Chapter 11：Like lightning in a raining day (1/2)
After seven days inside the pitch-black space.
Mack was seated in his meditation position as usual but still could not feel the surrounding Essence.
Seven days went by since he came here with not a slight signal of improvements.
He himself didn't know how much time passed. He was without a cellphone, watch, or anything that could help to measure time. The only thing Mack had with him was a patient's gown that barely covered his body.
Even if he had anything, he doubted he would be able to see. Mack never went to a place so dark as this, and he was sure that was some kind of spell.
If at least he had food and water he would not be so worried. Actually, now. Mack was so hungry that he was seeing things in the dark already. Not the door. But a flying burger.
”Dammm I'm already hallucinating. This is way harder than I thought”
Mack was in a complete isolation state. On Earth, this same environment, would be used for tortures. Food deprivation, light deprivation, sound deprivation, and confinement. After all, if he moved he would be dead. This was the most common way of torture on Earth and could easily make the strongest man break in a matter of days.
He left behind sleep deprivation torture only to go to the full-package kind of deprivation torture. If the last one could kill him in months, this one could kill him in less than a month.
In these seven days, Mack barely slept. A human mind is a tricky one. Knowing he had a goal in mind and with no way to account for the passing of time, his mind didn't let him sleep for long. The same way someone would jump from the bed when realizing he was late for school or work.
But Mack now knew why he was suffering and had a motivation for doing so. He didn't just want the pain to go. He wanted to achieve a goal. He wanted to gain more knowledge and power. This was the only way for him to stop running for the rest of his life.
And in this world, nothing comes free. There ain't no free meals.
And Mack knew this very well. He and his family have paid an enormous price, just to have a chance, a slim chance, of inheriting whatever is in here.
When Mack was teleported or moved to this place, he was not in his best conditions either; he had been through a light coma, only receiving IV saline. He was weak when coming here, with nothing in his stomach.
Seven days of agonizing starvation, seven days without light, seven days without water, seven days without a sound.
He tried to ask a few more questions to the book, but no response came after the first day.
A hellish test, it's not surprising the book called this place Hel or Tower of Chaos or whatever.
”Focus Mack. Focus. Stop thinking useless stuff.”
Said Mack to himself, realizing he was lost in thoughts thinking of different subjects one after another.
~Sigh~
”When will be my life peaceful and full of wine and girls and some delicious hamburger? Did I eat an entire village in my previous life? Was I some glutton?”
”Ahhhhhhhh even a candy and I would be happy.”
”I guess I'm just not good with this Essence stuff.”
Said Mack, putting his hand in the stomach. The pain was like something burning inside him. An Excruciating pain. So strong that Mack felt dizzy for the first time in those seven days.
By luck or not, he was seated on the floor, otherwise, his test may be ended abruptly. Because in the next second he passed out. Falling to his left side while seated.
No sound was produced by his fall. be it because of Mack being so weak or because of him falling to his side while seated. No one will ever know. But as well ... no one cared about this either.
After a few hours.
Mack woke up but was not really like waking in the morning of a sunny day. Here was all pitch black. He was still dizzy because of malnutrition, worst, no nutrition at all. He felt light-headed, like someone drunk. Just like a permanently drunk person would be.
”Ahhh im? where?”
” ahhhh the book. the book was beautiful.”
” what is name? Girl!”
And just like a drunk person, he spat out whatever's crossed his mind.
In a state of half-conscious and half-hallucinating.
He tried to stand up, only to fall back on his butt again.
”Ouch!”
The acute pain brought his senses back, and he felt a little more rational.
”Did I pass out? How many days have this going on?”
He hoped to have a response from the book, but not a single word came.
”Let's try again. I guess this would be my last chance. If I fail now I bet the next time I pass out I will not come back.”
But with his senses returning, the pain in his stomach came back.