Cycle of Ruin - Arrival: A LitRPG Series

Chapter 7

Death was not what Leo expected. There were no pearly white clouds with angels singing praise, no fire and brimstone. It most certainly wasn't the end of consciousness, for he could think now. It was empty and cold.

Leo had awoken upon a cracked and barren wasteland, his head swimming as he tried to process what had happened. He remembered dying but his mind just refused to believe that had actually happened. There was no way his life could be snuffed out so easily, right?

The frigid air made him shiver and he huddled in a ball to try to preserve what little warmth he could, wishing that his clothes had followed his soul to this plane of existence. There was nothing around he could use to keep the chill at bay. Not a single plant or blade of grass grew in this dark and desolate landscape. It all made him feel so alone, vulnerable and afraid.

What more is there to fear besides death? The sardonic thought flitted through his mind. He had always used humor as a way to mask his own insecurities, and now would be no different. He tried to force his body to move and get up; he would adapt and make the most of this place too. Except his body wouldn't listen.

While a small part of his mind pushed and prodded him to start moving, to help fight the chill and get a look around, the rest was coming to grips with his death and what he had left behind. The guilt of abandoning his sister back on Earth, and knowledge that he would never get a chance to make things right were like lead weights chaining him down. What was the point of moving fruitlessly forward if he could never get back to her?

A noise like water dripping on rock drew him away from his thoughts. He lifted his head to see a hulking mass of multi-colored flesh dragging itself across the wastes. In its wake, the monstrosity left a purple viscous ooze as it slowly edged across the barren clearing in front of him. Its body appeared to be a tangled mass of creatures clumped and fused together into one huge abomination. Claws reached out of the monster to slowly pull its way forward, the mouths of its many victims releasing soft, painful moans while protruding limbs that weren't unified in helping the creature move twitched sporadically.

Feelings of pity and disgust rose in the back of his throat as he wondered what kind of cruel gods could allow such a vile existence. He watched it slowly cross the clearing, wishing that he had either the courage or the strength to confront it, to release the imprisoned souls from their suffering, but it was all he could do to stop from trembling.

He found himself praying to the very gods he had just condemned that the creature would pass by without noticing him. It was all too easy to imagine himself alongside the souls trapped in the horror, stuck in an eternity of torture that slowly broke his sanity. How many years would he last until his eyes held the same hollow gaze as its other inhabitants?

Unfortunately, his prayers went unanswered. The head of a brown-haired girl who couldn't have been more than ten turned her cold, lifeless eyes in his direction, and immediately the entire abomination froze.

Each of its many heads swiveled to where he sat, their eyes holding the same pain he had known before coming to this plane. Anger sparked in those pain-filled gazes, anger at the unfairness that he wasn't confined to the same hellish existence they were.

Move, damn it! he yelled at himself, but his body was rooted in place, too terrified to respond.

"No please..." Leo pleaded as the creature slowly inched closer, the entombed souls both screaming and cursing him for his help. Unable to look at the horror any longer, he closed his eyes, wishing that this nightmare he had woken up in would finally come to an end. The voices of the monster became louder, and he knew it was only a matter of time until it was upon him. There was no escape, no hope left.