Chapter 5: Fifty Five years of suffering...
The air in the hive was thick with tension, the metallic scent of blood and the clash of blades hanging heavy around Takumi. The sight of carnage unfolding before him was horrifying, each moment tearing at his sanity. How had it come to this? Takumi struggled to piece together the events leading up to the chaos, his thoughts fragmented by the chaos surrounding him. It began with Kurayami saying:
"Takumi, I can say with certainty that I brought you here intending to teach you how to use your power... but you don't possess what I require from you to learn it."
His initial reaction was to retaliate by stating that it was his first time in such a situation, but upon observing Kurayami's expression, he realized she was serious. What was it? Anger? No, she appeared calmer than someone angered. Perseverance? No, she definitely seemed colder than usual... perhaps... disinterest?
"What do you mean?" Takumi mumbled out with slight hesitation, pausing his walk through the dimly lit stone hall of the cave-like hive, allowing those behind them to walk right past.
"I mean exactly what you heard. You're not showing what I want to see," Kurayami responded, her tone unchanged.
"Well...what do you expect?" Takumi commented, irritation creeping into his voice as he responded to Kurayami's sudden attitude.
Takumi's life wasn't exactly one to dream for; in fact, it was rather a nightmare, to be honest. And Kurayami knew this... So why on Earth was she suddenly getting pissed at him? The one who's supposed to even get pissed that he was there was actually Takumi... Yet something about his response made him slightly regret his utterance as all he received back for a brief while were a pair of cold gazes that seemed to seep through his soul.
"Better, I expected better," she responded briefly and clearly, crossing her arms as she continued her stare-down towards Takumi.
"What? You expected me to act like I know what I'm doing?" Takumi voiced out, now not caring what his comments might get in return.
"What was your goal, Takumi? Why did you accept my pact?" Kurayami questioned, clearly tossing his question out the window.
A brief moment passed with a clean silence between them. The high-ranked hunters had already created a gap between them, leaving only the two of them behind. Yet to Takumi, it felt like a whole army was standing before him. What had he done to anger Kurayami? And why was she questioning his goals?
"To create a better life where I can do what I couldn't and live a better life than my shitty... What the hell are you even asking me?"
"You talk a big game, but what makes you think you can achieve this life with the same mindset that failed to attain it when you were alive?" Kurayami blurted out in response, causing Takumi to pause for a hard moment.
Same mind? That was new to hear, but frankly speaking, it was true! Takumi knew this as well. He'd been diving headfirst into this with the same mindset that had led to his impoverished lifestyle to begin with. But what exactly did Kurayami expect? Changing a mindset took time—time that Takumi was clearly trying to use well.
"Look, when you first told me you were willing to do everything you could to make those 30 credits or whatever, I thought you had come to terms with your past life...but since we arrived, you've done nothing but complain," she added, starting with a sigh as she finally broke eye contact with Takumi and shifted her gaze towards the still-moving group of well-equipped hunters.
"Nothing but complain? You think it's easy going back in time just to end up in a whole other world with plans to fight monsters?" Takumi finally mustered up the confidence to protest.
"And you think it's going to be easy going through life again with every plan failing just because you couldn't grasp what was right before your eyes?" Kurayami responded sharply, silencing Takumi almost instantly.
The silence that followed was all Kurayami needed as a response to her question. Frankly speaking, she couldn't care less about how Takumi lived his life in ordinary situations. But since forming a pact with him, she saw his mentality as intolerable; it was severely lacking.
To her, someone reborn to life was full of joy, anticipation, determination, and a new hardworking mindset. They would do whatever it took to achieve their goals. But one look at Takumi made her realize that he was the absolute opposite. While he wanted to better his life and obtain everything he lacked, his effort fell far short of her expectations. It was as if he expected success to simply fall into his lap. If he continued in this manner, his demise would come sooner than expected, and her pact would quickly dissolve, sending her back to her empty, timeless void. She didn't want that.
A short moment of silence enveloped them as the group of hunters delved further into the hive, encountering low-level enemies to defeat. But to Takumi, this battle seemed inconsequential. Despite the echoing of blades clashing around him, he found himself in a trance, questioning whether he was destined to repeat his past mistakes and meet the same end.
He didn't desire such a fate. The allure of newfound powers had drawn him to this rebirth, but now he questioned if he was the problem all along—too mentally weak to carve out a new path in life. All he initially sought was 30 credits to purchase an E-coin, but then what? The E-coin wouldn't reach its prime for months. Was he planning to simply wing it until then? With each passing second, he realized the flaws in his plans and the fragility of his mental resolve. Kurayami observed this silently, her smirk hinting at a sinister idea taking shape.
"Hiroshi Takumi, how long did you live last time?" Kurayami's sudden question snapped Takumi back to reality.
"Fifty-five. I was fifty-five when that truck hit me," Takumi responded, sensing Kurayami's grin widen into something more menacing. Whatever she had in mind, he wasn't prepared for it.
"Fifty-five years of suffering... of pain... of deceit and hate. Hiroshi Takumi, those fifty-five years—you'll relive them, facing them head-on with all the rage you can muster," Kurayami declared, her gaze piercing Takumi's soul.
"fifty five years? I'm going to face my fifty five years? wait but how?" Takumi responded, intrigued yet hesitant in questioning the demon before him. His hesitation was accurate and well needed.
Kurayami let out a chilling chuckle before fixing Takumi with her fear-inducing, glowing red eyes. She gestured towards the group of hunters locked in combat with the last low-level entity. In an instant, the ground trembled, and a misty red glow erupted from the Taurus' beasty eyes, accompanied by a deafening roar. Steam billowed from its nostrils and mouth, infused with a new rage that Takumi watched in disbelief as the creature became a vessel for his past anguish, now unleashed with terrifying ferocity.
The decades of torment unfolded before him, shredding through the armored men and muscle-bound orcs as though they were mere paper dolls. Kurayami's sinister grin lingered as she disappeared into thin air, leaving Takumi gripping his unsheathed blade tightly, reflecting on the carnage before him. Was he truly prepared to confront the agony of his past fifty-five years?
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone