Feast of Illusions (2)

Once again, my surroundings were dark, there wasn't any light. The sensation was somewhat unrecognizable but familiar at the same time.

Then slowly the darkness surrounding me began to vanish, it was surreal.

Once my vision started to become clear, I noticed that the pain wasn't as intense as before. Although the pain in my stomach was still there, my body somehow managed to gain its strength back.

Compared to before this is way better in terms of the pain I had, and that includes both physically and mentally.

While staring at my hands, still confused about how I suddenly recovered by a lot, I realized I was still lying in the same place as before. It seems like I fell asleep, though I'm not sure how I suddenly recovered.

However, I'm not sure how long I slept. There was a chance that I slept for hours, since the day before I barely slept because of that 'ghost'. Well, either way, it's good that I've recovered a lot.

After a minute or two I stood up from the ground where I slept, and my sore muscles had indeed recovered.

Everything seemed fine, my body was working and I could think clearly.

Was that all just a dream then?

However… that's not possible.

After I scanned around I noticed that the plate is still gone, so it couldn't be a dream. Everything was still the same as before I fell asleep.

But the most bizarre part was that the food… was still warm, I could clearly see a stream of warm air coming from It.

Out of curiosity, I walked towards the table where all the food was left, and they were surprisingly still warm and fresh.

Either, I only slept for a minute, or something crazy is happening.

I don't think I was sleeping for such a short period, besides almost all the pain has been recovered, which I think is impossible.

Such agony can't be recovered by just sleeping for a bit, it would at least take a week to recover and that's at most. Normally it would probably take at least up to two weeks.

Secondly, I don't recall suddenly getting sick and tired, it all just suddenly happened. Which in my opinion is extremely odd.

Plus, why is there no one here, there's no one present besides me. The food couldn't possibly be made just for me, I'm not part of a royal family.

And lastly, the most disturbing part was the mysterious food. It feels like I've been here all day, and somehow everything seems fresh. And I'm not going to talk about the plates that suddenly disappeared out of nowhere.

The reason why I've gotten sick could be the food. Well… at least it did taste good.

- - -

"I should head back to my room," I said, my voice being a bit cranky.

While I walked towards the exit, I couldn't help but feel a slight sense of unease. As soon as I stepped out, I couldn't help but wonder how much time I had spent in there.

Is this the right way?

The hallway seemed normal, but something felt odd. There was a sense of unease right away, but why? Everything looked normal…

The further I went, the more it became clear that something wasn't right.

Since when was the hall that big? I don't remember it being that large… I've been walking around for ages, but I still can't see the end of it.

Something's wrong and that's without a doubt.

But the more I thought of that conclusion, the narrower the hallway got. I wasn't sure if it was just an illusion, or if something was actually wrong.

Did I perhaps take the wrong route?

However, even if that's the case, the hallway shouldn't be that big. Besides, if I were to count all the rooms I've come across, it would probably be over 100—no, it would be over 1000. And the strange part is that I haven't seen anyone, there wasn't even a sound coming out of any of the rooms. Even though the temperature was considerably high, I still shivered.

Dammit, just where is my room…?

I've at least walked around for an hour, this place can't be that big, and this hallway is just a part of it… I don't remember the hallways being a mile away though.

- - -

Am I hallucinating?

After a long time of walking the dining hall was in front of me, it was the same exit from earlier…

It doesn't make any sense…

After all, the only thing I did was move forward, I knew that I didn't take a turn. Plus, how did I even end up here, logically speaking by just going forward, I can't end up here, at the exit. I would need to make a whole round trip to get to the entrance, but somehow I ended up back at the exit which doesn't make any sense, unless I walked backwards, which still wouldn't make any difference.

I blinked in confusion while a drop of sweat fell on the floor.

Then I realized that my situation wasn't as simple as it seemed.

So that's why I felt uncomfortable the whole time, and it was obvious that something wasn't right. Multiple things happened that made me uneasy; the food, the plate, and the hallway.

In the meantime, my stomachache somehow completely disappeared. Which again, was strange, but helpful, the good part was that I don't need to endure it anymore.

Then, my eyes laid on the table, and once again the food was still steaming hot. And then I saw something horrific again…

The plates… they're back.

It was exactly how I left it behind, everything… everything was the same. I instantly backed off after seeing it, I couldn't help but panic.

Am I going insane? Am I going crazy?

For the first time since I arrived here, I feel scared.

"Is this what you call fear?" I asked myself.

For the first time, I was thinking about what happens in the afterlife. Hell? Heaven? Reincarnation?

If I get to choose between these, I would choose reincarnation. Life was way too short, for me it felt like I'd barely lived a month. Heaven also wouldn't be bad, I'd get to relax every day which is a dream come true. But hell? I'd rather avoid it, I'd rather spend an eternity doing nothing than going to hell, since I don't want to suffer more.

