The Last Circle-Chapter 16: Sinner’s Dream

Silence resounded in his ears, and Nameless groaned whilst he laid with his face planted into the ground, with his heavy eyes shut tight.

'I want to sleep longer...' so he thought, laying in silence along a smooth and cool ground. He drew his brows together as he added:

'Wait, sleep?'

Within a matter of seconds, Nameless jolted up. His heart sank, his eyes trembled in their sockets, and his legs quaked. No matter where he looked, he stared into an endless void, reminiscent of a familiar experience where he once stood with Satan. It was just like the moment everyone—all of mankind and jinn—woke up in unison, knowing that the judgment was going to take place.

But strangely enough, this familiar darkness didn't house anyone, nor anything for that matter. There was no brilliant light of Heaven, no bridge leading to it, no roaring beast that was Hell, no fiery streams reaching for his heels.

It was simply an abyss.

His chest felt queasy, and he felt nauseated. The feeling permeated through his entire frame, making it hard to stand with the rest of his trembling body. He took a seat on the abyssal floor, watching as the darkness rippled with a dim and thin line of white.

'If I died,' he felt even worse by entertaining the idea as he opened his status menu, 'then that means I would've lost my artifacts.'

He watched as the grey panel flashed open, though, a banner notification blocked the words behind it. Its flickering display, along with a ripple-like effect travelling up, often distorted the text—which already suffered from surrounding, flashing white and black pixels, as he read:

[Location: Sinner's Dream]

"W-what?" he stammered, raising his knitted brows as his jaw hung. "Am I not in Hell anymore? Where is this Sinner's Dream?"

He studied his... lack of surroundings, making a full rotation to see that darkness hinted at...

Well, nothing. Everything hinted at nothing, but did this nothingness hint at anything? Likewise, did nothing mean everything?

Where was the Sinner's dream was certainly a question; its existence was an enigma. Perhaps another secret? No, it couldn't be. He couldn't just keep stumbling on these secrets like it was nothing.

'All this nothing stuff is hurting my head,' so he thought, holding his forehead as he closed his eyes. He looked up once more, dismissing the banner notification to read through his status menu:

Name: [You do not have a name. You are known as Wretched Nameless One.]

Rank: Accursed

Epithet: The One Who Eclipsed Satan

Attributes: [Immutable], [Lightless Creature], [Gaze of the Cleansing Fire (Devil Tier)], [Eternal Witness (Devil Tier)]

Talent: [You are talentless, for now. Ascend the Spire of the Infinite Corridor into the Eighth Circle of Hell to awaken your talent.]

Artifacts: [The Shard of Sin, Rift of Flame]

Weakness: [None.]

Sin: 100,000,000,000,022

Fragments of Divinity: 0/1,000,000

Location: Sinner's Dream

He sighed deeply as he winced. 'Twenty-two more sins to my name...'

Truly, that stung like a scorching needle, but he was more interested in the fact that he retained his artifacts.

'That can only mean one thing,' he told himself as he looked from side to side with narrowed eyes. 'I'm not dead, but... I can't remember what happened before.' He rubbed his forehead, dragging his hand down to cover one eye whilst staring at the panel with drawn brows. 'Think man... think. We killed the chicken... right? Did that actually happen? No, I'm certain of it. So we killed the chicken, then we fought the hellbound beast? It all feels like a dream...'

Again, he sighed. Why was it so hard to remember? Was he fated to forget? Just as he had the memory of his past life taken away?

'I'm pretty sure the system said I had slain a Transgressor Hellbound Beast... A shame I didn't get an artifact out of that, but I suppose I can't complain.'

He had no idea how much of a position he was in to not complain, for the invisible bell was raring to ring, but was forced to stop just as he added those last words.

'I feel like it said something new though,' he held his chin, staring at the ground that incessantly rippled under his weight. The sight of it reminded him of something, though it teetered on the edge of his mind, teasing at his forgetfulness.

It had him wondering, however, if it was possible to have the system display the past messages it sent, and so he said:

"Show me a transcript."

