Chapter 4 - Inner God

Lucan was drenched and exhausted, but he felt relieved to the point of regaining his energy. At the end of that corridor was the door, and sunlight streamed through it, allowing him to glimpse the outside.
Not daring to run, he walked towards the door. With each step, his pace quickened until he realized he had arrived.
Opening the heavy door, the sight of the sun touched his eyes, and for a moment, he was blinded. Covering his face, he realized he had been in the darkness for too long. Then he finally saw:
"A city."
He was exiting a stone building and could see numerous stone constructions, others made of wood.
A medieval city?
At that moment, he knelt on the ground, unsure if it was due to exhaustion or happiness. Lucan had walked for long hours, thinking each step might lead to his death.
After catching his breath, he stood up and started walking, but to his surprise, the city was:
"Empty."
There was no one in any direction, but one thing left him startled.
"Clothes?"
As he walked, he noticed hundreds of clothes scattered about as if someone had left them there.
"These aren't random clothes."
He examined them; they were sets of clothes with pants, shirts, jackets, and sometimes accessories like watches and even umbrellas.
"This can't be happening…"
Lucan walked through the empty city and then saw a baby stroller, as if the mother had abandoned it.
Running and hoping his instincts were wrong, what he saw when he reached the stroller was:
"Clothes…"
He rubbed his temples and sat on the sidewalk.
These aren't just discarded clothes; they were on people. The people disappeared, and only their clothes remained…
Getting up from the ground, he walked down the street.
Something definitely passed through this city.
As he took steps, he could hear a baby's cry coming from the stroller, but he didn’t dare look back. Whatever was behind him… something told him not to look.
Walking through the city, he realized it was a ghost town. There was no one there, and he didn’t dare shout or announce his presence. After hours of walking straight in the same direction, he reached the square and saw a unique stone structure.
"It's here…"
He didn’t need a map or compass; he felt it as soon as he left that dungeon.
"My Inner God is here, right in the middle of this square, inside that place."
As if it were challenging him, right in the middle of the square stood a different structure, like a stone temple.
Lucan had found where his Inner God was.
Entering the stone temple, he found steps descending deeper.
"Trapped in a place again…"
Descending the stairs, he was overwhelmed by a complex array of emotions: 'What will I find?', 'What will be there?', 'What does it look like?', 'How will I fight?'.
Armed only with a torch, a bucket, and a broom, he didn’t feel confident about entering a battle against a god, even if the battle was adjusted to his difficulty level.

"It's not like I have a choice or option."

There were the beings that walked, always watching him when he turned his back, and the unknown threat that took all the citizens, leaving only their clothes. He was certain that fighting them, even armed with a sword, wouldn’t do anything. His only safe option was, ironically, to face the Inner God and try to return to the real world.

Descending further, he reached a long corridor that led to a single door. The corridor had a red carpet, and as soon as he looked at the door, he could feel it.

"It's right there on the other side."

Lucan tried to take a step but stopped.

Should I go?

He looked down, and his foot couldn’t take the next step.

This is suicide. I should walk around and try to find something for the fight.

As soon as he tried to go back up the stairs, he heard someone approaching.

"Are you there? Why don’t you come and play with me?"

The girl. She was up there, outside, waiting. What scared Lucan the most was that even without seeing her and only hearing her voice, he could feel something strange coming from her.

I don't think it's in the form of a girl anymore…

Whatever that being was, it was no longer in the form of a child. Lucan could sense that very well.

He ran in his only direction.

Today, he would have to face a god.

As he approached the door, it opened. He could see an underground chamber; it was circular. At the top, there was an opening where sunlight entered, illuminating the place. There was a small stone bridge leading to a large circle, like an arena. It was an arena surrounded by an abyss. On the other side was a large stone throne. In the middle of the arena was the Inner God.

The Inner God was right in the center, with his back turned, looking up towards where the sunlight came in. He had an air of tranquility, as if casually waiting. As soon as Lucan set foot on the bridge, the god glanced at him.

