[DNF Novel] 'Detonation, Limit' Chapter 1

"滴答……"\"滴答……"\The sound of water droplets falling echoed in his ears. For some reason, this sound felt very familiar to him. The boy blinked his dark red eyes in confusion—the world before him was entirely orange-yellow, with a light, drizzle-like rain falling, vast, empty, and serene.\"Am…I dead?" The boy lowered his head. In the position where his heart used to be in his chest was a pierced circular void. The edges of the void were composed of an unknown black substance, threadlike and wispy. The boy placed his hand over the void and fell into contemplation.\He realized he was standing in water that reached just above his ankles, and his body looked like a lump of freshly molded clay—only a rough shape, without details or color—except for the pair of dark red eyes.\【That's right, you are already dead.】\The alluring voice rang in the boy's mind. Startled from his reverie, he lifted his head. The sky above him suddenly transformed. It was no longer the familiar sky, but densely packed, uneven-length fingers, each as thick as an arm. And the drizzling rain fell from the blackened nails of these fingers.\【However,】 the voice continued, 【you haven't completely died yet. But soon, it will end.】\The boy lowered his head again, staring at the orange-yellow water. His dark red eyes showed no emotional fluctuation.\"Is my life about to end so meaningless..."\From a "meaningless living" to a "meaningless death," this is a "meaningless 'me.'"\Suddenly, the peaceful orange***world*** quaked, dark red light enveloped the world, sweeping up black storms and tousling the boy's unformed hair. The boy lifted his head, and the sky full of fingers turned a cyan-blue.\A huge black-red skull roared in a hoarse voice.\【Foolish one!】\Yet it was just a momentary lapse. Its voice became alluring again, with a strange, sickly-sweet tone, deep and magnetic.\【Defeated miserably, unable to protect the important ones.】\As the voice spoke, a scene filled with chains instantly appeared in the boy's mind: shattered puppets with dropped heads, limbs twisted into grotesque poses, and every face was of people the boy knew, even including himself.[Only avoiding the strong, constantly running away, never resisting, ultimately dying a miserable death.] The weak puppet was lifted by the powerful puppet, its limbs broken and lifeless. Its eyes were wide open, but no sound came from its open mouth. [This is you!] A black whirlwind suddenly appeared, engulfing the boy's dark red eyes. From the hole piercing his chest, a crimson light shone. "Aaaaaah——" Tears welled up at the corners of the boy's eyes from the pain. He clutched his head with both hands as memories from deep within surged forth, replaying his short life like a revolving lantern… [Look at your life, it was nothing but a coward devouring the weak!] Forming gangs to commit crimes, avoiding the strong, and oppressing the weak—this was the survival law in the boy's world. If it were possible, who would want such a life? When struggling in the world just to 'survive', ethics and morality become nothing but empty words. "So, what do you want to do with me?" The boy placed his hand on his chest and stared at the huge skull, questioning, "Pull me into hell?" [No, I want to give you another chance.] A dazzling circle of cyan-blue light formed. The boy widened his dark-red eyes in surprise. "Another chance?" [I will give you power and life you've never had before and let you be reborn.] The black-red skull looked down at the boy and stretched out a hand made only of finger bones. In the palm was a dazzling cyan-blue light sphere… No, it was not simply a light sphere. It was a totem shaped like an eye, with tear-shaped markings beneath it—a weeping eye! The dazzling light sphere formed by the cyan-blue light was just the eyeball of that eye! "Why?" the boy asked, puzzled. [Because this is my final choice.] As soon as the words fell, the world in the boy's eyes changed from dark red to cyan-blue, and the countless fingers in the sky disappeared—or perhaps the sky itself vanished. The water that originally reached only the boy's feet instantly engulfed the entire world. The boy seemed to float in the sea. The bony hand, in the boy's astonished gaze, placed the eye-shaped totem into the cavity in his chest. Instantly, the hole in his chest began to heal rapidly, as if it had never existed. [I will use the Eye of Darkness to replace your torn heart.]The cyan-blue light radiated outward, shooting from the boy's body, like a spear piercing through him. [It gives you a brand new world, allowing you to choose the right path again.] The boy's body tensed up from the pain; the kind of suffering that felt like his soul was being torn apart was even worse than death! [Hehe...] The eerie laughter was the last sound he heard. Just as his lungs were about to suffocate from extreme lack of oxygen, all the pressure around him suddenly disappeared. 'Cough... cough...' The boy coughed violently. When he opened his eyes, he realized!!! 'Th-this... this is!!'