AN: This is a notice to inform readers that classes have started for me so updates will probably slow down.
Chapter IV
The Empty Doll
-x-
Pain…it made up the entirety of Naruto's world. It was his heaven and hell, filling his senses to the brim he could only let it overflow in the form of screams and tears. Through bleary eyes he could see as the stars fell like raindrops from the sky, the sky silently parting before him like the curtains to a grand play of which he was the sole witness. His hand feeling like it was on fire he could only gaze dumbfounded at the sight before him.
Having devoured the moon in the sky there stood a window to nothingness, a spiraling vortex of such grand magnificence that all who cast their eyes upon it instinctively knew that they were gazing at something that shouldn't exist. No living being should hold life in the presence of death yet he alone still drew breath.
Primordial Death has descended to the mortal plane.
Stage: Kuoh Academy (Night) has been elevated to a higher world for the duration of Mission 3.
[New] Stage: Kuoh Academy (Purgatorium)
Feeling the pain on his left hand finally diminish he looked down upon it only to find a strange seal seared into his flesh.
Death Mark (8 Hours) – You have been branded by death, despair all who hold the mark as death will soon follow.
The description his Divine Vision picked up was pretty grim and caused a feeling of foreboding to build in his heart. His hand trembling as he cradled it to his chest he cast his eyes once more towards the spiraling white vortex in the sky, he didn't know why but he expected death to be more corporeal in a sense. Like the grim reaper from legend with his hooded black cloak and skeletal appearance, honestly even a guy holding a scythe would do.
Maybe Bleach had spoiled him to death gods and how they should look badass.
[Death God's Sigh] has been used by Primordial Death.
Primordial Death has breathed into a lower world.
As the notification rang out a white mist seemed to emerge from the vortex, it spiraling down as it twisted and writhed like a snake as it bore down on him. However before he could even have a chance to feel offended at the seemingly halfhearted attack his world exploded into a sea of notifications.
Spiritual Fortitude Activated – Soul Destruction attempt failed.
Spiritual Fortitude Activated – Soul Desecration attempt failed.
Spiritual Fortitude Activated – Soul Devour attempt failed.
Spiritual Fortitude Activated – Soul Absorption attempt failed.
Spiritual Fortitude Activated…
Mental Fortitude Activated – Madness attempt failed
Mental Fortitude Activated – Insanity attempt failed
Mental Fortitude Activated – Depression attempt failed
Mental Fortitude Activated – Hell Whispers attempt failed
Mental Fortitude Activated…
Constitutional Fortitude Activated – Two-Faced God attempt failed
Constitutional Fortitude Activated – Hell Resonance attempt failed
Constitutional Fortitude Activated – Negative Frequency Oscillating attempt failed
Constitutional Fortitude Activated – Rapture of Angels attempt failed
Constitutional Fortitude Activated…
Naruto's eyes widened in horror as hundreds of notifications sounded out, the list scrolling down endlessly as every sort of attack imaginable that wasn't part of the physical spectrum was attempted on his being. If it weren't for those three perks he would be dead dozens of times over by now…
Gazing at the mist in quickly growing horror he came to realize that all this was without it even touching him. All those status effects were derived solely from its mere presence. There was no way…he can't win. He can't survive against that thing for eight hours!
The Almighty (Debuff) successful – All stats lowered to lowest possible denominator to sustain life – 1
Heavenly Tribulation successful – Death is permanent and the heavens conspire against you
Hidden Skill Acquired: Beneath The Eyes of Gods –You are 50% easier for higher beings to overlook
Hidden Skill Acquired: Overbearing Mortal – You are immune to the pressure of higher beings
Hidden Skill Acquired: Challenger of Creation – The god in you stirs…
His luck had run out, a few status effects made it past the safety net his perks provided him. Instantly he felt as his body lost all strength and his breathing grew labored and painful. He needed to run away…to hide. However his body protested towards his every action, the stat decrease allowed him to keep his life but it was to a point so close to death that killing him would nearly be a mercy.
Only the sharp pain in his hand reminded him of the task at hand and helped him keep a cool head, his new Disposition of the Ancients Perk working in overdrive as he came to the conclusion that his body was unaltered. This sense of weakness was derived from the system limiting his preexisting attributes, he wasn't truly uglier or less charming it was just others would perceive him that way. If that was the case then while his strength was lowered to 1 it didn't mean that his muscles and bone structure would instantly become frail, it would simply revert to default. He simply felt weaker.
Coming to this conclusion Naruto knew he had to get inside before the mist fell over the school, turning around he took a step only to nearly have his entire leg give out from under him.
'What the hell is this!?' Naruto cried inwardly as his leg went numb, it was like his brain couldn't control his body properly, as if his own arms and legs didn't belong to him.
