《Under No Limits》
1: Goodbye, I guess.
Remember those days? Days that seem so long ago, yet still clear and vivid in your mind. Days when life was so simple, innocent and pure. Days that make you feel like thepresenttime is whack, andsimply a bad remix of your childhoodwithsmall dropsof depression and suicidal thoughts.
Yep, those were the good ol'' days..
....
For a person like him, those don''t matter anymore.
Because he''s about toscore a-
VICTORY!
"YESHHHH!"
With a mouth full ofcavity and unhealthy chips,shouted a man who seems toounrestrainedfor his own good...
"BITCHES!" His hands free themselves from being glued on the desk for so long, as he jumped up from his seat with glee.
First impression, he doesn''t really sound like protagonist material to me. If anything he seems like a trashy side character that becomes completely irrelevant a few chapters later after his introduction.
...
But then again, that''s just a first impression.
"WINNER WINNER, CHICKEN DINNER!"
A rare sight! Behold, for he is performingwhatis called a ''victory dance'', a primitive technique since ancient times, it isshown as a sign when a person has done something that can be considered, ''worthy of praise'' as they would call it. Visually it can be described as arandom set of moves and hand gestures often seen as confusing or indescribable to normal eyes.
Nevertheless, everyone does that most of the time, so it doesn''t matter if hegoes and does it as well.
He then goes back to his chair, exhausted from hishalf-minutedance. His eyes are fixatedto the bright screen in front of him, showing him what made him so delightful.
"I can''t believe I won.."
With a smile that can make anyoneshudder in disgust, his head bumped to his desk with a loud thud,layingcontently on theroughsurface.
"Just take me away to heaven, ''cause I am ready to plant my foot on thatholy doormat."
Keep in mind, he''s not actually ready to die, he just feels so happy that he disregards his own words completely to the point where his joyoverridesrational thought. Of course you would know that, but it is sort of relevant to the plot so please don''t crease yourbrow in anger just yet.
*Yawn*
An indication that he''s ready to hibernate.
"Time to hit the sack, I guess."
Progressingthe story now, thank god.
"Hm...nah, some fresh air first."
Fuck you.
He glances at the time on his monitor, not surprised by how late it is.
"2am, a new record."
His hand reaches out for his can of Mountain Dew and proceeds to gulp down every last drop.
After setting down his empty can he proceeds to, although reluctantly, steadily make his way towards the door.
Have you ever felt that life was fleeting? That your timeends up too short for you to do anything meaningful? That everything you''ve accomplished and ever will accomplish is nothing but a ''waste'' of precious time? To the point that you just give up and say ''fuck it'', and proceed to spend the rest of your remaining days laying on the mud and becoming happy for once?
Here''s an example, a horrible one, but still counts:
"~You''ve got, a friend in me."This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
Yes, him again.
"....~You''ve got a friend, in me!"
With a singing voice that makes angelsweep tears of anguish, he makes his way towards a highway near his apartment for seemingly no reason. I mean he said he wanted some fresh air, but at a highway? And why is there even a highwaynext tohis apartment in the first place?!
And why at 2am?!
"Brrrr, too cold...why did I do his again?"
Feeling chilly, he hugged his body for some warmth. He now realized it was a bad idea to go outsideso early in the morningwearing nothing but a t-shirt, some baggy shorts and sandals.
"I wanted fresh air, not cold air...."
Again, realizing it was a bad idea, he then decided to just go back home and go to bed instead.
Something then struck his mind.
"Shit, my computer''s still on.."
No time for sleep just yet. First-world problems needto be resolved first.
So with a somewhat renewed vigor, he starts walking back to his apartment where his comfy bed resides-
*THUD*
Only for him to trip on nothing and fall down. And in the middle of the road no less.
"..Okay, ow."
With some effort he manages to push himself off the ground.
"Jeez, what''s up with me getting clumsy all of a sudden?"
Unlike the average, brainwashed individual of society, he actually questions his stupidity. How relieving.
After dusting himself off, he goes home.With no trouble, might I add.
...
...
...
...
...
....Screw that, let''s forward the story now.
"W-woah!"
*THUD*
By some sort of invisible power, he tripped again.
"What the?!"
He got up again.
"What''s wrong with me today??"
And started taking another step-
*THUD*
...And fell down again.
"Are my legs asleep or something?!"
Up.
*THUD*
"FUCK!*
Down.
...
"Phew, deep breaths, just calm down. Maybe I''m just having an off day, no big deal,"
Up.
"It''s all bad lu-FUUUU-"
*THUD*
"-UUUCK."
