Chapter 93: White Space

"Everyone there?!"

"Can someone hear me?!"

A boy’s voice echoed through the endless white space, but no matter how loudly he shouted, only silence answered him. There were no walls, no ground, and no visible sky, only an endless emptiness that seemed to stretch in every direction.

Eventually, his voice became hoarse from shouting. He finally gave up and sat down, lowering his head as exhaustion overtook him.

"I’ve been trapped here for a century... Where the fuck am I?"

Days turned into weeks, weeks into months, and eventually, months became years. Every day, he walked endlessly through the white space, shouting for help and pleading with anyone who might be listening, but nothing ever answered.

At first, he believed someone would eventually find him. After decades passed without anything changing, however, that hope slowly disappeared, leaving only frustration and despair.

Then, without warning, the endless white space changed.

The sky suddenly became dark in an instant, causing the boy to immediately raise his head. His eyes widened as he saw a gigantic metallic arm descending from above, its surface covered in strange colors that shifted unnaturally across the metal.

His face turned pale as he stared at the unfamiliar entity. The enormous arm alone was enough to make him realize that whatever had appeared before him was something far beyond anything he had ever encountered.

He was completely speechless.

"Boy from Planet-1345."

The strange voice echoed throughout the empty space. It carried no emotion, yet its presence alone made the entire area feel oppressive.

"You have been trapped here for a hundred years."

The voice paused for a moment. "But whose fault is that?"

"Was it the orb that you obtained? Or your own weakness? Was it the demonic forces that invaded your motherland? Was it the unknown being that possessed you?"

The metallic arm remained motionless above him.

"Or was it the creator of the world you are currently living in?"

Akuma’s eyes widened as he processed the questions. His mind raced through everything that had happened, but one thought continued to burn stronger than the rest.

His expression slowly changed from confusion to anger. "Its... the creator’s fault."

His hands began trembling.

"Why did he seal me here for a century?! Why?! Why would he leave me here with nothing?!"

His voice cracked as tears finally began falling from his eyes. All the frustration, loneliness, and helplessness he had endured for a hundred years finally spilled out.

"Tell me... how do I get out of here?!"

"Tell me!"

His voice echoed through the endless space as he desperately pleaded for an answer. The strange entity remained silent for several minutes, leaving Akuma staring upward with tears running down his face.

"Do you want my offer?"

Akuma slowly raised his head.

"What offer?"

"Join the demonic forces and help them."

The voice remained emotionless.

"In return, I will get you out of here. You will also be allowed to spare anyone you do not wish to kill."

The space fell completely silent. Akuma stared upward, his mind struggling to process the offer that had suddenly been placed before him.

Before he could answer, several figures suddenly appeared in front of him.

"Akuma, the successor of the Unknown God."

A large lizardman stepped forward, followed by a delicate girl, a druid, an insect-like humanoid, and several other figures. Their appearances were different, but every one of them carried a presence that immediately separated them from ordinary beings.

"Stay back, young human."

Calean stepped forward and placed himself between Akuma and the metallic arm. His expression was serious as he stared at the unknown entity above them.

"Who..."

Akuma could barely form the words.

"Everyone, that thing isn’t normal."

One of the lizardmen looked upward, his eyes narrowing.

"Agreed. It gives off a feeling similar to the Entity, but it isn’t the Entity."

The metallic arm slowly twisted, its palm opening toward the figures below.

"Are you the guardians of Planet-1345?"

The voice echoed from above.

"You must be. You give off a very familiar feeling, as though you remind me of someone I know."

Odi4 glanced toward the elf standing beside him. "Olium... we can finally test what all those years of hard work have given us."

He smiled.

Olium looked back at him and gave a faint smirk.

"Unfortunately, I will not fight you."

The strange voice continued as the metallic arm remained suspended above them.

"Not unless you force me to."

The atmosphere suddenly became heavier.

"However, I will not stop."

"Unless you can protect all the vulnerable."

The metallic arm slowly began ascending toward the dark sky.

"Guardians of Planet-1345, we shall meet again."

The enormous arm disappeared into the darkness, leaving only its fading voice behind. Akuma remained frozen in place, unable to understand what had just happened or why these strange beings had appeared before him.

His eyes were blank as he stared into the empty sky.

Trias slowly stepped forward and crouched down in front of him. Her expression was filled with genuine sadness as she looked at the boy who had spent a century trapped in a place he could not escape.

"I overheard everything..."

She lowered her head.

"I’m sorry, Akuma." Her voice was gentle and filled with regret.

"You were never meant to suffer like this. The reason you were trapped here was because you couldn’t contain the power of a pantheon after becoming the successor of the Orb of Unknown."

Trias looked at him with sympathy.

"Your body became caught in a time loop within a sealed space connected to the Pantheon Council. From your perspective, a hundred years passed while you were trapped here, but outside of this space, time continued to flow normally."

She paused, her expression becoming heavier.

"That means the people you knew continued living their lives while you were trapped here, unable to move forward or even understand what was happening to you."

Trias slowly reached out her hand.

"I know saying this cannot make up for what you endured. But please understand that no one intended for you to suffer this way."