「Unidentified village」
「Period: Twilight zone, 99」
Teetering off the edge of the windowsill, warm light bounces off the broken shard of glass, its iridescent ray streaks along the wooden walls. With each dip of the glass, the glass nears its inevitable descent to the floor.
Until it finally gives up, its hold slipping away, plummeting to the floor—
Clatter!
"Christ!" A man yells, jolting upright.
The rusted bed squeaks and groans under his weight, as if any more movement might cause it to fall.
"Good grief, where am—?" He questions, only to fall silent.
Cold hands rushed to his face, running against the stubble of his jawline, the hairs of his eyebrows, and the dried skin of his lips.
"I'm...I'm alive!" His excitement surges, then flatlines just as quickly.
'Why is everything so blurry?'
Gently placing his hands at his side, he shifts his weight on the bed, feet crashing onto the floor on what he thinks is wood.
'Have I also become blind in hell? Ironic.'
He moves his leg and hands around, searching for glasses or anything he can use.
"Bloody hell, doesn't hell have any specs?" He grumbles, swerving his knee quickly to the side in frustration, wincing as it impacts with a solid object. "A..." He swipes his hands across the top. "A nightstand!"
'It should be here.'
He moves his hands about and finally locates it.
'found it!'
"Glasses!" He beams, picking it up and sliding it over his eyes.
'This has to be the first time I've become so excited for glasses.'
The haze of his vision swiftly clears; the cracked glass of his specs slightly distorts the spaces, but nothing he isn't accustomed to.
'I must be in the first circle.'
He surveys the area, eyes locking onto every detail of the medieval-style room.
"It surely isn't a hotel or any modern-day style room I've ever seen. It more aligns with the old archives."
Taking his first steps, he uses the wall to balance his first few wobbling steps. Yet, once he removes his hands, a thin coat of moisture clings to his palms, and the scent soon follows. The suffocating, earthy, stale stench fills his nostrils.
"Ughh~... What's that smell?" He advances closer to the wall and realizes it's the source. "How can anyone sleep here?"
He backs away, moving towards the window instead, spotting the glass that awakened him and the gaping hole of the shattered window from which it emerged.
'This should be useful as a weapon.'
He bends down, picking it up, safely tucking it into his pants before switching his attention to the world outside the room.
"Limbo…" He utters to himself, staring absent-mindedly at a world he had only known through classified books. "Nullen, what have you gotten yourself into?"
「...」
The panel pops up, and he steps back from the window.
'It's about to begin.'
「Welcome player #660 to the first circle of hell, Limbo.」
'A historian witnessing an event written in history books.'
He thinks to himself, the sheer unrealness of his situation sending shivers down his spine.
「The council of judges and the core evil are most pleased by your entry into the Conquest of Redemption. However...」
"The admission exam." He tightens his fist.
「Sinners like yourself don't deserve the easy way through.」
'It's never simple with them.'
He exhales his anger.
"Making contracts or not, they'll always leave out some type of information."
「Before you begin your conquest, a sinner must pass the admission trial to be deemed either worthy or unworthy of beginning their redemption journey…」
Nullen holds his breath.
「Admission trail objective: Uncover the name and history of this village and eliminate ten skinwalkers.」
"Discovering the name and history of a village is one thing. Especially in a realm stuck in time." His fingers find his chin. "Furthermore, we also have to discern skinwalkers from actual civilizations."
'Definitely not an easy task.'
「Your time limit is two days, and to aid you in this challenge, you will be granted temporary personas.」
'Personas? That's something I recalled reading about only once before.'
<<
「-Persona (Uncommon)-」
「Your persona: The historian」
「Power level: 50」
「Magical artifact: Glasses of discernment」
_________
Glasses of discernment
—Explanation—
The user can perceive what is not obvious or what is veiled.
__________
Nullen's eyes widen as his glasses shimmer a gentle gold.
「Good luck on the trial. Your guidebook shall be distributed shortly, but be warned. If you fail in this trial, your redemption will promptly end, and your eternal suffering will commence.」
Nullen gazes at the panel intently until it disappears, and for a split second in the corner of his eyes, he sees the small black figure of a child, standing eerily still before vanishing.
"I…" He stumbles back, inhaling a shaky breath. "I can't fail this." His head shakes vigorously. "I'm going to finish this trail and get my redemption." Sweat trickles down his face as his breathing picks up. "I have to! I don't have a choice!"
'I can't waste any time.'
His eyes land on the ticking timer in the right corner of his vision.
「47:59:39」
'Clam down, Nullen, you haven't lost the trial.'
"Right now, I should focus on finding the others." Wiping the sweat, he adjusts his glasses, then scans the area around him.
'I wonder how these glasses work—'
「Nearest player: three rooms west.」
"Great."
Hurriedly advancing to the door, he spots a pair of old boots, which he slips on. With a ghostly shrill, the door opens, and the atrocious aroma envelops him.
'Bloody hell, it's worse out here than inside.'
He thinks, hands finding themselves over his nose.
Turning left, he follows the direction the panel gave. Every step of his boots against the withering wooden floors feels like a disaster waiting to happen, but he doesn't stop.
'1…'
'2…'
'3…'
Passing the third room in the barely lit hall, its cream walls eroded with black mold creeping down from the ceiling, almost reaching the wall candel, he halts at the last room, its dark oak door looming a few inches above him.
"This might be a bad idea." He recognizes with a whisper.
'This test is for sinners, people who have undoubtedly done something unforgivable, once or perhaps many times. Who knows what they did or what they are capable of doing?'
With trembling hands, he reluctantly twists the knob and opens the door.
Walking in confused, he looks around and sees one. "Nobody?" His muscles relax. "I guess the panel lied?"
"It didn't." A voice follows after the shrill of the door rattles into the air, as something sharp presses against his neck.
'Shit!'
Nullen's body tenses.
'I should have looked behind the door before making assumptions.'
Panic sets in.
"Name?" The voice inquires.
"Nullen! The historian!" He shouts, flaring his hands up, completely forgetting the shard of glass he tucked away. "I'm just a basic historian; I'm not dangerous, I promise!" He rambles out of desperation.
"Nobody's innocent in here." He corrects coldly, letting go of him. "But I don't think you're all that dangerous."
Spinning around, eyes landing on piercing crimson eyes. "Carnage. But from now on, I think it's best to refrain from using names. So you can just use—"
「Persona: The keybearer」
「Power level: 70」
"The keybearer." He finishes.