"Are you planning to sleep till death?"
"If not, then wake the hell up, you worthless brat."
A voice reached my ears—crazed, eerie, and filled with authority. It echoed deep within me. As my eyelids opened, an unfamiliar place emerged, fully painted in white. Widening my eyes, I looked around to find nothing.
It extended far beyond my vision, searching for the voice's origin. My eyes scanned the surroundings, and the voice sounded again, filled with slight annoyance.
"Worthless brat, look ahead. I am here."
Following the sound, I focused my eyes ahead, and a thick, black fog-like appearance revealed itself. It expanded quickly, covering the white realm in its darkness. Its two blue orb-like eyes, filled with unexplainable fierceness, stared at me like they weren't glancing at my body but my soul. I felt my body tensing, and I matched my gaze with it.
Not backing down a bit, I could sense it instinctively: if my eyes diverted even a bit, my soul would be ripped apart. Everything fell into a deafening silence—just two pairs of eyes staring at each other, neither backing down. The stillness continued for quite a bit before it finally broke with laughter resounding throughout the place.
"Hahaha, you've got quite the guts, brat."
"Till this date, not even gods dared to look at me."
"To think a worthless brat like you would directly stare into my eyes."
"It's no wonder you were able to survive until now."
Hearing the voice, thoughts rose in my mind.
"It seems he didn't dislike my gaze matching his."
"But who is he? And it seems he knows about me?"
"It's clear that he is not the person who gave me skills."
"And where am I? I've never seen a place like this."
"Also, from his words, he appears to be someone powerful."
While these thoughts ran through my mind, I felt a sudden jolt, and my body stiffened, and nothing left my mouth. My chest became tight, rendering me unable to breathe. It was like a heavyweight pressing on my body.
"I only said you have guts, I didn't say you are strong."
"So don't do and think of anything while I'm speaking."
The blue eyes stared at me deeply, and I got hit with another reality check: if I don't have power, then I don't even have the right to think. Because in the end, how much power you hold determines how much you can think, speak, or even dream about strength. The world runs on power—if you have it, you have the right to live. If you don't? Then you can't expect to think, let alone survive. In the world I once lived in, the powerful made the rules, and the weak obeyed them. It's the same everywhere. Just like now—stripped of everything, without power—my right to move, to speak, even to think… has been revoked. So I could only nod in agreement. Not because I had the power—but because I was allowed to.
And you may wonder why I nodded.
"Isn't it disrespectful?"
"Don't you have any shame?"
"Don't you have any self-esteem?"
But before you ask me those questions, let me ask you one in return: If I hadn't agreed—and died with that so-called honor you speak of—would it have brought me closer to my goal? Do you think someone would've saved me? That I'd awaken some hidden power, like a hero from a fairy tale? No. That's not how reality works. Nothing like that happens in reality.
And the figure seemed quite pleased with my reaction. As he looked at me, my breathing became normal again, and the stiffness disappeared. It seemed like the heavy weight from earlier had been lifted, yet the body remained tense—not from the weight, but from the figure in front of me.
"I have been observing you for quite some time. You survived against that red beast, who was many times stronger than you, by baiting him with blood."
"You killed the wolf by exploiting his weakness and situation."
"Which was quite plausible for someone as weak and worthless as you—but that's it."
"They were beasts with low intelligence, and the situation was in your favor; that's why you survived with intellect alone."
"But do you know, after your last fight, you are still unconscious and hanging between life and death because of your carelessness—and your skill."
"You call yourself a genius, but did you even think of what would happen after you got heavily injured and fell unconscious with your skill still being active?"
Upon hearing those words, a sense of realization appeared on my face. My brows furrowed with shame. I could only lower my eyes, unable to say anything, as it was the truth—biting my lower lip until it bled.
Looking at my face, the figure continued.
"So you do realize it, huh."
He seemed to be thinking about something in his mind.
"From his expression, it's clear that he understands his situation well, and he didn't argue about it, saying 'it was the best decision at that time.'"
"It was indeed the best decision at that time. Anyone would have died if put in his place in that situation. He didn't survive just because he's smart, but because he possesses the resolve to do anything to survive and fulfill his goal."
"And he also understands his shortcomings very well. He knows what I am talking about, and he is accepting his powerlessness. But he doesn't just accept it—he also has that fire to gain power in his eyes."
"Which makes him different, and more interesting, than anyone I have met before."
While these thoughts ran through his mind, he added:
"Let me ask you—what will you do when you're up against a human with a higher level of power than you? Or a beast who has a superior level of intelligence along with strength?"
"What will you do in that situation? Are you confident you can do the same in the future that you did with your past opponents?"
I couldn't even dare to look into his eyes at that time, only feeling ashamed...
"You already know it—you're just a clever little lamb. Against an alpha wolf, your wits will be devoured along with your flesh."
"To face the future, you mustn't hide behind the past's shield, but instead wield the present's sword."
"And even if someone overwhelms you, you must have the strength to return alive—to survive in any situation."
"And I know you know all about this. But do you have any way to get that strong?"
I had no reply to that question. In the first place, I didn't know anything about this world, and even if I did, it's not necessary that I would have found the ways to get stronger.
"Judging from your expression, I suppose you don't."
"In that case, I have an offer for you."
"Whether you accept it or not depends on you."
"-------------------------"
I was not able to hear anything he said. His lips moved, but I didn't hear a sound.
A thought crossed his mind.
"TCH, that good-for-nothing has to find out right at this timing, to think he was able to break all of my barriers and the connection between us that I set up with this much effort this easily."
"I had to wait for quite a while just to get this chance."
"Nothing can be done. Since he took action, with my weakened state, I can't do anything to him. I need to look for another opportunity. After all, I can't give up on Kaal. Let's give him a gift for his guts earlier. Since I can't let him die this easily."
A sinister smile appeared on his face.
"It seems like my time is up."
"Next time we meet, I hope you are not the same feeble flower in the storm."
Just as he said this, the darkness from the room started fading away, returning to its white glow. The figure also began to fade slowly, but I was not able to ask anything, as it felt like someone had sealed my lips. Just before he was about to disappear completely, a black light left him and entered my head.
"Here, take this as a reward for your guts earlier."
Before he completely faded away, my eyes started feeling heavy, my vision began to blur, and then everything blackened. With that, my eyes were fully closed.