'The intelligence stat!' He thought in realization before he dumbly raised a hand to his throat as he found that he couldn't speak, 'I'm not smart enough to talk anymore…'
"Aauugh" Naruto tried to speak only to let loose a guttural cry, tears brimming at the corner of his eyes as he found himself incapable of the simplest of actions only then did he understand the real repercussions that such a system held in store for him. He was trapped inside of his own body, stripped of the barest of human decencies he couldn't even fight the death that was coming for him.
However he couldn't give up, he couldn't allow death to win with a mere breath. He tried to tell himself that this was all in his head, that none of it was real, however his body refused to comply with him. Bound by some higher power that he wielded but hadn't truly even begun to understand.
Fear seized his heart, his breath still as painful as ever quickened as his eyes darted towards the approaching cloud of death that was threatening to blanket Kuoh in a curtain of mist. He needed to get indoors but he didn't even remember how to walk anymore and his body couldn't even support his own body weight properly.
He was going to die and he couldn't even run away from it, this sort of scenario was impossible to overcome. How can he fight death when he can't even win the fight for his own body?
The god in you stirs…
No, he can't give up.
…others would do well not to underestimate you. No matter how strong they may be…
He would win.
He took a step forward, then another, his entire body shaking he struggled simply to remain upright as sweat trickled down his brow. His legs shaking he glared at the stairway that would lead him to safety as he mustered all the strength he had left.
"Aauugh!" Naruto bellowed as he took one last step before his entire body collapsed on itself as his legs gave way, he nearly crashing headfirst onto the ground if his hands hadn't shot out on instinct to stop his fall. His eyes widening at the instinctual action as realization dawned on him.
What the mind forgot the body remembers. Instincts we are born with cannot be denied.
Fire burning in his eyes he gazed forward with newfound determination and stretched one hand out…and then another…and another. As he shuffled forward on his hands and knees Naruto crawled towards the exit, his hands groping the ground blindly as the world around him grew blurry due to his decreased perception stat.
'Take away my ability to talk…I will think. Take away my ability to walk…I will crawl. Take away my ability to see…I will feel. I…will…not…lose!'
So as to let it be said that even the most helpless human can stand to defy fate Naruto made his way to safety, baby step by baby step. His gait slow and his strength feeble he didn't give up as he made his way to the stairs, death slowly encroaching down on him from above.
Every second endless, every breath precious, the beating of his own heart in his ears was the sole marker he counted on as he knew that the moment he lost he would never hear it beat again. Rivulets of sweat streaming down his face as his decreased strength and endurance protested against even such a simplistic action as crawling, he couldn't even stop to wipe at his eyes as he knew that if he stopped now he wouldn't be able to find the strength to go on.
It was then that as he was crawling forwards that his hand suddenly caught empty air, his eyes only having a moment to widen in shock as he tilted forwards at the unexpected lack of contact. Only then did he remember his luck stat had also decreased to 1.
He had reached the flight of stairs.
-x-
Stumbling down the flight of stairs Naruto hit his head on the third step down, broke his nose on the seventh, and nearly fractured his wrist on the twelfth. By the time he reached the landing at the bottom of the stairs he was covered in bruises and the bone over the bridge of his nose was broken with blood streaming down both nostrils and out of the nasal fracture. The only saving grace was that the impact to the back of his head temporarily made him black out making the experience far more bearable than it would have been otherwise.
Both his left wrist which he had landed on the twelfth step and his broken nose were sure to start swelling shortly, yet as much as he wanted to he simply couldn't find the strength to head to the nurse's office. He felt so weak and everything hurt so much that he felt like he was dying. The ringing in his ears wouldn't stop as black spots continued to dance across his vision, every little bruise felt as if it came from a sledgehammer and he couldn't even feel his face anymore.
It hurt…it hurt so much that he wanted to die. The pain of surviving such a fall with his endurance being only a tenth that of an average person was similar to if a senior citizen was ran over by a bus going forty miles an hour. He knew the massive amounts of pain his brain was perceiving was being amplified by the system but at this moment he didn't care – to him the pain was real. The fact that his head felt like he had experienced falling headfirst nearly thirty feet when he hit that stone step and he couldn't die was torture enough.
"Auuhh…auuhh…aau…!"
So Naruto did the only thing he could in that situation – he cried. He cried because of the pain. He cried because of fear. He cried as everything that had happened over last few hours hit him all at once, but most of all he cried because that was all he could do. He wanted to close his eyes and wish that everything would disappear. That when he opened them next he would be waking up in his bed at home same as ever, but the pain served to remind him that this was all too real.
He wanted to go home.
He wanted to see his mom.
He wanted to wrap himself in a blanket and forget all about the outside world until dawn came and the sun brought light back into this bleak and god forsaken world. At that moment he didn't care about Katase, the system, or any half-baked reward rather he only cared about one thing…himself.
However all the things he desired were more than a world away… If he ever wanted to see his home or family ever again he needed to survive and complete the third mission. He needed to be strong.
Blinking the spots out of his eyes he continued to lie on the floor for a few more seconds before he reached a hand up to the back of his head and pulled it away to find it covered in blood. He needed to get that taken care off...
