Light Culler

Brows creased, he heavily questioned his own sanity, trying to see if what was reflected in his eyes was a well-made illusion. At the back of his mind, he knew it wasn't, it was a tug from the depth of his own existence, as if to say "this is who you are now."

He stayed there, staring at the face he now bore with a grim look, hands clenched and shaking as if an earthquake was happening inside his ribcage.

If his appearance had so suddenly shifted, now resembling Amon, a fictional character bound to a novel, then did that mean he had, through means he wasn't aware of at the moment, transmigrated? Surreal, was what he'd call the situation at hand. And perhaps cliche fit nicely as well. After all, he wasn't some high-accomplishing figure and he was far too old to think he was 'the chosen one.'

He wasn't too thrilled at the choice of novel as well. He knew it was far-fetch to expect transmigration to a slice-of-life series and he wouldn't appreciate needing to take highschool again but it was extremely appealing when side-to-side with death.

Arrodes, it seemed, had noticed the abnormal silence its master maintained as the expanse was suddenly plunged into a freezing and long-winded silence. Quickly, it asked if it could be of service, words wavering noticeably. "I'm alright." He flashed the mirror a stiff smile. "Just continue shining."

He needed time to deeply think things through.

It had been a fair amount of time since he had read the novel but he could manage to recall some vague details about the lore if he wrung the information out of his brain. It was deathly apparent to him that he lacked more detailed insight but he had to work with what he had.

It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that the area he was currently at was most likely Chernobyl, a research facility situated in the Forsaken Land of the Gods. "How inconvenient.." He muttered disdainfully, slowly lowering himself to the floor as he leaned against a desk. Not only was he cut off from the rest of the world, he was also literally surrounded by danger.

The main character of the novel, Klein Moretti, had managed to survive in this inhospitable land because of his sequence, his specific pathway, and his uniqueness. Currently, he lacked all three. Arrodes being a light source was his only saving grace.

The cliff he had crawled his way up from was probably the Chaos Sea. Staring at it for a moment, he released a heavy sigh. Here he was, directly in front of a sefirot but unable to use it. It was an eerily silent pitch black void, and although he sensed a faint feeling of belonging with it, he decided not to probe deeper. He had forgotten most of the details about it, so it was better to leave it alone.

Lest he awaken something.

Staring at the dust-covered boots he wore, he began to ponder about his own identity. He wasn't certain if he had truly become Amon, or more accurately Amon's main body. After all, the living nightmare of a man had multiple clones at his disposal, free for him to do whatever he wanted with.

He could remember blurry memories of some sort of gathering taking place, everyone looked exactly like everybody else with a glimmering silver monocle on their right eye. To him then, this bizarre and spine-tingling spectacle was a rather normal sight, he even felt familiar with everyone present somehow, as if they were all cogs in the same machine. It was to hold a vote on who would do a certain task, and he had been the "unfortunate" one with 32 votes cast.

He didn't think of it much, shrugging helplessly with a growing smile as he adjusted the monocle with a slight nudge. He could remember walking into the Chaos Sea voluntarily, a skip in his step and a strange melody leaving his lips.

His eye twitched at the memory as he groaned, half embarrassed and half annoyed. He was completely under Amon's will at that time. He had no thoughts that belonged to him, had no desires, he barely even contained a soul.

He wasn't sure if Amon could feel an avatar "go online" again but given he had consciousness and a will now, he reckoned the connection had been cut.

He wondered if some of Amon's abilities had remained with him, most importantly the ability to open up a pathway that lead outside of this research facility. If not, then he'd most likely starve to death. Sighing, he lamented, the climb certainly didn't spare him any mercy in terms of expendable energy either.

"Well, it's better if I try and figure out as soon as possible."

With that, he stood up. Although he needed to worry about the progression of the plot of the novel as well, he pushed it towards the end of his priority list. He couldn't worry about such complicated matters when he couldn't even fill his stomach up.

...

Perhaps it was a terrifying sight on its own. A city completely upturned from its roots, cracked gravel and structures that could hardly be recognized, consumed by darkness and fated to never see the light of day again — and here he was in all of that, a single man with a shining mirror, wandering in that apocalyptic scene like some sort of ghost.

