He Who Conquers himself, Conquers the World! [Part 1]

"There is no pain... What the hell?"

There was not a single instance of pain throughout my body. That was odd considering the leftover injuries that my body was fighting to repair. Wounds that held on in defiance like an infection. It was quite odd, but as soon as I realized a burning sensation racked my side. Soon after my face and arm followed. It burned with incredible vigor as if the sun itself kissed those areas. It's feeling was euphoric.

It was around that time that a heavy sense of nostalgia washed over my frame. I looked toward those areas, but I saw nothing.

When I said nothing, that is exactly what I meant. Complete and total darkness grabbed my eyes. There was no ground, no feeling other than the brief burning that gripped my body.

'Th-The tunnel?!'

I couldn't believe my eyes right now, but I had no choice other than to do so. Right before my eyes, there was a light quickly approaching me! It hit me with the force of a tsunami and I couldn't do anything to defend myself. My eyes closed yet the light still seized my attention.

'Again?! But Why?!"

I may never get the answer to my question, but as soon as the light arrived it vanished. In its wake was nothing more than my old friend darkness. There was a difference with this darkness. As my body passed through it, I felt gravity take me. It was uncanny. My feet were planted onto what I could only assume was a dark surface. 

Everywhere that I looked there was nothing, but as I moved my feet I could sense that I was making some progress. Well, I assume that I was. I had no proof since everything around me appeared to be the same.

"Hello?!", I called, but yet no sound escaped from my lips.

My words echoed in my head bouncing the syllables around like a pinball. The sensation that gripped my form seemed to be complete, as nothing was weighing my body down.

'This is odd... I don't seem to be at the cave again... so where am I this time?'

My thoughts were erratic as I attempted to wrap my head around my current predicament. I was certain that I had traveled through the tunnels of light and dark much like I did when I first appeared in this world.

"Does this mean that I am going to another world? What about Qayshawn and Bonner? I can't just leave them in the other... No, I won't leave them!'

It had been a few days since we first entered this new world. A world that was ripe with new things and people. One that I desired to travel with my two friends, but now that doesn't seem that likely. 

'Did I...die?'

While it was true that I had sustained a few critical injuries I was confident in my new body's healing capabilities. I should have survived the encounter much like I did with the Lynx! There is no way that I should have died! My life there had just gotten started. It should not, no, can not end in such a way!

'Calm yourself, Marktavious. Sane thoughts will win the day...'

Confliction is an infliction that could poison a person. It erodes at resolve and weakness will. I can't allow myself to be gripped by its treacherous claws.

"Onward men! Follow me and I'll lead us to victory!"

Those words were sudden and shook me to my core. Out of the corner of my eye, there was a faint green light. It quickly grew closer to me before consuming my form. It was bright, but strangely enough, closing my eyelids was more than enough to protect my eyes from it.

Using the darkness of my creation, I shielded myself from the effects of the green light. I assumed that it would be quick much like the previous one, but I didn't expect what transpired next.

"Haha! Enemy officer defeated! You were not enough to beat me!"

There was a light voice, and again those words shook me to my core. It was as if a large gust of wind overtook my sense and thus my eyes were forced open. 

"No- Th-that's impossible!", my words were stuck to my throat as my eyes took in an impossible sight.

No matter how many times that I blinked there was no changing what I was witnessing. The low-trimmed yard with a solitary tree. The tree was old with grey bark, which I used to peel around this time. Its limbs used to give way to the might of gravity. The sky was clear with the sun granting me its unconditional grace.

There was my basketball goal which resided on a small incline with our driveway cutting through our yard. It was nostalgic to view it. My heart fluttered almost instinctively.

"M-My home..."

Seeing my old home when I was a child brought mixed emotions to me. It was a sight that I had not seen in well over a decade. It was jaw-dropping. I soon realized the source of those words well before I got to see the one who spoke them, but it wasn't any less shocking. My legs fell from underneath my body as a small figure darted across the field. 

A stick in one hand, he swung it around with all the vigor that one may expect in a child playing. He gave everything he had into his movements before declaring, "Give it up, Cao Cao! No one bests Marktavious! I alone am the greatest warrior in the three kingdoms!"

Right before my eyes was a sight that I could not expect. Even if my life depended on it I would have never guessed that I would be staring at a younger version of myself. This seemed to be a memory. My heart sunk in my chest as I witnessed myself running around the yard. 

Occasionally, I would fall onto the grass as if I were defeated by an invisible enemy. Yet, despite facing such an enemy, I moved as if my very life depended on it. It was a sight that reminded me of a time in my life that I had long forgotten. The everyday grind of being an adult alongside the restricted freedom that came with it.

I lived in America, the land of the free and bastion of opportunity. I had come to learn of the privileged existence I resided in as I grew wiser with age. That privilege in hindsight was both a blessing and a curse. While it is true that one has ample opportunity to prove oneself as one grows older, I was always cynical of that perspective.

After all, I grew up in a small town. What possible opportunity could there be for a run-of-the-mill black boy whose guardians locked him away? I came to realize not long after this moment that my besting of Cao Cao in battle belonged only in the land of fiction. It was a story that I came up with to curb my boredom.

It was a satisfying dream, but that is all that it is; a dream. While I dreamed, my injuries began racking up and adulthood greeted me. I realized that I would fall into the same role as my ancestors before me. What use is freedom if I am still forced to work my days as no better than any common machine?

It was a fate befitting a man with little prospects. I could read all that I would like and write to my heart's content, but that didn't change anything. There was no point in dreaming anymore. Dreams are nothing more than a fictitious delusion that clouds someone's mind. It is a drug that treats the symptoms rather than the root cause.

Yet still, it was a drug that my heart desired. If the real world doesn't allow me to be great, then I'll have to apply myself in another venture. Thinking back, I believe that is why Infinity Unleashed appealed to me. Any excess cash that I acquired went into funding my addiction. It would have been an unending cycle as long as the game continued in prominence.

It was a cycle that I had come to enjoy. If one cannot fully enjoy their life in the real world, then video games like Infinity Unleashed are a suitable alternative. For me at least, I knew that I could finally overcome my mediocrity at least within the confines of that world.

"I cannot believe my eyes... How truly disgusting..."

A voice peered from the yard, but I couldn't determine its origin. Yet the words poisoned my heart. Such vicious language was no doubt directed my way.

'Huh?! Just who said that?!'