Suddenly his eyes widened as he caught sight of the timer for the third mission and his composure cracked like an egg. His mouth opened and closed in mute horror for a moment before a tormented scream parted his lips just as Death God's Sigh impacted the school and spread across the entirety of Kuoh Academy.
Survive 7h 56min…
-x-
He couldn't do it, he had to get away…he had nearly died after four minutes, he couldn't survive for eight hours. Groping along the walls as he supported his frail body Naruto knew that he had underestimated the difficulty of what he was attempting, he had been overconfident over his slim success with Katase and acted on impulse. His emotions running high and the feeling of invulnerability that he had ever since he got the system reaching its proverbial peak he had acted without thought for consequence.
A little part of his mind had throughout the whole ordeal reminded him that none of this was real. That a dream no matter how lucid or vivid it may seem was still limited by the constraints of his imagination and rooted in fantasy…
The pain that he felt now was beyond anything he could possibly imagine. The feeling of helplessness akin to being an ant that had stepped into a world of giants. The regret at his own actions enough to nearly cause him to question his own sanity. Wishing this was a dream was as naïve and foolish a thought as considering killing himself to wake up – suicidal at worst and delusional at best.
Death remained unperturbed at his suffering, in fact it did not act beyond initially releasing its breath. He wasn't sure if it thought him to have perished in the wake of its initial attack or that it knew something that he himself didn't, but he knew that if he didn't take this opportunity he wouldn't have a chance to try again later.
Naruto had figured out that if he shimmied along the wall he would be able to support his body and move faster than he would if he attempted to crawl on the floor. Shimming also didn't tempt him to give up as much as crawling in that it didn't constantly make him feel as if he should just lie down and go to sleep.
Each meter was hard earned and at the moment he was still indecisive over if he should attempt to hide or run away. Truly he wanted to run away but considering the state of his body he didn't know how far he could make it without collapsing. He distinctively remembered that the stage of this conflict was set to Kuoh Academy so it stands to reason that if he could leave Kuoh Academy then he would escape his confrontation with death. However that might just be him drawing at straws, after all he didn't even know the nature of the conflict let alone the rules that applied to it.
However the fact that Death wasn't following up his initial attack gave him a sliver of hope that he could actually win this if he simply waited long enough. On top of that he had started to better figure out how to manage his newly weakened body and he was hopeful that he could figure out how to walk again soon. If all he had to do was survive for eight hours in this weakened state he could see himself winning this hands down.
As it was he would simply retrace his steps coming into the school and if death didn't follow up on its initial attack by the time he reached the faculty room he would head towards the nurse's office, patch himself up, and try to wait it out there.
If he won then the debuff would likely disappear and he could make his way home safely, in his current state it would be a momentous task simply to cross the street let alone make it all the way home. He couldn't ride his bike like this and his house was several blocks away, he would likely collapse from exhaustion with his current endurance long before he made it home.
Refocusing on the task at hand he continued making his way down the hall step by step, after all it was better to be cautious with death looming over him…
-x-
'So far so good…'
Things had luckily progressed as Naruto had hoped, Death had not followed up its initial attack as he made his way across the school. It had already been over ten minutes and he was happy to have found that he could even break away from the wall and rush two to three steps before once more leaning against the wall for support. This had ultimately sped up his progress a good deal, sure he had to take some breaks every once in a while due to him quickly running out of stamina but he could spare a few seconds at the moment.
He had already passed his homeroom a while ago and taken a short break there and he was already looking forward to the art room so that he could do the same. The faculty offices were shortly after the art room so if nothing went wrong then he would simply need to head to the nurse's office located next to them. After that it would simply be a waiting game. If death made a move he would have to leave the nurse's office, make his way down another flight of stairs, head outside using the previously opened door and…he didn't know what he would do then.
The whole school was walled off and he doubted being able to scale the wall, his only option was propping something against the wall like he did with his bike. However in his current state such a thing would be difficult if not downright impossible, even if he did make it over the wall and managed to prevent any injury from the fall – what then? How far could he truly make it in his current state?
Shaking his head free of such thoughts he continued to press onwards, his eyes darting at the timer once more.
7h 42min remaining
It was definitely a lot of time but as long as Death didn't press its advantage he should be fine. Seeing the art room he smiled, fumbling towards it he grasped the handle and opened the door. It was difficult as his hands didn't want to move like he wanted them to, but with his weight against the door and repeated fiddling with the handle it finally gave way.
Still gripping the handle for support as he stepped in he immediately drew in a sharp breath as his eyes widened in disbelief.
*clank*
The mannequins…they had moved.
Cannibalizing each other for parts they had fused together with some type of artificial red muscle connecting the joints to the main body. Of the six mannequins only three remained intact as they helped construct this amalgamation of limbs.
