"You must realise by now what state you are in, Professor Arche?" Jun asked.
The flaming purple head as he observed a small puddle left.
No longer was there a flaming head but the absence of anything. Simply a tattered cloak with empty black hollow inside the hood.
Jun took a deep breath prepared to immerse himself in this role, or rather the role that Acheron had taken on.
"You are what is called a Sin Thirster. A lingering obsession, although it seems you are more lucid than others." Jun spoke as the two stared at the sands and water where numerous individuals climbed over each other only to end up back where the started.
"Often times they believe they are in full control of their destiny only to end up unknowingly following in the path of Nihility. " His gentle voice shook Professor Arche awake once more.
"Hm, indeed. A sound trap... No perhaps not a trap but rather a part of human nature. I didn't even realise I was dead." He muttered.
This lucidity was indeed different to what he had felt before. A clarity of thought that expanded outwards of a predetermined path.
"Young man... Who are you?" Arche asked.
A sudden stillness came over him once again.
"I'm..." He thought about using Jun.
[1.75%]
"I'm the watcher of the Acheron River. A guide to those lost within the river of nihility. Although a borrowed name, you can call me Acheron." He mentioned.
Arche nodded, "I see and what of those then?" He referred to the others already deep in the shadow of Nihility.
Jun simply shook his head, "It is too late for them. Now let's get you out of here." He offered a hand without the chains as he took the man through to another space. Everything felt almost instinctual.
Guiding those out of the Nihility and putting them to rest.
"Wait... I have one more favor I hope to ask of you. I ask of you to seek what remains of my legacy and Helios Academy. And when you do... Pass them this. Also look after Wise and Belle." Arche handed over a piece of folded paper.
Jun nodded. "Is there anything I need to know? I'm quite clueless about the ongoings outside."
Arche looked stunned "I assumed someone as strong as you would long know these things." Jun responded with silence as he sighed "I got lost and my memory isn't too good."
Arche laughed for the first time in a long time. "So someone as strong as you has their own weakness... Very well. Hopefully you will remember this short crash course."
After a period of briefing Arche looked refreshed and relieved.
Jun soon led Arche to a certain area of the river with a path of red flowers. Arche could only look amazed at this place with a sense of relief. A sense of peace.
"I will do my best. As for you... Seek that fleeting color of red, that's the color of existence. Goodbye Professor Arche."
The waters rumbled and the scenery faded away.
Miraculously he had exited the hollow after a few days while getting lost and searching for any clues regarding Arche's past.
[3%]
The small burst of percentage must have been from guiding him through the river.
He took a deep breath before organising his next moves.
Obviously number one priority was getting a public identity. Number 2 was earning money most preferably through commissions ideally as a freelancer. And from Arche's clues, he would need to find the twins.
It was a headache inducing list of things for someone who was freshly transmigrated and too used to the quests giving him info on what to do.
First he would need to make his way to New Eridu.
At least the road was a straight line.
Sparks of purple lightning sparked around as he rushed forward at max speed.
Vaguely he remembered his friends mentioning Sixth Street. But Sixth Street of what? Or is the street literally named Sixth Street. Such naming conventions gave him a headache.
Couldn't they come up with something like Dixon street? Pierpoint street?
A while passed as he slowly found the road leading towards a city of lights.
Finally he thought.
Glad that he couldn't get lost on a straight line.
He glanced at the maze of streets and roads and sighed.
He would perhaps need to find someone to help him out.
"10th street. Ok ok. Closer." He made a note as he continued to walk.
Wait a minute...
Something wasn't right, he thought to himself.
Wasn't it darker outside when he was walking in New Eridu? So why all of a sudden was it bright?
He sighed, when in doubt, blame Aha.
His intuition pointed him towards the fact that he was within a hollow again. What made him annoyed was the chaotic space within the hollow.
For someone like him, it was a blessing that he got lost within the hollow to get out. But now here he was again.
Lost from outside and found himself in a hollow.
His walk soon brought him to a seemingly abandoned subway station. In that instant his body moved to dodge.
A creature, no a woman, had fallen onto the floor with crystals all over her body.
Her body soon contorted until those crystals covered her entire body and her face transformed into a disturbing vortex.
Soon several more similar monsters appeared. Arche had called them Ethereals. His mind couldn't help wandering back to his friend's attempts at convincing him to play.
W-Engines are Lightcones, Agents are characters and Ethereals were just "Ice Out of Space".
Or something like that.
The mob of ethereals soon surged towards him as he sighed. His weapon appeared in an instant as he held onto Naught.
A flash of crimson light as his hair faded into white for an instant.
Quadrivalent Ascendance
Now he remembered why he favored Acheron.
Spamming the technique to farm was truly a god sent character kit.
Numerous sounds of sharp cuts could be heard only after the crimson slash appeared multiple times.
Each time his hair would appear white and his eyes crimson for a singular moment before the group of ethereals vanished.
A white haired girl looked from afar unsure but with deep surprise.
One strike per enemy. One shot kill.
The girl activated her recording function as she spoke, "This is Anby Demara, a member of the odd-job agency, Cunning Hares. I have accidentally fallen into a companion hollow."
"I do not possess a carrot, nor do I have a proxy assisting me. The probability of getting lost in the Hollow is as high as 96.4 percent."
She continued to narrate her experiences before mentioning the encounter with her suspected humanoid ethereal.
A shadow was soon cast over her as her body filled with tension ready to fight.
The voice was extremely calm and soft.
"Hello, little girl could you tell me if we are indeed in a hollow? I got lost trying to find the Sixth Street."
Anby continued to record stating she had found a potentially rational individual. As Jun could only sigh internally.
"I'm not an Ethereal. I just got there and I'm looking for a pair of siblings on the Sixth Street. I just have a very bad sense of direction."
Anby noted "Probability of this individual being a human is as high as 98%."
Jun held out a hand "Nice to meet you, you may call me Acheron."
Anby shook the hand and introduced herself "Anby Demara, an employee of Cunning Hares agency and a hollow affairs specialist."
Jun brightened up, "You must have a way of getting us out of here then right?"
Anby shook her head, "I can't get you out because I can't get out either."
Bro, this isn't going according to script is it? Certainly this was the Anby his friends had mentioned. She even mentioned she was a specialist in hollow affairs...
So what's the issue?
"We can't get out without a carrot." Anby stated bluntly.
Jun could only silently cry inside, in what fictional world is navigation through some kind of dungeon requiring a vegetable? No no no no, perhaps there is a misunderstanding.
"The kind you eat?" He tilted his head keeping his calm as he asked Anby.
"No it's for guidance, a map of the hollow that can guide us out." She soon started listing all the characteristics of a carrot.
Jun could only sigh feeling dead inside already, "Who names such an important device, carrot?" He thought to himself.