impact of the entity's claws reached my ears. It was at that moment that I thought:
-That could have been me...
Had I received that blow, I would have died.
Lately, I have been risking my life more times than I can count and, somehow, it does not seem to matter enough to me, but I could not complain.
After all...
Slash!
-I wanted this.
Taking advantage of my current position, I used my dagger to inflict multiple cuts on both of the entity's legs.
ROOAAAAAAAR!!
The entity let out a loud roar as it fell to its knees.
Without giving it any rest, I climbed onto its back and began stabbing the blade of the dagger into its shoulders and nearby areas several times.
While I inflicted as much damage as possible, the entity focused all of its efforts on getting me off of it. It began shaking itself extremely violently and also tried to reach me with its claws, stretching its arms to their limit.
I must say that both strategies were completely counterproductive, not only because they failed to accomplish their purpose, but because, in carrying them out, the entity unconsciously ended up opening the wounds it had just inflicted upon itself even further.
ROOOOAAAAAR!
But then it did something I was not expecting.
It threw itself toward the floor with its back facing it.
"Shit..."
I said as I watched, from the entity's back, how the floor was getting closer and closer.
BOOM!
The impact generated a great crash similar to the explosion of a grenade. It was almost ironic that, despite causing so much destruction with the weight of its body alone, this thing was literally empty inside.
"Agh... this is insane..."
Fortunately for me, I jumped off the entity's body just before it crushed me against the floor.
"My head is still spinning..."
The bad news was that, after the fall, I ended up terribly dizzy, and the other bad news was that, while making a hurried movement, I left the dagger embedded in the entity's back.
"Damn."
-Wait a moment, I think that can also be good news, right? Because that means the dagger should be inside its body right now, causing it deep internal pain.
ROO.... ROOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRR!!!
Back to the series of bad news, I no longer have any weapons left. All I have is the revolver, which still rests in my left hand, unloaded.
Beep.
[I can suggest using the last grenade.]
-Why should I use it?
[Isn't that your last weapon? Don't you think it would be a good idea to use it right now?]
-Good idea? A short while ago you said it could bring down the entire building. Is it a good idea to destroy all the floor beneath my feet with an explosive?
[Mmm... I had not thought of it that way, but if you put it in those terms...]
Beep.
[There is an 80% probability that, if you use it, the floor beneath your feet will give way under the force of the explosion, which would cause you to fall directly to the second floor.]
-80%? What does the other 20% mean?
[The remaining 20% represents the probability that the floor withstands the explosion.]
-I see...
[But that is irrelevant, because regardless, if you use the grenade, its explosion would end up reducing your entire body to ashes before the floor even begins to crack.]
-...Why do all of your ideas lead me to a certain death?
[It is difficult for me to calculate every variable in a situation like this.]
-Difficult...?
[I will explain it to you again. What you perceive in this space is very different from what my scanner can detect.]
-I still don't understand a damn thing...
[Exactly. You see everything as relatively normal, but I have to analyze every possible parameter in order to provide an exact answer. In this place, where the parameters change as the seconds pass, my analysis must become a prediction of the future.]
The cube sounded much more serious than usual. In fact, it even sounded frustrated. That was when I began to think that perhaps the cube put much more effort into its own work than I did into mine.
ROOOOOAAAAAR!
But then, the terrifying roar of a beast brought me back to reality and reminded me of the kind of work I was subjected to.
RRROOOOOOOAAAAARR!!!
The entity let out another powerful roar, one filled with much more anger than before, one that forced me to cover my ears to keep my eardrums from bursting.
-...Well, I'm really screwed.
Standing on all fours, the entity began shaking its head, showing off its enormous and sharp horns in the process.
-This is...
I remembered this action.
It was not merely showing off its horns.
It was aiming.
RRROOAAARRR!
The entity shot toward me at the same speed as a train running at full speed.
"SHIT!"
I quickly ran toward the shelves in the corner, with the entity right behind me, practically at my heels.
I moved skillfully between the shelves, trying to make the entity lose track of me for at least a second.
One second would have been enough.
CRASH!
But the latter literally swept away everything in front of it, making the idea of losing it difficult.
CRASH!
I made a sharp turn to the left, moving behind a shelf that would soon be destroyed.
PAAAM!
I jumped onto a table and, from there, jumped toward a shelf, which I climbed until I reached the top.
RRROOOAAAAR!
CRASH!
At the same time, the entity smashed through the shelf and crushed the table I had passed over.
RRROOOAAAAR!
CRASH!
-Now or...!
CRASH!
