The Ladder

PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW! IT HELP'S A LOT!

***********************

Uvogin and Nobunaga usually work together as partners, so they know each other's strengths. As it happens, the two started learning nen together and were both Enhancers.

It could be said that currently, they are the perfect opponent for each other. While taking advantage of their newfound nen, the two had a good time playing around.

Of course, while fighting, they did not forget the practice method that Loki had taught them. Currently, you could see the two of them running around the street, picking up rocks, which caused the people of Meteor City to laugh at them.

This did not bother them, however, as they practiced until evening. At this time, the two decided to head back to Machi's house for food because Loki could change the taste of the otherwise bland-tasting black rice.

When Loki heard this, he was dumbfounded. Loki had now been reduced to a meal ticket to Uvogin and Nobunaga.

After eating and drinking, they agreed to come back tomorrow before leaving.

This left Loki and Machi alone to clean up the place.

"These two guys…." Loki shook his head with a smile.

It didn't bother him much as he needed the practice in manipulating black light on a finer scale. This was directly correlated to the future development of his ability, after all. The more they ate, the more it proved that they regarded Loki as one of their own.

Moreover, he also understood how Uvogin and Nobunaga felt regarding food. After eating black rice for a year, he was also glad to eat with his ability active, let alone those who had eaten it for their whole lives.

Machi, who was sorting things, suddenly looked at Loki and spoke.

"Bringing you back from the trash pile really left me with a good return on my investment."

Loki, who heard this smiled and didn't answer. Loki slowly walked over to his small bed before laying down and closing his eyes.

"If only you knew how lucky I felt right now…." Loki thought to himself.

These people would be powerhouses in the future, and Loki always felt that the Phantom Troupe was in line with his ideas. The comradery they shared in their small group reminded him a lot of his group of friends.

"Joining the Phantom Troupe doesn't sound too bad, I guess. It seems I'll have to make the Phantom Troupe much stronger this time around…." Loki thought with a smile as he drifted off to sleep.

*********************************

It was another refreshing morning, and Loki was currently practicing his ability to manipulate black light. Soon a sound came from outside.

"Machi, Loki, we're here!" Uvogin said with a small yell.

Uvogin and Nobunaga came to the house with a large pile of rocks in their hands.

When they walked up, they found that the door was not closed.

"Did they both go out?" Uvogin said, looking towards Nobunaga.

Hearing this, Nobunaga shook his head, and they immediately became vigilant. Activating their [Ren], they entered the house but were puzzled to find no signs of fighting.

Suddenly a black door appeared in front of the two of them.

"What is this?!"

Both of them were taken aback by the sudden appearance of the door. Fortunately, when they thought of Loki's ability yesterday, they somewhat understood it.

"Is that you, Loki?"

"It's me, and can you guys lower your voices? It's too early in the morning…." Loki said with a dull tone.

With the door opened, Uvogin and Nobunaga curiously looked inside, only to widen their eyes.

The black door in front of them revealed a completely different world from the outside. There was a small oasis and a small cabana with chairs and tables. The craziest thing was the sun in the sky radiating heat.

This scene was almost completely inseparable from reality! All of this was a stark contrast to the little dilapidated house one saw from the outside.

Loki was cross-legged on a rock by the small oasis with his eyes closed.

"I'm in the middle of practicing. You guys can come inside but be quiet for a second." Loki said without moving from where he was sitting.

Nobunaga and Uvogin opened their mouths but ultimately decided to come in without speaking.

After a little bit, Loki stabilized the current domain so that he could talk without dispelling it. He wanted to practice multitasking inside his domain as it currently took a lot of concentration.

Opening his eyes, Loki slowly got up and looked around. The vision of paradise laid out before him had him thinking to himself.

"Perhaps living in a mirage is more befitting for someone like myself... Reality has proven to be broken. Perhaps my previous ambitions were also broken..." Loki thought to himself glancing at the small oasis.

His last life was one full of regrets and his new life was slowly changing the ideas he had of reality. His ambitions had forced him on path of no return and had led him into the pits of hell. For the past year he had lived every day training to once again rise to the top...

But for what reason?

For what reason should he climb to the top when all that came with this climb was despair? How should he correct this broken illusion they called reality?

While lost in thought Nobunaga and Uvogin ran up to him.

"This is incredible, Loki! Is this all real?!" He asked excitedly while looking around.

"No, it's not real, merely a mirage of reality…." Loki said, shaking his head.

"A mirage? This is all an illusion?!" Nobunaga said, stunned while looking at the smoothie in his hand. Loki, who could see that they couldn't believe the situation, snapped his fingers, turning the oasis back into the broken-down home they were used to.

Nobunaga looked down to find that his cold smoothie had become a glass of water. Suddenly his face dropped a bit, recalling his smoothie…

"So your ability is making illusions?" Uvogin asked with curiosity.

"It's not making illusions; this is only a part of my nen ability. My nen ability has a lot more features than just this." Loki said with a smile.

Hearing this stunned the two of them for a second. They knew Loki was strong, but they didn't realize how strong!

When they ate food yesterday, Loki used his ability, but they were distracted by the delicious food. They didn't realize that the power Loki could show with illusions was so strong!

"What made you decide to practice illusions then?" Nobunaga asked curiously. He would have never thought of using illusions when gaining power like nen, so he was extremely curious about Loki's thoughts.

Hearing this, Loki thought to himself for a bit and smiled.

"When in a world full of chaos, many would rather choose an illusory reality. This is a weakness many fall into; even I sometimes feel myself falling into the pit called chaos…." Loki said calmly.

"Chaos isn't a pit, though; chaos is a ladder. Many try to climb the ladder called chaos and fall, never to try and climb up the ladder again. The fall can break people; they cling to beings they call gods, they cling to love, and they cling to illusions of reality." Loki said in a reminiscing tone.

Nobunaga and Uvogin looked at Loki, seemingly in his own world, and were speechless. Remembering the scene of paradise, they couldn't help but ask themselves where they would rather be. Was reality truly better than the vision they were shown?

While they were stuck in their thoughts, Loki turned around, looked out the door, and stared at all the people rummaging through trash.

"In the wreckage of paradise, where abandoned dreams lie, what could be more befitting than an illusion?" Loki asked, seemingly to himself.

Loki thought for a bit before his eyes became confused.

"Maybe only an illusion of reality can fix the broken world we live in… or maybe the ladder called chaos is an illusion itself..?" Loki spoke his thoughts softly.

Hearing this, Uvogin and Nobunaga's eyes dilated. Loki's entire being suddenly became shrouded in mystery.