NOVEL NEXT Chapter 26: Predecessors
Not wasting a single second, Athen immediately sprinted forward at full speed, attempting to escape from the pitch-black void.
When he had been frozen, he had almost succumbed to the pitch-black void and went to sleep.
What would have happened if he hadn't felt that sudden gust of wind on his face?
Would he have truly become...one with the darkness then?
Pushing aside those thoughts, Athen simply ran and ran, even though there was no exit in sight.
If he stopped...then would his body be frozen again?
However, as Athen's pace started to slow and he began to pant like a dog, a sudden spark of light appeared to his right...and then left.
Still running forward, Athen glanced to his left, seeing a ball of light simply floating in the pitch-black void.
However, as he stared at the ball of light longer and longer...Athen quickly realized it wasn't really a ball of light...
They were...memories.
In the ball of pure light, Athen could see the backdrop of a mountain, and on top of that mountain stood a figure with jet-black hair.
Frozen, the figure simply stared up at the sky, which was colored a light orange, until finally, his mouth slowly opened.
"So...I can choose whether to end or continue this...because I'm Timeless..?"
Looking away from the light ball and back forward, Athen's eyes suddenly widened in shock.
There was no longer a pitch-black void...it was more like a street during nighttime with a bunch of lamposts lighting it up.
Hundreds...no thousands of balls of light were lined up on his right and left, highlighting his figure as he continued sprinting forward.
Although Athen couldn't look into each specific ball anymore as there were far too many, there was one thing in common among all of them.
The sound.
You would think, considering the thousands of bulbs of light, that the sound emitted would be just a bunch of mixed-up and incomprehensible English.
However, one phrase kept on popping up over and over again, emerging from the thousands of voices.
For this to happen, that would mean all the figures in each of these light balls were saying the same exact phrase at the same exact time...over and over again.
"I'm Timeless."
"I'm Timeless."
"I'm Timeless."
Covering his ears due to the sheer amount of noise generated by the balls of light, Athen muttered.
"I GET IT; YOU'RE TIMELESS!"
Despite all of this, Athen continued running...because as he lifted his head and stared forward, he realized something.
The darkness...it was fading with every step he took.
And, at the very end of Athen's sight, a familiar crack came into view, but behind that crack, instead of there being more darkness, there was light.
Escape.
However, as Athen glanced backward, he quickly noticed that the balls of light behind him were rapidly disappearing, plunging the area back into the darkness.
If he didn't get out now...he would be stuck here forever.
Increasing his pace to the maximum, Athen ignored the searing pain in his heart and aching in his legs.
"What if I..."
Swerving off the path, Athen ran towards one of the balls of light on his left that hadn't yet disappeared.
Stopping a few meters away from the ball, Athen pressed his right leg down on the floor.
Propelling himself off the floor of the pitch-black void, Athen exploded into the air with his feet nearly at the height of the ball of light.
Mid-air, Athen stretched his right foot out to the maximum until he finally felt it touch something concrete.
Then, without any hesitation, Athen pushed his right foot down on the light orb with as much strength as possible.
Gaining even more height, Athen pushed himself off the ball of the light, watching as it flickered before disappearing behind him.
As the crack filled with the light came closer and closer, Athen, still in the air, stretched out both his hands as far forward as he could.
*SHATTER*
*SHATTER*
Just as Athen's hands reached the entrance to the crack, the orbs of light to his right and left suddenly shattered.
*SHATTER*
*SHATTER
As the fingertip of his middle finger went through the crack, the last set of light orbs broke, causing the room to descend back into darkness.
And, there in the pitch-black void, floating in the air in a diving position, lay Athen, completely frozen.
Only a centimeter in front of his levitating body was the crack, which was still open and filled with light.
However, this time, it wasn't just his body that was frozen.
His thoughts, brain...everything was paralyzed.
*Tap~tap*
*Tap~tap*
Breaking the silence in the void, a pair of footsteps sounded throughout the area.
The owner of these footsteps, with ocean-blue eyes and short black hair, leisurely walked towards Athen's frozen floating figure with no regard for time.
Stopping momentarily, the figure stared at Athen for a moment...before clapping his hands
*Clap~clap*
*Clap~clap*
Continuing to walk toward Athen, the figure smiled before enthusiastically remarking.
"That's the farthest one of us has ever made it in this room...isn't it?"
"Perhaps he could be the one to finish it...no, what am I saying? It's far too early to make a judgement."
Reaching Athen, the figure simply stood and stared for a moment, muttering.
"It feels weird being on the other side now...it was just yesterday I was in his position."
Rubbing his hands together, the figure stood still...however, at the same time, his body was slowly going further and further up.
The pitch-black void was specifically raising the area around him up to Athen, as if responding to his will and internal order to be lifted.
Reaching Athen's height, the figure placed his right palm on Athen's hair before closing his eyes.
"Well..I guess it's my turn."
"Thousands of years of information...all yours, now."
After a couple of seconds, the figure's eyes suddenly flickered open.
With droplets of sweat falling from his face, the figure desperately gasped for air while slowly removing his hand.
Wiping the sweat off his forehead, the figure crouched downwards, placing his mouth to Athen's ear.
"One last thing for now. Don't forget...w-...no... you are Timeless."