Cold.

Van once again found himself surrounded by nothing but darkness. It was almost perpetual, if not for the war that was currently turning the peace asunder. It has been a week since Van first dreamt of this place. ​​

He once again looked at the gigantic man, whose whole body was currently being mangled and devoured by the countless winged-soldiers that gnawed on his body. He swayed his body, but the grip from the winged-soldiers' jaws was unfaltering.

But then, it all changed once the gigantic man's eyes lit up in gold. His body started to shake… no, vibrate. His body almost seemed like a reflection on water, rippling from the waves.

The winged-soldiers that were still clinging onto him started to fall one by one, their faces lacerated and maimed. The gigantic man ground his teeth as he looked at the never-ending winged-soldiers that still littered the darkness.

And soon, he started to run. He ran through the millions of winged soldiers, only leaving a trail of light and the mangled pieces of the winged-soldiers that were unfortunate enough to be on his path.

Seconds.

Hours.

Maybe even years.

It felt as if Van had been watching the man crash the winged-soldiers for years now. And not even once, did he stop. The man who willed lightning, and the other gigantic beings that Van could not make out, not once did they stop fighting.

But then…

...there was light. And with it, more winged-soldiers came.

7 of them, all bearing 6 wings on their back.

The light grew brighter, leaving Van no choice but to close his eyes, and once he opened them again, all of them were gone. Leaving Van in the familiar comfort of his room with the sunlight on his face.

Van couldn't help but blink his eyes a couple of times as he looked at the familiar ceiling. He let out a sigh before quickly jumping off of the bed.

"That weird dream again…", Van muttered as he made his way to the bathroom to wash up. He was going to go back to the Relic Graveyard today to invite Andrea.

After washing up, Van did a little stretching, wearing the clothes that were provided to him by Sarah. It would seem that she has thought of everything, even providing Van with casual garments.

Van made sure to lock the doors of his house as he made his way outside. He let out a deep breath as he squinted his eyes towards the distance. This would be the longest time he would be using his System.

Of course, he already traveled to the Relic Graveyard when he first unlocked his System. But he was too tired to even remember anything about it. It was a miracle how he even traveled that far without turning into paste by hitting a wall, not to mention he was half-unconscious.

For now, he would take it easy. From leveling up, his SP went from 28 to 36. That would give him at least 30 seconds of using [Time Perception] without feeling like dying. More and more, Van could not help but think of how he was able to get home when he first unlocked his System.

But that doesn't matter, for now, what matters is that he uses his skills wisely. Getting out of the city was the hard part. Once he gets to the Deadzone, he won't have to worry about hitting walls.

And so, once again, Van took a deep breath as he called for his speed, leaving only a trail of gold that also soon disappeared in front of the house.

Van placed his focus completely in his vision, only turning on [Time Perception] whenever he makes a turn or something shifts in front of him. It made him woozy at first, but after a while, his body and his eyes adjusted to the shifting views that surrounded him.

And as he expected, once he was out of the city, nothing blocked his path. The Deadzone was a wasteland that spanned hundreds of miles. It was said that the people of the Old World rained down bombs and laid fire to the lands in order to eradicate the creatures that came from the Portal. But their efforts ended up in vain, and the only thing that they almost eradicated was man itself.

The Deadzone wasn't a restricted area, everyone was free to roam it and use it as a route. But due to the loose creatures that came from the Portals, and sometimes even bandits, people tend to use only the main roads. But not for people like Van, for them, it was a treasure trove.

And so, with another look towards the horizon, Van once again let out a deep breath as he kneeled on the ground.

"Let's do this…", he whispered before he pushed himself off the ground and ran. The wind momentarily made him close his eyes, but soon, it disappeared. And the only thing that Van could feel was the excitement and rush he was feeling as his vision continually shifts.

Being allowed to run like this, truly made him feel what it meant to be a System Holder, to be free. He did not even feel the stones and debris that were just casually bouncing off of his body.

And so, a smile slowly crept on his face as he ran. And soon, his laughs echoed across the Deadzone, along with the trails of his tears. This feeling, it was almost too peaceful--

*BOOM*

But then, a thunderous explosion pierced through his ears. He instinctively activated his [Time Perception] skill. He slowed down and rushed towards the nearest hole he could find. He lowered himself, trying to find where the explosion came from.

His eyes scanned every direction, but even after 30 seconds, nothing seemed to be happening.

He squinted his eyes as he stood up, still trying to look around for anything amiss, but there really was nothing.

"...Weird", he muttered before once again running, but this time, more careful.

And soon, the mountain of relics appeared in his view.

And once again, he was back in the place he once called home.

"...I'm back"