But the image I expected ...the princess with her once golden hair now turned black never appeared.
Instead, as a phantom-like projection of myself, I drifted through a realm of endless darkness.
Void. Absolute void.
Wrapped in a cocoon of shadows, I began to wonder if the ability had malfunctioned or if something was interfering.
It had never behaved like this before.
And the longer I remained trapped in that abyss, the stronger a certain feeling grew inside me ..
An unbearable sense of unease.
As if something… or someone… was watching me from beyond the veil.
To make matters worse, I couldn't deactivate the Third-Person Pov. I was stuck.
Minutes passed.
Then hours.
And the fear only grew.
"Something is wrong…"
Where was I? What was this place?
Being stranded in the dark for this long… it was torture.
It felt like I was sinking deep into the bottom of the ocean, cut off from all light.
I tried to break free.
I fought.
I clawed and thrashed and pushed against the void…
Until something grabbed me by the throat.
A sticky, black hand clamped down on my neck. Its claws dug into my skin, and I couldn't even comprehend what was happening.
I was supposed to be a projection. Intangible.
But this pain—it was real.
So real.
I tried to grab at the hand crushing my windpipe, but it was useless.
The thing crawled over my skin, and a whisper echoed directly into my ear.
"Die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die…"
The word repeated endlessly, a hushed mantra of death as the grip tightened around my throat.
I began losing consciousness, unable to speak or move.
All I could see was darkness… a hand tightening around my throat, trying to steal my life. And something—something—whispering in my ear.
At some point, I stopped hearing it chant for my death. Instead, I heard only the pounding of my heart, thundering in my chest.
My awareness began to fade completely… but in the final moment, a surge of intense blue light exploded, wrapping around my body, tearing away the black hand, and dragging me back to reality.
Seconds later, I jolted awake, falling violently from my desk chair, drenched in cold sweat.
I clutched my throat ... right where that hand had gripped me only to feel something slick and damp still clinging to my skin.
"…What just happened?"
That was the first question I asked.
But I froze again… when I saw something crawling along my arm.
Something black. Laced with red.
"A shadow…?"
No. It was the same thing that had tried to kill me moments ago.
"…Impossible."
I was in a ghost-like projection. None of this should've been possible.
And yet… there it was.
The claws that dug into my neck… the sticky black hand…
In a panic, I unleashed a full-force wave of violet aura ... my full power condensed into a single burst that instantly obliterated the mass of darkness clinging to me.
It evaporated in a blink, leaving me stunned where I stood.
Not because of what had just happened—
But because I recognized it. I recognized that power. That place.
That shadow.
"The King's Shadow…"
No…
"There's no way…!"
That kind of power shouldn't be able to be mimicked by a human.
How could a mere human replicate a power that only one of the strongest high demons in existence possessed?
A power that came directly from him.
I couldn't even bring myself to say his name ... afraid that doing so might trigger something unforgivable.
I wanted so badly to be wrong… but the reality was too clear, and what I felt just now was far too real.
With something like that involved, I could no longer rely on the direct advice alone to deal with what was coming.
That thing… had just nullified a system ability right in front of my eyes.
I had to be sure.
I needed to confirm the truth of what I'd just seen.
Without realizing it, I found myself preparing to use another Future Snapshot—my second since all this began.
"This is going to cost more achievement points…"
But I had no other choice at this point.
"Show me the future… ten days from now."
I spoke to the system, and in an instant, another 1000 achievement points were drained.
The world shifted around me as I swallowed hard, bracing for what I was about to see.
I even questioned whether what I was seeing counted as "the future." I knew little about time and space… wasn't the future supposed to be uncertain?
Was what I saw truly the future… or merely one of countless possibilities?
I thought hard about it… even as the scene began to take shape.
Once again, I was flying high above the Moon Castle ... or what was left of it.
This time, the future showed no mercy.
"The Valerion Domain…"
An entire province reduced to ash… a bloody massacre had unfolded inside.
Among the corpses, inside the ruins of the Moon Castle…
Two mutilated bodies lay in a pool of blood, limbs shredded, wounds grotesque.
The first was Oliver Khan.
And the second…
Was me.
"…I'm dead?"
I couldn't even be surprised.
Not before a guttural, inhuman roar shattered the air like a thunderclap.
In the distance, I saw a monstrous figure rise ... shadow swirling around it , and clash against a man descending from the sky, wielding a colossal thunder spear.
Maekar was fighting that thing.
Their battle shook the heavens.
A shockwave of overwhelming power threw me backward and .. I returned to the present.
Back in my room, frozen still, trying to process what I'd just witnessed.
"…I died. Sansa killed me."
So much for the "direct advice." To hell with that.
"I'm dead, you bastard system…"
Was that really it?
That simple?
"…No."
It wasn't enough.
Darkness swirled in my vision as thoughts exploded in my mind.
I couldn't die yet.
Not like this.
Not without doing something.
I found myself sprawled in my chair, staring blankly at the ceiling, a strained smile curling my lips.
"Looks like… I really will have to kill you, Sansa."