As it was the amalgamations' appearance was similar to a spider. Its length being three torso's long and with a tail that was literally just two arms fused together with an open grasping hand. It had six arms, six soon to be eight legs, and two of its many arms held the two heads of the mannequins that had already been cannibalized.
'What…?'
His Divine Vision activated out of shock.
Possessed Mannequin – A toy brought to life by Death's Breath
Possessed Mannequin – A toy brought to life by Death's Breath
Possessed Mannequin – A toy brought to life by Death's Breath
Amalgamation – A perversion of life, animated by Death's Breath it holds no soul and exists in the absence of death. Born to claim the life of Naruto Uzumaki it holds no other purpose.
It all suddenly made sense…the reason that death had not pressed its advantage after its initial attack. It wasn't that it couldn't attack or thought him dead, it was that it held no need to – the die was already cast.
*clank*
As one the mannequins turned towards him at his intrusion. Their pale faces gazing towards him expressionlessly they halted mid-motion as they regarded him. The standoff continued for a moment longer before each of them put down what they held in their hands and with a synchronized motion pointed their index finger at him.
Mental Fortitude Activated – Insanity attempt failed
Mental Fortitude Activated – Psychosis attempt failed
Mental Fortitude Activated – Terror attempt failed
Mental Fortitude Activated…
Constitutional Fortitude Activated – Room 587 attempt failed
Constitutional Fortitude Activated – Endless Corridor attempt failed
Constitutional Fortitude Activated – A Land Called Dementia attempt failed
Constitutional Fortitude Activated…
Naruto slammed the door shut.
'Fuck…that…shit' Naruto thought to himself as he stumbled away from the door as quickly as his weakened body could go. It was time to leave Kuoh.
-x-
As Naruto exited the school something that became readily apparent was the number of 'accidents' that happened along the way. A spilled container here, a small power shortage there, it truly felt as if the world was conspiring to see he him dead. The water that had spilled down the stairs from a broken water fountain had been especially perilous in the dark. He had to basically slide down the stairs as he wasn't sure he could survive another fall like that again.
The good news was that he was getting used to using his limbs in his current state and he could walk for short periods of time now. The sensation was similar to trying to control your limbs when they were numb and if he wasn't careful he could injure himself or trip, but it was much better than crawling everywhere.
By the time he exited the building the power was gone, there was a fire in the administrative offices that had caused the sprinklers to go off, and he had nearly broken his neck due to one of the girl's bathrooms having flooded the corridor. It seemed as if the entire school had gone to hell and his Divine Vision had identified [Death's Breath] as the cause, of course the fact that his luck stat had been decreased to 1 also didn't help.
The paranormal nature of Death's Breath seemed capable of possessing everything and anything simply to kill you. The only advantage he held was that he was mobile while most of the inanimate objects that had been influenced by Death's Breath were stationary…aside from the mannequins that is.
Luckily the mannequins hadn't bothered to make chase as he believed they went back to doing what they were doing before which was making that weird mannequin monster. Hopefully he would be long gone by the time they finished.
As for the stationary it could only really attack him using series of chain events, such as the fire causing the sprinklers to go off which nearly resulted in him slipping several times. The 'good' thing about these were that when a chain event set off he could usually spot it if it was ongoing and if it was premeditated he just needed to be on the lookout for anything out of the ordinary. Basically as long as he was vigilant and the murderous nature of Death's Breath didn't hit extremes he would always be one step ahead.
Stepping out of the school he wasted no time heading towards the front gate, he having liberated the keys from the faculty offices. His gait was awkward and if he wasn't careful he feared that he might accidentally sprain an ankle, yet he couldn't afford to go any slower than he already was. A sprained ankle was a small price to pay if it saved his life.
Unlocking the gate was the easy part. Having to open it in his current state however was an entirely different matter. The gate was heavy and only after landing on his butt more than once trying to open it was he successful in doing so, this already being quite the feat considering how little of his actual strength he could use.
Yet as he reached the edge of the school he hesitated. About a meter from the gate the mist became so thick he could barely see anything with his decreased perception, his senses warning him not to take that next step. No matter how much he strained his eyes all he could see was the milky white before him.
A sense of unease filling him he gazed at the empty expanse for a moment before he bent down and picked up a small stone at his feet. Gazing for a moment thoughtfully at this most unassuming of pebbles he looked back into the empty expanse and proceeded to throw the pebble as far as his weakened constitution would allow him to. What followed defied all known logic.
The stone flew for only about a meter before it completely lost momentum and started falling…upwards.
'What the hell…'
Seeing the rock he had just thrown completely disregard physics Naruto could only stare dumbfounded upon witnessing this perversion of nature. What lied beyond the school in all directions was an empty white expanse where nothing existed…not even logic. It was only then that he remembered the words that heralded Death's arrival.
Stage: Kuoh Academy (Night) has been elevated to a higher world for the duration of Mission 3.
