Healing System

’Now, who am I supposed to be communicating with exactly?’ Michael looked around with a frown, trying to find the source of this high-pitched sound.

It should be close—much closer than you’d think.

’Really? Is that why I can’t see it at all?’ he shot back in frustration. It felt like his brain was inside a microwave by now, and it was impossible to cut off the sound either.

His hearing had disappeared, but it still vibrated through his entire brain after all.

But if that was the case, the least he could do was try talking—it was taking a bit too long for him to drown anyway.

"Who are you?" he let out through multiple gurgles, sending the water back out with mana.

It felt like he was throwing up, but at the same time, being suffocated. It wasn’t a pleasant feeling.

Michael noticed something off. The moment he had spoken, his voice sent ripples throughout the water—seemingly impossible, considering what depth he was at.

All around was darkness, with the barely dim light of the sky slightly visible.

But as he paid attention to that detail, the light suddenly vanished before reappearing, immediately sending a shiver down his spine.

A second light appeared—one that was not too far from the other—disappearing and reappearing again and again.

’...’ Michael proceeded not to move a muscle, seemingly frozen in place.

It was not out of fear—more like awareness.

Awareness of the fact that those lights above were actually not the sky—or the sight.

They were eyes.

Yeah, that’s the octopus, kind of, the system remarked as he remained silent.

The high-pitched noise had disappeared, but he was still unable to summon up his shield; therefore, he was slowly drowning.

It’s not like he could die from merely drowning, but if he lost consciousness at this depth, it would be a miracle to survive.

However, while his tension was growing more apparent with each passing second, a small fish appeared before him.

It stared directly at him, its eyes reflecting the abnormally large being above him.

And then it spoke directly into his mind, "Why are you here?"

Its voice was serene—the kind he would imagine a siren to have—simply enchanting.

Yet, the tone at which it spoke was definitely not ideal; it was practically oozing malice with each word spoken.

Just as he was unsure of how to reply, a sudden system notification appeared before his eyes.

[Introduce yourself as the successor of the Golden Dragon]

He stared at the message with raised brows, but since there weren’t many other options, he decided to go through with it.

"I am the Golden Dragon’s successor," he simply said, awaiting a response.

However, the silence that ensued was definitely not a good sign.

Or that’s what he thought until, eventually, the small fish turned around and began slowly heading downwards.

Michael felt the pressure that was previously on him disappear, and he took it as a sign to follow.

As he was heading down, the familiar movements from earlier appeared in the very distance, but this time, he was actually able to catch a glimpse of what it was.

Massive tentacles—ones that spanned across his entire vision—it was a miracle how he did not notice them sooner.

The journey to wherever they were going was pretty slow. It barely felt like they had made any progress.

However, the darkening of the water—as well as the pressure—which was actually starting to affect him now—led him to conclude that the progress was much more than he initially thought.

Before long, the water turned completely black.

There was only one word he could use to describe such a sight—and that was:

’Abyss.’

Thankfully, the small fish acted as a sort of guiding light, weaving and turning at seemingly nothing. Nonetheless, he followed along perfectly.

That was until it finally stopped and turned toward him, its eyes ripped apart from the sheer pressure.

"This is as far as I can take you. May you find what you seek, successor," it spoke—this time in a tone that signified admiration—or perhaps some other emotion he could not quite comprehend. Experience tales at empire

Nonetheless, with a nod, he proceeded downwards. The pressure he was experiencing began increasing at a speed much faster than before.

The previous problem of no light also resurfaced. The only thing he knew was that he was heading downward.

And that was—with the help of the system’s encouraging comments.

Idiot, I told you to go left—not right! You’re swimming up. n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Left... Left. Your other left... the system said in a helpless tone.

’What the fuck do you mean the other left?’ he shot back and proceeded to shoot another sword of light a small distance ahead of himself.

What he managed to figure out was that if he was really going down, the sword of light would immediately plummet downwards. If not, it would stay stationary for a mere moment.

The guidance was a bit better than the system’s at least.

But the pressure was really starting to affect him. By now, it even began eating away at his mana.

All Michael could do, however, was persevere. If the trial was not total bullshit, then he would soon arrive at where he was supposed to.

And he didn’t need to wait long. In the very next moment, he spotted a pair of lights in the distance, similarly to the ones he had seen way above.

They were staring right at him, and the ringing from earlier came back as well. Just this time, it was not as ear-piercing.

In fact, it was almost like it was directly talking to him.

Michael tried focusing, and to his surprise, there really was some kind of voice.

One that was particularly distorted, yet it contained a certain meaning in its words.

’Prove myself? Is that what it’s saying?’ he questioned, finding it difficult to understand the message.

Just go closer to it. Seems like it’s pretty friendly for now.

’Hmm... Hopefully, it is,’ Michael thought and began making his way over to the being.

The closer he got, the more its true form came into view, and it looked like some giant monstrosity—many times larger than the octopus he had seen back in that strange elevator.

However, size aside, their appearance was practically the same—which really made him think of how the two were related in the first place.

It didn’t take long to get his answer as the system’s voice resounded in his mind, Each world has a guardian. The land, the sky, the oceans. They merely serve as baselines for the worlds and modify the ecosystem as they deem fit.

’So if they wanted to, could they just wipe everything out?’

Not really; they are made to give life—not take. However... if someone does intrude too deeply into their territory and, let’s say, reaches their core, then it would only be natural for them to defend themselves. The system patiently explained.

’Hmm... So if one of them were to die...’

Calamity will ensue, and the remaining guardians would gather to create a new guardian. If all of them are dead, then the world falls.

’...’ Michael groaned from the sudden influx of information. It made it seem like it was so easy to destroy entire worlds—or maybe that’s just how he thought.

But his inner thoughts were soon interrupted as a normal-sized octopus began approaching him and then stretching out its tentacles as if for a handshake.

Michael was unsure of how to react; therefore, he merely pointed at his mouth and ears, making sure to get the point across that he couldn’t breathe or hear.

And in the very next moment, the ringing noise stopped—before once again resuming.

But this time, it seemed reversed—as if the water was vibrating all around him—creating a small air bubble in which he could finally breathe.

That—and his hearing returned.

Turning toward the culprit, he noticed the normal-sized octopus hover right before him and once again stretch out its tentacles before saying:

"It’s a pleasure to meet you, successor to the Holy Golden Dragon."

’...The what?’