*click click click click click click click click click click click click click click click click*

The golden wheel spins around and around, not slowing down for a second. I stare intensely at the wheel and the uncountable number of prizes that pass by.

*click click click click click click click click click click click click click click click click*

“Is it supposed to take this long?” I ask the goddess.

“Any second now.” She enthusiastically replied.

The clicking slows down as the wheel finally stops spinning. I start anticipating as the wheel slowly reveals my prize. Golden words shine brightly from the selected spot. It's too bright so I cannot read what it says.

A small folded slip of paper materializes in front of me and lands softly in my hand.

?

The goddess speaks up before I can open the note. “That’s all! Thanks for playing!”

I open the note and read the contents aloud. “IOU one (small) fracture!”

… DId I just get scammed?

I hear Merita’s voice for the last time. “This fracture can’t hold my presence for much longer. I only managed to stay this long because remnants of the Maiden of Storm’s energy kept this place stable.” She conveniently stated.

I look up and no longer see the goddess. The only thing is a thin crack in space that was left behind. Is this the fragment she owes me?

I put Duchess's cocoon on the ground next to my bag. I put what's left of Rob in the bag as well. It grew from the last time I saw it, but it's still only a sliver of bone. I don’t know what kind of fracture this goddess would give me, but I shouldn’t risk the lives of my tamed beasts since they still need to recuperate.

I actually feel excellent. My health and mana bar maxed out when I wasn’t looking. I take it as the goddess didn’t want to make a deal with someone on the verge of death. My body stopped hurting entirely when the harsh light no longer stabbed my eyes.

I go up to the crack and reach out towards it. Every cell in my body tells me that I am making a terrible mistake. Before I can pull away, the fissure gets a little bigger, touching my finger. I get Deja Vu when I get sucked inside.

~

Unavoidable blackness. There is no fracture beyond the veil but a black world filled with stars. My lungs start to burn, and my veins bulge, The oxygen here is killing me if it is even oxygen. A thin veil of gold light creates a tunnel that connects the crack I came through to somewhere else in the infinite expanse. The strange blackness constantly eats away at the only thing protecting me.

I'm almost positive a normal mortal would die instantly in this place.

Some of the stars are floating bubbles. One of them is floating very close to the veil, slowly drifting closer.

A hole in my golden protection opens up from decay. I look closer at the bubble; it contains a burlap sack that looks in bad condition. It’ll be crazy to risk life and limb to grab that bag and see what's inside. I am now 98% sure that this isn’t the fracture the goddess owes me, but in case it is, I reach out to grab the bag.

I thought there would be no resistance, that the space in front of me was a vacuum. When my arm touched the inky darkness, there was incredible resistance. The momentum I used to grab the bubble as quickly as possible caused my entire arm to be plunged into the dark. I can still see my arm reaching and feel my skin flaying off the bone. When I grab the bubble, it pops. The burlap sack finds itself in my hand.

I quickly pull my body back, and the burlap sack comes into the golden veil with me. My arm is in a critical state. My health barely moved, but the healing I pour into my arm hardly does anything to fix it. I ignore the pain and see the fruits of my labor.

Inside are thousands of tiny petrified fish. A bag full of stone fish is held in a hand that I almost risked ruining for them.

[A mortal has broken a seal!] Exclaimed a unknown Entity.

[a mortal?] Questions another Entity.

[Where is this mortal?] The third Entity states in a monotonous voice.

[I found it! It doesn’t bear the mark of any gods!] (First Entity)

[does that means the mortal is a free game? correct?] (Second Entity)

[YES YES] A new primal voice shouts out.

[Wait. It’s sheltering in the trail of a goddess.] (Third Entity)

[so that means it's one of the god’s pets? why did they leave their pet behind when traveling?] (Second Entity)

[That mortal is no pet but a parasite. Using the god’s energy as a shroud.] (Third Entity)

[YES YES] (?)

The voices speak in a language that I cannot decipher, something that grates my mind raw. Somehow throughout all the pain, I still understand what they are saying. Primal fear fills me as I scramble to the exit. Every nerve in my body is telling me to flee.

[why does the moral flee? can it hear us?] (Second Entity)

[YES YES] (?)

[Don’t question the survival instincts of someone with mortality.] (Third Entity)

[Their instincts weren’t enough, to do something stupid like touch one of the exiles takes some genuine courage.] (First Entity)

[Or ignorance.] (Third Entity)

[I call dibs!] (First Entity)

[NO NO] (?)

The veil around me dissipates like cotton candy in a raging river. I shut off my senses and just ran.

If the incomprehensible voices were any indication, if I see whatever is coming for me from across this infinite expanse, I will surely die.