[New] Stage: Kuoh Academy (Purgatorium)
He…he wasn't on Earth anymore. Death had taken the entire stage of Kuoh Academy to another world. Escape? Where was he going to escape to when he was in a world where nothing other than this death trap of a school existed!?
He couldn't run away, he couldn't forfeit, and he couldn't reset. Truly Naruto could only survive through all eight hours…or die.
-x-
Having returned to the school Naruto had quickly come to find that he couldn't stay put in any one place for an extended period of time. This was because if he lingered around a certain location for too long then Death's Breath would start to accumulate in that area and the chance for him to survive significantly decreased. After trial and error Naruto had calculated that he had around fifteen minutes he could spend in any one location before it got to a point where it could potentially endanger his life. This meant he could spent upwards to a maximum of around twelve minutes before he had to leave a location for his own safety.
The solution he had come up for this was simple. Move across the first floor of the school all the way to the west wing doing stops where necessary along the way as he got out of range of the current accumulation of Death's Breath. Then once he reached the end of the west wing go up the stairs and repeat the process while heading towards the east wing. Then once he reached the end of the east wing go down the stairs and back to the first floor and head towards the west wing again – rinse and repeat.
As long as he could continue to pin down its location by giving it tail to chase and running away he could predict when the Death's Breath was coming. The telltale signs were always there when Death's Breath reached the area as certain items would start shaking or rolling as they were slowly animated. That was his cue to leave.
The premeditated traps were predictable and he could usually outmaneuver them with only one incident having nearly resulted in injury. This being when a door collapsed on him when he was leaving one of the rooms. Either way his system was proven effective by how much time had passed so far without incident.
7h 13min remaining...
Yet as he staggered down the hall now he was forced to acknowledge his inability of trying to predict death. Minutes ago his predictions were blown out of the water as death approached from all sides breaking the pattern he had thought it had established as it gave him chase. The reality this presented to him much scarier than the thought of inanimate objects trying to kill him.
Death's Breath was getting smarter.
Don't ask him to explain how an attack that had initially been nothing more than a breath could possess the necessary sentience to wield intellect. If he knew such an answer he would rather know how it was capable of animating inanimate objects in the first place. The fact was that it wasn't blindly chasing him anymore and its traps had become more cunning with every attempt at his life.
His one advantage that was his human intellect was slowly being overcome as it grew more intelligent with each attempt at his life. It could learn, it could think, and most frightening of all…
It could hunt.
-x-
"Ha…ha…ha…"
Naruto greedily gulped down air after his most recent brush with death, it had blocked one of the doors and started a fire inside the room. If it wasn't for him having managed to regain enough control over his body to ram the door open he would have died.
It still hurt like hell though due to his decreased endurance.
'I need to gain a bigger lead on death, I can't allow it to catch up.'
Thinking so to himself Naruto decided to press his advantage at the moment rather than taking another break. From now on he wanted to be on the other side of the school before giving tail. Death seemed more than capable of chasing him regardless.
*Clink…*
*Clink*Clink*Clink…*
*Clink…*
*Clink*Clink*Clink…*
Just as he was about to leave however he heard a tapping sound, like nails on chalkboard it grated on his ears and filled the quiet with its desire to be acknowledged. Curious, incessant, annoying…all these words could accurately describe that sound. Yet why was it…why did it filled him with such a sense of dread that it caused his heart stop dead in his chest upon hearing it?
Mechanically turning his head towards the source of the sound Naruto found himself looking towards the windows that lined the hall only for his eyes to widen in terror as a strangled cry died in his throat. The source of the sound was fingernails tapping against glass, incessantly repeating the same steady rhythm over and over again.
'No, this isn't fair…they couldn't have completed it already!'
There tapping against the glass with a perpetual smile on its countenance was a white face, set on ivory shoulders and an alabaster frame it gazed towards him unseeingly as two hands pressed against the glass. With a halo of assorted limbs it's decidedly female upper body stretched to accommodate the numerous conjoined torso that followed.
The patchwork monster had four long gangly limbs that served as its main form of mobility, two other sets of arms on its back and front respectively, and a long elongated tail grasping a single unseeing mannequin head. Two other arms served to hold another pair of heads that it used to constantly monitor its sides, the rests of its limbs being neatly folded into its body. With the red artificial muscle now only slightly visible at the joints and its figure looking reminiscent of a spider or centipede the Amalgamation was complete. Ready to carry out its intended task.
For a moment the standoff continued in silence, the Amalgamation having stopped its incessant tapping upon garnering his attention. It simply looked at him…a dark thought coming to mind upon seeing this.
Just now the Amalgamation could have killed him and he would have never known. As a construct of Death it could likely render him lifeless with just a mere touch let alone the fact it could likely tear apart a weak little human like him in mere seconds. It was as simple as reaching through the glass and tearing off his head while he caught his breath…yet it had drawn his attention instead.
Its purpose was surely to kill him, after all his Divine Vision had assured him of that fact. So why?