Oh dear, seems our poor protagonist is rather quite clumsy today ho~ho!
Exasparated, he lays on the ground for awhile.
"Okay, okay. I don''t know what''s wrong with me, I don''t know what the fuck is going on, but I''m going home!"
Steeling himself, he gets up and startsto sprin-
OH NO YOU DON''T!
*THUD*
"SHIT!"
*HONK* *HONK*
"What!?"
All of a sudden, alarge truck appears along the highway!
*HONK* *HONK*
"Oh Shit!"
With the fear of dying, adrenaline starts pumping into his body.
Frantically, he immediately starts to get up and out of the truck''s way.
"Shit! Shit! Shit!"
*THUD*
"GOD-"
Unfortunately for him, he is too pre-occupied with his love session with the ground.
With the speed it''s going, no doubt will it inevitably hit him...
...
...
...and possibly kill him, hehe.
"No!"
He doesn''t understand why he can''t get off the floor for some reason, nor does he suspect that the narratoris playing with him in order to move the goddamn story line!
"I''m not gonna fucking die here!"
But, he is not willing to lay down and let fate consume him. He will rise up against the world! The people! Even the gods!
The truck starts getting closer.
*HONK*
He will not be put to an early death.
And closer.
*HOOOONK*
*SCREECH*
HE.WILL.LIVE!
CLOSER!
"HYAHHH!"
By summoning the inner martial artistinside him that he never knew existed, he proceeds to use his newfound ninjutsu skills to kick himself off the ground and somersaulted into the air,flipping over the truckand landing in a superherostyle.
*SCREEEECHHH*
The truck''s weight added with it''svelocity eventually made it fall over, the concrete of the roadcracking and breakingunder ituntil it skidded to a stop.
...
...
...
*Fwoosh*
The hood of the truck suddenly catches on fire, as smokeas smoke starts billowingout of its engine.
"Fuck," While trying to catch his breath, his eyes wandered over to the aftermath of what would have been his untimely demise. "That was *pant* what?!"
He was amazed at himself, but he was mostly shocked. He would have left this world too soon if he didn''t just do whathe believed he had done.
Heck, he still hasn''t turned off his computer yet! His game was still running for Christ sake! Who knew what kind of evil, diabolical person would mess with his account! Granted it was 2 in the morning and everyonewas probably alreadyasleep during this time, but it was still possible!
"I''M STILL ALIVE, BABY!"
He lives!
"WOOOOOH YEA-"
*CRASH* *BOOM*
Suddenly a fighter jet fellfrom the sky and crashed towards him, ending his miserable life.
...
...
...Poor him, never even got the chance to say his goodbyes. If he could still speak, or even breathe for that matter, he''d have completely regretted going outside in the first place.
Well, that''s life. Full of unexpected outcomes. *Sigh* Oh well.
....
....
....
Well...that ended rather, dull....
Whatever, next scene.
*BZZZ*
...
*BZZZ*
...
*BZZZ*
...
Sometimes life doesn''t go the way you want, it''s like being born with just one purpose, and once that''s fulfilled, there''s nothing left for you to do. I''m sure you felt like that once, like a puppet with invisible strings, dancing for the entire world''s amusement. You don''t know when you''ll just suddenly go off, so live in any way you can, so long as it makes you happy. Ignore the concept of good and evil, it''s okay to be selfish, everyone is, they just don''t like admitting it. Don''t live to be better than someone else, live to enjoy life inevery way possible, trust me....
And most importantly..
...
Don''ttake life lessons from a work of fiction. Be careful with who or what you trust.
Trust me.
Inside the room of the now dead tenant, sounds of crackling electricity can be heard from the computer.
The monitor''s screen turns into static before briefly flashing one word:
...
WELCOME
...
It silently turns off.
2: This is me, I guess
If you recall, our.. *cough*.... ''hero'', died in a horrible ''accident'' that will always be remembered. That should signal the end of a story right?
Right?
Well for the entire time that he was alive, up to the point of his death, it should be considered a story itself. In a way, his story had an abrupt ending. But as we all know, for every ending, comes a new beginning.
So for our beloved ''hero'', this is merely the end, of his beginning.
And so another story unfolds.
...
If he believed that his eyes were open right now, he was sure that he would only face darkness, and nothing else.
...
...
He was not absolutely aware of what happened, or if he had actually died. But the last thing his ears ever percieved was the roaring engine of what sounded like some kind of plane, getting louder and louder each time, indicating the moment of his impending doom.
..
..
He could try to scream, cry for help...yet the more he thought about it, did he really want to?
..
..