- - -

30 minutes passed in an instant, therefore I've calmed myself down a bit. I shouldn't be thinking about the afterlife, it will only make everything more depressing than it already is. Besides, why should I care, it isn't over yet.

However, there wasn't anything I could do to make my situation better. Thinking about the afterlife might be the only thing I could do after all…

"Oh, God—"

And suddenly something unexpected happened again, but unexpected things always happen so it's basically 'expected'.

Once again, the plates were gone, but this time I didn't give a damn, somehow I got used to it.

It was the same stuff that kept happening, so it's kind of natural that you get used to it. And if you think about it simply, it's just a plate that keeps disappearing and reappearing. Even though it sounds a bit off, it's not that bad. However it doesn't make sense, and I don't know why it keeps disappearing and reappearing.

However, after a few moments of staring at the empty table, the plates reappeared after I closed my eyes for a second. And I couldn't even see the plates reappearing, it was quick, almost in an instant.

I don't even know what's going on, but it isn't funny, to whoever did this, I hope you get karma.

While cursing the person who did this, the aroma of the food increased. And that caused me to go back to the table where all the food was left. Immediately, I wanted to take a bite of everything, but I restricted myself, knowing something was wrong with the food.

Apart from the food, there was also a small drink section, which I didn't detect until now. While being unsure and feeling an unease, I said:

"There shouldn't be anything wrong with this."

My hands reached for a cup.

As soon as I gulped down the crystal clear water, it somehow tasted normal. Normally you wouldn't be surprised to drink 'normal' water, but here abnormal is more common than normal.

The water was so clear that it almost looked transparent. Plus, the coldness of the water refreshed the hell out of me. I'm not exaggerating when I say it's the most purest water I've drank. The taste is just like any other regular water, but it somehow tastes extra good. I'd say it's the highest quality water available. Any changes would make it worse, it was at its highest point, perfection.

Though I hope it isn't food poisoning, I don't want to suddenly wake up in agony again.

Anything but that…

- - -

Rumble—!

"…"

The ground suddenly started to rumble, it wasn't an extreme one, but it still caught me off guard. It happened a few minutes after I drank the crystal-clear water.

However, I'm clueless as to why it happened, perhaps there is an earthquake happening outside?

Then my eyes landed on a shadow of something huge.

The heck is that…?

The entrance of the dining hall was blocked by 2 huge shadow like creatures, they were so large that I couldn't even see their faces. However, I'm sure that they aren't human, and there was no point in wasting any time trying to figure out where they came from.

I've had too much today, perhaps I'm really going insane.

They were indeed huge, the figure resembled a giant monster from a fantasy novel.

I swallowed my saliva, and a drop of sweat fell on the ground while I said:

"Just how the heck am I supposed to defeat that thing…?"

Attacking it shouldn't even be an option, it would mean an instant death.

Additionally, there wasn't anywhere to run, the entrance was blocked, and the exit would lead me back to the same place.

However, they didn't step forward, the huge figures just blocked the entrance, as if they were guarding it.

Maybe if I didn't make any noise, then the monsters wouldn't attack me. Though that was just an assumption, I have no idea what's going on. Also, not to mention, one of them was holding a sword while the other held a stick or something. Well, either way, I should not mess with them.

The next 10 minutes were pure silence, even my breath couldn't be heard.

Then… I sneezed.

And of course… it echoed through the entire hall, making it obvious that I was present.

Damn… what have I done… This is usually where a protagonist gets some random power and destroys the monsters. But that wasn't the case for me, I was just a mere guy who had no idea what was happening.

After a second or two, I realized that they indeed heard my sneeze. A short while after, they finally moved, but they weren't directly walking towards me.

Oh…?

They walked towards the table where the food was sitting. And in almost an instant all everything and I mean everything was devoured.

Are they going to eat me like that as well?

And then one of the monster's eyes landed on me.

Immediately I turned my gaze away, avoiding eye contact at all costs.

I didn't see it, I didn't see it. I didn't see anything.

Don't stare at me, don't stare at me!

I'm not tasty! Don't even think of eating me!

I hid in the corner of a table, I'm not sure if the monster was still glaring at me. Furthermore, I just stayed there, unaware of what was going on.

Pray! Pray, that the monsters don't find me.

The thought of him devouring me almost made me throw up right at the spot. I don't know what his goals are, but please just don't eat me.

I grew fond of living here, I don't want to end it so soon, I haven't even accomplished anything. This made me realize how much I valued everything, just by dying everything will be abandoned, and everything will be left behind.

There is nothing worse than dying when you have a valid reason to keep living.