There is no longer any protection. The full force of this realm grinds away at my body for only a second. The momentum I carried still moves me through the exit. My blood is boiling in my body as my skin starts shredding away. The entities that I heard in my mind are reduced to ineligible whispering. I feel like I am losing myself to this place. Thoughts of torment fill my mind as my body goes through hell.

When I felt something grab my brainstem, my mind went blank. My limp body touches the crack as light fills my retinas. My body feels infinitely lighter outside of that place. The whispering in my head doesn’t concede but grows louder. My ruined hands clench my head as the voices speak to me. I am stuck to the floor in the fetal position.

I can't understand them anymore. I start to hyperventilate, but a soothing presence fills my mind. The voices fade into a whisper, then disappears into a sound I can no longer hear.

A constant ringing fills my ears as my heart races at a million miles per hour. A 9-foot-long feathered snake stares at me from a few feet away. They have a set of large wings that are almost as long as their body. Duchess tries to speak to me telepathically, but I only hear static.

She stops trying to use words. She instead wraps her long body around me and holds me still. Eventually, I can calm myself down and start healing my wounds. They seem to resist healing, I force my wounds shut with the majority of my mana. The ringing fades as my heart rate recedes.

Duchess lets me calm down before speaking to me.

[Are you alright? What happened when thisss one was evolving? You were gone when I was finished, and you just popped out from that malicious-looking crack.]

“I spun Merita’s wheel and gained a slip of paper saying that I get a fracture. I saw the crack and thought it was mine. It wasn’t.”

[What was in there to leave you in such a state.]

When I start to remember the conversation, the whispers get louder. Duchess notices, and the voices seep back into quietness.

“What was that? Was that you?”

[When thisss one evolved, it was enough to rank up Mind Magic. Thisss one had a sudden insight about the incomplete spells in thisss one’s mind.]

I check the [Status] of Duchess and just focus on the new stuff.

Name: Duchess

Nickname: Thisss one

Species: Winged Serpent D (Rare)

Level: 10 0/800

Evolution Requirements Not Met

~

Health: 50/50

Mana: 135/200

Armor: 0

~

Might: 10

Agility: 15 > 25

Vigor: 10

Mind: 30 > 40

Spirit: 14

Charisma: 15

Luck: 10

Skills:

Brilliant Feathers A

The feathers of a [Winged Serpent] usually showcase their ability to fly, but the user’s feathers are much more than that.

The feathers store mana passively, allowing for the cost of all magic to be halved. Some affinities may be granted.

Mind Magic D Lv5 > C lv1

-Interference

The caster sends overwhelming information to the target’s brain. If the target has a sufficient Mind stat, it can ignore or filter out the useless information.

Mana: 10 mana per second.

-Telekinesis

The caster can use their magic instead of their body to move things.

Distance: Mind*2 feet

Weight: Spirit*2 pounds

Mana: Weight/2 mana per second

-Deprogram

The caster calms the mental state of the target. This magic is usually used to counter other Mind Mages.

Mana: Varies.

Flight E lv 1

You fly faster and for more extended periods.

Flying speed is 5% faster. Stamina is consumed 5% percent slower

5% increase per skill level

My Duchess has grown so much since I found her in a cage. I can tell she is getting prideful in her new appearance and strength. She finally surpassed the bottleneck of level 10. Well, technically not yet.

“Don’t be so arrogant, Duchess. Remember you are still in third.”

My remark ends her cheerful attitude towards my reaction to her stats. I also look at the notifications of the system.

However, my left arm is not healing at all. The limb that was smugly stuck into the blackness to retrieve that bubble is still limp.

[TItle(s) Gained!]

[Deal with Meritas C

The user has made a deal with the Goddess of wealth.

Unlock Charisma. +15 to Charisma]

[Unwelcomed Tourist F

You are not welcome here. You shouldn’t have come here.]

[Broke the rules F

What is in exile should stay in exile]

[Trait: Insanity C has upgraded to Insanity B]

[Trait: Insanity B has upgraded to Insanity A]

[Trait: Insanity A has upgraded to Insanity S]

[Danger! If Insanity goes any higher, the user will be in peril!]

[Lexicon Is reacting to &$^#%!?]

[Lexicon? > Lexicon??]

[Resistance: [email protected]#% 0 > 1]

[Designated Servant ‘Duchess’ has cast ‘Deprogram’ on the user.]

[Trait: Insanity S has downgraded to Insanity A]

[Trait: Insanity A has downgraded to Insanity B]

[Trait: Insanity B has downgraded to Insanity C]

…

These titles are foreboding.

I almost became insane from the strange influences of that place. I gained resistance to something, but I don’t know what. I can speculate all I want later. I want to see what I almost went crazy and died for. I open the burlap sack with my one good arm.