Hill woke up with a ragged dry gasp. His chest felt like it was on fire and his throat was tight and raw. He coughed hard, trying to clear his airway and breath.
His hands found his neck, expecting to feel the ice that had devoured him during his struggle with the ghost. However, he felt nothing but the soft warmth of his own soft skin.
Huh? Wait, am I—
He opened his eyes and looked down at his hands. To his shock, they were completely clean and free of blood and ice. He was back in reality, back in the small padded room where he was first infected.
I survived the soulscape!? But, I thought I died...?
Jian was still stood before him, the wooden staff he had used to infect him still held in his arms. He had a stunned expression on his youthful face, staring at Hill with his eyes wide. It seemed as if he was both surprised and in disbelief.
"Well this is a surprise! I was sure you would have died!" Jian exclaimed, his voice cracking from the shock.
"Y-you were sure I would have died?" Hill croaked, his voice feeling awfully hoarse. Despite not being physically hurt, his mental state caused him to be unable to use his body like he wanted to. Every action, conscious and unconscious, felt awkward.
Jian nodded. "Yes. You seemed like a pushover to me; I didn't think you could handle the manifestation. Usually, the ones with a determined look in their eyes end up surviving, unlike the weak looking ones."
Hill felt a surge of anger, but he pushed it down. He was too mentally exhausted to argue with the youthful man in front of him. Instead, he took a deep breath and said, "I'm alive. And I'm not a pushover. Just because I seem weak doesn't mean I am. I just... need to prove myself."
Jian nodded again, a smile slowly spreading across his face. "Yes. You've proven yourself to yourself! That is exactly how you should steel your mind. That way, you'll be prepared to handle any hardships you encounter in the future!"
Hill returned the smile, but he still felt weak and disoriented. "So, am I done?" he asked.
Jian shook his head. "No, no. Within a few moments, you will be forcefully absorbed in the 'plague world.'" His face twitched at the words plague world as if remembering some bad experience.
Hill nodded slowly. "I understand. Kael had spoken about it during the orientation."
Jian's expression darkened. "Well, he lied." He said softly. "He worded it in a manner that made it seem like the plague world was created by the plague. But it isn't."
Hill looked at him in confusion. "What do you mean by that?"
"The plague world wasn't created by the plague. It isn't even fair to call it the "plague world." It is simply the place where the plague originated. The soulscape is the passage, and that place is the destination." Jian paused. "But it is simply another world, probably a great distance away, or it might not even exist within our reality. But anyhow, I must say, you are entering that world as an invader. You cannot, under any circumstances, forget that crucial fact."
Hill nodded. He didn't quite understand what the youthful man was saying, but he knew that it was definitely something important. "I will remember," he promised. "Thank you for the advice."
Jian nodded. "Good. I'll take my leave now. Your departure will happen within a few seconds." He turned towards the door, placing his hand on the handle as he prepared to leave and tend to the other conscripts.
"Wait!" Hill called out, his voice hoarse. "Is there anything else I should know? Any more advice you can give me before I go?"
Jian stopped and turned back to look at him. His eyes were suddenly extremely serious, and his expression was tight and grim.
"Listen up," he said slowly. "There are two main truths you must always remember. First, the plague isn't some disease but much more than that. Second, the plague world isn't someplace where monsters roam around mindlessly. Instead, it is a world filled with life. A world that is similar to our own but also very different at the same time. A world of danger and opportunity, beauty and horror, hope and despair. A world full of humanoid creatures like you and I."
Jian's eyes began to shimmer with a faint earthy green light. "So, don't trust anyone until you are sure that they are an earthling. Otherwise, you may end up dead."
With that, he turned and left the room, closing the door gently behind him. Hill was now left alone, his mind racing with all the new information he had just received.
As he sat down in the silence of the padded cell, waiting for his imminent departure, he thought about what the young man had said. His words still echoed within Hill's mind, filling him with unease, excitement, and fear.
He had no idea what to expect from the new world. Based on what Jian had said, it sounded like an entirely different world that they were being transferred to. He didn't understand why the plague would be doing something like that, but he guessed that it was something he would understand in the future.
Anyhow, he knew he had to be prepared and ready to face whatever challenges would come his way. His mental strength, as weak as it was, needed to become much stronger and more dependable if he was going to survive in this new world.
As he waited, he suddenly felt something brush against his back. He jolted forward, whipping around. His eyes widened as he gazed upon something that he could only imagine occurring within horror movies.
There were several arms reaching for him, grey and translucent, coming from a swirling vortex of darkness that had appeared out of nowhere. The vortex was pulsing and moving like a living creature, the arms extending further like tentacles instead of bony limbs.
Holy shit!
He scrambled to his feet and tried to create distance between himself and the vortex, his heart pounding as he realized what was happening. He was being absorbed into the new world.
But he was too late, the arms successfully grabbed onto his legs and pulled him towards the swirling mass of darkness. He struggled and fought as hard as he could against the pulling force, but it was no use.
The arms were too strong, with each new handhold the pulling force simply kept getting stronger. Within seconds, he was fully dragged into the foreign dark mass, its embrace feeling cold and empty as he was swallowed.
He closed his eyes and braced himself, his lips firmly pressed together. At first, he felt nothing at all.
Then, he felt himself suddenly fall as if he had been dropped by something holding him. He plummeted through the dark and endless abyss.
The screaming sounds of a thousand voices filled the air, all crying out his name in a shaky, horrific tone as they overwhelmed his senses.
He couldn't see a thing, but he could feel the cold winds rushing past him. However, as he continued to fall, the air began to get hotter and hotter and began to smell more and more like rotten eggs.
After a few seconds of increasing heat and stench, he slammed into the ground. He opened his eyes, clutching at his body and expecting broken bones, but the pain faded away immediately.
And then he looked around, and his eyes widened in horror.