Chapter 16：Gate of Sloth (1/2)

Mack touched the door and like before it seemed nothing happened but turning his head back he saw a room that was thin but long. So long that he could not see the end of it.

The room was like a giant tunnel, fifty meters side to side and twenty meters to the top, and the length of it Mack could not estimate, he could not see the end of it. It was very similar to those train tunnels from Earth.

Looking in front of him Mack saw there was another metallic sign.

”Make haste or be slow, but be sure to achieve the goal. At each step a new test.”

”I guess I need to go to the end of this tunnel. But this last phrase is intriguing. Is this some riddle?”

Mack was not sure what to think and proceeded to walk forward. But just as he took the first step, he felt something strange.

He could not pinpoint what it was and took another step. Then he felt, It was like his body suddenly became heavier.

Then he walked for a few steps and was sure.

”The gravity of this place is increasing at each step I take. I see. This place must have some kind of gravity field generator like in the movies.”

Until now, the effect was not big. Mack took barely ten steps. He could feel the effect but was not strong enough for him to suffer from it. But he was sure, one or two kilometers and he would not be able to handle it anymore. He would probably be crawling to be able to move.

”What to do.... Now I know why the sign says make haste or be slow.... If I try to get used to the gravity I will suffer less sudden impact but will also take much more time.”

Then, remembering all the tests until now, Mack was sure. This was not a test to see if he could or not adapt to the increasing gravity. He felt like he needed to go as fast as he could.

Having decided on what to do. Mack raised his head, took a deep breath as if he was preparing mentally for the next suffering round.

Then, from his lips, the mantra-like phrases that he memorized from the book hummed. He needed any bit of help he could have. And for unknown reasons, humming those phases helped him to be more mentally strong.

In the middle of this long, empty, and dark tunnel, this same man started to run. His long hair moving with the motion. His hands still holding each one a pistol and from his lips an eerie mantra-like music could be heard.

He was alone in this place. He did not need to show off to anyone, didn't need the approval of others, didn't need to save a girl or to rescue his family. He ran because he wanted. He ran only to himself. He ran to defy his own limits.

And with each step this man took, the air seemed to become more dense. At each step, his muscles did a bit more of force to contain his own weight. But he didn't stop running.

Only death itself would make this man stop.