The thoughts that came to mind weren't comforting and as they settled upon a single dreadful conclusion…he knew fear. Seeing his own thinking mirrored in the monster before him he couldn't help but grimace at this most cruel irony.
A game is more fun with more players.
Seeing the monster before him cover its eyes with its porcelain hands he instantly knew that it would kill him the moment it opened them again. A perverse game of hide and seek, it who could kill him at any moment wanted to enjoy the experience of hunting him down. Like a cat played with its food it wanted to tease him to death as he struggled to survive.
He wasted no time as he ran as fast as his weakened body would allow him, yet he knew that no matter how far he ran…no matter how well he hid…it would always only be a step behind. Lying in wait for that perfect moment to express onto him the futility of running away. His resistance was a game, his attempts to survive humorous, his determination nothing more than mere stubbornness.
Yet he will continue to run. To hide. For when confronted with death that was all he could do.
The sound of glass shattering behind him signaled the start of this game, the Amalgamation using its many limbs to pull itself inside the school as its body filled the corridor. Looking at Naruto's retreating figure it felt a sense of purpose fill it and it knew that it had made the right choice. It would enjoy this hunt…
-x-
Two hours…he had been running for two hours and his body was already on the verge of collapse. That damned monstrosity seemed capable of seeing through walls as it located him with startling ease every damn time. It never ran rather it made chase at a moderate pace and seemed to be in no rush to kill him, however should he grow complacent…it would tear a room apart simply to drive him out.
It wanted to enjoy its game of cat and mouse to the fullest and a mouse that didn't scurry away in fear was nothing more than a waiting corpse.
'So scurry little mouse, hurry to hide…for I'll soon catch up and eat you alive. No matter how much you run, no matter how well you hide...in the end we all die.'
Death was closing in. Between the perverse games of the Amalgamation and the constant threat of Death's Breath Naruto was nearing his breaking point. The only reason he still drew breath in the first place was due to the sick games of the Amalgamation as it could have already killed him a dozen times over by now. It seemed inclined to prolong the experience as long as possible before actually killing him…he was sure it would make his death a slow and painful one as well.
*Crash*
Naruto was quick to duck behind a table as the door was blasted off its hinges by the multi-limbed monstrosity that was the Amalgamation. Quieting his breathing to a barely audible level he cast his eyes towards the blazer that he had previously placed on the back of a chair as he waited for the perfect moment to escape.
The room was dark and the shadows long and ominous. Yet as the monster calmly entered the room, its massive body barely managing to fit through the door frame, the room grew ever darker. Its presence suffocating, it took long deliberate steps while it glanced around with all the innate curiosity of a child as it searched for him. Its many heads twisting this way and that as it searched.
This pattern had repeated before and he knew that if it didn't find him after thirty seconds of entering a room, it would proceeded to throw a tantrum and tear the room apart. In the girl's locker room it had nearly crushed the locker he had been hiding in at the time and he only managed to escape due to it having passed his locker before starting its tantrum.
The Amalgamation would catch up to him in the halls in no time and as such he was often forced to hide in rooms both to regain his stamina and to buy some time. Upon getting cornered in a room the Amalgamation would give him thirty seconds to hide before it would barge through the door and search the room. This meant that a room could buy him a minute of respite max, not including the tantrum.
In the rooms they would play hide and seek, if his hiding spot wasn't good enough it would kill him. In the halls they would play tag and if he got caught it would kill him. The rules were straightforward and the games intuitive.
He hated to say it but for the most part the Amalgamation was fair, however as a human he had certain limitations that the Amalgamation simply didn't possess and no matter how hard he tried…this was never going to be a game he could win.
It didn't afford him much time to rest, only just enough time to hide and even if it lost sight of him it would soon catch up and resume its game. The floor trick that he used on the Death's Breath didn't work on the Amalgamation as it would simply break a window and maneuver itself onto the other floor in the direction he was trying to run to.
As for Death's Breath the chained events were still following closely behind while the premeditated traps had grown progressively more numerous over time. However because of this and the near constant presence of the Amalgamation he had started to unravel the mechanics behind how it was tracking him. If he could properly comprehend how the Death's Breath was hunting him down he would be able to properly circumvent it, however in order to do so he had to escape the Amalgamation first and put a good deal of distance between the two.
Since the floor trick didn't work this meant one thing…a dead sprint across the courtyard. If he could distract it and focus its attention elsewhere as it threw it's tantrum he should be able to widen the gap between them considerably. If he could get five – no, three minutes. He could cross over to the other side of the school and escape its constant chase enough to do something…anything. As such he set up a trap and over the last two passes on this room everything had already been put in place. All he needed was to spring it.
30 seconds had passed.
Naruto observed as the Amalgamation stopped before its entire body started to clatter unnaturally, it being an innate sort of expressive function that he determined was likely the equivalent of some sort of emotion. Frustration? Grief maybe? He didn't know, but he knew what it signified…
A tantrum.
