Chapter 4: First Stage: Introduction To The End
As the last vestiges of their previous world faded, Harry and the others found themselves standing in an unfamiliar realm. The surroundings were a dense, otherworldly forest, bathed in a perpetual twilight that gave the air an eerie, dreamlike quality.
Towering trees with twisted, gnarled branches reached out like skeletal fingers, their leaves whispering secrets in the faint breeze. The ground beneath their feet was a mixture of dark moss and ancient, cracked stone, interspersed with the occasional glimmer of strange, bioluminescent fungi.
The silence was soon broken by a deep, resonant voice that seemed to emanate from the very air around them. It spoke with a tone of solemn grandeur, but its words were shrouded in an enigmatic and cryptic manner:
[Welcome to The End, where the threads of fate intertwine with the shadows of oblivion. You stand now at the threshold of the First Stage, where the veil between reality and the unknown grows thin. Here, the echoes of your past life will merge with the trials of your new existence.]
[This is the introduction to the End—a journey of awakening where the true nature of your being will begin to unravel. In this place, the ordinary becomes extraordinary, and the mundane turns to myth. Embrace the riddle of your fate as you step forward into the unknown.]
[The First Stage begins now.]
As the system's voice faded into the depths of the forest, Harry's attention shifted to his immediate surroundings. He glanced around, observing the faces of his classmates that were near and even a few teachers and other class students scattered among them. The names of everyone present hovered above their heads, glowing faintly in the dim light.
"This is really real," Harry murmured to himself, his voice tinged with disbelief. It wasn't exactly like the fantasies he had indulged in, but it was undeniably similar.
"Hehe." His grin widened uncontrollably as if he had finally achieved his greatest wish. This was a world that had only existed in his imagination, and now he was part of it.
However, Harry's joy was short-lived.
"Rrrrrrooooaaarrr!"
"Grrrrrraaaahhh!"
A sudden, spine-chilling scream shattered the silence.
It wasn't just one scream but a chorus of monstrous and ghostly howls that echoed through the forest. The sound seemed to come from all directions, creating an atmosphere of pure terror.
The people around him started to tremble, their faces pale with fear. Some were even crying or mumbling in terror.
Despite the overwhelming sense of dread, Harry found himself relatively unaffected. Perhaps it was due to his current disoriented mental state, or maybe he was just more prepared for the harsh realities of this world than others.
Harry's mind raced, trying to make sense of the chaos. "Is this a mental attack? Or some kind of skill? Maybe a status effect like fear or despair?" he wondered, his thoughts racing. He glanced at the status indicators above the heads of those around him, his eyes widening as he began to see their current states.
The status indicators revealed a variety of alarming conditions: some were marked with "Terrorized," "Panicked," or "Overwhelmed." The reality of the situation began to sink in. This was no mere game or fantasy; it was a brutal, unrelenting trial.
As Harry watched the fear spread across the faces around him, he suddenly heard a strange, echoing voice in his mind:
[You have endured the Whispers of the Endwalkers. Your willpower has increased by 1.]
Harry blinked, momentarily stunned by the message. "Whispers of the End? What does that even mean?" he thought, his mind racing. The name sounded mysterious and dangerous, and the idea of something called "whispers" causing so much terror was unnerving.
But then a sense of pride washed over him—he had survived something already, and his willpower had increased. He grinned again, feeling like he had accomplished something great, despite not fully understanding what it meant.
However, his grin quickly faded as reality set back in. He had no idea what was happening. In the stories he read, the system would always explain what to do, give some sort of tutorial or guidance. But here, all they had received was a cryptic introduction and a sudden attack.
"Why isn't there any useful info?" Harry muttered to himself, frustration building.
Just then, his ears picked up on something—footsteps. Heavy and slow, like someone dragging something heavy along the forest floor.
He looked around, trying to locate the source of the sound. From the shadows behind the trees, he began to see movement.
"Hmmm?"
Tall, hulking figures emerged, their bodies obscured by the thick darkness of the forest. Their footsteps were loud and clear, echoing through the eerie silence, yet it seemed like no one else heard or noticed them.
Everyone was still lost in their own terror or confusion, completely oblivious to the approaching danger.
Harry's eyes widened as he realized what was happening. "Those monsters did this," he thought. "They must have used some kind of ability to induce fear and panic in everyone, to keep them from noticing. They're moving slowly even though they seem to be running... Which means it was to make up for their shortcomings. How an absurd situation, haha."
He took a deep breath, thinking quickly. If no one else could see or hear the creatures right now, then they would be sitting ducks once the monsters got close enough.
Harry knew he had to do something, and fast.
'Hmm... What to do...'
'!'
An idea—a foolish, reckless idea—suddenly popped into his mind. He didn't know if it would work, but he didn't have any better options.
Without a second thought, Harry threw his head back and laughed—loud, boisterous, and completely out of place in the current situation.
"HAHAHAHA!"
"WAHAHAHA!"
"Let y'all here the laughter of the Class Clown!"
"HAHAHAHA!"
The sound cut through the tense silence like a knife, causing everyone to turn and stare at him in shock. Their expressions shifted from terror to confusion, and then to annoyance as they saw Harry laughing like a madman.
"Hey! What's so funny?" someone shouted, clearly irritated by Harry's outburst.
"H-Harry, w-why are you laughing?" His classmates asked.
Harry ignored them, keeping his eyes fixed on the approaching monsters and their statues.
He smirked inwardly as he noticed their statuses shifting from 'fear', 'overwhelmed', and 'despair' to 'confused', 'annoyed', and so on.
'Haha, I knew it would work.' Harry chuckled.
The momentary distraction had broken the spell of fear and panic that had gripped everyone, giving them a chance to notice the danger.
"H-Hey, what are those? M-Monsters?"
"Y-Yeah, you are seeing them too?"
He watched as their eyes widened in horror once again, but this time, it wasn't from some unseen force or ability—it was from the sight of the creatures slowly advancing toward them.
"They are coming right at us?"
"R-Run!"
"H-Harry, let's go!"
"Students, don't panic, follow after me!"
As realization dawned on the crowd, Harry's grin returned, more controlled this time. "Good," he thought. "Now we can actually do something about it."
He braced himself for what was to come, knowing that this was only the beginning. The First Stage had begun, and he had a nagging feeling that it was going to be a brutal, unrelenting trial. But at least now, they were aware of the danger.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone