"I was too late..." Said Silver as he kicked a rock on the side of the street

Today was quite a busy day. In the morning I went around Orario looking to buy some supplies since most shops were trying to sell extra supplies before the new year. (Similar to Black Friday)

And in the afternoon I went to the Hephaestus Familia workshop area in order to apply to join them.

But on the way, I met with the adventurer and learned something rather interesting.

After my meeting with him, I went to apply to join the Hephaestus Familia.

But I was too late and they had already closed... And they will remain so for the next week.

"Now it's only next year together with the Loki Familia."

'Hephaestus recruited members in a different way to Loki.'

'She always welcomed new blood as long as they passed her criteria. Which was rather high but at the same time proper.'

'Loki on the other hand had a specific date to recruit new blood.'

"Life sometimes doesn't go your way... It's just one week. I have to wait for my armor anyway."

Yup, In the end, I decided to let a blacksmith handle my things.

I severely underestimated the abilities of the artisans of Orario.

Their skills can allow them to fix something like this rather easily.

So after reaching an agreement, I had my sword and armor be fixed in a week for around 300K Vallis.

"Even though I got a shield as a "bonus", I still think it was a fucking scam!..."

But after researching some more, this price was actually quite low...

40K for the sword, 240K for the armor, and the rest for a few supplies I needed.

It is lower than the price to acquire a new set of armor. The blacksmith actually praised the armor, saying it was a shame it was made from low-tier materials.

So overall, my armor should be more than enough even when I become an adventurer. There isn't any need to buy a new one.

My strength didn't allow me to process anything else...

The shield isn't the best, but it's surely not terrible.

As for my Mk3 sword and shield fragments...

I kept them stored.

The reason for this is that there were some unique techniques I don't want others to know. I used advanced knowledge that is not from this world.

Even if they aren't anything special, they represent my own form of craft. And perhaps one day I can develop it into something truly unique.

So my armor issue was solved and my Familia issue is soon to be solved.

I have fully tested my powers and combat abilities.

Although there are some mysteries still left unanswered, I have progressed at a decent pace

"Time to go back to the Inn, it's getting late."

'While Silver walked through the streets, he noticed several decorations from all sorts of cultures, placed around the houses.'

"So they do decorate their homes to commemorate New Year... It's just rather bizarre that everyone seems to have their own decorations."

(Because of the cultural diversity)

This made me remember, isn't Christmas soon? I know the people in Orario seem to commemorate it...

However, I am not sure if they are actually commemorating Jesus' birthday here...

(That would make it around a month since the MC arrived at Orario. He arrived in Orario around the start of the last week of November)

/Swush!/

'The cold wind slammed on Silver's face.'

"It's getting quite cold… I want a hot bath."

Most people are now cuddling inside their homes, I should go to bed as well.

'His gaze was attracted to a certain person standing in the cold outside.'

'It was an Elf with blue hair.'

Isn't she the girl I saved a few weeks ago?

"What a coincidence."

She seems to be doing well. That's good.

'He turned around and continued on his way.'

/Grab!/

'The elf girl suddenly grabbed his sleeve.'

"?"

'She locked eyes with me.'

"I-I am sorry. I confused you with someone else." She said

"No no, it's ok." Said Silver with a thin smile

'Hearing his voice, her brows furrowed.'

'She didn't release Silver's hand.'

"Excuse me, can you release my hand?"

"OH! My apologies!"

'Silver took the opportunity to look at the wooden board next to her.'

'It said:'

/"Thank you kind hero for saving us that day, please if you ever read this, contact us so we can repay you…"/

'It continued with some minor things such as thanks from each member of the Familia.'

"..."

So they are a small Familia… I pretty much single-handedly saved an entire Familia…

A small action can mean the world for another person...

'She let go of his sleeve and said:'

"It's funny, isn't it? Someone once saved me in the Dungeon but I don't even know his name."

"... So you are waiting for him to show up? In this cold? That's quite naive though, even if he was there looking for you, Orario is simply too big. For how long have you been doing this?"

"Since two and a half weeks ago... But I am planning to stop by the New Year. My only hope is that he hears about this one day."

"... Look, lady. I don't know who saved you, but I am pretty sure he wouldn't like to see you catch a cold by staying in the cold like this."

"... You sound like my goddess. She said the same thing."

"She is a very smart goddess."

"Ha… Humble bragging."

'She now had a small smile on her face. Raising her head she looked directly at Silver.'

"Thank you for listening to me stranger, it wasn't much but at the very least my day became better."

"See you around them, happy..."

"Wait! My name is Yilfi."

"Oh."

So it was that... Startled me for a second there.

"My name is Mellios. Happy New year."

Should I have said Christmas?

"Happy New year!"

"He waved at her and went on his way towards the Inn."

/Creek/

'The door to the house behind Yilfi opened.'

"Yilfi, it is time for dinner…" Said the cat girl.

/Snif sniff/

"I am going Gvir, just let me pick up this board…"

"This smell!"

'But by the time she looked to the side, Silver had already disappeared.'

"Gvir... Are you okay?"

"I am sure of it! I can't miss out on this smell!" The catgirl seemed sure of herself.

"What do you mean Gvir? The Jagamarukun lady isn't here during these hours..."

"Not that! This is the same as last time! What we have been waiting for!"

"... Then... Was that..."

'She nodded'

"Our hero!" x2

'The two went back inside with happy yet sad expressions.'

'The one they had been looking for just appeared on their doorstep, yet they couldn't do anything.'

'So close yet so far...'

"Did you see his face? Was he handsome?"

'The elf got embarrassed.'

"A little bit... He was quite charming... Better than those clowns back in the forest."

"Areee? Wasn't you the person who said that appearance didn't matter? Why are you sooo happy?"

'The elf girl turned around and ran to the second floor of the house.'

"You can't run away!"

'The others inside the house looked at the scene confused.'

…

'From the shadows of an alley, Mellios watched both of the girls.'

"That was close... But the elf saw my face, and now she seems to think I am her hero... Which is true."

My identity isn't really a problem at this point because I am soon to enter a Familia.

And even if she told other people my appearance, who would believe a little girl from a small Familia? A low-level adventurer at that...

'Silver turned around and keep walking in the darkness. His destination?'

/GROWLL!/

"I am quite hungry..."

...

/Creok.../

'He opened the door towards the Inn, it was quite full considering it was busy hours.'

(The time when adventurers drink their worries and commemorate.)

'Silver looked at the innkeeper and approached him.'

"It's you boyo. So. What will it be?"

"Just give me anything... I am quite tired today."

"Sure thing!"

"...Oi! Sweetie! Do we still have those Lizards tongues?"

'After a few seconds, a childish voice came from inside'

"Yes, daddy."

"The what now?? OI! What are you planing on feeding me?!"

"Didn't you say anything was fine? Be a man and eat!"

"..."

...

/Creek/

'Entering his room, Silver immediately laid on his bed.'

"What a day…"

'He changed his clothes and put on some pajamas, and after muffling the sound coming from the outside and setting up some basic traps, Silver went to sleep.'

'One can never be too carefull.'

…

'Sunlight shone on Silver's face…'

"Someone, turn down the sun…"

Turn down the sun? What am I saying…

'He opened his eyes to see…'

"This wasn't my room…"

'Green everywhere, the calm sound of leaves rattling in the weak wind...'

"A forest? Where the fuck am I?"

'That's not the point. How did I even get here?'

'Silver kept looking around, but he only saw green everywhere.''

"Okay… This isn't a lucid dream. My thoughts are too rational, the control over my body is too great."

I can feel every part of my body clearly.

"But my body…"

My body is translucent…

"If this isn't a dream, then what is this?"

'Silver got up from the ground and stretched. Felling the chilly wind against his skin'

"Thankfully I am wearing my pajamas."

Before coming to Orario, I had a habit of sleeping in my underwear. But I changed that when I came into Orario.

Sometimes I still sleep in underwear, but today was one of the days I slept in pajamas.

Otherwise, I would have to go around this forest semi-naked.

"... Let me take a look around first."

'Silver looked around his position and only saw trees and more trees…'

'So he decided to go up a tree and see what he can find.'

'Not before testing one thing:'

'Slowly, his hand turned invisible. Completely fused with the surroundings.'

"So I can still use my powers… Really, what is this place?"

'In the blink of an eye, Silver disappeared due to the effects of Chameleon.'

/Rustle/

'He climbed the tree and from its canopy, gazed into the world around him.'

"... So I am in a small valley?"

'Around him, green hills filled his vision. They should be over 20M tall...'

'There was only one mountain, and it to the extreme South, around 200 M from his current location.'