The Inner God was completely black. He was about three meters tall, entirely black as if made of black slime and dark sand.

"Hello?" Lucan tried to call out.

He stopped at the end of the small stone bridge of the arena. When the Inner God turned, Lucan had to be careful not to lose his balance and fall into the abyss from the shock he felt.

"I… I know we have to fight."

The black phantom turned to him. His body seemed injured, with several deep holes exposing the other side.

"Hey, you don't look well."

Lucan noticed the black figure tilted its head to the side while staring at him.

"N-not that I’m saying you don’t look healthy and strong, quite the opposite," he laughed nervously.

The black being studied the boy, and with a movement of his hand, a scythe appeared. It came from black sand mixed with a viscous liquid and solidified.

"Wow… cool, huh…"

I AM COMPLETELY SCREWED!

The door behind him closed as soon as he turned to look back.

"Damn it, damn!" he looked in all directions for anything.

"Just a weapon, anything."

Lucan looked around frantically, and to his surprise, the black phantom pulled a sword from its chest and threw it to him.

"Hahaha, I guess even if I had two, buddy."

He laughed nervously and bent down to pick up the sword.

"Listen, you’re kind of me. A part of me or something that came from me…"

The black phantom began walking toward him, twirling the scythe, and then, in less than a second, appeared beside Lucan, slamming the scythe into the ground. Lucan barely had time to throw himself to the side, falling to the floor and moving away from the edge.
“Damn it!”
Lucan ran in the opposite direction while the black being pulled the scythe from the ground. He paused for a second and swung it in the air, testing its movement.
The floor had cracked where the scythe had struck.
"I don't think I could parry that blow with this sword."
Looking around frantically, trying to come up with something, he forced his brain to think.
“Come on, come on,” he urged his mind.
We always find a way, even in tough situations!
“Well, it’s not every day you have to fight a god…”
The Inner God leaped in front of him, slamming the scythe down. Lucan tried to block with his sword, but it was knocked away. Scrambling to his feet, he ran and grabbed the sword from the ground. As he stood, the Inner God kicked him away.
Lucan fell to the ground, struggling to get up, the kick to his stomach knocking the wind out of him.
Cough... cough...
Trying to catch his breath, he moved towards the sword.
“If you’re me… a part of me…”
Lucan coughed.
“If you’re me, then you know our insides don’t just hold us. We’ve got intruders in here. Why not take on those idiots?”
The black figure walked towards him, lowering the scythe in his direction.
Lucan jumped aside.
This guy’s toying with me; I’m sure he can kill me at any moment. He literally jumped and cracked the floor.
As if reading his thoughts, the black figure leapt in front of him.
“Damn it!”
He took a punch that sent him flying.
Quickly, Lucan got up, careful not to fall on the sword and injure himself.
It would be comical if I hurt myself.
“What the hell! If you’re so strong, why not get rid of those things? You’re going to let them take us?”
The figure tilted its head to the side.
Damn, when he does that, he looks even scarier.
Staring at a completely black face made of sand and dark water wasn’t an experience Lucan enjoyed.
The being continued to walk slowly towards him.
“You’re not much of a talker, are you? I get it, I’m not either…”
As he got close, Lucan threw himself out, clinging to the edge of the arena on a wall.
“Almost fell, damn it!”
Then the black hand of the being stretched out like a tendril, the black sand pulling him back into the arena, throwing him to the ground.
“Guess you’re not in the mood to make peace…”
Devour or be devoured… he’s going to consume me to get to the real world! My plan was to face the Inner God before the whispers’ corruption consumed my mind. But this guy’s planning the same thing…
Lucan shouted:
“Haven of Embrace!”
The black figure paused for a moment after hearing that.

"Well, you really are conscious. And you know things about me…"

The black being tilted its head, staring at him.

Oh, damn it, don’t turn your head like that…

"If you’re so powerful and have so much strength, you could have done something."
Lucan tightened his grip on the sword.
"You could have done something… I wouldn’t have minded being consumed back then."

