The moment I accepted the invite, I simply found myself in another place which I could only conclude, was the sanctuary of the nameless God or whatever alias they were using.
It felt exactly the same as the time when I used the constellation stream event invitation ticket, I didn't move, my surroundings did.
But that was the trick, if felt like I didn't move, but I did.
My body was transported at exactly the same time my surroundings changed so I couldn't feel anything, or rather the current me couldn't.
After climbing the tower and ranking up my character to a certain level, I got some sort of spatial awareness skill… what was it again? Sixth sense or something.
It worked as a danger detection skill which could predict approaching danger a few seconds before it happened, it also had other uses as well but as much as I'd love to reminisce about my magnificent pro gaming self, the surrounding around me didn't particularly share the sentiment.
It was dark, not pitch black dark but dark nevertheless.
Even more baffling, I could see clearly within the darkness.
Drip…
'Hmmm? That's strange.'
Apart from the eerie feel of the sanctuary, my instincts told me that there was something wrong about this place that I hadn't noticed it.
Drip…
"Water?" The words came out before I could fully form the thought.
'A constant dripping… wait, a dripping sound… yes that's it.'
The strange feeling that had been nagging me ever since I got here, it was because of the dripping.
In the first place you couldn't have a dripping noise without water spilling from something or somewhere onto the ground and if the sound reverberated with a more intense echo then the chances of the surface it lands on being water might be around seventy percent.
I didn't notice it at first when I arrived at the sanctuary, but my tuxedo was drenched from the waist down to my feet.
And the reason I probably didn't notice was because something didn't want me to look, which was too bad because… my head was already moving before I could even think rationally.
That… was a mistake.
The moment my eyes fell to the floor or rather the lake which covered most of the sanctuary, I felt the air leaving my lungs.
My pupils dilated. My breath hitched.
My body trembled against my will.
"Ha… hah… w-what is …this." I swallowed, unable to tear my eyes off the body of water.
I felt a chill crawl up my spine.
"This…"
It was wrong—terribly wrong.
Those absurdly grotesque eyes staring at me from within the black lake.
Hundreds or more perhaps, I couldn't tell.
My brain refused to store something this terrifying within my memories.
I tried my best to redirect my gaze but it was all pointless.
Those eyes followed every single movement I made, as though they were simply looking past my flesh and something within me.
"You weren't supposed to look."
My body instantly jolted then I flicked my head to locate where the sound came from.
I couldn't.
"Y-You… where? Who said that?" I frowned, trying to calm my beating heart.
For a short while there was only silence.
The kind that didn't necessarily put you at ease but rather one which promised chaos with only a brief moment of respite before the silence exploded into something catalytic.
The voice sounded again, a bit muffled this time but still terrifying… and wrong.
Everything about this place was strange.
From the tall pillars which arched around the sanctuary to the open blackened starlit skies and the ridiculously large mountain obstructing the moon, everything reeked of danger.
The voice in particular was almost as unsettling as the black lake with an array of eyes, it didn't sound human yet at the same time it did. The tone was flat and devoid of any emotion behind it.
Not only that.
But the voice itself sounded like a female voice and at the same time, it sounded like a male's voice as well as the voice of a child.
"Calm yourself, this is my sanctuary."
It paused.
"Nothing here can harm you without my consent."
I didn't know if I could take his words as an assurance but it didn't do anything to calm me in the slightest.
From the depths of the water, something moved and right there and then I almost passed out.
My heart was beating in a frantic rhythm and my fingers shook.
I could feel it.
Death was merely a second away.
If the nameless god wished it, I would lose my life before I could get the chance to lift a finger.
This feeling of being powerless, I loathed it.
I loathed the fact that the current me was merely an insignificant insect without the power to strike back when threatened.
'Soon.'
I told myself
I didn't plan on remaining weak or insignificant for long.
Unlike others, I had an advantage.
If Mist was being truthful then I might be among the few people or possibly the only person who remembers my progress within the game and I planned to hoard every damn thing to myself.
Was I being greedy?
So what! In a world where the law is decided by the strong I wanted to be above everyone and it didn't matter what I had to do to get that power, I was going to get it.
Taking a deep breath, I reminded myself that I wasn't the prey here.
Yes, I was that crazy enough to take advantage of a desperate god, if I could tilt the side of a deal to my favor using its predicament then why should I waste the opportunity.
I licked my lips then spoke.
Or at least I tried to.
The voice sounded first.
"That hunger, I can feel it… your greed, your desire to devour anything to get power and that void of emptiness within you, it's why I chose you in the first place." It muttered. "Yes… if it's you then you might be able to contain it."
I turned around, still searching for the nameless god who despite sounding desperate still had the luxury of playing hide and seek like a goddamn child…
'Maybe I should've accepted wukong's offer.'
Well as enticing as it sounded, wukong's abilities didn't fit my fighting methods, at my core, I was still a mage.
Depending on the nameless god's authority, I might even reject their offer.
What I needed was something as versatile as Zeus' lightning.
"Contain what exactly?" I asked with a small frown.
The nameless god didn't answer, not immediately.
Instead I heard the rattle of massive chains alongside a disturbing ripple in the black lake.
Then something— no, the mountain moved.
And then its voice followed.
"My authority."