Devoid of noise, devoid of activity. It gave him, for once, a sense of weirdly surreal peace. He felt as though he was one with this world of nothingess, and somehow made him cease his endless questioning of where he was, and how he died. Heck, he doesn''t even care how the fuck something like a plane of all things just randomly crashed, conviently he might add, right into him.
He was content. For once in his life, he finally felt complete. Sure, he missed living, but to be honest, who would go back to a life of endless suffering? A place that made him feel smaller than he already was? A world where people breed selfishness and hatred, proudly bearing the symbol of a corrupt, greedy consort that feeds on his damned soul?
..
..
If he had to choose between, that... and this one. It would be the latter, everytime. It was muchmore pleasant here, for him at least. Friends? Got a few ones, but he already stopped all forms of communication with them. Family? He misses them a little bit, but they''ll do well without him.
..
..
..
..
Great...now he''s bored.
It''s not that he''s uncomfortable with death, he''s already accepted it, and acknowledged the peace of mind it gave him.
But....there''s just nothing to do.
If anything, the only reason he considered living was when he was with his computer. He spends most of his time there, and when he''s doing anything else....he just starts droning for a while.
He was weird that way, but hey, everybody hasa weird side of them, and its either something that they hide and feel ashamed of, or something that they''ll gladly show to anyone and be honest about themselves.
..
..
..
..
..
..
Okay screw this he doesn''t want to be dead anymore.
Isn''t there like, some sort of heaven? If so, why isn''t he there instead? Is it because the big big guy in the sky won''t accept someone like him? Does this someone like him deserve to go to hell? If that''s the case then why isn''t he in hell? Is this hell? Seems kind of lackluster tobe honest.
Purgatory perhaps?Maybe Limbo?Ah forget it, what''s the point of knowing that? Why not just relax and enjoy- oh yeah cause he''s fuckingbored!
...
...
Can something just please happen? Something that''ll give him some form of entertainment?
C''mon...
...
Please....
...
Maybe if he could close his eyes and paint funny mental images to bide his time here, like a cockroach wearing a sombrero, yeah like that....oh wait, he doesn''t need to close his eyes, this entire plane of darkness is already the perfect canvas for his mind.
*One image of a cockroach wearing a sombrerolater*
Yeah haha that was funny-okay now he''s bored again C''MON!
He was beginning to like the solitary value of this place but nowhis yelp rating just went down to a hard zero.
He realized that he wanted to live again because fuck it, life is way better than death. He''s not saying that he actually likes living, but at least there was a ton of stuff that he could do that was plenty of fun, so many opportunities to grab and shit...don''t get him wrong, he wasn''t even the least hopeful that he was gonna, "overcome his struggles" or, "achieve his most wildest dreams", all he''s saying is that even if life for him was complete shit, at least it wasn''t absolute shit.
If there was a way to get out of this, he''d do it in a heartbeat. If there was a way...
If there was just some way of leaving this accursed, empty world. Again, if there was.
If he could just see that tiny, tiny glimmer of hope that he could just escape into a better place, he''d reach his non existent hand out, grasp it an-
*thunk*
.....wat?
Wait, this is...
*thunk *thunk*
..
..
Was he touching something? Was that him doing that?
*thunk* *thunk*
No wait that can''t be right, he has no hands! He''s supposed to be dead!
*thunk* *thunk*
Unless of course, he''s actually alive!--
*CRACK*
Suddenly, white cracks started appearing along the edges of his vision. His eyes widened in shock, but before he could question it, he became blinded by the sudden flash of light as he heard a sound similar to glass shattering.
As soon as it faded, he slowly cracked his eyes open-
And became even more shocked.
The sight was veryunfamilar to him, and very unwelcoming as well.This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
What greeted him was the dark interior of a large, spacious cavern. It stretched wider than any cave he''s ever seen or been to...
(Insert Lenny Face Here)
The ceiling was so high up that he almost couldn''t see it, but he could make outlarge stalactites that seemed ready to drop on top of his head at anytime. Small holes and crevices in the ceiling gave way to rays of light that shone down upon the dimness of the entire cavern, granting him visual clarity of his surroundings.
He felt as if heregretted having regained his eyesight again, because the view he was given made him almost look away and shudder in shock and disgust. Almost.
Encircling himwas a row of cross, burned and completely black. But that was not what made him churn his stomach..
Eachhad corpses crucified to them, and if he could guess from that horrifying,retchingsmell that had drifted towards his nose, and the look of charred flesh and burnt clothing, they were probably real and at one point was alive, and that they were probably condemned to the same fate.
He felt as if their socketless eyes were currently peering down at him,showing him theimmense painandsuffering that theyexperiencedbefore succumbing to their agonizing deaths.
...
...
Goddamnit.
Honestly, what the hell was happening to him?
Nevermind the corpses, that probably happensall the time in some weird, obscure placesall over the world.
His problem was where the actual fuck he was! He wants to go back dammnit!
Sure, he feels somewhat sad about how they possibly died (assumingly from being burned to death), but honestly there''s nothing he can do for them. What, is he just gonna grab a bucket of water, splash it unto their bodies and hopefully they''ll come out all dandy and fine from it??
Absolutely not!
Everywhere he goes it''s absolute shit. But this? This is the worst shit ever. This is the shit that you can''t see, but you can still feel and smell as it clings to your body, unable to be removed no matter what kind of methods you use to get rid of the scar-like stainas the entire worldpoints fingers at you and laughs at your misery.
The one thing he never wanted...
ABSOLUTE SHIT!
Screw living! Take him back to the darkness! Relieve him of the light! Death is way better!
..
..
Okay, that was weird, he admits that he''s a piece of shit. But honestly? That was kind of uncalled for, and rather....inhumane of him. Then again, aren''t everyone asshole-ish in nature?
The way his mind processed it, was unusual. He was sure that if he saw something like this, he would retch, puke his stomach''s contents out. Yet for some reason, it merely aggravated him, it was simply annoyance at best. Odd. Wasn''t he feeling naseous a few seconds ago?
Instead of being ina state of fear and panic, he was actingtoo calm and carefree for what could be considered a horribleact of violenceand an attack againstmoral justice.
"Strange..."
..
..
Wait what?
"...Um..."
That was, wait...what??
Was that...his voice?
".....Testing.."
..
..
"WAT?!"
His voice! What the hell happened to his voice?!It''s like he''s inhaled both Solid Snake andLucifer together! Sure it''s kind of cool and all, but it''s not his voice!
So now he''s got two problems in his hands, and he doesn''t know what the fuck to do!
First there was him suddenly having the outlook of a psychopath, and then there''s the "I smoke25 cigarettes a day." voice. Oh wait, there''s problem number three as well:
"Where the fuck am I?!"
Seriously though, wherewas he? All he knows is that he died, was stuck in some black plane for awhile, and now he''s magically appeared in a place that would make any normal person weak in the stomach with a voice that would make either crackheads proud or grovel in the mud to worship their newfound God...or Satan whichever way they prefer...
Okay enough with the mental ranting!
Looking around, he noticed a rather largehole in the middle of the cavern, an exit perhaps?
Deciding to not prolong his stay any further, he proceeds to turn around and-
*Clink*
..
..
....Again..what?
His eyes travelled down to his feet, noticing something strange about his appearance..
When did he have metal boots all of a sudden?
And why was he too dumb to realize any of this shit sooner? All of this is too confusing. It''s like waking up from an extreme case of hangover.
Uponfurther inspection, he also realized he was wearing some kind of strange attire, but with how dim the place was, he couldn''t really make out what he was wearing.
There was also a freakishly huge red ritual circle under him, if his eyes were telling him the truth, stupid darkness...
And since he''s at the center of it all....
Forget it, he doesn''t want to know, not now.
It seems that everytime he keeps finding answers, he gets more questions instead.
It''s too dark, he needs to find some way outside of the cave.
Figuring that he wouldn''t get his answers anytime soon, he heads towards the opening in a steady pace.You can''t just rush things.
After all, he''s got too much occupied in his mind right now, and he isn''t willing to die from stress any time soon.
Once arriving to his destination, just over the edge he was able to make out a rough staircase, was he supposed to go down? Let''s hope he doesn''t trip over...
As he descended downwards, he started musing about his current predicament. It was quite bizzare, and too unusual. It''s not everyday you suddenly find yourself in the middle of some weird black magic ritual aftermath.
He drowns out the sounds of his clinking metal boots, seemingly having forgotten to be careful of minding his steps in favor of immersing himself in his thoughts.
First there was the crucified, burnt dead people, and then there was his voice, his entire outfit, and the weird circle on the ground. Let''s not forget about this entire cavern where all of this shit is happening.
And of course, his suddenly warped perception of the entire situation. He''s like a completely different person now. One part of his mind tells him to panic, another just tells him to dismiss that feeling entirely. He feels rathercut off from what emotion he should be correspondingto in order to give the correct reaction to the given situation. If there was something that was scary to him, then fear wouldlikely be the proper emotion that overrides hisstate of mind at that point.
