Chapter 682: The Reality Trap [Part 1]
"This is very strange. Perhaps you are not yet able to comprehend how strange..."
The creature paused, drawing a deep and insightful gaze into Northern's soul through his eyes.
"He was never supposed to make it this far, not to say an anomaly..."
Northern raised a brow. Make it this far?
"...more like to the entrance?"
"I understand that humor is a part of human nature, so it does not irritate me at all-much less a lame attempt such as yours."
As the creature spoke, its form shifted again, splitting into multiple translucent forms that danced erratically around the cavern.
"As much as I want to challenge your take on my sense of humor, I don't think that would be appropriate given this dire situation. What I'm trying to tell you is, I barely made it to the entrance, so it's kind of confusing when you say 'made it this far.""
Silence subdued the atmosphere between them for a while. The illusioned creature's head- which could somehow now speak-slowly turned around the cavern expanse, as if inspecting something.
Then its powerful voice pierced the silent darkness, making it throb rather than tear.
"You are correct. The Hefter moved."
"I think you and I are going somewhere now. The Hefter was also what the creature was called -a Calamitous Belial that powerful. Judging from the way you regard it, you are an external party. Who are you, and what did you do exactly?"
The creature paid no attention to Northern, instead moving around the cave, its illusions splitting out like mirages of movement. Each figure was barely distinguishable from the next, their movements defying logic.
Northern stayed in peaceful silence, his eyes calm but his mind vehemently calculating what exactly could be at play here.
From the way this person spoke, it should have been impossible for him to have met such a monster. And yet he did.
According to this strange person, this meant that it somehow moved toward Northern instead of staying wherever it was supposed to stay while it waited for someone to reach for it.
That meant he had something?
'...or the poor fella just got bored.'
The creature, after all, could have been staying here for decades without seeing a fighting partner once. Or maybe not... maybe Rughsbourgh made it down here too.
'Nah, I don't think so...'
Rughsbourgh might be mad, but Northern did not think deciding to fight a Belial would be something he would be crazy enough to do.
The last Belial he met was an entire room of Belial statue monsters that were not any less strong than their true form, the crimson lord seated in the middle.
Although the crimson lord was far stronger, the others were a lot to deal with. And Northern was able to 'easily' do away with them with the kind of talents he copied and how DIY made him able to dabble between talents however he wanted.
Belials are supposed to be so strong that one of them is undefeatable, and as Northern saw, the Apex of them is a convolution of all in one.
He saw how Dante was powerless before them. Although Dante was obviously a new Paragon, that did not mean that Rughsbourgh, who has probably been a Paragon for a longer time, would have it any easier.
This is why he is so special.
Thinking about him almost made him want to grin.
'Oh damn, I think I am the main character of this world.'
The creature finally detached from its momentary trance, its translucent form halting mid- air, its presence still erratic yet carrying an unnerving authority.
It turned to Northern, its face-or whatever that was-twisting into something resembling curiosity.
"You are an anomaly," it said, its voice like a whisper layered over a deep, guttural growl. "A broken thread in the tapestry of this world. That is why the Hefter moved. It sensed you."
Northern's calm demeanor didn't falter, but his eyes glowed slightly as he analyzed the creature, searching for any clues to its true nature or intentions.
"A broken thread?" he echoed. "You'll have to elaborate. I'm not exactly fluent in cryptic nonsense."
The creature's form rippled, as though amused.
"Your existence distorts the natural flow of things. You don't belong here-your talents, your abilities, your very essence-they bend the rules of this reality. You are the disruption."
Northern raised an eyebrow, his grip tightening slightly on Grengar.
"You're saying I'm special. Congratulations, you've caught up. Everyone else already knows."
The creature tilted its head, its form glitching unnaturally as it hovered closer.
"Special is a wrong statement. Your soul composition and tapestry of existence do not align with what I have studied of many souls in this world."