The Inner God stared at him.

"But what did you do? You watched from the sidelines, you’re a coward. With all that power…"
The monster dissolved the scythe.
"How many screams did you ignore? How many sleepless nights with nightmares? I’m talking about before the corruption of the Disorder. I’m talking about our life… you let that person take our place."

The black phantom started walking slowly.

"And now here you are, as I always was, alone. You could have changed everything, you could have stopped it. You could have… but you didn’t. What’s the point? What’s the point of consuming my life… in the end, we have nothing to return to."

Lucan stared at the sword and then threw it to the ground.

"Our time in this world…"
The two stared at each other.
"In the end, here we are in this room… surrounded by a throne, but we have no one. In the end, we’re alive, but it’s just us…"
"N-no… don’t… blame yourself," whispered the voice from the black being.

Lucan was startled, but the being kept coming towards him.

"Hahaha," Lucan laughed. "A god alone, that’s what we are. Our Inner Self has nothing, it’s empty. There were no people, there was no… there was no one. It wasn’t the creatures that killed the people… they were never here, were they?"

The Inner God stopped close to him, staring at him.

"There was never anyone…" murmured Lucan.
Lucan bent down, picked up the sword, and stabbed himself, but nothing happened.
"In the end, we don’t even have a heart to feel anything…"

The monster pulled the blade out from its sandy skin and threw it aside.

Lucan ran in the opposite direction, his mind racing with infinite thoughts. But all that was left was the certainty that he couldn’t face that creature. To that creature, he was like… a rat.

"I definitely don’t want to die… not without giving back what was given to me, no… maybe I did want to die. But after seeing you, after knowing that what was inside here was… nothing. It’s not like that, there is someone waiting for me out there. I was just too stupid to accept it before."

The black being kept moving towards him and then jumped, punching the ground. Even dodging, the impact threw Lucan far, and he had to hold on for fear of falling. Lucan saw the sword but didn’t pick it up.

The two stared at each other. Lucan ran towards the monster but dodged underneath it.

"Here!"
He tried to punch the monster. Although it moved slightly forward, it didn’t make any difference.
"I guess you’ve got a natural armor there…" he laughed, backing away.

As he was about to try something else, the black phantom struck him in the chest, and he fell backward.
Damn!
Lucan tried to get up, feeling pain in his chest.
Did he stab me? Damn it, I can’t even move properly.
Lucan got up with all his strength and threw himself to the side. The black being tried to stomp on him and narrowly missed crushing Lucan. The ground trembled, creating a hole where it had stomped.

The black phantom looked at him with a bit of anger.

"Sorry about that, I also expected battles against gods to have epic background music and a bunch of flashy special effects. I’m not the protagonist of a heroic story."

Near the edge, he tried his best to think of something. The black being leaped at him, attempting to punch him, its hand embedding into the ground. Lucan quickly rolled behind it.

As it turned to face Lucan, he threw a bucket, spilling a liquid onto the monster and the floor.

The black being looked confused.

Then suddenly, Lucan shoved it.

The monster looked at him, and as it tried to move, it was surprised.

"It's slippery, sucker!"

Lucan pushed it with all his might, and as he fell to the ground, the monster… fell into the abyss.

[Your Strange Bucket card has been destroyed]

"Hahahaha," Lucan laughed, lying on the ground. He turned his face upwards towards the ceiling, and the sunlight hit his face.

[You have won]

[Preparing your reward, please wait…]

[You have claimed a fragment of the Inner God]

"Hahaha man… what an anticlimax… I never play fair."

Laughing, unable to believe his plan had worked, he was glad he had tried it in the end.

"Good thing that guy doesn’t fly…"

Looking at his wound, Lucan realized he wasn’t hurt. The pain was faint, and as he placed his hand on it, he saw something strange.

"A flower?"

It was a black flower; the monster had placed a black flower on his shirt.

"Hahahahahaha, bravo! Hahaha, it really was, with just a bucket," a feminine voice laughed as if she had seen the funniest thing ever.