3 Have you experienced Despair? (1/2)

Chapter 3: Have you experienced Despair?

Little Fatso’s tragic screaming and crying echoed in the park in succeeding fashion. It was as if his cries would shatter the evening afterglow, drowning all light.

With all four limbs severed, and his tongue in pieces, Shi Xiaobai lay there bleeding profusely. He let out whimpers of anger, hate and worry. It was unknown what “magic” the calamity fiend had cast on him before leaving him. A black glow enshrouded him, and the stumps of his four broken limbs were no longer bleeding. The pain was intense enough to knock him out, yet he found it impossible to go unconscious.

The screams of Little Fatso and the cruel laughter of the calamity fiend assaulted Shi Xiaobai’s ears, making him imagine all kinds of scenes with the calamity fiend torturing Little Fatso. Unlike the previous decapitation, the calamity fiend seemed to torture Little Fatso with extreme patience. Shi Xiaobai knew that the calamity fiend was venting his anger that had arisen from his provocation.

“Sorry, Little Fatso. I was unable to save you, and instead, I harmed you.” Shi Xiaobai felt extremely agonized. For him, mental torture was much worse than physical torture, making it easier for him to break.

Little Fatso’s screams gradually weakened till they disappeared. It was a long process, so long that it seemed to cross millennia.

“It’s your turn. Remember this Demon’s name, Sahadun. It will accompany through the short remaining life of yours with extreme pain.” The calamity fiend’s cold voice echoed, and immediately following that, the sound of the calamity fiend’s footsteps could be heard.

Shi Xiaobai slowly closed his eyes, waiting for the incoming ordeal.

“Make your choice, youth!”

Suddenly, the fiery voice boomed once again in his mind as Shi Xiaobai opened his eyes instantly. All he saw was the still scene of the calamity fiend sticking its head out of the black hole from the past. Everything had once again returned to that moment when time had stopped. He was still alive, and everything was as perfect as before.

However, Shi Xiaobai was not dumbfounded, nor was he pleasantly surprised. He did not have an ounce of emotion and only faced it with an ashen face, as if he was a walking zombie. Previously, he had attempted to deceive himself by thinking it was a clairvoyant dream, but now, he finally reached the point when he needed to carefully think things through.

Why was he returned to the moment before making the choice twice in a row? So it was not a dream, nor was it an illusion, but because he had failed. He had failed to “Save Little Fatso”, resulting in time being reset.

“What will happen if I were to choose the other options?” That was the first thought Shi Xiaobai had. His eyes landed on another line of black text—”Escape”!

“If I were to immediately escape, I’ll definitely be able to succeed…Then, time would probably not reset to this point in time. I will not die, while Little Fatso will probably be killed, but at least he wouldn’t be tortured…”

“But.. I really want to.. save him!”

Shi Xiaobai’s eyes, which had just lit up, turned cloudy once again. His thoughts turned dark, as the voice inside him began to laugh in derision.

“You can’t save him. You are a weakling. You are garbage. You can’t protect anything.”

“Do you understand? You are neither a protagonist, nor are you a hero.. You are just an ordinary student found commonly on the streets.. But if you had to become a protagonist in a certain piece of work, then you would definitely end up in a tragedy…”

“You can’t even save yourself, so how are you to save others?”

“It’s not fair? The unfairness in this world boils down to the person in question being inadequate. Little Fatso will die, because he doesn’t have the ability to survive.. but you can, you can live on!”

“Run, run, run! As long as you run, you can survive!”

This voice had an enticing charm to it, as it made Shi Xiaobai’s eyes slowly turn red. If he were to choose “Save Little Fatso” once again, it would only be causing the tragedy to repeat itself once again. However, if he were to choose “Escape”, then his suffering would come to an end, and he would be liberated.

Scenes of bloody brutality flashed past Shi Xiaobai’s mind, as if it was bewailing the pain and horror he had previously suffered. It seemed to persuade him to be firm in having the will to escape.

Suddenly, the scene flashing through his brain stopped on the soccer ball. That ball that had flown through the twilight sky and had gently hit the calamity fiend. It was very gentle, but yet it seemed as heavy as gold.

Expression and emotion returned to the youth’s black eyes of eternal luster. An unyielding conviction emerged from the bottom of his heart.