New Eden: Live to Play, Play to Live

When Astaroth touched the souls inside Kloud’s body, his mind was already working on how to separate them and pull out the demon. It wouldn’t be a simple task.

He had to pull apart two souls in the process of fusing, without damaging Kloud’s. This would require finesse, which he knew he sucked at.

But as soon as his hand came into contact with the black flames surrounding Kloud’s soul, he was already feeling the pushback. Plowing through with his superior soul strength, he touched Kloud’s soul, anyway.

Contrarily to all his stints into mind spaces, this time, he didn’t end up in black nothingness. Instead, he landed in a strange, white environment, with no way to discern a ceiling or walls.

He looked around, trying to find something he could guide himself with. But there was nothing around.

Only white surroundings, as far as his eyes could see.

Changing his method of detection, Astaroth pushed out a wave of mana from his body, making it expand in every direction, glad this still worked inside someone else’s mind.

The mana blasted away from him, travelling much faster than he intended, leaving behind floating particles as it expanded away.

After a few moments, Astaroth received feedback from the mana wave from his right side. Turning in that direction, he started walking.

He walked and walked, without turning or changing directions for a long time. It was difficult to judge how time went by, in a space made of only light.

But he walked forward, trusting he would eventually find something.

‘How far could my mana wave have expanded, right?’ he thought.

But after what felt like hours, his face already morphing into a frown, he stopped. 𝚍ｎ𝚘ｖ𝚕．𝚘𝚛𝚐

“This is strange. Judging by the speed the wave was travelling, I should already have found what it bounced on.”

But spinning on himself, Astaroth could still only see white in every direction.

Facing back in the direction he had been walking, Astaroth focused and shot out another wave of mana. Similarly to the first one, it blasted away in all directions, travelling fast.

He waited a bit longer before receiving feedback this time, and it came from a new direction entirely. Turning to his left, he frowned.

It felt even further than before, with how it took longer for his mana to react. But, nonetheless, he started walking in the direction the reaction came from.

He walked for what seemed like a second eternity before stopping once more.

“This makes no sense. I can feel something is responding to my mana, but I seem to get further from it instead of closer…”

Astaroth talked to himself, trying to take his mind off the complete silence surrounding him. Even when he walked, his footsteps made no sound.

He sent a third wave of mana out, this time pouring much more mana into it, and focusing intensely.

The wave shot out, leaving his body like a runaway train, before disappearing into this white void.

After minutes of waiting, his mana finally hit the object he had been sensing. The extra mana he had poured into the wave this time allowed him to get better details from his ping.

His mind received the feedback, and he could see the silhouette of a small house, almost like a cabin, built with logs. There was a small chimney on top, spewing smoke.

Keeping his mind on that image, Astaroth took a step forward, and immediately he stopped. When he stepped forward, he felt the small structure get farther away from him, instead of closer, causing him to halt.

“What the fuck?”

He was facing the right direction, and yet, stepping forward seemed to bring him farther, instead of closer.

Astaroth tried doing the opposite, stepping back from the structure, his mind still locked onto it, and he could feel the distance between him and it remained the same.

“That makes no sense. Stepping toward it pushes it back, but stepping away from it keeps me at the same distance…”

Confused about what to do, Astaroth tried stepping sideways to see if it changed anything. To his surprise, and not in a good way, he lost contact with the cabin.

“Fuck! What is wrong with this place? Is Kloud’s mind always this fucked up?”

Launching a fourth wave of mana, this one even denser than the third, Astaroth waited. After a couple of minutes, the structure came into his mind again, his mana reacting to it.

But something was different about it.

This time around, there was no more smoke coming from the chimney in his mind, and some strong shadows seemed to lurk around the house’s exterior wall. As he focused on them, a pair of eyes appeared in the shadows, staring back at him.

The hair on Astaroth’s neck stood on end as he sensed imminent danger.

Opening his eyes, he jumped back, as a whip of black flames lashed where he had been standing. But looking around, he couldn’t find where it had come from.

It was like it had formed from thin air and returned to it after missing him.

But a snicker echoed around him.

“Shishishishi. I see you have found your way inside. But you are too late. You will never reach him. Not before I take full control of him.”

Astaroth spun full circle, trying to see where the voice was coming from, but it simply echoed off the air itself, coming from all around him.

“Show yourself, coward!”

“Shishishi! Your taunting is useless. Fighting you would be a waste of my time and energy. Once I have full control of this vessel, I can take care of all the trash and come back to possess you, instead, if you really want to fight me. Shishishishishi!”

Astaroth felt rage bubble inside him. But he rapidly quelled the negative emotion.

As soon as the rage started rising in him, he felt as though the air in this white void grew thicker. Then he remembered the demon had gotten control from Kloud losing grip on his emotions.

It had been caused by him suddenly appearing, and asking questions that were probably a sensitive matter.

“My emotions keep causing trouble to everyone around me… I need to keep them in check more.”

But there was no time for self-reflection and moping. Astaroth was once again without direction, and he shot out a fifth wave of mana.

‘This time, I will reach you, Kloud. Hold on, for your sake and everyone else’s.’

He clenched his fists in determination.