'That's it, cry like you always do and then…'
'Not here…not there…can't find…anywhere? Not fair…he cheats…hide but cannot find…isn't hide and seek.'
Seeing it grow increasingly agitated he waited for the moment it all hit a boiling point and…
"Hi, this is Naruto Uzumaki…"
'There!'
The Amalgamation instantly pounced onto the source of the voice and proceeded to tear the perpetrator to shreds. Yet the blood and screams that should come weren't there and the silence of death did not follow.
"…I'm currently busy at the moment so please leave a message after the tone *beep*"
Naruto wasted no time as he sprinted past the stunned Amalgamation that was gazing dumbly at the now shattered screen of a phone that had been hidden in the inner breast pocket of Naruto's blazer.
Picking up the phone with a dainty hand it looked over it curiously for a moment before realization dawned upon it. The foreign emotion that was anger filling it for the first time in its short existence.
Tricked, it had been tricked.
Crushing the phone in its grasp as it shook in anger the Amalgamation had but a single thought come to mind, its anger completely overwhelming its childish demeanor.
'That…CHEATER!'
Roaring inwardly it wasted no time in making chase as it rushed out of the room at a speed much greater than what it had exhibited thus far. All form of restraint having been discarded in its anger.
Naruto however wasn't running, as he waited for the charging monster to approach he stood his ground in the hall. Waiting ever so patiently for it to draw closer…
Only when the Amalgamation was about to crash into him after bursting through the door did he jump to the side just as it barreled past. Its many hands quickly reached out to stop itself as its initial charge failed yet it found itself unable to secure a foothold. Its numerous limbs slipped out from under it and its momentum continued unimpeded as it crashed through the window and into the darkness below...
Making sure not to slip on the cleaning chemicals he had purposely spilled in the entryway Naruto looked out the window in disbelief. It worked…he could hardly believe his plan had actually worked.
Normally the Amalgamation wouldn't have made such a simple mistake however having seen its behavior over the last two hours Naruto had determined that it possessed some degree of emotion. As such he believed that if he got it agitated enough it would eventually fall prey to its own underdeveloped emotions.
Having specifically chosen this room due to its proximity to a janitorial closet and its ideal location on the second floor he could honestly say as he looked down upon the broken form of the Amalgamation down below that his plan was a success.
Having shattered on impact the Amalgamation's limbs laid strewn over the courtyard, its body broken and scattered. Yet before Naruto's very eyes he could see it putting itself back together, its cracked face staring blankly back into the spiraling void from whence it came.
Knowing that this was his chance he wasted no time as he set off for his destination – the nurse's office. The same thought playing like a broken record as the Amalgamation observed the mouse scurry away...
'Cheater…cheater…cheater…cheater…cheater…cheater…cheater…cheater…he cheats. Not fair…unfair...tricking me…with a chair. Not fun…at all…he runs…I fall.'
It hurt, truly it did. The knowledge that player two cheats.
'I only wanted to have fun...so please don't you run. You're all I have...my only friend. You make me feel…alive again. You make me happy…you make me sad. I love you…I hate you. My logic fails to comprehend. I want to be with you…I can't live without you. So I'll bring you to an unfortunate end.'
'An arm here…a face there…a little bit of me everywhere'
Little by little, piece by piece, the Amalgamation put itself back together. It already looking forward to once again meeting its most unfortunate friend.
-x-
Naruto had finally gotten around to properly dressing his wounds after riffling through the nurse's office and was now staring at a tourniquet that he held in his hand. It was a latex one that the nurse often used when administering shots. Completely unassuming in any capacity the only reason he had even bothered to pick it up was due to the conclusion he had arrived to in regards to how Death's Breath operated.
He had initially considered its tracking ability as omnipotence or something along those lines but the fact that he had even managed to survive any of the incidents thus far lent credence that this was not the case. Its traps were blind as they littered his path, they knew where he was but not what he was doing or where he was headed. With his intelligence he held a distinct advantage in this game of cat and mouse…at least until the Amalgamation was created and the rules of the game changed.
However it was undeniable that the Amalgamation too was powered by Death's Breath and as such likely had the same ability to track him as well. This meant that no matter where he hid the Amalgamation would soon show up to finish what it had started. The only way to truly win was by completely circumventing death's ability to track him. However to do so he had to understand how it was tracking him in the first place.
Omnipotence was out. Sensory perception was also out as inanimate objects were deprived of any of the five senses to begin with. Rather he was fairly confident it had something to do with the initial appearance of Death's Breath. As such he had narrowed it down to two likely candidates…
The [Heavenly Tribulation] negative perk and the Death Mark currently imprinted upon his left hand.
These two along with the debuff that reduced his stats were the only things that he could think of that had a direct affect to his person ever since the commencement of mission 3.