'It was a VERY tall and bizarre mountain, it was perfectly rectangular, and it stretched as far as the eye could see…'

'Into the sky…'

'From the clouds, he could see a silent and gentle stream of water falling.'

"The forest should have a diameter of 300 M, it's a rather small patch of forest, considering the hills around me are completely free of any trees."

"What is this place? Did I die from a heart attack and went to heaven? I didn't even drink that much. Only half a cup of light alcohol…"

"That mountain… Is that… Statues?... Although that's creepy in a sense, I still don't feel any aversion to it…"

"In fact, I don't feel anything at all! No anger, no happiness, no fear…"

"That's not possible… What happened to me?"

My emotions are... Most likely being heavily suppressed.

If my emotions were fully suppressed then I wouldn't have been surprised.

Whatever this place is, I will probably find my answer by going to that mountain.

I can't wait for something to happen. I may go home after some time passes, but I may also die.

Between gambling my life away to something unknown, I prefer to act. Even if that puts me in even more danger…

…

/Ribit/

/Ribit/

'On his way, Silver found himself in front of a rather large pool of water, several white frogs were standing in what seemed to be red Water Lilies.'

"Okay…"

'One of the frogs somehow noticed Silver even though he was camouflaged. This frog had a strange crown-shaped leaf in its head.'

'But instead of fleeing it just looked at him for several seconds before it went back to what it was doing.'

'Although he showed a look of surprise for a moment, it was quickly replaced by a "kingly" presence.'

'This was clearly the Alpha frog of this pond.'

'After noticing Silver didn't go away, it lifted its left foot and…'

"Is it showing me away? This frog…"

(N1)

I didn't really feel any anger, but I did feel baffled and offended towards that frog.

But I had better things to do instead of picking up a fight with a mysterious entity.

'When Silver passed by the pond, he saw his reflection on it.'

'His face was blurred as if someone had "censored" it.'

'Although you could still see it if you looked at it for long enough. It was difficult to explain.'

"What is this forest? That frog seemed very intelligent. I never heard of a monster like that… Is it even a monster?"

And my face... Truly... What happened to me?

'While he was focused on his thoughts, Silver tripped on a rock.'

/Crack/

'He fell directly on top of a bush, flattening it.'

"Arg!... Sigh. Focus. I can't let my guard down at a time like this."

'He raised my head to meet…'

'A large and scary emerald spider.'

'It was bigger than him, around 2 Meters tall, and 4M wide.'

"..."

FUCK!

'He quickly jumped to the side, but the spider didn't even move. Its multiple pairs of eyes looked at him with… Mockery?'

Fuck you too!... Wait...

Why did I think that?

No… Why did I even think the spider was mocking me?

(N2)

'The spider turned around and went to the trees, only now did Silver notice the massive wall of webs.'

'The spider used its legs to open a perfect hole in the web, showing what was behind the web.'

'It was the rest of the forest.'

"..."

"..."

'Silver and the spider looked at each other for a long while.'

'It didn't take long for the spider to lose patience and launch a supersonic net at Silver and pull him.'

"What?..."

'Before he even realized, he was on the other side of the web, with the hole closing behind him.'

"This is getting more incomprehensible the more I explore this place. What am I going to meet next? A talking bunny?"

'Silver dusted his clothes and continued on his way.'

...

/Splash!/

'The sound of running and falling water filled his ears, he was close to the waterfall.'

"This water…"

'The water was greenish-blue. It had an ethereal light shining out of it.'

"It almost makes me want to drink it… My mind tells me no... But my body…"

'He can just spit it out immediately right?'

"Caution is always welcomed."

'Silver placed his finger in the water and removed it quickly.'

'10 seconds turned into a minute. But nothing happened.'

"No reactions. I even tried to increase the receptors in my finger, but I didn't find anything out of the ordinary."

'He went to the water and took a small sip…'

This is the best fucking water I ever had!

Not too cold, not too hot. In fact, its temperature seems to be changing to what I need the most!

'Suddenly, Silver's body instinctively went to the water to drink more of the water...

'But Silver found that suspicious!'

"Wait! Why is my body like this?... This water is strange."

I want one more sip, but …

STOP!

'He jumped backward, away from the water.'

"Harf… Harf… That was dangerous."

This water is too strange, I better not get close to it for some time.

"But I am so thirsty..."

