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nA somewhat stupefied expression formed on his face as he looked at the desperate expression on the girl’s face. However, it did not take long for his vision to be clouded by the black arms pulling on him.

nHis feet began sinking into the ground like he was in quicksand and at the same he felt a strong pull on his feet, causing him to sink down further. It felt exactly like countless demons attempting to drag him down to hell with him.

nAnd honestly, Kairos felt like that wasn’t too far off.

nYet, at the same time, it would make one wonder why that girl was so desperate to similarly go down with him. Not that he would’ve taken her. For one, he had to go by himself if he wanted to complete his mission. And even if he wanted to bring her along with him, it was already too late.

nAnd so, while wondering about the girl he just saw, everything around him became black.

nHe began to feel the sensation of freefalling which was rapidly speeding up to a dangerous rate. Yet, at the same time, there was no sound, not even the roaring wind that normally came with moving down that fast.

nKairos took a look around, but nothing changed whatsoever. There was no light, so he could not perceive any perspective. He could’ve been falling in the narrowest tube or a canyon for all he knew.

nAs he continued downwards, the warning signals in his mind grew stronger and stronger. It felt like blaring alarm bells were ringing throughout his entire body, desperately asking for him to take action. In the end, he decided to trust it, attempting to channel a spell.

nHowever, he quickly found out that he couldn’t actually do anything. After a few minutes, he realized that he was completely immobilized and that even his perception of looking around was a complete illusion.

nIn other words, he couldn’t do a single thing other than trust whatever the system had prepared for him. It wouldn’t just make him take a teleportation circle that made him fall to his death, right?

nJust as he had that thought, he felt an extreme pain course throughout his entire body, while his mobility was restored. Unfortunately because of his future vision, he ended up experiencing it twice, which really shook him up.

nHe quickly broke out of his daze and tried to get up on his feet, and found, strangely enough, he wasn’t injured in the slightest. It was all phantom pain.

nThat was when a system notification appeared in front of him.

nTime Left Before Teleportation: 29 days, 23 hours, 59 minutes, and 59 seconds remaining

nHe narrowed his eyes. Now, Kairos was officially in this Abyss realm. And immediately, he felt a sense of weakness spread throughout him once he came to a realization.

nHe couldn’t see at all.

nAlthough there were tactile sensations telling him that he was indeed standing on the ground, he couldn’t even see himself. Even when it was nighttime at the surface, he could still see as a normal person did in the day, even with just a little bit of moonlight..

nIn other words, it had to be pitch black, wherever he was.

nA deep frown was on his face. He really did not want to traverse through the place blindly, lest he slowly walk into a trap that his future vision couldn’t bail him out of. This naturally meant the only real option he had was to channel the fire spell to make some light.

nBut that was also shining a spotlight on himself. If there was anything hiding in the darkness, they would all be alerted.

nKairos cursed under his breath before raising his finger into the sky, channeling the fire spell. Though he didn’t like the idea, he also couldn’t think of anything better. It did not take long before a fireball formed above the tip of his finger.

nIt gradually expanded as he channeled more and more mana into it, and it did end up lighting things up. However, there was just one small issue.

nBy the time the fireball was over three meters wide, he could only just barely see himself. If he stretched out his hand, he wouldn’t be able to see it. What he could make out was what looked like tiny black flakes all around in the air, something he didn’t actually feel.

nKairos felt a bit of panic settling in.

nHe had the intention of throwing the fireball, trying to see if he could light the way. But that was when a voice called out to him.

n“Hey! Cool it with the goddamn solar flare! What are you? A lighthouse?”

nKairos stopped channeling the fire spell, though the fireball was still at the tip of his finger.

n“…I can hardly see without this thing.”

nHe then heard the sound of someone clicking their tongue.

n“Without? How the hell can you see with it?”

nAfter a few seconds of contemplation, Kairos let out a sigh.

n“Is there anywhere that’s safe to throw a giant explosion?”

nThe voice seemed taken aback, as they took quite a while to respond.

n“Er… pretty sure anywhere is fine, just don’t throw it at me.”

nFollowing his advice, he threw the fireball into the opposite direction, causing a loud explosion. Kairos could feel the strong wind push into him after releasing it. And right when it did explode, was a very brief moment where he could see somewhat.

nHe wasn’t able to see the person talking, but what he was able to make out was that on top of this place being dark, the ground was also pitch black as well, almost like it was there to fit the theme.