[The Almighty] (debuff) was out as his low luck couldn't be solely responsible for the uncanny ability that the Death's Breath possessed in tracking him down. Which left the other two as the likeliest candidates. As such he had analyzed the factors available to him to draw a conclusion from. This being the provided description of both and the time he was afflicted with them.
[Heavenly Tribulation] while appearing significant initially due to its description of; 'Death is permanent and the heavens conspire against you', if one analyses it carefully they can determine that it is in reality a mere safety net.
Fact is it doesn't really apply to humans at all. What it merely expresses is that supernatural entities that can come back from death or are immortal permanently die and that beings that are part of the heavenly realm, gods probably, can't draw aid from there. Observing it from this standpoint it makes the negative perk completely inconsequential to him.
This left the likeliest candidate of all…the Death Mark.
Its description read; 'You have been branded by death, despair all who hold the mark as death will soon follow'. Initially he had dismissed this as nothing more than something that signified his rite of challenge. However when he looked into the deeper meaning behind it the possibility that it could be tied with death's tracking ability became undeniable. Specifically the portion that said, 'despair all who hold the mark as death will soon follow' hinted towards the tracking ability Death's Breath seemed to possess.
However this could be dismissed as sheer coincidence as it might have just been referring to the fact that challenging death was in a sense suicide. However there were two other points that caused him to believe otherwise.
Firstly the Death Mark had imprinted itself upon the commencement of Mission 3 and preceded the descent of Death's Breath. Second and most importantly…the mark had a timer perfectly synchronized with how much time he had to survive.
Death Mark (5h 2min) - You have been branded by death, despair all who hold the mark as death will soon follow.
Having determined the true purpose of the Death Mark the problem now wasn't the mechanics behind such a thing, but rather how to get rid of it. The thoughts that came to mind weren't pleasant...
The Death Mark was directly imprinted onto his hand and even if he went through his initial thought of submerging his hand in cleaning chemicals not only would it take a long time to burn his skin off but it also didn't guarantee the complete removal of the Death Mark.
The fact that the Death Mark wasn't a negative perk and was solely tied to his left hand however presented an opportunity. One that would help him overcome his current situation if he could properly take advantage of it.
His left hand like most of his limbs had little feeling in it due to the debuff and having come upon the tourniquet earlier gave him an idea. One that as apprehensive as he was in carrying out seemed likely the only viable solution that would ultimately see him survive the next five hours.
He was already exhausted and if things kept going as they were he wouldn't survive another hour, unless…the school had recently added a woodworking course hadn't they? It was part of the straight to work initiative the school had started that implemented several skill oriented courses that provided benefits that could be immediately carried over to the workforce. He remembered reading about how certain courses could carry over as electives when they went to university on an email he received at the beginning of the term.
If so then he already knew what he needed to do in order to win mission three, it was now simply a matter of having the nerve to actually go through with it. The reason for this was simple.
In order to win mission three all Naruto had to do…was cut off his own hand.
-x-
Author's Notes:
I'm too scared to continue writing so I'll stop here for now. On a lighter note school started for me and most of my day is spent on campus so frequency of updates will probably drop.
Yeah, when I say Smart Naruto I usually mean it. Personality wise remember he is seventeen and raised in an entirely different setting – modern, has parents, isn't isolated from his peers, etc. He's impulsive, headstrong, and courageous like in cannon. He can be a little childish at times but this is not a defining trait of his personality. He still has his never give up attitude though, even if he really, REALLY, wants to give up he's not the type to just roll over and die. He loves ramen.
As for the hand…holy shit. I would never want to have to be put in a situation that I have deliberately cut off my own hand (or any part of my body) to live. I'm so glad I'm not in his shoes.
Also if I say AU I mean it. Alternate Universe means things are different, I hope I made that sufficiently clear. If you want a better picture of what the Amalgamation looks like simply search mannequin monster on a search engine – you'll get some hits. The one for Silent Hill is quite similar to what I pictured the Amalgamation to look like minus some slight differences that is apparent in my descriptions.
My summary is so deceptive, it's still completely true though. Naruto is doing his best to advance the plot. :P
-x-
Chapter Notes: Flavor Text (Character Bio)
Amalgamation – A perversion of life, animated by Death's Breath it holds no soul and exists in the absence of death. Born to claim the life of Naruto Uzumaki it holds no other purpose.
Skillset:
Touch of Death (Blessing of Primordial Death) – Instant Death upon contact
The Art of Making Dolls – Can turn organic life into [Possessed Mannequins]
Null – Can neutralize all non-physical attacks
Dismember – Dismembers target
Deathless – Cannot die
?
Bio:
Seeks fulfillment by carrying out its purpose in hunting down Naruto yet lets him escape every time due to its own desire to prolong the experience. Harbors no ill-will and simply desires to attain fulfillment. Has the intellect and emotional frailty of a child. Loves to play with Naruto. Favorite game is hide and seek, even if it isn't very good at it. Identifies as female.
Could have killed Naruto 137 times. Spotted Naruto in hide and seek 13 times.