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N/B :
Yoy!! Guys Don't forget to check my other work ( Harry Potter/ Shadow Monarch).
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Third POV :
Darkness dissolved.
It did not fade gently or retreat like a tide; it was ripped away, torn like a veil, the absolute nothingness of the void violently replaced by a crushing, sensory overload of concrete suffering. Akai stirred, consciousness returning not as a gentle dawn but as a brutal ambush. His head pounded as if a thousand hammers struck his skull at once, a percussive, blinding agony that throbbed behind his eyes and radiated down his neck. His body twitched awake, every muscle fiber screaming in protest, his breath shallow and ragged in a chest that felt too tight, his ears ringing with a high-pitched whine that was swiftly drowned out by the hellish symphony of his new reality. Thenâ
BOOOOM!
A violent, metallic thunder shook the very air around him, a sound so deep and resonant it felt like it originated from the planet's core. The sound was guttural, immense, the kind that rattled bones and vibrated teeth, the slam of a colossal door or the fall of a mighty portcullis sealing some damned soul's fate. Screams echoed in the distanceâbestial, inhuman howls of pure agony, blended with maniacal, gleeful laughter that scraped like rusty knives against steel, the sound of minds long since broken and left to fester. Chains clanged against stone, a discordant, jarring percussion of imprisonment, heavy boots pounded across unseen floors in hurried, frantic rhythms, and beneath it all, the constant, maddening drip of water beat a slow, rhythmic tattoo, like a grim clock counting down the seconds of a damned eternity.
Akai's eyes shot open, the lids heavy and sticky.
The first thing he saw was ironâthick, rusted, jagged bars directly in front of him, their ancient, pitted surfaces weeping with condensation that gathered into fat, grimy droplets before trickling down into the filth and stagnant puddles below. The cell was cramped, suffocatingly small, a stone coffin barely large enough to lie down in. The walls were damp and blackened with decades, perhaps centuries, of accumulated grime, slime, and things he dared not identify, cracked in places where an eternity of despair and violence had gnawed at the very rock. Shadows, deep and hungry, writhed in the corners, hiding shapes he couldn't fully make out but that suggested movement, a skittering, a slow, dragging shift that made his skin crawl. The air itself was a thick, foul miasma that reeked of mold, stale blood, vomit, human waste, and the sweet, cloying scent of rot, heavy enough to choke on, to taste on the tongue like a physical poison.
Somewhere far above, along distant, unseen railings and corridors, fire torches burned with a faint, flickering orange glow, their flames weak and pathetic against the vast, oppressive black belly of the prison, casting long, dancing shadows that twisted into monstrous shapes. Chains, thick as a man's wrist, hung from ceilings like skeletal metallic vines, some carrying broken, limp corpses that swayed gently in some unfelt draft, others moving with a hollow, scraping groan as somethingâor someoneâdragged themselves across the cold stone floor.
Akai sat up slowly, his movements stiff and painful, every joint protesting. His breath hitched, unsteady. His fingers, trembling slightly, brushed the cold, slime-slick stone beneath him, the sensation vile and invasive. His heartbeat thundered in his chest, a frantic, trapped bird beating against the cage of his ribs. "FuckâŠ"he muttered under his breath, the word barely a whisper, laden with a disbelief that dripped from every syllable. He said it again, louder, testing the reality of it. "âŠthis is so fucking real."
He pushed himself onto shaky legs, his muscles quivering with the effort and the aftermath of the system's violent verification, and stumbled the single step toward the iron bars, gripping them tight, the cold, rough metal biting into his palms. He peered out into the gloom. The corridor beyond was a tunnel of nightmares, stretching into darkness in both directions, lined with identical, despair-filled cells, each one a pit of madness and lost hope. Eyes, some human and filled with a vacant horror, others glowing with a feral, beast-like hunger, stared back at him from the shadows. Growls, whimpers, and sinister, whispered promises slithered through the heavy air, a language of the damned. The oppressive, soul-crushing weight of the place pressed physically against his chest, a palpable force until it was hard to breathe, each inhalation a struggle against the stench and the despair.
Impel Down. Level 6. The eternal hell. The name echoed in his mind, no longer a concept from a story but a terrifying, concrete reality.
His stomach twisted, a fresh wave of nausea rising. He'd read about places like this in manga panels, seen them depicted on screens, but to stand here, to smell the iron tang of fresh blood mixed with the old, to feel the visceral, gnawing fear in the airâthis was no fiction. This was a nightmare made flesh and stone and iron.