The creature's distorted laughter echoed through the cavern, reverberating like shattered glass.
"The Hefter merely recognized that irregularity and was resolved to destroy it. Unfortunately for it..." the creature's voice took a low, somber dive before rising back to its usual tempo.
"Without further ado, I shall dispel you from this place."
Northern's calm composure didn't falter outwardly, but his mind raced as he processed the creature's words. Dispel him?
That wasn't happening-not now, not ever. His grip on Grengar tightened, and Void Aura began to ripple faintly around him, an ominous prelude.
He was sure... this had to be the dungeon master or something.
What he was not so sure about... was, was this Milhwa? Or someone else?
The translucent creature's form shifted, glitching unnaturally as it expanded, towering over Northern.
Its once-humanoid features dissolved into a writhing mass of tendrils, jagged limbs, and
fractured faces.
The cavern itself seemed to bend and warp under the sheer pressure of its presence.
Northern steadied his breath, repositioning and grounding himself.
"I admire your confidence, anomaly," the creature said, its voice layered with mocking distortion. "But confidence alone won't save you."
Northern smirked, his eyes burning sharply as Chaos Eyes picked and locked onto the twisting ligatures of energy that held the creature's form together.
"Confidence?" His voice echoed. "No, I've got something better than that."
The creature struck first, its tendrils lashing out with terrifying speed and precision.
Northern blurred into motion, activating [Mirage] to split into afterimages. The tendrils smashed into the ground and walls, leaving behind faint ripples in the air, but none touched
him.
Northern retaliated with a sweep of Grengar, Void energy crackling along the twin blades as they carved through two tendrils.
The severed limbs dissolved into translucent mist, but the creature didn't falter. Instead, it shifted, its form glitching and multiplying into a dozen identical figures.
Each figure moved erratically, their movements defying logic as they darted around the
cavern.
They attacked in unison, tendrils weaving through the air like a storm of chaos. Northern's afterimages mirrored his movements, darting and twisting through the onslaught, but even he could feel the increasing complexity of the attacks.
The creature's distorted voice echoed from every corner of the cavern.
"You can't outpace me, anomaly. I've analyzed your every move."
Northern paid no heed to the monster's words; instead, his mind was sharpened, racing productively as he dodged another barrage of tendrils.
This wasn't just brute force; the creature was calculating his movements, countering his
strategies in real time.
His Chaos Eyes helped him predict a miniature future, and he devised his entire attacks
around the future he predicted.
But the monster was bashing every one of his attacks and destroying them with so much ease
that he questioned if the monster also had greater foresight.
But he just had to really believe what the sentient being had said. It was indeed analyzing
every single one of his movements.
...And has probably analyzed that he had foresight too.
Northern decided to stop using the foresight for a while. Instead, Chaos Eyes locked onto the
threads connecting the figures, tracing them back to a single pulsating core hidden within the
swirling mass.
"So, you're playing puppet master," Northern muttered, his smirk returning. "Let's see how well you fight without strings."
He hurled Grengar toward the core, the weapon spinning like a black comet.
But before it could strike, one of the creature's figures intercepted it, its tendrils wrapping
around the weapon and stopping it mid-air.
"Did you really think it would be that easy?" the creature sneered.
Northern's Void wings exploded out of his back, launching him forward in a blur of speed.
He reached for Grengar, but before he could reclaim it, the creature's core pulsed with a wave of energy.
The cavern warped around him, his surroundings dissolving into a kaleidoscope of distorted
shapes and colors.
For a moment, Northern lost his footing, his senses overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of
the illusion.
The creature's voice echoed in his mind, mocking and cold. "You can't defeat what you can't
perceive." Northern steadied himself and tried to use Void Aura to push back against the illusion. But it was effortless; never in his life had he ever seen an illusion so perfectly woven that its ligatures merged seamlessly into reality.
This one was not like the former, not even the reality that Limitless Void created could
measure up.
This time, he might really be trapped!