World Isekai

Chapter 51: [A Single Flame]

It felt like waking up the morning following a night of heavy drinking.

It had been a dreamless slumber, from which waking up brought no comfort.

His head was still spinning, as he felt weak rolling on himself.

His back was against a cold, hard floor. It felt like his skull was about to explode, a stinging headache just appearing.

"What the hell..."

Mori opened his eyes, but wasn't met with the sky. He wasn't in Brok's inn, or in a carriage going toward a prison cell.

He was in a cave.

He closed his eyes again, taking in his current situation.

He breathed deeply, then opened them again, sitting upright on the floor as he looked around.

He was in a square room. There was a singular torch on a wall with nothing else on any walls.

All of the walls were smoothly polished, the torch slightly reflecting on the stone despite it being black.

The floor, like the walls, was made of large rectangular black tiles, the overall feel and look giving luxurious vibes. It must've been a material close to marble, he thought.

The only wall that was unlike the others had a large arching entry way.

On the other side was a pathway that was large at first, but converging toward another room.

Mori got up, dusting himself as he looked around, walking along the walls in the room he woke up in.

What if...

Mori went back to the center of the room, bringing his arm forward to the back wall.

He tried his best conjuring the chains, however nothing happened.

"Nothing?"

A flicker of light went through Mori's eyes.

"Right. Almost forgot this is a world based on a game."

Mori brought his hand forward again, this time using the spell the way it was 'supposed' to be used.

"[Cursed Chains]."

He looked at his hand, then turned his palm around.

Nothing.

After thinking for a short moment, biting his lips, he brought up the next best thing he could.

[Memento Mori] [Level 1]

[Class: Cursed Sovereign]

[Cursed Path: Fateweaver 1879892/2,216,838]

[Health points: 5/5]

[Cursed Energy: 0/1477892]

[Magic: 10]

[Strength: 3]

[Defense: 2]

[Agility: 1]

Good. My path didn't move. My energy being this low, however, is a problem. It should recover over time, but still... What could've used all of it?

Mori looked at his spells. He had almost forgotten about that page in his profile.

Weak Curses, Possession, Bad Omens, Seals, Hallucinations, Endless Nightmares, Distorted voices, Abyssal Chains, Midas Touch...

Mori hadn't forgotten about them.

The main problem was his level being low didn't meet most spells requirements.

There were two things he did to go around those requirements.

First one was to burn his Mana, or 'Cursed Energy', in his case, to make up for the requirements. But some spells would burn way too much mana, leaving him defenseless afterward, leaving his selection extremely limited.

Damocles Sword was the highest level spell he could use. Its requirements were low compared to the others, but still forced him to burn most of his mana to make up for it.

While burning mana was the main way to make up for it, there was also the second factor.

Rituals.

Curses require rituals.

Not doing them also burned additional mana. Which meant some of these spells, while being intermediate, still burned energy.

Rituals, however, were his favorite part of his class.

The spells had minimal ritual values. That value went from 0 to 10, as he hadn't seen anything higher yet.

Any ritual he's able to complete with his target would raise his current ritual value with it.

If his ritual value was higher than the required one, the potency simply increased.

Mori didn't look at all the spells, as it would've taken an amount of time he wasn't ready to invest.

He knew about most of them, but the vast majority he had unlocked at early levels, and those curses oftentimes were minor inconveniences. None of which would help him out.

"And none of them cost 0 mana at this point, it's useless. The only option is..."

Mori turned around, looking at the pathway leading to the next room.

It's the only option.

A single path. No signs, no hints, nothing. Who knew what was there, and whatever it was could be dangerous.

With no chains to defend himself, he was truly weaponless.

The inscription on his torso was the last thing he wanted to use.

Opening them to let the hexes out would be a worst-case scenario. With no cursed energy, there was no way to control them, or even close the holes in his chest.

"At least I have my clothes. Not that it makes a difference..." he muttered.

He slowly walked forward, toward the pathway.

While his steps were careful and calculated, the absence of any sort of noise made each step echo on the walls.

He couldn't see anything ahead. The path led to a room, and all he could see was the wall at the opposite side.

The room was about 100 meters away, but he could distinguish lights dancing on the floor tiles, shadows fluttering on the ground.

Something was in front of that torch.

As he kept walking forward, he slowed down his pace.

He could hear something.

What is this?

A low vibration was coming from the room, quiet yet noticeable.

As he finally approached the entrance, his pace slowing, he stopped at the entrance, looking to his right where the sound came from.

The room was similar to his, black tiles covering every wall, with the same glassy reflection.

On the floor, however, was a fire lit from a single log resting on the ground.

A single clean flame danced from it, no visible smoke even came out of it.

The sound was truly relaxing, a crackling and sizzling that were a lot softer compared to usual, perfectly blending with the mainly empty room.

Next to the fire was a large but thin cloth on the ground.

It looked affected by time, but still in good condition.

And on top of it lied something.

It was small.

Seemingly asleep, in a deep but peaceful slumber.

Its head was lying on top of its paws, the body shorter than the log on which the fire was lit.

Its fur was of an abyssal black, edges shining with a dark blue and purple, giving a cosmic feel to its appearance.

Part of its fur on its back was seemingly ablaze. It looked like the fur was brightly lit ember.

It was a cat.

It was purring as it slept, its eyes gently closed.

Its tailed was slightly moving, like little tremors. Maybe it was chasing something in its dream, thought Mori.

Mori took a few steps, entering the room and heading toward the fire.

The cat opened its eyes, looking at Mori as he walked forward.

Its eyes gazed at Mori, but it felt like what looked at him was extremely far.

The eyes looked like distant galaxies, dark and mostly empty.

Yet, at the center of them, where the vertical iris was, something that looked like a single kindled flame.

It was tiny, and barely alive, but it was there.

The cat didn't look scared or bothered by Mori's presence.

As Mori reached the fire, a few steps away from the cat, it was already done arching its back, stretching.

They looked at each other for a moment, waiting.

"Are you... not a talking cat?" asked Mori.

The cat held Mori's gaze, but lied back down, resting its head on its paws again.

Mori sighed as he looked around the room one more time.

Memento Mori.

After turning quickly, Mori looked at the cat's face, which was still lying on its paws.

"That was... telepathy," stated Mori.

Yes.

His eyebrows arched, as he had stared at it. It hadn't moved, not even to blink.

Do cats blink? thought Mori.

Yes.

Mori's expression went from amazement to concern.

So you can read my thoughts.

Yes, in this room I can.

Mori had mixed feelings. The cat looked like no threat, but plenty of cute things in nature were deadly and brutal.

I am no threat. You are also reading my mind, in this room.

How is it I only hear you when you answer me?

In time, maybe, you'll learn to navigate a sea of tranquility.

Mori sat down, carefully avoiding stepping on the cloth.

You seem tired, and I'll let you sleep, promised. I just need to know where I am, and how do I leave this place?

The cat's eyes were staring at Mori. Would it have been another human being, this long of a stare would've been uncomfortable.

This one was the opposite, however.

It felt... soothing.

As if the cat was gazing at his soul, seeing the true him, which he himself hadn't seen in a while.

This is what you were looking for. The Crowned Dungeon.

So that means you are...

Yes. You can call me the Unkindled, Mori.