Chapter 9

'Is it luck once again? Or is it the Ruthless Heaven, who doesn't want me to die yet, so it created this quest?' Blake considered for a few seconds before dissipating these thoughts. He didn't have any confidence in surviving this poison by himself, for he understood how dreadful it is from the gained memories.

It was the only way to survive, and he had little time to be entirely honest. The poison didn't take an immediate effect since it was created to ensure the worst death possible. The injured one's condition would deteriorate over the following three days, until meeting death, though most of the patients simply killed themselves before that.

It also so happened that the journey from here to the Suigetsu's location was exactly three days. He didn't know whether rescuing that man would prove any difficulty, but the journey there was not something Blake looked forward to. That's why he wanted to depart as soon as possible.

Finally, Blake looked away from the screen as he got into action immediately. With prompt steps, he walked towards the staircase, not looking back. He had been here for long enough and his desire to see what was going on outside only grew.

Blake dissipated into the shadows and swam up the staircase. He wasn't fond of using his energy like this, but he also wasn't too confident that he could ascend the stairs on his own.

Soon, Blake found himself in the forest.

The air was fresh, not flooded with blood like in the base below. The trees were tall and radiated longevity. In fact, the forest seemed too dense, too thick, and untouched by human hands.

Then, Blake glanced into the sky. A moon hung just above him, but it was much nearer than in his world. It almost felt like he could stretch his hand out and touch it.

"Damn it." Blake sighed. It was one thing assuming that was in another world, but facing at as reality hit completely different. However, he didn't really know how to feel about this. Truth be told, he cared little right now, as his life was on the line because of this poison.

Skimming through his memories, Blake remembered the path leading to the other base, as he coordinated him with the little crosses on the trees. Then, he fell into the shadows, ignoring the pain spreading throughout his body.

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The journey was, as expected, one hell of an experience. His broken ribs and wrist didn't inflict as much pain as before, probably because of his increased regeneration ability.

However, this pain was replaced by another one. The poison had started to take its effect, and it felt like his entire was continuously heating up, to the point that it seemed like he was on fire. Actually, it was getting progressively worse.

Thankfully, there didn't seem to be any shinobis or enemies in the surroundings since, even after a day of travel, he had seen no one except some wild animals. Using his skills, Blake killed them and recuperated his energy a bit.

Half of the day, Blake had to travel on foot, instead of using [Shadow Movement] to converse his energy. It was getting harder each hour, and Blake's speed was slowly deteriorating.

Another day passed, and another problem arose. The constant pain from the poison forced him to forget the lack of sleep, but it still negatively affected his mind. There were enormous bags underneath his eyes, and he felt like he could collapse at any moment.

Yet, he kept going, not willing to die.

The third day turned out to be the worst, as Blake could no longer push any strength into his body parts, forcing him to continue his travel in the shadows. This was also the reason that had invested all the remaining free points into Chaos Energy, enabling him to swim in the shadows for a long.

Blake felt lost. There was no longer any meaning in life. There was no life, only pain and suffering. Every little move opened up a continuous cycle of pain that spread through his entire body, while not moving meant immediate death.

The thoughts of ending it all were overbearing, but Blake held on. He didn't understand what was driving, motivating him so much, but he had eventually figured it out. He wasn't afraid of death. It was just that he didn't want to die yet, at least not like that. There was definitely more to life than he understood.

Holding onto these thoughts, he pushed himself beyond the limits. It wasn't for naught, as Blake finally saw the distinctive marking on the tree. A few meters away from it, there was a cave that lead underground.

Blake couldn't think straight right now, he simply wanted to finish the quest as fast as possible. He flowed through the shadows underground, the smell of blood attacking his nostrils again.

There were people all around him, enemies that would reap him apart at first sight, yet they never saw him. He traveled silently, relying on his memory, until entering a room different from the other.

In the middle of it, there was a tube with a white-haired man inside, who appeared to be sleeping right now. Blake materialized just in front of him as Suigetsu immediately opened his eyes.

"Who are you?" Suigetsu scanned Blake with a curious gaze, noting the completely hazardous state of the man. "You are not one of them."

"How do I get you out of here?" Blake said, his voice quiet and absent of strength. He felt like he could pass out at any moment.

Suigetsu's eyes immediately lit up as he started talking in a hushed manner. "You need a key... but you can also just break it from outside."

Blake nodded, walking up to the water prison. He didn't feel confident in fighting anyone right now. No, he knew surely that he would simply die. Blake frowned, trying to unsuccessfully lift his hands up.

It was getting harder to breathe... Blake could barely keep his head in a stable position. His eyes were closing up... slowly but surely... he was drifting away from the world.

"Fuck this." Blake put his head against the tube and hit it against the glass. It hurt a lot, but he kept going, using the last bits of stamina to do this simple movement. The noise was getting louder and Blake heard hurried steps from outside the room.

His mask was cracked and his head underneath was bleeding, yet there was not even a crack in the glass. Beyond it, Blake saw Suigetsu's confused, yet cheerful expression. He put a thumb up. "I don't know why you are doing this, but hurry. They are going to be here soon."

Blake pushed the remaining energy into activating [Shadow Augment] as his mask turned an even shader color. He put all the weight back and then pushed it forth, his head colliding with the glass.

A loud crack echoed through the room, followed by an evil laugh. Blake was too confused about the situation as he felt his consciousness drifting away. With a glance to the side, he saw several men running into the room, yet a white-haired was standing before them, smiling like a kid.

Before he closed his eyes, Blake also concentrated on the quest and noted it was deemed completed. Indeed, he felt some foreign energy entering his body that was rapidly pushing the pain away.

He tried to grab onto this newfound feeling to stay awake, but all these days of endless hardships took a toll on him. The least he could was put fate into his luck attribute.

Then, he passed out.