He had been completely hopeless.
After the rift swallowed them, they had drifted through the chaotic currents of the void for what felt like an eternity. He had only survived that turbulence by forging a soul bond with Nemo, just like he had with Sereniel, and burning through nearly every defensive artifact/ability/skill he owned to shield them both.
When they finally crashed onto this gray soil, he was spent.
Thankfully, Nemo had intervened at the crucial moment.
The Overlord threw his body in the way, taking the lethal blows to protect his new bond partner while Amaniel frantically figured out how to survive.
Amaniel had scanned the System Shop, checked his Status, and rummaged through his Inventory with frantic desperation.
He used every relic he had left. He activated every skill available.
He even forced his [Exorcist’s Eye] open.
"Burn!"
Silver-blue flames instantly ignited on Velmort’s spectral form, searing the creature’s very soul.
"Screeee!"
The beast shrieked, thrashing as the spiritual fire ate away at its essence.
However, the cost was immediate.
Blood streamed down Amaniel’s cheeks like tears; it felt as if his retinas were being seared off with a hot iron. His vision went white, his eyes nearly going blind from the strain of using the special ability on a higher-dimensional being.
And yet, it wasn’t enough. The flames slowed Velmort down, but couldn’t kill it.
That was where the egg came in.
It was a last-ditch effort.
A final variable in a losing equation.
But he never would have thought a seemingly ordinary egg would end up being the one to take down a Void Stalker.
Well, it might be more accurate to say... devour.
He recalled the bizarre scene vividly.
The moment the egg appeared, Velmort’s aggression had vanished. The beast had frozen, its hundreds of violet eyes widening in pure, primal terror.
It had tried to run. It had tried to tear open space and flee.
But invisible chains seemed to bind it to the spot.
"SCREEEE!"
Velmort had shrieked in horror as it collapsed to the ground. Its massive, physical form dissolved, turning into a stream of black energy mist that swirled helplessly into the egg’s greedy maw.
...
"Just what are you?"
Amaniel murmured, rubbing the egg’s cold, veined surface gently.
He looked over at the wolf.
"Do you have any idea what this thing is now?"
Nemo lifted his head, eyeing the egg with deep wariness.
<I am ashamed to admit, but I do not know.>
The wolf’s mental voice was heavy.
<In the hierarchy of the Nightmare Realm, I was merely a weak foot soldier. I know almost nothing of the higher mysteries.>
Nemo paused, his violet eyes narrowing.
<However... based on the sheer suppression it exerted over the Void Stalker, I can guess that the lineage inside belongs to a Royal Bloodline.>
The wolf let out a low growl, his hackles raising slightly.
<And I am certain of one thing. Had I not bonded with you... it would have devoured me as well.>
"..."
Amaniel fell silent. He looked at the egg, a ticking time bomb that had saved his life.
Sighing, he lay back down on the hard stone floor, staring at the damp ceiling of the cave.
They were in a strange world with no knowledge, no map, and no way to go back.
He let out a dry, self-deprecating chuckle.
’I got caught up in one of the classic clichés, huh?’
First, he woke up in a world full of many storylines. Was forced to participate in them. Even ’died’ one time.
Now, it was the ’Forced Teleportation into a Hell Realm’ arc. It was the standard plot device authors used to separate the protagonist from the main cast to force a desperate power-up.
And looking at the egg...
’A mysterious, dormant item that activates at the very brink of death to save the protagonist?’
He squinted at the obsidian shell pulsating by the fire.
’That screams Plot Armor. The kind of lucky break that makes readers roll their eyes at the convenience.’
However, as the thought crossed his mind, a darker suspicion followed.
Was it really just luck?
Sure, he was lucky, well, sometimes. But his bad luck was equally legendary, often dragging him into the worst possible scenarios.
Therefore, the fact that this specific egg ended up in his hands... the fact that he was dragged to the one place where it could awaken...
’Is this... someone’s plan?’
He felt a chill that had nothing to do with the cave’s temperature. It felt as if he were a piece on a chessboard he couldn’t even see yet, moved by an invisible hand to this exact coordinate.
He shook his head, wincing as the movement tugged at his healing nerves. Overthinking wouldn’t fill his stomach or warm his blood right now.
"Whatever."
He closed his eyes, listening to the crackling fire and the steady breathing of the wolf.
"Well... at least we’re alive."
Silence enveloped the cave again.
’...’
Amaniel then emptied his mind of the pain, the questions, and the lingering fear. He pushed aside the chaos of the last week and focused solely on the present.
Time passed.
Minutes bled into hours as he organized his thoughts, analyzing every scrap of information he possessed about this realm, his system, and his own capabilities.
Finally, he reopened his eyes.
The exhaustion was still there, but the uncertainty was gone. A sharp, dangerous glint — the look of a man who had found a path through the abyss — flashed in his gaze.
He shifted his gaze to the cave entrance. Beyond the fragile safety of the firelight, the true darkness of the realm waited. The wind howled outside, carrying the distant, hungry screeches of things that defied logic. It was a world designed to break the weak.
However, fear didn’t rise in his chest.
Only a cold, calculating resolve remained.
"I think I know what to do."
He sat up straighter, looking at the fire.
"How to survive this ’hell’ scenario."
He clenched his fist, feeling the faint hum of his recovering mana.
"And how to return. Back to our world."