He felt none of that. Instead of reacting like any normal person should, he responded in a way a cold, emotionless robot would....
Why was he here?
Light seeps through his vision, breaking him from his thoughts. It seemshe was already nearing the exit.
Sure enough, just at the bottom was another opening, at his angle he was able to make out patches ofgrass.
As soon as he stepped foot outside, he was pleasantly surprised, at leastsome parts of his emotionsare functioning properly.
Above him loomed the night sky, filled with countless stars and celestial bodies, a farcry from the sky he was used to seeing every night just outside the window of his apartment. Beneath his feet crinkled the lush greenery that glued him to the earth, a refreshing change compared to the cracked concrete he was always stepping on. Before him rested a shimmering lake, it''s waters much more clearer than the polluted rivers that lay under the bridges of every city.
Wherever he was, he was far away from home. Very far.
He realized that it was actually bright enough outside, so he finally got around to inspect himself fully. And let him tell ya, he''s pretty confused.
Why oh why was he too dumb to notice how fully decked out he was in clothing!
Oh, maybe it''s because the author is too stupid to write a good story, ya lazy sack of shit!
...
Okay, time out.
When did he start wearing some weird knight/cowboy hybrid costume?
He couldn''t make out what he was actually wearing, but that was what first came to his mind when he saw his outfit.
Well, at least he was right about the metal boots.
Seriously, why didn''t he notice any of this sooner?
He glanced at the lake, if he wanted to get some answers, a mirror is a start. And since the water was very clear (seriously, look at the shimmer!), it was perfect.
So he proceeded to walk over by the side of the lake, though his steps were a bit faulty.
For some reason, he didn''t want to do it, it was like something in the back of his mind keeps telling him that this was a bad idea.
And since he was already a firm believer of the saying, "nothing good will come to you." he had felt like a complete idiot for ignoring that scratching feeling.Yet he didn''t feel like panicking, like his heart wasn''t attempting to burst out of his chest and leave its host to run away..
He was simply calm, and ironically that made him more anxious.
He finally arrived, this was it, the big reveal.
He steadily got down on all fours, hishead slowly tilting over the water, revealing his reflection.
Or, was it even his?
After an answer came, many more questions replaced it.
On its head was something akin to a cowboy hat, with one long cut on one side, tilted downwards to hidenearlya third of his face, but did it even have a face?
Wrapped aroundits neck was a large ragged scarf that had many bullet like holes, effectively hiding its mouth, but did it even have a mouth?
Asingle, glowing whiteorb gazed at him,feelingit pierce his own soul, daring him to stare longer, telling him that this was actually him.
And even though he wanted to believe that it really wasn''t him, that conviction was short-lived, already rotting slowly, somewhere deep within the abyss of his mind.
This was him.
..
..
"Why do Ionly have one eye? I feel like I have two..."
Goddamnit...
Looks like his feeling of fear died off with his brain, because he''s beinga complete idiot right now.
He was supposed to react, say something like, "Oh my god! What have I become?!!!".
But instead he was all like- "ERMYGAD I ONLY HABE WAN AYYYYEYEYEYEYE."
For the love of god, can someone tell him whatis going on right now?!
Who was this? Him? Are you telling him this faceless thing was actually him? He''s not human? He''s supposed to be human! And oh good! Glad that he''s not actually emotionless, he''s stillgot a bit ofasshole left in him!!
..
..
When is the author gonna stop typing ellipses? It''s annoying.
..
..
Wait.
He peered over to the water again, though this time trying to remember something.
This face, he knows this. He. Knows.This.
His sole orb (It still feels awkward for him to say it''s his,), as if showing a sign of emotion, suddenly lit up in recognition.
No way. It couldn''t be.
This is..this is..
Thisis his character, froma game called ''Soulbound''.
Character, a game character. Something he made...
And it''sstaring right at him.
No matter how prepared you are, there''s no telling what will happen in a world full of random events and upcomings.It''s good to be a little cautious, but don''t letitgrowinto paranoia, or else youwill never expect good things to come to you, and that''s bad for yourmental health. Be a little optimistic, nothing bad about it, just makes you feel like life is worth living more. Just a little bit.
Have hope in yourself.
Be hopeful.
A resounding roar fills the air, overthrowing the silence that dominated the land.
The wind bows down to the strength of flapping wings...
The earth grovels tothe grip of obsidianclaws...
The water evaporatesagainst the volcanic heat of a summoned inferno...
A great beast has come to rule the skies.
And it''s nearingone lone figure sitting idly besidea lake, who''s mind has become too preoccupied to sense the approaching danger.