Berserk, Total War: Second Son of Nobles

Chapter 444: Dead...Alive Again

John felt like he was in endless darkness. The darkness was like an invisible beast that swallowed him whole, leaving no gap for him to find a ray of light.

His body seemed to be trapped in a void, unable to move, unable to even twitch a muscle.

His throat seemed to be tightly grasped by an invisible hand, and he could not make even the slightest sound. His mouth was wide open, but it seemed as if it was blocked. He could only try endlessly, but could not utter a single syllable.

His consciousness was gradually peeling away from his body, like a leaf slowly falling from a tree.

He could feel his thoughts becoming blurry little by little, and his once clear self-awareness was gradually collapsing like a sand castle under the influence of the tide.

As time passed, he gradually lost his hearing. There was no sound around him, and the slight hum or indescribable sound from far away disappeared without a trace.

He tried to catch even the slightest sound, but there was nothing in the darkness except endless silence.

Then, his sense of touch also began to disappear. He could no longer feel the shape of his body, and was no longer in a state where he could clearly feel every subtle movement of every part of his body. His fingers, toes, and limbs seemed to be out of his range of perception, becoming meaningless in the endless darkness.

Finally, he could no longer feel his body temperature or heartbeat. The heart that once beat with strength now seemed like a dead object forgotten in a corner, no longer beating regularly and bringing warmth of life.

His body temperature was gradually merging with the surrounding darkness, becoming icy cold, as if he had turned into a cold stone, slowly losing life in the darkness.

"Am I dead?"

John thought so. This was a thought that kept circling in his mind in the darkness, but strangely, he didn't feel afraid at this moment. There was no shadow of fear around him, and he couldn't even feel a trace of worry. He couldn't even express any emotions, like a puppet deprived of emotions, quietly existing in the abyss of darkness.

Then, he felt his consciousness floating upwards. It was a very strange feeling, as if he had turned into a balloon, weightless and without substance, just floating slowly upwards with an invisible force.

At the same time, he also realized that there seemed to be thousands of the same "individuals" around him, following him upwards.

These "individuals" seemed to have lost their physical bodies just like him. Without the restraints of matter, they were just pure consciousness. They slowly rose in the dark space, like a group of ghosts, looking for something. John couldn't be sure what these "individuals" were. Maybe they were souls who had the same experience as him, or maybe they were some mysterious existences, just like the creatures in the subspace.

Suddenly, John felt dizzy again, as if he was caught in a huge vortex. The dizziness was so strong that he felt his consciousness was about to be crushed by this force.

His consciousness was like a leaf in a storm, spinning in a vortex for an unknown amount of time. Each spin seemed to hit his soul, and he could only helplessly drift in the vortex.

During this long rotation, some blurry images kept flashing through his mind. There were fragments of his childhood life, those warm moments with his family; there were his life in the supervision team after he left his parents; there were also images of him fighting in all directions. Those images flashed quickly in his mind, like an old movie that no one watched was constantly playing.

In the vortex, his consciousness seemed to lose the sense of time. He didn't know how long it had been, or maybe just a moment, he gradually felt himself being illuminated by light. The light was not the soft warm sun, but a strong light full of power and stinging. It seemed to penetrate John's soul and save him from the endless darkness and chaos.

When the light faded, John was surprised to find that his six senses and body had been restored. He could feel his hands and feet, and the familiar feeling almost made him cry.

"What's going on?"

He moved his fingers and could feel the movement of the joints and the contraction of the muscles. He moved his toes and could feel the same clarity.

John saw a vibrant scene at this moment, which was a shocking sight. Various natural vegetation was like a green ocean, swaying gently in the breeze.

The trees were even bigger than John could imagine. Their trunks were so thick that they seemed like giant pillars supporting the heavens and the earth. Dozens of people were needed to hug them. The treetops stretched out in all directions like giant green umbrellas, blocking out the sky and the sun.

The leaves come in all kinds of strange shapes and colors. Some are as round as fans, some are as slender as willow leaves, and some sparkle with a metallic luster, reflecting dazzling light under the sunlight.

Just as John was immersed in this wonderful scene, a neighing sound suddenly appeared in his ears. He looked up subconsciously and saw a group of winged horses flying past him. These horses were agile, with broad and powerful wings, and every flap of their wings brought up a gust of air.

Their fur gleams with a metallic sheen and their eyes sparkle with a lively light.

John then realized that he was still in the air, but was falling towards the ground little by little like a feather.

A gust of wind blew with a whistling sound, and John suddenly found a griffin-like creature rushing towards him. He widened his eyes in horror and tried to dodge, but found that his body was completely out of control and he could only let the griffin rush towards him.

However, the griffin passed through his body and rushed towards the Pegasus behind him. John was surprised to find that he was still transparent, and he also found that he was not wearing any clothes. This made him feel very embarrassed, and he subconsciously covered his body with his hands, feeling helpless and panic in his heart.

As he landed on the ground, John thought he was about to feel safe, but the scene before him made his breathing suddenly stagnate.

The earth is full of all kinds of strange creatures in western fantasy. Some are like winged lions, dominating one side, each claw flashing with metallic cold light, with wings spread out, covering the sky and blocking the sun, as if they can soar into the sky at any time; some are like winding pythons, emitting faint light all over, huge scales flashing in the dim light, spitting out tongues, staring coldly at the surroundings; there are also flowers shaped like human faces, with petals delicate and beautiful, but can make sounds like human whispers, mysterious and weird.

