Hahaha... I was not wrong to judge you," she said.
With a voice that echoed everywhere, the woman spoke with authority.
Raymond, still under the pressure of the mysterious power she had unleashed, spoke weakly,
"Are you ready to talk now...!?"
"Oh... I forgot the power was still active," the woman said with a smile.
As the power slowly faded, the aura around them returned to its original warmth. The cracks in the dimension gradually healed, as if the space itself were alive and regenerating.
Raymond, who had never witnessed such strange phenomena before, muttered in confusion,
"What is this place...? How can something repair itself like this...!?"
He slowly got up from the ground, wiping the blood from his body with his clothes.
(Sarp sarp—the sound of cloth brushing against blood)
"You really treat me like a toy, don't you... bastard."
"With your empty words, you turn me into nothing but entertainment...!?" he said coldly.
Without hesitation, the woman explained her intention.
"Not at all. That was merely a test—to see whether you are worthy of achieving your goal."
"And I... was not lying at all," she added.
As Raymond examined his wounded body, he spoke with restrained anger,
"A test, you say...? Don't you think that was excessive!?"
"Excessive...? This is only your test. What comes next will be far worse than this... you understand, human," the woman replied.
Raymond took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. He knew that in this dimension, he was nothing more than an ant before her.
"Calm down... control yourself, Raymond," he muttered inwardly.
The woman, who had once towered like a mountain, shrank back into the form of a normal human.
"Very well, human. I will grant your wish. But first, I need to examine your condition."
(A magic circle suddenly formed beneath Raymond's feet)
Confused, Raymond asked,
"What are you doing now...!?"
"It's better if you stay still for a few seconds."
The magic circle began to emit a blinding light.
"Damn... what is this light...!?"
The brightness forced his eyes shut for several seconds.
Within the darkness, he saw memories—his family sitting together peacefully at the dining table.
But he had taken that moment for granted.
"Mother... Father... forgive me for wasting those times..."
The memory faded as a voice called out from afar.
"Hey...!?"
"Hey... human...!?"
Startled, Raymond opened his eyes.
"Ahh... what is it!?"
"Why are you standing there in silence? And
what is that shocked expression...? It's quite amusing."
"I was just... remembering my family," Raymond replied flatly, yet with deep meaning.
The woman seemed to sense something and asked,
"Are you alright, human?"
"Forget that... let's focus on the matter at hand," Raymond answered calmly.
"Hmm... regarding your condition, your energy pathways seem perfectly fine."
"But the problem is, I cannot control your mana core. Only you can control it."
Raymond frowned.
"How am I supposed to control it...? Even you can't."
"Very well. I will help you learn how to control it."
She placed her hand on his back and began chanting an unfamiliar incantation.
"Human... close your eyes."
(Raymond obeyed.)
In the void, he could only hear her voice.
"This is your second trial. Be careful—failure will mean death."
Her voice gradually faded away.
When Raymond opened his eyes again, there was nothing—only emptiness.
Panic surged within him.
"Hey... crazy woman! You said death—don't mess with me!"
Before he could finish, a sharp, piercing voice echoed through the void.
"Why are you shouting, Raymond...?"
"Because no one is coming to save you... hihihi."
Raymond's eyes widened.
From the darkness, a figure slowly emerged.
It was... himself.
But completely broken.
His body was covered in torn wounds, his clothes shredded, blood dripping endlessly. His eyes had no pupils, one of his arms was destroyed, and from him radiated a suffocating aura of despair.
Raymond's body trembled.
His hands shook uncontrollably. His lips quivered, unable to form words. His mind collapsed under the pressure, forcing him to fall to his knees.
Pointing at the figure, he stuttered,
"Who... who are you... bastard...!?"
"Who am I...? I am you. And you... are me."
"Hihihi..."
(The laughter echoed endlessly, enough to drive anyone insane.)
The voice turned into whispers—poisoned, relentless.
"You are nothing but a broken failure."
"You are no longer needed."
"Dreams are nothing but empty lies."
"And your mother... no longer cares about you... hihi."
His mind spiraled.
"It's true... everything it says is true... I am no longer needed..."
But another voice resisted.
"No... it's all lies..."
"Which one is true...? Which one...?" he muttered repeatedly, clutching his head.
"I'm not ready for this..."
"Mother... anyone... please... help me...!?"
Can his humanity still remain...?
At the moment when his humanity had begun to fade,
and his body was left behind by his sanity...
The voices of insults, curses, and laughter slowly disappeared, for reasons unknown.
"What's happening now...? Have I finally lost my mind...?"
As his thoughts drifted away, his body suddenly felt embraced—gently—by someone.
From his right side, he heard a soft and delicate voice... his mother's voice.
"Rise... I will always be waiting here," she said gently.
Without realizing it, tears fell from his eyes—not as a sign of weakness, but from the weight of overwhelming stress.
"Mother..."
But that warmth slowly faded away.
"Mother... I will keep moving forward without fear."
(The voices began to return once more—but
this time, his body no longer trembled in fear.)
Raymond slowly stood up and stared sharply at the figure before him.
The figure, which had been smiling widely with blood dripping from its mouth, suddenly fell silent.
"Hihihi... what's wrong? Have you already lost your humanity?" the figure said.
Without hesitation, his body moved to attack the figure in front of him.
But something strange happened—his punch was stopped by something like glass.
Instead of hitting the figure, it struck the surface, causing it to crack.
The figure's body then began shifting—left, right, and behind—trapping Raymond inside what felt like a prison, where countless reflections of that figure appeared within every shard of the broken glass.
(The whispers returned once more.)
"I need to stay calm... calm..."
Raymond slowly closed his eyes and focused on his sense of hearing.
"Where... is the source of that voice...?"