I could not even finish the thought when the entity hit the shelf with such force that it was destroyed upon the first contact with its body.
"Agh...!"
When that happened, I jumped from the shelf to the floor, while the entity continued moving forward, smashing through at least three shelves before it even started to slow down.
That gave me a small window of time to keep running.
I escaped the maze of shelves and tables and once again moved toward the center of the hall, toward the crack.
CRASH!
I heard more sounds of destruction behind me.
It seems the entity finally got out of the maze and is now chasing me.
"Well, I think the plan will actually work."
My heart was beating frantically from fear and adrenaline as I listened to the entity roaring and advancing toward me.
"...Huh?"
But suddenly, those roars and footsteps could no longer be heard.
I stopped a few meters away from the crack and turned around, expecting to find the entity very close to my position.
"What the hell?"
But contrary to what I expected, the entity did not dare approach the crack, even knowing how easy it would be to eliminate me in my weakened state.
"Damn it, and I even went out of my way to look like easy prey."
I said in an annoyed tone.
I must say that the word went out of my way is unnecessary in that sentence, because the truth is that I think surviving that chase was nothing more than luck.
"It really is afraid of... what did you say it was called?"
[The Oblivion.]
"Right, that."
"It really is afraid of the Oblivion."
[Mr. Robert, I already told you before that entities do not understand fear.]
"Huh... They understand danger, but not fear? What kind of sense does that make?"
Isn't fear a survival instinct in the face of danger? I remember studying that when I was in school.
"Besides danger, what else does it feel?"
[...Well.]
"!?..."
-You've got to be kidding me...
The entity remained still, staring at me in complete silence while rising back onto its hind legs, displaying its great height of nearly three meters.
That thing was waiting for me.
It was waiting for me to panic and make the mistake of approaching it again, trusting that this time it would land a blow so precise that I would be unable to dodge it.
But there was something the entity did not know.
And that something was that now I knew how to make it angry.
"Haha... you know, considering all the crazy things I've run into today, you are, without a doubt, the least impressive one."
RRRR...
"And does that bother you or not?"
The more I spoke, the stronger the entity's snorts became.
And let's not even talk about what happened when I started using an even more childish tone to emphasize my mockery.
"To recap, first there was a monster, a monstrous snow wolf that nearly scared the shit out of me just with its presence. Then a long-armed entity appeared with a mask made from the head of, perhaps, that very same wolf. Haha, that one was a real problem. Seriously, during our encounter it broke almost half the bones in my body, to the point that I was only able to stand up again thanks to the help of an external force."
"But the one that came after was no better, that disgusting purple substance. It was so powerful that it forced me to evolve. Somehow, I became so strong that, unconsciously, I defeated two other entities while trapped inside my own subconscious."
Truth be told, after defeating the purple entity, I do not remember very well what happened afterward. It is not that I have completely forgotten it, it is just that I started thinking about other things because... I have no idea why that happened.
"Cough, cough."
I cleared my throat before continuing with the next round.
"And then there's you... Hahaha... you're a strange amalgamation of nearly extinct animals, which, by the way, I have never seen in person, but I know enough to say that, individually, they look a hundred... no, a thousand times more terrifying than you."
RRRROOOORRR!
"Oh, oh... don't tell me that bothers you."
"Could it be that you... are jealous of the others?"
"If that's the case, I won't judge you, honestly. The other entities really were very strong."
And now all I need is a small spark to make this bomb explode.
"No one compares to Ka'li..."
It is curious that, after everything I said, that single sentence was enough to plunge the entire library into a chilling silence.
"No one could compare to him, not in strength, speed, power, or whatever else..."
Now I understood.
After all, perhaps we were not so different.
"The only reason I survived against him was because of the intervention of what was literally a shadow that had just moved into my head."
"You, on the other hand, are nothing."
RRRROOOAAAR!
-That's it. I said nothing instead of nobody. Was that what irritated you the most?
"That's why you're down here, looking for easy prey, because you're afraid of what's up there."
"Ka'li..."
RROOOOR...
"However, I understand you very well."
-I have to overwhelm it. If I let it think too much, it will understand what I'm doing.
"In this world, there are beings capable of creating earthquakes with the force of their blows alone. Compared to them, I'm nothing more than a tiny insect."
When I say all this, I cannot help but remember that time when, while playing with my sister, we lost our ball underneath the family car and, instead of crawling under it to retrieve it, she chose to lift the entire car.
Back when I struggled to lift objects weighing approximately ten kilograms, my beloved twin sister could lift nearly two tons with extreme ease.
"....Me, just like you."
I looked directly into its eyes with the most arrogant expression my face could produce.
"I am nothing..."
RRRROOOOOOAAAAAAR!!
-I think that was enough. What do you think, Cube?
RROOOOOAAAAAARRRR!!!!
[It seems so.]
-It's exactly as you described.
[Yes. Entities are completely invincible beings within their own dimension, but in this one they must adapt to the rules that govern it. They take different bodies and different forms of energy in order to "attempt" to exist within this plane, but above all, they adopt entirely new traits, such as envy, fear, resentment, and so on.]
[Although they do not understand them, the foundation of those feelings exists deep within them, and the feeling most deeply rooted in the nature of this dimension is...]
-Hatred...
[Yes... we could call it hatred.]
Beep.
[In any case, what an entity hates most, besides another entity, is a Ka'li. It is extremely unlikely that it would not become angry when compared to one of them.]
-That was a very specific piece of information, but effective.
[I think so too.]
Beeeep.
-And what's that?
[The entity's limbs are accumulating a great amount of tension. Anger directed toward you.]
BOOOM!
Almost instantly, the entity did exactly what the Cube said it would do.
With devastating force, the entity launched itself toward me at the speed of a train, destroying parts of the floor through the sheer pressure of its footsteps.
ROOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAR!!!
I planted my feet firmly, waiting for the precise moment to move.
"...Huh?"
The entity is moving much faster than before.
-This isn't going to work, is it?
[It is moving too fast. If your plan is to dodge it at the last moment, you will not succeed.]
-Yeah, that's what I thought.
I ran toward my right side, circling around the crack, while the entity, upon seeing my movement, considerably reduced its speed.
I stopped and turned my body to face the entity, which had cornered me between its body and the Oblivion.
RRROOOOAAARRR!!
The entity, which seemed to have rid itself of its fear of the Oblivion, did not hesitate to approach me, swinging its claws with incredible strength empowered by rage.
SLASH!
SLASH!!
SLASH!!!
Every single one of its attacks cut through the air with such intensity that its actions created vacuum vortices that pulled my body directly toward its jaws.
RRRAAAAAR!
That was when the entity tried to tear my head off with a bite, which I barely managed to avoid, only to then have to dodge yet another wave of attacks.
RRRROOOOOOOAAAAR!!!
-It's now or never.
I said as I slipped beneath the entity's arm, positioning myself behind it.
In my right hand, I gripped the revolver tightly, but not by its handle.
I was holding it by the barrel.
-I just want this to end once and for all...
-I want to get out of here...
-I want my life back...
-I want...
Robert...
"...!"
Just stop lying to yourself already. It's obvious what your heart desires. Make your mind cling to that caprice.
"..."
-I want to win.
FUUUUUAAAAAASSSSSH!
That dark energy surged out of my body once again and gathered around the revolver I held in my hand.
FUUUOOOSSSH!
I could feel it growing larger than before without undergoing any change in weight. Also, I'm not entirely sure, but I think its steel was dyed the same color as that darkness.
-Now.
"AAAAAAH!"
With a shout driven by all the emotions I carried inside me at that moment, I unleashed a powerful strike toward the entity, using the revolver as though it were a club.
BOOOOM!
The weapon struck directly into its stomach and, when it did, for a thousandth of a second I could feel all of its flesh twisting and deforming, as though its own body rejected the darkness surrounding the weapon.
ROOOOOOOOAAAAAAAARRR!!!
I had to cling to my caprice. I was going to win, and that was why I kept moving forward, increasing my strength as much as my will.
BOOM!!!
Accompanied by a tremendous crash, the entity was launched away by the force of my strike, falling directly into that well of light and sinking into the depths of the Oblivion.
RRROOOO....!
The sound of its roar was abruptly cut off when its head was completely swallowed by the light.
"..."
And that was how silence once again took control of the library and, this time, I wished it would last forever.
"Ah... Ah... we... did it..."
I said between continuous gasps, caused by my efforts to breathe.
[You have defeated the entity.]
[Congratulations.]
"Yay..."
[However, the mission has not yet ended.]
"Yeah... you're right..."
-So far, I have only been brushing against my true objective, but I have to keep moving forward.
-I have to make the leap.
I stood in front of the crack while thinking that.
That well of light was so bright that it would be hard to believe anyone could even stare directly at it. But despite that, I did exactly that and, instead of closing my eyes because of the intensity of the light, I kept staring without blinking.
Sigh.
Perhaps the strangest thing about that moment was that, the longer I stared into the center of the crack, the more I felt that someone... or something... was staring back at me.
"Here we go..."