Of course, he had no faith that it would work, but his doubts were instantly banished the moment he saw the panel undergo a chromatic aberration. Within a couple of moments, the shimmering panel displayed the latest messages it sent.

[You have slain a Transgressor Hellbound Beast!]

[The Shard of Sin whispers your name.]

His eyes glued onto the last string of words—mainly the "name" portion. Enthralled in the concept, he crawled forth, until his eyes were a hair's length away from the panel.

Was there a chance he'd finally learn his name?

Was the Sinner's Dream the key to learning more about himself?

This 𝓬ontent is taken from fгeewebnovёl.co𝙢.

Who he once was?

The monster... whose actions were enough to make him worse than Satan?

Nameless raised a hand to the screen, letting it slowly inch closer, feeling his racing and pounding heart in his throat and ears, his eyes dilated, and his ragged breaths became ones that none would attribute to a human.

They were... bestial, as though hounding for the knowledge, inebriated by an aroma that didn't exist. His breaths grew heavier, louder, and more feral the closer his hand drew forth. His fingers just on the cusp of touching the screen...

But, just as he was about to make contact, an ethereal, ghostly, high-pitched shattering echoed in the silence, and he quickly found himself plunged into an abyssal ocean. One moment, he was reaching for the screen, and the next, he was drowning.

Liberated from his trance, Nameless panicked, flailing his arms and legs in the undulating black waves. His already racing heartbeat pumped faster, feeling as though it were about to explode, and in his panic, he couldn't think. Between the splashing of water—at least, that's what he assumed it was—and his panic, he found himself sinking.

His last struggle to take a deep breath before descending ended with a mixture of the bitter water entering his mouth and nose, burning within. No matter how hard he pushed against it, the sea of darkness ignored his effort, sending him further down.

Afraid of death by asphyxiation, he closed his eyes, inviting a familiar darkness to wrap his vision instead. It wasn't like it was going to help, nor did his deathly fear wane, but his inability to think in the moment, his ineptitude for swimming, and his despair, brought upon irrational actions.

Such was how the mind of humans worked when reminded of their mortality, and especially in the face of inevitable death.

A silvery, cold, and spectral whisper resounded in his ears, as though the black water mourned his presence.

"Open your eyes," it whispered, a sweet serenade of lamenting echoes dousing his fiery spirit. "Watch your sins..."

Nameless shook his head, puffing his cheeks with the breath he struggled to let go of, shutting his eyes as tight as possible.

The string of chorused whispers echoed in his head, first from the left, then the right, and then everywhere around.

"Look at your past sins," they whispered, infiltrating his mind and digging their roots of corruption into him as it added:

"CONSUMMATE YOUR ECLIPSE IN THE SEA OF SINS! OPEN YOUR EYES! WATCH YOUR MEMORIES!"

The once soft and spectral voices instantly evolved into loud and grating versions of themselves, still chorused, echoing constantly in his mind. Each one louder than the rest, like a massive bell that constantly tolled.

Against his will, his neck twitched, stretching it erratically. It was as though the disembodied voices were taking over, but Nameless resisted their urge to tear his eyelids apart.

If that was what it took to remember his past life, he didn't want it. If he had to relive his sins, from the most minor to the most major, he would have no part in it. The roaring flames of Hell was enough of a reminder that he should make use of this second chance to save himself; to be welcomed in the peaceful embrace of Heaven's light.

The shrill echoes grew louder and louder, intricately weaving his insanity, beckoning him to take a look. What felt like hours of suffocating and deafening outcries—begging him to open his eyes and consume the dark water—continued with no supposed end...

And then they stopped.

Three muffled rings of a bell echoed, slowly dying out, and then everything was... peaceful. The crushing weight of the water was gone, as were the voices. The cryptic water embracing him faded away.

But the peace was ephemeral, for in the next moment, his heart sunk as he opened his eyes and witnessed himself entering a free fall, plunging to a black triangular platform, lit by a dim white light.