บท 13: Uninvited Guest

"While nothing would hurt you here, I don't advise going around. It's a waste of time, there's nothing out there."

But Levi wasn't listening, he was in his own world — literally. He wanted to look under every rock, climb every tree but seeing as there was none he'd settle for walking on the greenery on the ground.

He never had a normal childhood, he figured he could recreate that right here and now. Sure he had training, but who said training couldn't be a fun time under everlasting daytime that seemed to switch off at his command.

He started running faster than it would've been possible as a human — he had to remind himself that he wasn't a human, not a single strand of DNA within him was.

Everything seemed to slow down. As he ran across the empty fields chaos followed, dew flew in the air. Patches of grass were uprooted.

Because of how fast he was going, he could see each and every molecule in the air. At least what he thought were molecules.

'This is amazing!' He looked down at his feet and they were blurred, that put him off a little bit and that's why he planted his face on the ground.

The ground was bruised but his face wasn't. He laid there laughing. He couldn't tell you the last time he had genuine fun by himself.

"I don't wish to say —"

'Then don't say it!' He barked. 'Fuck, what was that? I couldn't see my feet for a second.' He said excitedly, his heart beating violently against his chest.

"That's...that's impossible, that shouldn't be possible...You almost shadow leaped." The system was dumbfounded.

'A technique? I thought...' Levi trailed off, he remembered well that the system told him he was still too weak.

"Yes I know what I said. This is beyond my scope of comprehension." The system cut him off, feeling a bit agitated. "It's a form of travel that, well, demons used. Teleporting into another place using shadows."

Levi started doing it again, but it was never quite the same. His feet never reached the same speed of blurriness. He couldn't wait to meet the demon race, his race.

He reckoned they were much of outcasts as much as he was back then. He reckoned they would accept him.

The system explained to him that, while some would need shadows to use the technique, he would only need himself. As he could change his body into basically anything, including shadows.

Though disappointed, he never stopped exploring his hub.

But something bothered him, it was the way the system referred to his people in this world. He couldn't get it out of his mind.

'What did you mean by used? Don't demons use that technique anymore?' He asked inspecting the ground closer.

"According to the information here, they were hunted by humans into extinction..."

'Then how am I existing?'

"I don't know."

'Fuckin humans. It seems like they're the same in every conceivable universe. May just take revenge.' He proclaimed proudly.

"Your race wasn't exactly saints. They went around drinking blood and killing other races, not saying they deserved it but they had it coming and don't forget—"

'Yes. Yes. I can't kill. I understand.' He hushed it before it went on another lecture.

"Do you?"

He stopped abruptly, the hairs on his neck stood.

'What's that?' He asked pointing at a hole that existed midair. It seemed to distort the space around it.

The system, along with Levi could detect Gi within the tiny hole. As tiny as it was, he felt drawn to it, like it demanded for him to get closer but he knew better. Every single fibre in his body screamed danger.

"This must be where..." The system trailed off.

'Imagine if it spat out—'

It was too much a coincidence, it was definitely his words or thoughts that weaved it into existence. A snake-like creature pushed itself through the tiny hole.

It was first its eerily human eye, then the head, now it was the body. Levi stood there dumbfounded, watching this cartoon-like scene unfold right in front of him.

"What are you just standing around for? Run."

'I thought you said nothing could hurt me.' He yelled turning tail, the vast nothingness that welcomed him as he turned made him to want to give up.

There was nowhere to run to. As though the snake-like monster was taunting him, it jumped from where it was and then right in front of him, he skidded into a stop.

When it landed, the ground threatened to split open. He couldn't help but lose his balance, falling on his butt he felt true fear for the first time since the day was conceived.

He wanted to stop it but his shaking heart didn't allow him such a luxury. He'd never seen anything like this, he thought it was a snake but...

'It's a crab—'

It flew very fast towards him and landed between his splayed legs and dangerously close to his manhood. He immediately broke into a sweat.

'Good thing it was on the smaller side.' He gulped looking down at the thing.

His entire body was frozen. Were these the monsters the system warned him about? Was this his life now, at every turning moment a life or death situation.

'I should create a safe sanctuary for orphans like me.' The thought crossed his mind but he was still looking straight at the creature.

It had changed shapes, it looked like a snake again. It had a long white beard, which was very strange for a snake — where he came from they weren't like this at all.

Levi was still pondering the strangeness of this encounter when the beard grew into a longer tendril and shot straight for his left eye. He couldn't react fast enough.

The shock didn't allow him to scream as the second tendril drilled into another eye, bestowing upon him blindness.

Something else pushed through his skull and he lost consciousness immediately.