'He carefully gazed at his surroundings and locked eyes with a deer that was drinking from the small stream.'

'The deer was beautiful, being fully blue with golden linings as if it was wearing armor with shining purple antlers.'

(Notes N3)

"..."

"..."

'They locked eyes for a moment. But the deer just seemed like any other deer.'

"You aren't going to speak or anything like that right?"

'The deer raised its head and…'

'Tilted it to the side.'

"... That's a more animalistic behavior… Although still quite strange."

'But the deer did something that would completely baffle him.'

'It lifted its right front hoof and kept "pointing" towards the water.'

"Do you want me to drink that? No thanks, it's quite addicting."

'Somehow, the deer seemed to understand me and nodded.'

'It lowered its face into the water once more and kept taking large gulps.'

Is that… A nefarious expression?

'The deer kept drinking the water with a strange expression. It's quite nefarious but…'

'What constitutes a nefarious expression on a deer??'

"Ever since I came to this place, my animal interpreting skills went through the roof… For no apparent reason."

Is that connected to my ethereal look?

'The deer drank the water with such power that it was as if it hasn't drunk any water in several weeks.'

/Hustle.../

/Whispers/

"!"

'The deer's ears suddenly got up and it sped up into the forest, disappearing from my sight.'

'A small light started to shine in front of Silver.'

"If I am not mistaken, that's the place where the waterfall should be falling. Normally there's a lake there. Why is it suddenly shining?"

And I hear some voices…

Invisibility! Sound muffle! Smell cancel!...

'Silver "cast" many abilities at the same time. He can't keep this up for long, he needs to check what is going on before he got tired…'

"Hum? Why am not getting tired? No... I am, but for some reason, I am not feeling any mental exhaustion."

Only physical exaution.

"I should be able to keep this up for one or two minutes before it wears off."

'Using a small bush as cover he gazed into the light at the other side…'

"It's beautiful."

'Thousands of yellow flowers were shining in a big "lake".'

'This lake is rather shallow, he can see the ground from here.'

'Showing how clear the water was.'

/Whispers/

Where are these sounds coming from?

'Removing his attention from the flowers, he noticed a large rock in the middle of the lake. Behind it was the falling point of the waterfall.'

'Around a 30 M tall.'

"The sounds seem to be coming from there but I don't have a good angle…"

That rock doesn't seem like a bad option.

"OH YEAH!"

'Before he made my way through the water, Silver decided to test something.'

'His right hand turned into a shadow…'

'It was his inventory space!'

"But… Where are my items? Where did they all go? There were over three million Valis there!"

More questions…

'Instead of thinking, he went and picked up several gallons worth of water and some of the yellow flowers.'

'Why? Because they were beautiful.'

"With one of these, I can't see any girl don't falling in love with you…"

Just kidding.

"Hm? My emotions seem to be coming back slowly. I can even joke now."

Even though I am still pretty bad at it.

…

'After some time collecting the water and some flowers. He activated Cloud Walk and "ran" towards the rock.'

'Why not just walk in the shallow water and preserve energy you ask?'

"I am afraid something is going to happen if I am in contact with this cursed water for too long."

Even now my body seems to want a taste of it. Although the thirst seems to have decreased since my emotions are slowly going back into my control.

Perhaps this is a sign that my time is coming to an end in this place?

Be that for good or for worse.

…

'The rock in the middle of the lake was completely smooth, like a large gray egg.'

"Is it an egg?"

/Whispers/

'The whispers were much louder now, but the sound of water falling is still too loud.'

"..."

I can only detect some female voices. But not the contents of the conversation.

'He placed his hands into the rock, and he noticed that his hand had completely stuck to it.'

"What? Did friction go on vacation? This rock is even shining! How is this…"

"Sigh. Let me get over with this. I just want to go home…"

As fascinating as this was, I wasn't really comfortable being somewhere I don't even know how I got in the first place.

…

'While Silver climbed the rock his emotions got stronger and stronger, and a nauseating feeling slowly filled my head.'

The effects of using so many Plasmids at the same time? Now that my emotions are coming back, they are returning as well I guess…

"I need to end this quickly before I blackout."

…

"One… Two… One… Two…"

"Does this rock never end?!"

I have been climbing this shit for what seems to be half an hour and I am almost losing consciousness. This was definitely a bad choice.

"And I was thinking this was going to be easy... It's just 30 meters I thought... Fucking Hell."

