Qi Li lifted up his feet and saw a circular object. A pocket watch.
He picked it up and inspected it. The watch rested lightly on his palm as if no gears or mechanics were involved in making this little machine of time. As if what runs this watch is magic and ethereal energy.
Qi Li rubbed his thumbs over the engravings of a whirlpool on the cover of the pocket watch and made his way to the button.
Tik tok, tik tok
Click
The stop watch opened to reveal his lower body. The watch was transparent. The hands and the numbers that indicated time were hovering in the air.
As he flipped over the watch. What he saw was not anything invisible. But cold metal with the same engravings as the cover of the watch.
Tik tok, tik tok
Qi Li Looked at it some more and fiddled with it some more. Inspecting the Chain connected to it and clicking on the button a few times.
He thought for a while.
'The clock, a stopwatch. Any relations?'
'...'
'Let's keep it for a while and see.'
He slotted the watch into the side pocket of his cargo pants and made his way to the stairwell. As he got closer to it, he hesitated for a moment.
'... Yeah, the feeling's back. It doesn't happen here but only at the stairwell.'
Tak, tak, a few steps forward and he clutched his head.
"Hrngh!"
He felt a sharp pain in his head for a really brief moment.
'Why… is it so strong!'
Eyebrows knitted and a frown visible on his face. He stared towards the dimly lit halls.
Unlike before the darkness of the stairwell was not whispering to him with a calm tone. It was screaming at him, as if warning of the dangers within it. And the dangers that might be released.
'... If I don't go in there, trouble. If I go in there, trouble.'
...
"Okay, okay, let's just… book it!"
The sunlight from the oculus faded away as he ascended into darkness with a swift pace.
Tak, tak, tak
Huff, huff
An uneasy feeling gripped his heart as he ascended the stairwell. Muscles tensed and shields at the ready, as if anticipating something or someone emerging. His senses screamed in every direction as if the very shadows encompassing the place itself would devour him whole.
With every bend at the spiral he felt that the feeling of anxiousness was increasing. Weirdly, something else was increasing too.
The time he's spending climbing up the staircase.
SHIING
A vague silhouette of a person is seen at the bend. As he turned around towards the person, he ran up and squinted his eyes to observe closer.
But what he saw wasn't a person.
Instead, a pair of shoulders with a raggedy stump where the neck should be is seen. A portion of a sword is seen by the corner of the bend as if it was the culprit for the work currently In front of Qi Li.
Unwilling to stop his tracks, for the fear of something catching up to him from the back. He lifted up his shield ready to block the staggering body in front of him and push it away to clear a path.
Yet no pressure or impact was felt when he arrived. As if he just phased through an apparition.
'Huh?'
BOOM
Like a sledgehammer, an exploding impact blew Qi Li off his balance. He fell backwards with the steps rising to ready to meet him.
The body of a teen bounced and rolled down a few 10 steps before his back slammed and scraped against a wall to stop him from going any further.
Aarngghhhhh
He let out a low groan, gritting his teeth while doing so.
'Me and my luck with the damn stairs.'
With his back and his head against the wall, a short figure emerged in front of his slightly squinted eyes. Shrouded in a gray mist with a slightly darker tone.
'Wait, isn't she?'
The face and figure of the short haired disciple flashed across his mind. He compared the memory of the person a few moments ago to the person right in front of him.
'It is her alright.'
A lunge from the misty figure provoked Qi Li to raise his shield in an attempt to block the strike.
BANG
Qi Li locked in anticipation as he rolled down the stairs again, but this time on purpose.
Stopping at a certain point, he used the momentum to pick himself up to stand up and ran back down.
As if gliding down, he skipped multiple steps to try and outrun his pursuer. Unfortunately for him, the pursuer had the same idea.
Back to square one, he arrived at the tree.
'Ain't this lovely? I'm cornered now.' He thought trying to catch his breath.
Raising his fist and his shield, he turned back in a stance. Ready to face his opponent.
'I thought that humans cannot be corrupted! Are you lying in your own damn book?!'
The mist leaked into the room, shrouding the only way out of the spire. As if telling him there was no escape.
The figure emerged. Emotionless as Its face was veiled by a fog. Making the uncanniness of the situation more vivid.
Qi Li pivoted, having his left hand and foot take the lead. While leaving his right hand and foot in the rear. Mimicking a boxing stance.
Fooooh
'This is how they do it right? Left for jabs, right for straights and overhands.'
He stared down the entity at the other end. Anticipating an attack, but the lack of emotion and soul from it makes it nerve-wracking.
It stood still, as if it was carved to be a statue. Not making a move.
Twitch
The entity suddenly lunged towards Qi Li.
BANG
Qi Li had his shield up in time, but the impact he received was no joke. He held down his shield slightly trying to observe the next attack from the aggressor.