But John was not in the mood to appreciate these things at this moment. Because he suddenly realized that his body was slowly passing through the ground. It felt like sinking in the water, but there was no obstruction. Every inch of his skin could feel a strange force tearing. Soon, he fell into darkness again. The surroundings were terribly quiet. Only the darkness surrounded him tightly, as if it wanted to swallow him.

When he opened his eyes again, he found himself in a black space. There was nothing here except darkness, and even he couldn't see his own body. The darkness weighed heavily on his heart, making him feel an indescribable depression and fear. In this endless darkness, a vortex suddenly came out of nowhere and sucked him in mercilessly.

"No, are you still coming?"

John couldn't help but shout in his heart. There seemed to be infinite power in the vortex, his body kept rolling, and every rotation made his stomach churn.

As he rolled, he gradually discovered that there were countless water droplets in the vortex rising up with the vortex. He struggled to get closer, trying to see what they were. It was not until he almost touched those "water drops" that he saw clearly that they were Behelet. They had regular shapes, exuded a mysterious luster, and flashed a strange light in the vortex, as if hiding a huge secret.

Time seemed to have lost its meaning at this moment. John didn't know how long it had passed. He only felt that he was rolling endlessly in the vortex. Finally, the vortex gradually disappeared, the darkness faded away in an instant, and John's vision returned to normal.

However, what was before his eyes was a huge piece of meat, or something like a heart. It was beating rhythmically, and every beat seemed to resonate throughout the space, carrying a mysterious power.

Around this "heart", there are some things similar to the aorta, which are thick and tough. The gas they eject extends out of the "heart", dispelling the surrounding darkness, and constantly surrounds the heart to form huge rings.

And at the bottom of the heart, there is something similar to a DNA structure connecting the heart and leading directly to the dark abyss at the bottom.

“It has a kind of scientific and magical beauty.”

John complained.

"Um……"

A doubtful voice sounded from all directions of John, as if he was surrounded by countless tiny voices. The voice was ethereal and mysterious, as if it came from the distant sky, and it seemed to come from a corner deep in his heart. John subconsciously looked around, trying to find the source of the voice, but found nothing. This ethereal voice echoed in the darkness, making him feel an inexplicable uneasiness.

Then John heard:

"You are not a soul of this world."

The sound was clear and certain, like a heavy hammer hitting John's heart. He was shocked and stared at the black heart in front of him with wide eyes. The heart was so huge that it seemed to occupy his entire field of vision. The dark color seemed to contain endless secrets. His eyes were fixed on the black heart, and various thoughts flashed through his mind. He roughly understood who this mysterious being in front of him was.

He was about to open his mouth to ask a question, but before he could say anything, another sentence suddenly appeared in John's ear:

"That's it, that's it!"

The voice was devoid of any emotion, but the sudden increase in volume allowed John to clearly sense the undisguised surprise in the voice's owner's tone.

"Where is this place?"

There was a hint of uneasiness in John's voice. He looked around, but saw only darkness. The darkness seemed to absorb everyone's gaze.

"The ocean of human consciousness. Deep in the hearts of all people there is a common consciousness. The combination of countless people's consciousness created this place, forming a huge black ocean. I was born from it."

John tried to understand the meaning of these words, and an inexplicable shock surged in his heart. He looked at the mysterious and huge black ocean, as if he could feel the waves of countless hearts surging.

"Then who are you?" John asked uncertainly.

"As you think in your heart, I am the god of evil thoughts and desires. You already know that, don't you?"

The voice echoed in the darkness, carrying an invisible power.

"Oh no, you still know what I'm thinking?"

John asked in surprise, a hint of alarm in his eyes.

"Of course, I also know that you are a visitor from outside this world."

John's heart tightened as he realized that his identity had been exposed, and that the so-called "evil god of desire" in front of him seemed to know everything about him.

"So, what are you going to do to me?"

John asked directly, not wanting to be put in the fear of the unknown.

"I can't do anything to you because you are not in the law of cause and effect that I have woven. It can even be said that even people who are originally in the law of cause and effect may be separated from it. Because your soul cannot merge with the underworld and float around, I brought you here to see what's going on with you."

John breathed a sigh of relief, but then he asked again:

"Can you put me back?"

"Of course, but you have to help me do one thing."

said the voice.

"what's up?"

John asked. He was ready to face unknown challenges, even if it meant returning to the fortress besieged by Calixga, because there were people he cared about in that world.

"Save mankind from despair and prevent them from going down the predetermined path."

"What are you talking about..."

Before John finished asking, he was suddenly pulled upward by a strong force. He felt like he was rising up like a rocket, and the scene in front of him changed rapidly.

A large vortex had formed above him, with a strange light flashing on the dark purple edge of the vortex, and countless electric currents seemed to be surging inside. John was tightly bound by the powerful pulling force of the vortex, unable to break free, and could only let it suck him up.

“This is the third time…”

As John thought this, his body continued to roll with the rotation of the vortex, his vision became blurred, and finally he lost consciousness in the turbulence.

"Where is this again?"

John opened his eyes dazedly, his head ached, and every nerve seemed to be throbbing in protest. He tried to turn over and sit up, but the pain in his body made him fall back down.

At this moment, he suddenly heard a familiar voice from the side:

"The Earl has woken up!"