Chapter 8:
The Ability to Shift Anything is Convenient, Even in Another World!
After Silas heard the news, he shook with visible unease. Soru spotted them from a distance and deduced that something was going on.
Silas looked behind him and saw Soru sitting beside the gate guard. Though reluctant to speak, he forced himself to act and rushed over in his direction.
"Your friend, Reika—she ran into trouble...!"
Soru stood up. "Where is she?"
"She’s in the forest now," Sylva said, pointing toward the forest's edge.
Soru caught the villagers murmuring among themselves, some of them questioning Sylva directly.
"@#$&*@?"
"@#&@..."
Soru ignored their unclear discussion. Without a word, he turned and walked toward the entrance.
Silas noticed his intent and stepped in quickly.
"I know what you're thinking. Let me come with you," Silas said to him before he called out, "Guard!"
The guard snapped to attention at the old man’s command. Silas walked over to him, leaving Soru behind for a moment.
Soru’s gaze drifted to the forest's edge. It was dark, stretching to the horizon—as if it was endless.
While everyone stayed distracted...
He vanished from where he stood.
"...Soru?"
Silas looked around. Soru had disappeared.
"Where is he?"
He spotted Sylva speaking with some villagers. Startled by Soru's sudden absence, he rushed over.
"Where’s Soru?"
Sylva blinked. "Eh? He... he was just here a moment ago!"
Silas let out a heavy sigh. He couldn’t believe Soru had gone alone.
"Looks like he already went ahead without us. Lead the way, Sylva!"
Sylva nodded and fell in step with Silas, leading him and the guard toward the forest.
While the three of them rushed to the forest's edge, Soru already reached it in no time. Up ahead, he spotted a group of men gathered near the dragon's remains. He approached them casually.
One of the men noticed Soru and hurried over. He recognized the guest as someone connected to the young woman who had arrived with Sylva.
"@#&\$—"
The villager stopped mid-sentence. He realized that Soru couldn't understand what he just said to him.
Without a word, the man simply pointed toward the forest.
Soru understood the gesture and gave a small nod. Then he moved on, heading deeper into the woods. The men watched as his figure slowly disappeared into the darkness of the trees.
Soru followed the narrow path in search of Reika. The forest lay dim, with only slivers of moonlight piercing through the canopy.
It felt eerie, yet he pressed on.
Suddenly, a blood-curdling scream echoed from deep within the forest.
"AGGGGHHHHHH!!"
Soru locked onto the direction of the cry and sprinted toward it. Soon, he caught sight of a faint light ahead.
Moments later, he stepped into a wide, grassy clearing. A mountain loomed in the distance, its base wrapped in thick trees.
Under the pale moonlight, he saw Reika sprawled on the ground, clutching her chest as she screamed in agony.
Earlier, she had fled from the corpse. She believed the strange orb was connected to the dragon's body and hoped that putting distance between them would weaken its influence on her.
But she had guessed wrong. The pain didn’t fade at all.
Guh! It feels like a thousand blades are piercing me…!
Without her knowing, the orb purposely led her deeper into the woods. It wanted to wear her down and avoid any outside interference.
She couldn’t endure the torment any longer. In the end, her body gave out, and she lost consciousness.
...
Moments passed before Reika's consciousness slowly returned. She gasped as her eyes snapped wide open and looked around.
What lay before her was an endless void. The forest had vanished. There's no sky nor ground either.
It was empty.
“Where... am I?” she murmured, her voice echoing faintly into the void.
She tried to stand, but a sharp, pulsating pain erupted in her chest, forcing her to clutch it tightly. Before she could press her hands against her body, she noticed something strange.
Her hands were glowing.
Reika's breath turned erratic as she looked down. The glow wasn’t limited to her hands.
Why is my body glowing? W-What’s happening...?!
It took her seconds before she realized that she was completely naked.
"Eek! Where are my clothes?!" she exclaimed and instinctively covered herself.
It took her a few seconds to realize she was completely naked.
"Eek! Where are my clothes?!" she exclaimed, instinctively covering herself.
She glanced over her body and noticed tiny cracks forming along her skin. Each one pulsed faintly with every passing second.
"You're a little more resilient than I thought, huh..."
Reika jolted at the sound of the familiar voice. She turned her head and saw a glowing orb pulsing in the darkness, casting light across the void.
Its presence unsettled her.
"Encountering me while you're this weak—your luck must be terrible," the orb's voice echoed. "With a soul like yours, it's a miracle you've endured this much. Maybe your will to live is stronger than I expected?"
"W-What are you going to do to me?"
The orb floated closer, its pulses growing stronger.
"I will take over your soul and body. Blame yourself for letting me exploit your weakness!"
Reika’s eyes widened as she backed away.
"No...! I refuse!"
Before she could react, several purple chains shot out from the darkness and lashed toward her. They coiled tightly around her arms and legs, binding her in place.
"Mortal, you're in no position to refuse," the orb said coldly, final in its tone. "In your own subconscious space, your fate is already sealed—your destiny is to become my vessel!"
Reika struggled against the chains that bound her. It was futile. They held her tight, leaving no room to escape.
Then, she noticed a strange new glow forming in front of the orb.
"With this ability and your soul weakened, I can safely transfer my memories to you in no time!"
Reika ignored her words and kept tugging against the chains.
There’s no way I’ll die here...!
The chains tightened even further. Reika gasped in pain as the pressure suddenly increased.
"GYAAAAGHHH!!"
The orb watched her struggle and let out a cruel chuckle.
"Fufufu~"
It hovered closer and whispered, "Don't worry; I'll take care of your body. You may rest in peace... for eternity."
