The random aches in my body are directly correlated with my presence on this island. So I push them aside, just like the words of the tar entity as it tries to gain my attention.

I close in on the writhing mouth-covered entity. My suffering seems to grow as its suffering starts to lessen. This is the manifestation of the concept of suffering, nor is it the manifestation of torture or orifices. Pain is broader than that. Wait, no. That's incorrect. Pain is a sensation, but suffering is the entire spectrum.

Wait, no. That's correct if I don't perceive mental or emotions and only focus on the physical side. This is why pain is considered a concept when it's a physical stimulus that most creatures have.

Athletes use the pain of training their body as a motivator, and some people even get off on getting hurt. Medication, meditation, and motivation are all things that can help manage pain. But this thing can't be fixed with some inspirational phrases.

Pain, the entity, gets relief from my suffering. That could be why the hosts of pain were described as bringers of pain or constantly wracked with it—feeding a creature inside them not to suffer the same fate. I wonder if the mouths work beyond being a medium for screaming.

I'd want an extra secret mouth. It would make eating twice as efficient and biting twice as potent.

Double the dentist bill, however.

Tangent. I'm distracting myself with pointless thoughts. I crouch down and lean closer to the writhing, bloody entity. The screams are almost deafening. It seems to get relief from injuring itself, 'might as well help a tormented soul out.

I don't know what I am doing. I am only here because I was escaping pain and my inevitable demise from clashing energies. At this point, I should try stuff out until something works.

I slam it against the meaty wall behind it will a sicking slush sound following suit. I start kicking it over and over. It covers its face that means anything. The pain I inflict on this thing is reflected back to me multiplicity, but I can handle it better than it can.

If anything, the pain I feel from beating the shit out of this thing would make it feel better alongside the actual beating. It seems to relish in pain or at least feel less pain when pain is present.

"That seems like fun. But I'll be heading out now! I'm as much a masochist and sadist as you are, but I got things to do."

My attacks hurt me, while physical contact with this manifestation hurts well. But fuck it. I'm not giving an inch. I'm a tamer, so I'll tame the concepts here the best I can with the time I have.

I don't have the system, so I'm not doing it via skill but the good old fashion way. This is a testament of my will. A light touch against this thing makes it feel like I shattered bones. A graze makes it feel like I'm being flayed alive. I don't care.

Pain can't kill me. Pain is a symptom. It's a symptom that can lead to other problems that eventually kill me, but I'm not exactly here right now. My resistance is gone, and I have no skills. No matter how broken or altered, my body bounces back to normal with a thought. Maybe this pain is magical and can kill me, but fuck it anyways.

I may be stumbling into enlightenment—the master of my perceived reality or something. I don't know. I can't affect my surroundings or leave, so what do I know?

Time is weird while in pain. Even though I'll grit my teeth until my jaw shatters and clench my fists until my fingers break, it still messes with my perception.

Pain doesn't fight back. It accepts its beating. Eventually, the ambient pain I feel for just existing near this island fades. Maybe I got acclimated, or perhaps this fucker is finally satiated.

"If you're hungry, use your words next time."

*INCOHERENT CACOPHONY OF SCREAMS*

"Good talk."

It limps back to its corner, so I walk out the door. My business is done here. On the island, not in this weird place inside my body. I'm still riding out the high, and as I haven't died yet, I guess the time here works differently. Maybe I am dead, and this is some fucked up afterlife.

With all that pain gone, I can feel something faint inside me. Like vapor is lifting off of my body. That could indicate my time here is coming to a close soon, or maybe that's how I sweat in this form.

I turn my head and speak to the sack of pain isolating itself in the corner. "Stop killing me, asshole. Hurt the other concepts if you have to. Don't kill me in the process."

~

Now what?

It's gotten marginally better, but now what? Those two obviously have some weird relationship, while Taboo and Rock seem to be introverted in comparison. Death, Life, Undead. Would it be "Undeath?" Undead makes it sound like a species rather than an affliction. It is energy trying to change me physically, so who knows? It IS a concept, so who knows?

Getting close to the two superpowers and their illegitimate child makes me excessively anxious. Uncharacteristically so. As I approach, every fiber tells me to turn back, to flee. I should heed my instincts.

I land on the island of Undead. On either side of the island are Life and Death. It feels like I touched ground on a planet between a star and a black hole.

I don't feel good. I don't see a manifestation. The best place to describe this place is a graveless graveyard. The "light" from Life and the "darkness" from Death created a weird rotating sunlight cycle rapidly approaching me. I'm standing on the light side because I don't want to die.

With a comfortable walking pace, I can keep up with the change of light, but that's when I notice a stumbling humanoid barely managing to stay within the sunlight as the darkness nips at its heels. It's a red skeleton. Does this nucleus have artificial gravity or something? It must have crested over the island when I wasn't watching.

I walk alongside this red skeleton. It only gives me a cursory nod.

"So, what's up?"

"Clackity Clack."

"Ah. Of course."

Is this nucleus just a giant metaphor? The undead chase after the light to escape the coming darkness. On a technicality, they are the only creatures that aren't living creatures—that and golems. I think. They are technically undead. They have four of the six characteristics of Undeath, and they only need three to qualify.

I grab the red skeleton, ignoring the danger signals coursing through my brain. I tossed it further into the light to see what would happen. Flesh and skin rapidly grow on the creature as it tumbles against the ground. By the time it recovered enough to stand, it was already decomposing. The approaching darkness started to catch up.