Thenâ
DING!
A familiar, chillingly out-of-place blue screen flickered into existence before his face, its glow harsh and artificial in the suffocating, torch-lit dark, hovering serenely amidst the filth and decay.
ăWelcome, User Akai.ă ăSystem Functions Active:ă
Daily Quests (mandatory)
Special Quests (unlocked upon milestone)
Shadow Extraction (locked)
Store (basic)
Stats / Health Progression (active)
ăFailure to complete Daily Quests = Punishment.ă ăRewards= Stats, Skills, Items.ă
Akai narrowed his eyes, his grip tightening on the bars, reading faster as new lines scrolled down with a soft, almost pleasant chime that was utterly dissonant with their content:
ăToday's Daily Quests:ă
1. Perform 1,500 push-ups inside your cell.
1. Perform 300 squats.
1. Maintain a wall-sit for 30 minutes.
Completion Condition: Unlock cell door. Failure Condition:Severe pain penalty, stat reduction.
Akai stared blankly at the words, his face twitching in utter, profound disbelief. The numbers seemed to swim before his eyes, ludicrous, impossible. Then his voice, hoarse and cracked, erupted through the silence, cutting through the ambient moans and distant screams: "Are you fucking kidding me!?"
The guttural growl of a prisoner from a nearby cell answered him, a sound of annoyance or amusement, but he ignored it, his entire focus locked on the glowing screen of insanity. He jabbed a finger at it, though his finger passed through the ethereal light. "Tell me who in the fucking world does 1,500 push-ups to open a cell?Which story is this?! What kind of shitty game logic is that?"
He rubbed his face with a grimy hand, a sound escaping his lips that was half-hysterical laugh, half-despairing groan. "Alright,system, you magnificent bastard, at least give me a map or something to know where I'm walking after this insanity, huh? A little guidance? A clue?"
The screen blinked, the blue shifting instantly to a warning, ominous red.
ăCurrent state too low. Map and navigation locked until Level 4.ă
Akai's jaw dropped. His fists clenched at his sides, nails digging into his palms once more. A hot flush of indignation washed over him. "My state does not allow me?Are you kidding me?" He scoffed, turning away from the bars to pace the three steps his filthy cage allowed, a caged animal. "I go to the gym every morning. I carry heavy shit for a living. I run five kilometers before breakfast and another five after dinner. And you call me weak? What the fuck do you know about me?" His voice rose, echoing off the damp stone, drawing more muttered curses and low, mocking laughter from the shadows of adjacent cells.
Akai stopped in the center of his cell, the cold seeping through the thin soles of his shoes. He gritted his teeth, the muscles in his jaw bulging. Then, slowly, his lips twisted into a dangerous, defiant grin. A spark ignited in his eyes, cutting through the fear and disbelief. It was the look of a man with nothing to lose, presented with an absurd challenge. "âŠAlright then.You want to play it this way? Fine. I'll prove you're fucking wrong."
As if accepting his unspoken challenge, the screen chimed again, its tone cold and merciless, displaying his worth in stark, numerical terms:
ăUser Status:ă
Strength: 8
Agility: 6
Endurance: 7
Intelligence: 11
Shadow Energy: 0
Level: 1
ăQuest Deadline: 3 Hoursă ăFailure= Pain Penalty x 10ă
Akai stared at the numbers, at the countdown that had likely already begun, his pulse rising, thumping in his throat. The numbers were insultingly low. The deadline was a brutal constraint. "Oh, with a deadline, huh? No warm-up, no water, no nothing. Just pure, stupid torture. AlrightâŠ" He dropped to his knees, ignoring the cold wetness that immediately soaked through his pants, and slammed his palms against the cold, unforgiving stone floor, lowering himself into the push-up position. His eyes burned with a mixture of rage and determined focus, his smirk sharpened to a razor's edge. "Let's fuck this.And then, I'm walking right out of this filthy place."
The screen blinked one final time, its message simple and absolute, sealing the challenge:
ăQuest Activated.ă
And so began Akai's first trial in hell.
[ End of Chapter. ]
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IF YOU WANT TO READ MORE ABOUT MY WORKS OR JUST TO SUPPORT ME THEN HERE IS MY PATREON:
đ Patreon.com/Doflamingo4