Reika clenched her eyes shut. Though she never stopped resisting, her hope began to slip away. She prayed for a miracle—but deep down, she knew it might never come.
"..."
Time stretched on as the space around her fell silent. The noise from before had vanished. Reika kept her eyes tightly shut, bracing for the orb to make its move.
But nothing happened.
She shifted her body and felt no resistance. The pressure of the chains that had bound her was completely gone.
Huh...? What’s going on?
Her heart pounded as she opened her eyes. Just as she suspected, the chains had vanished entirely.
Reika searched for the orb that had tried to seize her body, but it was nowhere in sight.
"Where did that orb go?" she muttered. "I thought it had taken control of me..."
Just then, something caught her eye.
A small, pulsating orb floated near her chest, shimmering faintly in the dark.
Is this... the orb from before?
"Are you alright?"
"..."
She waited for a response, but the orb remained still and silent.
Hm... That's odd...
Suddenly, the orb began to emit a faint rhythm, pulsing like a heartbeat. Its form shifted—from a sphere to a tetrahedron, then a cube, and finally a tesseract. The transformations repeated in steady intervals.
Reika locked her gaze on the object. "What the hell is this thing?"
Driven by curiosity, she cautiously reached out with both hands.
"I’ve never seen anything like this before..."
Before her fingertips could touch its surface, the object shot forward and slammed into her chest.
"What...?!"
She staggered back and clutched her chest as a searing pain erupted. Her head throbbed violently, as if it were about to split open.
"GUUHHH!"
Massive streams of words surged into her mind. The flood of information overwhelmed her, as though her brain were being forcefully overloaded.
"What... What is this...? GAAAAHHH!!" she screamed, gripping her head in agony.
To her surprise, a single word appeared before her eyes:
<Contract>
The pain stopped the moment she saw the word.
Con...tract?
Her heart raced as she shut her eyes tightly, hoping the word would vanish. But even with her eyes closed—
"Hwuhh!?"
—it remained, burned into her vision like an afterimage.
"What is this supposed to mean?"
Just then, more words appeared and scattered across her sight
"W-What are these words?!"
She quickly rubbed her eyes in a panic, trying to erase them—but then, she froze. A sudden thought struck her.
These words... they’re not random. It’s like they’re trying to tell me something...!
Reika closed her eyes again and took a slow breath. She focused her mind on the strange words.
They look like symbols, yet my mind interprets them as if they’re perfectly readable...
Now that she had calmed down, she examined the floating symbols more carefully, piecing them together one by one.
"Sub... Abilities...?"
She continued to study them, muttering the words under her breath.
<Chains of Imprisonment> - Summons several chains that could bind physical and spiritual objects. Once attached, the target has a low chance of escaping.
<Subjective Control> - The user seizes control over the target by dominating them. The target must submit the entirety of its being to the user by its own volition, and the contract is set. Once done, the user can freely control the fate of the contracted subject.
This sub-ability also grants the user the ability to see into the metaphysical world, revealing what lies beyond the physical realm.
<Subjective Link> - The user can tap into the abilities of contracted subjects and use them. While some abilities may have restrictions or requirements, it might not always be possible to use them.
"Chains of Imprisonment... Subjective Control... and Subjective Link...?"
Huh...?
Reika couldn’t help but wonder about the strange words and their purpose. She held her chin and paced back and forth in the seemingly endless void.
"Okay, okay, let’s assess the current situation..."
When that strange object entered my glowing body through my chest, it brought that unbearable pain... It felt like I was being ripped apart from the inside. It didn’t last long, but still... how did I even survive that?
She recalled the moments leading up to it.
And then, those words appeared right after...
"Wait. Is this what that strange orb was talking about? The ‘greater power’ it mentioned earlier?"
Before she could process it further, the texts in her vision vanished without warning.
"Huh...? Where did it go?"
The words were gone. Yet somehow, they lingered in her mind. She knew exactly what those abilities were and how they worked, even without the text guiding her anymore.
"This is simply bizarre..."
Moments passed since she absorbed the strange object. With nothing else to do, Reika began walking in circles.
"Now that I'm stuck here, what else should I do? There's nothing here... just me!"
Her voice echoed faintly, swallowed by the emptiness. The silence rang louder than her words.
And just like that, Reika finally decided to leave the void. She glanced around in every direction.
"Doors, cracks, holes, windows... Where is it?"
She paused for a moment.
"Wait...! That power I obtained earlier!"
Reika raised her hands into the air.
Maybe I can use it to get out of here!
With a sharp motion, she swung her arm in the opposite direction and shouted with everything she had:
"<Chains of Imprisonment!>"
Her voice instantly echoed across the space. She held her breath, waiting for something—anything—to happen.
"..."
Eh...?
The chains she had envisioned never appeared at all.
The chains… Why won’t they come out?
She tried another approach. “<Subjective Control!>”
Nothing happened. There is no response that suggests the power worked as intended.
“S-Subjective Link! Chains of Imprisonment! Hyaaah!”
Still nothing.
Reika couldn’t help but tremble. She lowered her hand and stared at it.
“Is everything just a bluff…? Why won’t anything come out at all?!”
Reika gave herself a facepalm.
“Guhhhhh... I was scammed by that shitty orb! Not only did it ditch me in this empty space, but it also gave me false hope!”
Amidst her frustration, Reika felt a sudden sensation on her cheek.
Ghk... What was that...?
The feeling grew stronger with each passing second. It was ticklish—irritating enough to make her frustration boil over.
"Hey! What are you doing? Knock it off—"
Reika froze mid-sentence.
"..."
She was no longer in the strange, empty space.
She found herself on the ground, surrounded by trees.
I... finally came out? How—
"You're awake, Reika."
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