Enrico was the first to leave the hot spring, and the reason was obvious to him—training, of course, since he had already rested enough.
'Tomorrow I'll head to the warehouse dungeon, so I have to be ready.'
[You know, you'd be even more prepared if you were completely rested.]
'Nice try, but that won't work.'
On the way, he ran into Danyana and had to stop to explain some spells and how to improve them. Danyana saw him as someone she wanted to defeat, and yet, since Enrico had proven to be a good trainer, she began asking him for some advice.
"If you do this, you can merge your unique skill with your magic at one hundred percent."
"I see. Thank you for the tip. I'll make sure to use it against you in our rematch."
"Good luck with that, because you'll lose anyway."
"We'll see about that, Enrico."
Leaving with a hand on her chin, thinking about how to use Enrico's advice, she showed a certain coldness, which was normal when a beastman of her kind was focused on something.
'I hope she makes good use of that technique.'
[If you see potential in her, then it's certain she can evolve a lot.]
Opening the door to his room, he let himself in and closed his eyes for a moment. For a few seconds, Enrico decided he would try again to communicate with the original to learn more about that magic. He had been trying ever since the eliminations ended, but it never worked, and the system didn't help with it.
'Hey, Enrico, can you hear me? Come on, try to communicate with me.'
As time passed, he focused harder and harder. When he opened his eyes, several memories flooded his mind, giving him a momentary headache. Meeting that black panther again, he let out an irritated sigh.
"Why won't you let me remember? The more memories I create here, the more my head hurts from the amount of information being forced in at once."
"That's nothing for you... As for your question, I'd rather not risk you trying to eliminate me somehow."
"Tsk, why do we have to share the same mind? None of my tricks ever work on you."
Behind the panther, that egg he had seen before was now about a meter tall—it had grown quite a lot, which bothered Enrico because of whatever might hatch from it. Closing his eyes, he turned away, walking toward the void without opening them.
"Are you seriously going to try that?"
"Of course. I need to get stronger. Since you won't teach me that magic, I need to find the original—maybe he knows something that can help."
"Sorry about that, but if I teach you, you'll never let me take control from time to time… Just don't forget—you must keep your eyes closed, or you'll be devoured by the void itself."
"And whose fault is that?"
When he managed to get here three weeks ago, the first thing he asked was where the original was, only for that damned panther to point toward the void behind it, revealing it had sent him in there.
"My fault, I admit. But I won't let a fourth being try to control our body."
"Fourth? You mean the egg behind you?"
"Yes. Be careful, because I may owe her a debt, but I don't want her controlling me for too long."
Great—now he had one more thing to worry about, all because of that creature. To make it worse, when he was outside, his memories were sealed, meaning the awake version of him was different from the one who held so much information about his darker side and about that being he'd discovered was Nartheis, the one he had met in the magic zone.
'This is concerning… Maybe if I find the original, he can help me…'
Of course, first he had to find him and see what his mental state was—not only because of being trapped in this void, but also because he'd been betrayed by the very world he saved.
'If he's okay, I can try to make a deal with him… if not, I'll have to leave him in this void.'
It might be cruel, but it was better than letting someone with a broken mind roam outside. With his eyes completely shut, he walked through that void, suppressing the growing urge in his chest to open them and admire that place.
'Even if I have this feeling, I can't let it control me.'
One of the things he discovered was that if he looked too long, he himself would begin merging with the void—and to make sure he never tried again, that panther had revealed something to him.
"Better not try that again, or something beyond my understanding will appear. Maybe your current self will die—and, of course, so will I."
That was why he never tried looking again. If a new being were created, causing him to die, then all his plans would be ruined.
'Of course, I don't completely trust that panther, so I'll keep watching her closely.'
Walking there for hours with his eyes closed was difficult; the only thing he could do was call out the original Enrico by name.
"ENRICO, ARE YOU THERE?"
Being in a dark place where he didn't know what could happen was unsettling—never knowing what might occur or if he could even find the original in that place.
"That bastard said this place was an infinite void… I hope that's a lie."
There couldn't be something infinite inside him—there had to be an end somewhere. It wasn't possible for it to be that empty.
"This is really annoying. It's been a long time since I've felt this lost… though it's a little different."
Actually, it was quite different from the feelings he had back when he was younger, though he could tell something else was missing.
"Looks like my time's up."
Sighing as he felt himself fading, he simply waited calmly. The only thing that always annoyed him was that he'd forget everything once he returned.
"How irritating."