The entity held its right fist by its hip trying to throw another punch. But this time, Qi Li had another plan for this attack.
As soon as he felt the impact on his left hand, he immediately swiped away with the shield.
BANG
A successful parry, Qi Li retaliated by throwing his right hand unto the face of the Entity.
BUNG
Surprisingly, his fist didn't go through the mist that replaced the head and face. But instead landed clean with a satisfying impact.
Though stunned for a bit, it quickly got back into action charging its right fist again.
'Predictable?'
Qi Li thought for a brief moment before repeating the same action he did as before. But this time using the shield on his left hand to bash its face in.
BASH
The mist figure staggered, but came back with the same action trying again with its futile attempts to land a hit on the young man behind the Shield.
'Abit futile no?'
Without thinking, Qi Li swiped with his shield again and continued with a right counter.
But something was amiss.
There was no impact on his left hand when he swiped. And As his guard was down with his right hand extended towards the attacker he saw something else.
Not the bipedal figure with its right hand Swiped away as a result of a parry. But one with its right hand at the rear and its left hand extended out as well. As if it tried swiping something away.
SHRRK
Qi Li leaped backwards, keeping a distance.
Huff, huff
'That was new.'
Qi Li Looked back at it. It stood there with its left hand outstretched. As if it had slashed away something.
He got his stance up again, clenched his fist ready for another round.
His right hand clenched. Or at least he expected it did. Where his right hand should've answered with a little crackling of bones was only… nothing.
He looked down. The empty space where his arm ended at the forearm. 'The angle?' He thought, lifting his forearm to see clearly. Like a fool.
A stump lay there before his eyes. Unable to comprehend the loss of his dominant hand, he stood there and willed the sensation of his fingers and palms to come back.
And so, a sensation came. A stinging burning pain at the bloody stump.
HRRRNNNGGHHH
Qi Li tried to scream but all he did was grit his teeth and released the sound from between his teeth.
He crouched a little, clutching the remainder of his forearm that wasn't severed.
Looking up. The figure stood motionless, it did not taunt him, it did not show hatred or wrath towards him. It just stood there, indifferently.
As if it was a phenomenon, rather than a person.
It felt like he was staring at an abyss, it did not care whether he lived or not. Only whether he was dead or not.
Terror and despair clutched his heart. The confidence and satisfaction from all those successful parries extinguished.
Twitch
The figure moved again. This time Qi Li could not react to it due to the shock he received.
It grabbed Qi Li by the head with its right hand. Lifting him up into the air, its hands enlarged slightly to fully engulf the teenager's head.
Dangling in the air, he struggled. Trying to wriggle off. He stared down at the mist while he felt pressured being applied to his cranium.
Once again, he remembered the dream he had.
'Shit, shit, shit, not like this!'
Qi Li moved some more, foolishly attempting again and again. But the pressure started feeling painful. The misty figure was no mindless creature, it didn't even feel like a creature. But a bringer of death.
Time seemed to slow down once again, giving him a few more moments before his demise.
As he stared down at the mist figure, tears slightly trickled down his cheek accompanied by the blood leaking from the fingers penetrating his skin.
'No, no, why?'
He tried prying through every corner of his mind finding out why he deserved this, why this happened, many why's.
But he couldn't.
Realising he couldn't he could only conclude that it wasn't fair. He was thrown into this place without his consent. Thrown into this place without any guidance.
He was angered, he felt angry he couldn't die the way he wanted. Not because he was going to die.
"ATLEAST LET ME FUCK YOU UP BEFORE I DIE!"
The pain increased, but he used it to fuel his anger. He lifted up his shield, banging it towards the figure's head. Minimal Damage was done.
Despite that he kept up the barrage. Still dangling in the air, the pain became more and more unbearable. He swore he felt a slight crack on his cranium.
But he kept on going, letting the pain further fuel his anger.
Another blurry version of his arm and shield overlapped his bashing hand. As he went in for another strike, it was unsuspectingly effective. The figure's head flung back. It's hand letting go of his head.
Qi Li planted his two feet on the floor as he landed. And looked back at the misty figure with his Eyebrows knitted, teeth gritted, a new found determination lit up in his eyes.
The reason that strike was so strong was a question that needed answers, but Qi Li couldn't care less. As he what he cared more right now was the way he die or atleast, if life was generous.
How he was gonna live.
'I'd like to die in a better fashion, but let's at least let this one live up to my standards.'
The figure rushed towards him again, throwing a right which Qi Li expected and blocked.
Following that, the figure threw an extremely quick left this time catching him slightly off guard as it landed quite clean on his cheek.
BANG
No.
It did not catch him off guard. He deliberately angled His cheek towards the fist to make it avoid hitting his jaw clean off. Though not being a good idea he did not care. All he could feel now is anger. He wanted to feel more of this anger, and to fuel it.
He needs to feel pain.