I had to deactivate all of my active Plasmids otherwise I would have collapsed several minutes ago.

"I should have just avoided this rock."

'His hands started to slip...'

"Don't fail on me now rock!"

If the rock just decides to stop being sticky… I will fall all the way...

Calm down. I am pretty close to my objective. I can't lose focus now!

"The only way is forward!"

'His "grip" over the stone tightened and surprisingly, within a minute, he arrived at the top'

"I was sure that… No matter. My head hurts already just from thinking, I can't bear to waste brain cells trying to figure this out."

'He looked behind him to see the vast forest.'

"Ho-How? I am sure I climbed several kilometers...But I am only…"

30 Meters high...

"... ARG! I hate this place!"

Physics just went "adios"!

/Splash!/

"That's right. Focus… I just hope I choose the right path."

'He turned around once more, this time gazing into the large waterfall.'

'It looked more like a river that was tilted sideways from up close. The water looked perfectly still, even though Silver was sure it is falling...'

"Jellyfishes… are those crabs? Even some…"

/Splash!/

'A big dolphin jumped from the waterfall and fell back into it.'

"... I don't have words for this anymore."

'Golden mist gathered at the foot of the waterfall. Something deep within Silver told him to go there.'

"This feeling again? I feel as if something is guiding me. And I don't like this feeling. It's as if I am being manipulated."

'But he did nonetheless since he had no other option.'

"Getting down is always harder than getting up."

…

"One…"

"Tw-Two…"

"O-ONE!"

'With difficulty, Silver descended down the mountain.'

'Silver felt as if he had a mountain on his shoulders. It was only an illusion but it was another reason why he hated this place.'

"Harf!... Harf!..."

'He had to stop from time to time to breathe because of how tired he was.'

'The tip of his fingers were bleeding. Even his forehead was the same due to how many times he scratched it against the "smooth" rock.'

/Step/

'Out of nowhere, Silver suddenly felt ground beneath his feet.'

'Looking down, he noticed a small patch of rock. I had reached the bottom.'

"I did it… I did it! YEAH!"

/Slam!/

'He fell backward, hitting the ground pretty heavily. But somehow, the fall didn't hurt in the slightest.'

It didn't hurt?

'Silver opened his eyes and turned around with difficulty.'

"It's just normal stone..."

/Knock knock/

"It's pretty solid."

And then it hit me.

"What am I doing? Hitting a rock to see if it is hard?"

'He laid in the rock, tired.'

"Arg… My entire body is sore."

"He sat on the ground while looking towards the waterfall."

'Strangely enough, at the point where the waterfall met the ground, its waters "parted" ways. Making a path towards a lit cave.'

"I don't think I have any strength left for another adventure..."

I will rest for a minute then go.

...

'There was a massive statue carved from the mountain's rock right in front of the cave.'

It resembled a woman, but I can't figure out who it was.

"A goddess?"

/Tremble/

/Boom!/

'Another bizarre scene happened. The statue opened its eyes and looked straight at Silver, but it didn't move.'

'The entrance of the cave was also sealed away by a large boulder.'

"... Excuse-me? Do you know the way out of this place?"

'It's a shot in the dark but who knows...'

"You shouldn't be here…" Said the statue

"..."

It actually talked!

But I shouldn't be here?...Okay… That's ominous…

"... I see you climbed it, perhaps you have some qualifications… It's been so long after all."

"I just want to leave this place."

"You set foot in this place and passed the trials yet you seek to leave when the end is so close?"

"The end of what?"

'Its eyes fully opened, before showing an expression of enlightenment.'

"... I see… That makes sense now."

'The Statue looked at Silver and made a small chuckle.'

"You really shouldn't be here, although for another reason… Not yet at least... But… It's quite amusing."

"I am getting more confused."

"You seek to leave. I know how..."

'He decided to wait for her to continue speaking.'

"Continue the trials, or wait."

"Both choices have their own hardships, but the end result is the same."

"Can I ask you one question?"

"You have the qualifications for that."

"What is this place?"

"... That is an answer you should better find out on your own."

"How did I get here?"

"... That is also an answer you should find out on your own."

"..."

This fucking...

"..."

Damn…

"Thank you I guess… Can I pass then?"

"Are you going to seek the trials?"

"I am already deep in this. Better to end what I started."

'The statue looked at him deeply.'

/Crunch.../

'The boulder slowly crumbled into rock pieces.'