It starts running, but it's slower. The meat falls off the bones until the skeleton is skirting the edge. The darkness only nipped at its heels.

I wonder what would happen if Undead was all alone in a person and didn't have Death or Life with it. If it has the same characteristics as actual undead creatures, then it would have a "life" envy and would have to sustain its life force due to unnatural means. But, on the other hand, if it was alone with Life, would it no longer need external sustenance, or would it no longer be considered "undeath?" At that point, it's just a living creature if it's that packed full of "life," no?

It would be dead with Death and wouldn't exist with Life. Alone, it might feed on the host until the host turns undead. Then the relationship becomes symbiotic instead of parasitic. But with both Life and Death in me, this little concept has to fight to survive.

At least it can't get tired. This little guy seems too busy to be actively killing me with the clash of energies. Its presence can influence me, but I figured out the main issues.

Death is actively killing me, while Life is actively keeping me alive. The two energies are not compatible and are clashing, causing further damage. Pain makes it ten times worse. Even if I wasn't dying, it felt like I was. There are a few more interactions, but speculating too far might lead me down an incorrect path. Just the presence of these concepts is killing me. How they feed or weaken each other would require extensive research and one or two conspiracy boards.

I have many theories. I leave the island of Undeath, coasting closer to the island of Life until I think all the effects are gone. The island of Life looks like a miniature star, more warm than bright. Life force? Maybe. I can see minor cracks on the island, but who knows the origin? Instead of a door, there is a person-sized crack leading deeper inside. It still makes me feel funny, and since I don't want to become spontaneously pregnant or who knows what can happen to me in this form, I decide to shout from a safe distance.

"HEY!"

No response.

"WAKE UP!"

No response... nevermind I was too quick to judge. A vaguely humanoid figure stands at the "doorway" of the crack and waves.

"COME OUT! I WANT TO TALK!"

The voice is distant enough that I can discern age or gender. It could have an accent.

"IF I DO, EVERYTHING DIES!"

"CAN I ASK YOU SOME QUESTIONS?"

"NO THANK YOU! BYE!"

I continue shouting, but I get no response. I decide not to bother with Death as I won't risk it. Rock's island slowly petrifies me as I get closer, and ignoring my imminent doom, I still come up with nothing. I don't find any manifestations or way of "entering" the island. Punching the rocky exterior does nothing, so I move on.

I'm done with this place for the time being. If anything I do here holds up in the real world; I have accomplished my goal of not dying. I don't believe going around asking nicely would harmonize my energies. I only escaped to this place to buy time and think of a course of action. After having that lovely discussion with Pain, things should work out. If Pain doesn't make the clashing energies suck so hard to feel, I could manage just fine.

I should invest in opioids. Would my resistance fight off the addicting part of the drugs or the entire drug itself? I'll test it. Medication and poison are synonymous, and the only difference is the dosage. I resist alcohol with my resistance; I don't see a difference with pain pills.

That implies that [Broken Liver] would make me fucking zooted then. It'll be like mixing booze and pills but without needing the drink. Curious.

The other conversations I had were just out of curiosity. I'm facing a big issue if this is a drug-induced hallucination. One that is completely random and has nothing to do with what's happening. If the [Sage of the Diviners] works as advertised, this should be an "enlightening experience," which I can't say it isn't.

I focus on that vaporous feeling without saying goodbye, and everything feels lighter. I start metaphorically floating in this ocean as my consciousness gets ripped out of my body. I see myself briefly before getting shoved back in, awake and fully conscious.

My beasts are all around me, and my body is aching badly. It feels like I somehow managed to survive a woodchipper just to be put into a meat packer. I notice my labored breath and the sweat caking my body. It takes a few seconds to get my breathing under control.

[Master?]

"I'll be fine."

[Thisss one doesn't believe that.]

"I'll survive."

[Good.]

All my beasts, except for Khan, show some worry or sympathy. Even Prometheus seems adamant about being emotional support, rubbing against my arm and releasing sounds that sound suspiciously like cooing.

I try to stand and fail on the first attempt. My legs didn't want to move; when they did, it wasn't in time. Rob tries to help me, but I dismiss his helping hand and stand alone. I do my best not to move like every inch of my body hurts. I think I can play it off.

I can use my mana, so at least I got that going. The floodgates are already broken, so nothing is obstructing me from doing so. It hurts slightly more when I use mana, but nothing I can't handle. I'm not losing health, and [Heal Anything] does little to mitigate the pain, although it does slightly.

I check my system notifications. There is a suspicious lack of messages about my attuned energies.

[Leadership has leveled upx4]

[Leadership has ranked up! Pick a direction.]

[Charisma, Coordination, Buffs.]

[Charisma: This path will allow the user to inspire and influence others with their words and personality. Ex: Cult Leaders, politicians, actors.]

[Coordination: This path will allow the user to coordinate their team members more effectively, improving communication and teamwork. Ex: Managers, officers, coaches.]

[Buffs: This path will grant the user a passive bonus to most buffing skills.]

[Note: Paths may diverge or intersect further down the line.]

Is this proof that what I experienced is real and the system knows what I was doing there even though it wasn't available? I'm not complaining. Coordination would be best for me, no? Even if I have regrets, since it's a journeyman's skill, I can "forget" it and do it all over. I think. Master Wang said something a while ago about that being a possibility. I'm curious about the note at the end; hopefully, I could get some buffing buffs for my beasts.