He had managed to exit from the facility by forcefully and repetitively using characteristics from the Abyss, a skill still deeply imbedded in his flesh. It was a trait he naturally had as Amon's clone, even though the mental connection he had with the main body was already severed.

He could only eat monsters and plants for now. With some basic control over a few Marauder abilities, he'd be able to separate the majority of the corruption if he forced himself enough. He doubted it would taste great but beggars couldn't be choosers.

He'd have to find some settlement like the City of Silver as soon as possible, he wouldn't be able to hold out on his own for long. "I've just arrived and I already have so many problems." He smiled deprecatingly to himself before letting out a heavy sigh. It was interesting to see the decay of the city, he could still imagine how it all was before the disaster. He wondered how the Ancient Sun God felt when 'He' walked out of Chernobyl.

After all, this was 'His' home.

Shining Arrodes ahead of him, he turned a corner. He was trying to find a suitable weapon. Although he had avoided talking to Arrodes for the meantime to avoid the eyes of creatures he didn't want to be known by, he still knew his primary focus for heading out. And that was to gather food.

He didn't have high expectations for his first hunt, the best outcome he could imagine would probably to be walking away with a few injuries. It was definitely rash of him to start searching for beasts almost immediately but his condition would only begin to plummet from here if he didn't find food now.

He was more willing to eat plants rather than monsters, 'stealing' their corruption would be less taxing and he didn't need to bother with how he'd make a fire.

It took a few minutes before he finally heard something, a low and beast-like whine that immediately had him on full alert, muscles tensing and eyes darting around. "Arrodes, dim your light a little." He whispered, and the mirror dutily followed his instructions, not bothering to spout out any praises for now.

He heard a step from his left and swiftly turned, a rusting metal crowbar held firmly in his hand. There was silence for a few seconds and he felt the back of his neck turn cold as he strained his ears, grip never relaxing. After a few more seconds passed by, he heard a weak cry from behind him.

His breath hitched, stuck in his throat as he swivelled around, preparing to deliver a harsh strike before he abruptly stopped, finally processing the sight before him

The wolf-like monster had a wide maw, stretching all the way to the end of its jaw, its claws were sharp and stark black, with blazing red eyes that looked aflame. The peculiar thing was that the beast, who he now observed was squirming in pain, was thrown over the shoulder of a giant donned in silver armor from head to toe. 'So, the whines came from that fellow..' He forced himself to swallow, staring at the 5-meter-tall giant with obvious fear.

He had just come to collect a few berries and maybe hunt some small beasts, why was he encountering a giant who could hunt a wolf..

"My Lord, you've awoken."

It said, voice deep and thunderous, making the surroundings rumble and shake, it felt like he was standing directly above a fault line. Now, it was suddenly on its knee with his back bent slightly, showing the utmost respect. He stared at it with bewilderment, wondering what sort of wild hallucination this was as he clutched Arrodes and the crowbar so tightly that he could barely feel his fingers anymore.

He was well aware that if it came to it, he would stand no change against the giant. He held no blind hope that he could somehow fight against the odds, because currently the odds were 100 to 0.

Raising its head slightly, he saw a flickering deep red light peeking slightly from behind the giant's mask, as if dawn breaking through the dark heavens. It seemed to be taking him in, he could feel a great amount of pressure on his shoulders, nearly toppling him over. The giant's gaze was nearly suffocating. It took him all his strength to keep himself up, although he still wobbled in his boots.

"Indeed." It began speaking, now more resolutely as if its suspicions had been cleared away completely. It nodded its head a little, seemingly finalizing his thoughts. He wasn't sure if that was something to be glad about or if he should immediately start running, not that it would change anything if it really wanted him to perish. But, given he had been called "my lord", he had some hope amidst all his confusion and downright horror.

"Your physical body has undergone some changes and there seem to have been a few outside influence to your spirit body but you are unmistakably my Liege."

"Murskogan, Light Culler, leader of the Court Chasers of the Giant King's Court, my Lord's sword and shield, your loyal servant greets you."

"Welcome back, Lord Sasrir."