"Let me give you some advice. Never stop moving forward. You can always drink the water that flows from deep in the mountains, but be careful not to fall into its temptation."

"... You talk as if there is something terrible in there… And what is this water?"

"..."

'But the statue never replied. It went back to being… Well, a statue.'

"The way is free. Time to go."

'After he entered the cavern the boulder reformed and blocked my way out.'

"Fucking perfect… Worse come to worse I will go out using "that"."

'And so, Silver made his way inside. What dangers lurked inside this misterous cave?'

…

/After some time. Outside…/

'The statue opened its right eye sneakily.'

"Is he gone?... PFFT! HAHAHA! I can't believe there is someone that still challenges these old trials."

"But he got quite far... Further than most."

"He was quite handsome though… If I wasn't tasked with this boring job..."

"But to think a human would make their way here… How fun!"

"I wonder what he will think of his reward at the end... If he gets there that is... That door isn't easy to pass..."

'The statue made a lovely smirk and chuckled before turning into stone once more.'

…

'The cave had several silver torches with blue fires lighting the way inside.'

'Silver could also see MANY human footprints on the ground. From all sizes, some from what he imagined to be very tall people and even those that would associate to children.'

/Whispers.../

'The whispers got stronger and stronger as he progressed.'

'He also noticed small streams of water on the side of the passageway. Probably draining water from somewhere deeper.'

"Harf… Harf…"

My energy…

'Silver was getting more and more tired, but then, he remembered...'

/"You can always drink the water that flows from deep in the mountains..."/

"..."

/"...but be careful not to fall into its temptation."/

I have no other choice.

/Slurp/

'Silver bent down and took a sip from the water stream. His body recovered a lot of its energy but he could feel himself losing control of it.'

"ARG!"

'Using Telekinesis, he pulled himself away from the water.'

"I… Need to… Resist this urge!"

'For a full minute, his body and mind fought for control.'

"Phew… Foward."

'After 2 minutes of walking, he was in front of a massive double door.'

'The door looked to be made of marble and was filled with all sorts of Hieroglyphs.''

'Silver tried to pull it open but it didn't budge.'

/Hummm/

'The door hummed a strange sound and several symbols lit up in it.'

"One… Six… twelve. Twelve symbols."

"A crab, a lion, a bull, twins…"

"Aren't these… The 12 Zodiac?"

If it's just that then it's easy!

Although this world doesn't have the 12 Zodiacs, they still have their own constellations. Perhaps that's the challenge?

But this raises the question, why would the Zodiacs be here?

"At this point in time this could very well be a conscient dream... One of the craziest I ever had."

'He arranged all of the zodiac signs in order.'

/Hummm/

'The door glowed and opened a hole just big enough for Silver to pass.'

'And he passed with no problems.'

/Cronk cronk.../

'With the snapping sounds of iron, the giant door closed.'

'He turned around to finally see with clarity what was this place.'

'From the ceiling…'

'He could barely comprehend what he saw, it felt as if he was looking at the cosmos.'

"I am sure there is a solid rock wall up there… But somehow, it feels as if the paintings are moving."

'The walls looked alive, as paintings of beautiful women and animals filled the entire place.'

'Some of those paintings even looked at him. Some curious, and others startled.'

/Splash/

"He heard the sound of water splashing. So he looked forward to see…"

"... What..."

'Multiple giant pools of water. Filled with many…'

'Naked Women…'

'And they didn't seem happy to see him...'

'They looked at Silver and he looked at them…'

"Eh..."

'He tried looking around the place to see if there was any other passade, but there was none.'

'The end goal of these trials was these pools of water...'

'He noticed that the pools were slowly being drained away through some water paths on the ground…'

'They were the exact same ones outside of the door…'

'This meant that the water outside in the lake was...'

"Damn..."

'For a moment, he remembered the deer drinking water and the statue.'

No wonder that deer had such a perverted expression.

That fucking statue tricked me!

The water I was drinking was…

"Bathwater..."

'For a good minute, one of the women just stayed there looking at him before one of them literally blinked at his location and punched Silver in the face.'

/BANG!/

/SWUUUSH!/

'Another one of them intervened by blocking her punch. The impact of the fists created a massive wind that swept me high in the air. The sound almost ruptured my eardrums.'

'Amidst the chaos and pressure bearing down on his body, he lost consciousness…'

.

.

.