nThe voice sucked in a cold breath.

n“Fuck, what kinda core allows you to do that? Gah, my eyes…”

nKairos blinked a few times, still confused. As for the voice, it let out a sigh before falling silent for a few seconds. Kairos extended his future vision to two seconds to prepare himself, just in case the voice meant harm.

nIn that silence, the voice eventually spoke up, with clear confusion.

n“Wait… you have black hair? Is that because of one of your cores?”

nKairos blinked a few times.

n“Honestly, I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

nThe voice was mumbling something, speaking like a crazy person in denial.

n“No… no… that doesn’t make any sense… but..”

nKairos took a deep breath.

n“What doesn’t make any sense?”

nThe voice seemed to break out of his stupor when he heard that.

n“Ah, it’s just… I thought of something stupid, even though it isn’t possible. You maintained your skin really nicely though. If it wasn’t for the fact that this is the fourth layer, I might’ve thought that you were actually an Untainted person.”

nKairos’ eyelid twitched.

n“And what if I was a living person?”

nThe voice didn’t respond for a good few moments.

n“…Then you must be the luckiest person alive.”

nKairos rolled his eyes.

n“And how is that?”

nThe voice clicked his tongue.

n“Are you kidding me? I’m sure you know what kind of things exist around here. Even if you just got here, there’s still the third and second layer. Even the luckiest of the Untainted can at most reach the second layer. The third layer is frankly impossible.”

nKairos smiled bitterly.

n“And what if I directly went to this fourth layer, skipping past all three?”

nThe voice responded after a short moment.

n“…Then the Monarch that sent you here probably hates you. An Untainted doesn’t stand a chance in this layer.”

nKairos chuckled.

n“In other words, you’re telling me I should be afraid?”

nThe voice let out a silent curse.

n“…Huh. Well, not really.”

nKairos raised an eyebrow.

n“Why so?”

nThe voice sounded helpless.

n“If you really are an Untainted, then you’re just dead. There’s no point in worrying over it because that’s just a fact.”

nKairos narrowed his eyes slightly.

n“You keep saying Untainted this, Untainted that. What if I become whatever this Tainted is?”

nThe voice paused for a moment, but was still dismissive.

n“You don’t have the experience. You’ll end up dying.”

nKairos smirked.

n“Try me.”

nThe voice was rather surprised by his confidence.

n“Hm… it doesn’t sound like you think this is a dream. In fact, you really are taking this really well. Even when I first got here, I wouldn’t be as composed as you. You know what? Fine, I guess at least I’ll be able to see if you’re all bark or not. Hold out your hand.”

nKairos blinked a few times before doing as told. He soon felt a cold spherical object touch his hand. It was actually quite similar to the nature cores, but just a decent amount larger. He felt and moved it around between his fingers. It was smooth and soft to the touch.

n“What is this thing?”

nThe voice cleared its throat.

n“Oh yeah, you have no idea what it is. It’s a ball of black blood, which is worth quite a bit, may I add.”

nKairos sighed.

n“Ok, so what am I supposed to do with it?”

nThe voice spoke as though it was obvious.

n“Eat it, what else would you do with it?”

nKairos narrowed his eyes.

n“Trying to poison me or something?”

nThe voice seemed offended.

n“Here I am giving you an entire damn black ball, which is worth quite a bit by the way, and you don’t even appreciate it. You even go as far as to accuse me? There has to be a limit to how ungrateful someone can be…”

nKairos blinked a few times.

n“And what exactly is eating this going to do to me?”

nThe voice took a deep breath.

n“Ok, fair enough, I didn’t explain. I guess you really are new to this place. When a person first has some black blood, it will take over the body. Many different normal functions will cease while your body adapts to it. Generally speaking, your heart will stop… under most circumstances. But it will be replaced by a new black one. It essentially kills your body, but frankly, that’s the only way you’re going to actually survive.”

nKairos frowned. It sounded like there were caveats to whatever this transformation process was. That naturally made him feel apprehensive. But he also remembered how confidently the voice stated it would be for “Untainted” people to live.

nFrom the sound of things, the voice could see clearly, while he couldn’t at all.

nIt seemed that even if there were side effects, he was forced into doing this unless he wanted to survive for thirty days here blind.

nIn the end, he decided to increase his future vision all the way to five seconds, straining his mind intensely. Then, he tried to eat the ball of black blood, intending to test it by using the full extent of his future vision.

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