All of a sudden, I felt light—no pain, no exhaustion—just an unnatural stillness. The cold, the wounds, the weight I had been carrying... all of it vanished. It was as if someone had taken everything that made me feel human and cast it away. The sensation was eerie. My limbs, once trembling with fatigue, now felt like feathers drifting in still air. The sensation should have been comforting, but it wasn’t.
I stood—or floated, maybe—in a vast darkness. It wasn’t the kind of dark you find at night, nor the blackness of closed eyes. It was deeper, more absolute, the kind of darkness that had no beginning or end. Yet, far ahead, there was a light. Faint, soft, but shimmering—like a candle in the abyss. In that depthless void, even the faintest glow shined like the stars.
I should’ve felt relief. Maybe even peace. But I didn’t. Instead, an unsettling emptiness settled in my chest, as if something had been carved out of me.
A part of me wanted to lie down right there. Just sink into the nothingness. After everything—after the endless fights, the blood, the cold steel, the harpies’ shrieks, and the weight of survival ,I just wanted to stop. My mind was weary beyond words. Every memory clawed at me like jagged glass.
But my heart didn’t agree.
Something tugged at me—not with chains, not with force, but with something even more compelling. Instinct. Somewhere deep inside, past the exhaustion and the silence, something whispered that I wasn’t done. That there was more to see. More to understand.
My steps were soundless, my form weightless, but I ran. Toward the light. Toward the only thing in this realm that seemed alive.
As I drew closer, the glow expanded, spreading across the space like ripples in water. Soon, I could make out two figures standing at the source of the light. Familiar. Unmistakable.
The moment I reached the edge of the light, the scene froze me in place.
Once again, the same two figures. The version of me from Earth—the so-called tech nerd—and the Emperor of Destruction. But this time, they weren’t standing side by side. They were fighting.
Well, no... calling it a fight would be generous.
The Earth version of me, the one with glasses and no combat skills to speak of, was holding the Emperor of Destruction down—face-first—against the ground, his arms twisted behind his back like some kind of street arrest. The image looked like it had been ripped straight from a police drama back on Earth.
A sudden flash of realization hit me.
It should’ve been impossible. Unreal. Yet there it was.
I had been so mesmerized by the absurdity of the scene that I’d completely forgotten to question it. How in the world was that version of me—someone who had never wielded a weapon or faced death—able to hold down the Emperor of Destruction, a being who had the destructive might of a devil king?
I had seen both of their memories. The Emperor of Destruction had command over powers that could shake the heavens. While my Earth self... he was just a guy with a laptop and a knack for coding. He’d made millions, sure—but with tech and his love for novel gave me what was going to happen next. Not strength.
So how? How was he the one pinning the other down?
Was he always this powerful?
I stared at him, baffled. His only weapon was a book—nothing more. Meanwhile, the Emperor of Destruction wielded a blade forged for chaos, and even I had a sword as my weapon. Did this mean that the nerd was... the strongest of us?
I didn’t want to believe it. But the truth was right in front of me.
If I had to fight the Emperor of Destruction, even now, I would lose.
I clenched my fists unconsciously.
Before I could spiral further into thought, the nerd glanced over his shoulder and smiled.
"Ah, you’re here," he said, standing up casually as if nothing had happened.
"Yeah..." I murmured, still stunned. "So... does this mean I’m dead? And what the hell happened here?"
He dusted himself off, shooting a glance down at the Emperor, who looked more frustrated than hurt.
"We had a disagreement," the nerd explained nonchalantly, "and it turned into a bit of a scuffle. He wanted to take over and burn the harpies with his dark energy. But that wasn’t the plan. You came here to grow, and some lessons just have to be learned the hard way."
He walked a few steps toward me, hands in his pockets.
"You gave in to instinct," he added, his voice serious now. "And these are your results. I knew those harpies wouldn’t be enough to kill you, but he—" he nodded toward the emperor "—wanted to take action anyway. I had to stop him. Words don’t always work on the brawny types. So... lesson for both of you."
He smirked again, clearly proud of himself, while the Emperor remained pinned in silence, his expression one of sheer indignation.
"You’re wondering why I’m stronger than you, right?" the nerd asked, tilting his head. "Don’t worry, I’ll explain."
Neither the Emperor nor I said a word. But that didn’t stop him.
"In this dimension," he began, gesturing around, "our souls are the only thing that exists. No physical body. No weapons. No fancy combat techniques. Just... you. Your essence. Everything you are, laid bare."
He paused, letting that sink in.
"It all comes down to the stability of your soul," he continued. "Someone who’s lost themselves to darkness—someone whose heart is traumatised or filled with rage—has no chance here. Not against someone with a stable, complete soul."
I blinked. "So... no skills? No arts?"
He nodded. "None of that works here. This place strips away the layers we hide behind. It doesn’t care how strong your body is or how sharp your blade is. It cares about who you are underneath it all."
He looked at me then—not mockingly, not even smugly. Just... honestly.
"That’s why I am able to restrain him," he said, pointing at the still-grumbling Emperor. "And that’s why you’re here now. You pushed yourself, but part of you fractured. You need to find balance."
I looked at my own hands—no wounds, no blood. Just empty palms.
This was the truth of the soul?
And if that was the case, then what kind of soul did I have?
Just then I felt a sharp pain in my abdomen and looked at the tech nerd for answer
He smiled warmly and said, "It’s your call, we will meet again someday, till then, learn to be efficient, don’t decide on instinct, you might not be so lucky next time."
I understood that he meant the best for me and learned a valuable lesson.
The faint glow from their body vanished with the blinding bright flash.