I CHOSE to be a VILLAIN, not a THIRD-RATE EXTRA!!

Chapter 14 Nature of Darkness

Ashok fell deeper into the infinite darkness, his body suspended in a free fall that seemed to last for eternity. His arms remained relaxed at his sides, and his face bore no sign of panic or fear. To an outside observer, it would seem as though he had given up, resigned to whatever fate awaited him. But within his mind, the thoughts were exactly opposite to what looked on the outside, alive with clarity and purpose.

'I can't let the First Impression go bad. I am still in the room, standing right above the ritual. This is an illusion, a test to see how I will react. If I want things to go as planned and in my favor, I can't show my future woman that I am weak. I need to remain composed, no matter what this illusion throws at me'.

Ashok knew she would never kill him. She couldn't. Not after all these years of living alone, isolated in the vast emptiness.' I'm the first living being she's seen in an eternity. I'm the connection to the world, she once knew of.'

Time seemed to lose all meaning as Ashok continued to fall through the seemingly endless void. The darkness around him was relentless, unyielding in its oppressive silence. The sensation of freefall had long since faded into something almost mundane, and as the hours—or what felt like hours—dragged on, Ashok found himself growing increasingly indifferent to it all.

With a soft yawn, Ashok stretched his limbs lazily, feeling the quiet emptiness surrounding him. He was feeling sleepy after seeing darkness all around.

The sensation of free-falling finally ceased as Ashok's body met the surface of an impossibly dense, black liquid. Unlike his previous experiences in darkness, this felt distinctly different. The air around him was thick with an eerie calm, and the darkness—though still enveloping—was not the same oppressive void he had known. It was as if the very concept of darkness had taken on a different hue, one that was uniquely its own.

Ashok stood on the surface, which was smooth and still, the liquid thick enough to support his weight as though it were solid. It stretched out in all directions, an endless expanse of pitch black, absorbing all light that dared to touch it. Above him, the sky was a subtle but unmistakable contrast—a shade of darkness that hovered just shy of grey. It wasn't pitch black like the lake, nor was it the soft pale grey of dawn. It was a kind of twilight, an in-between darkness, lighter than what he had expected, yet far from comforting.

It felt as though Ashok were standing in the center of a vast, black canvas. Despite the overwhelming darkness, he could still sense subtle distinctions in his surroundings.

From Ashok's perspective, it didn't even feel as if the being was speaking. The veil that shrouded the figure was so all-encompassing, so dense and unyielding, that it obscured everything—everything—even the slightest movement of the mouth.

'I shouldn't have said that first. But what can I do? That veil still gets in my way, even in this new life, preventing me from seeing her.'

Coming out of his turbulent thoughts, Ashok suddenly became aware of a peculiar sensation. His eyes instinctively drifted down to his hands, and to his surprise, he noticed that all his wounds were completely healed. His fingers, which had been severely bleeding only moments ago, were now unscathed, the flesh smooth. The pain from his bitten tongue, which had been sharp and unrelenting, was gone.

She must have healed me during the fall. The healing had happened so seamlessly, so swiftly, that Ashok hadn't even noticed it until now.

'Darkness is now being used for healing. The priests of the Church of Light will commit suicide if they ever saw this.' thought Ashok imagining the reaction of the priests.

"Before I come to you, I should deal with this disgusting thing first," said the being.

.....

The Academy Arc will start soon.