Beyond the Barrier

Outside the barrier.

"Hey, kid. Aren't you coming?" Gwen called out to me from just before the boundary.

I replied, "Of course I am."

Cold sweat trickled down my neck. The murky, toxic colors shimmering just beyond the faintly glowing barrier made my stomach churn. They say the greatest fear humanity can experience is the fear of the unknown. Out here, Chaos was that very unknown. It was a substance that didn't exist on Earth, and even within the game, its true nature had never been revealed. And now, I had to step into a space completely saturated with it.

Well, I won't die. I had a Holy Relic, after all. In fact, during my hundredth playthrough, when I raised Alan Flake to a Hero Candidate, he had successfully entered the Chaos Zone. He only died because he was slaughtered by a Chaos Beast during his third mission. So, let's go.

Besides, I had Gwen with me. There was no safer environment than this. I had to experience the Chaos Zone sooner or later anyway, so this was a perfect opportunity. Seeing me move, Gwen took her first step past the barrier.

"Whew..." Taking a shallow breath, I stepped forward, crossing the threshold. My fingers tightly gripped the Holy Relic Gwen had given me. The moment I crossed the barrier—

"Agh...!" A profound sense of wrongness seized me, instantly stealing the air from my lungs. My vision spun violently. It wasn't pain. It was an indescribable sensation, as if some foreign entity was violently stuffing itself into every single orifice of my face.

"Cough, *gasp*...!" It was agonizing. It was so excruciating I felt like I was going insane. As if all my bodily senses—perhaps even my brain itself—were paralyzed, my entire world began to dye itself pitch black. I wanted to throw up. I wanted to cry and wash it out with my tears. My instincts screamed in desperation. Save me. Someone, please...

"Snap out of it!"

My head whipped to the side. A delayed, stinging heat flared across my cheek. Only then did I realize my senses had returned.

"Where..." It was the forest. It seemed I had been dragged back inside the barrier before I knew it. The ground was covered in the vomit I had just retched up. Panting heavily, I gasped out, "I'm sorry... I'm so..."

"It's fine." Gwen handed me a cloth. "Everyone reacts like that the first time they enter the Chaos Zone."

I was about to ask if she had been the same, but I held my tongue. Given the pathetic state I was in, asking would just make me a nuisance. I didn't want to act like that toward someone who was showing me kindness. I wiped my face with the cloth.

"That being said, you broke down much faster than I expected." My hand froze. Her words pierced me sharply. "You always seemed so remarkably calm."

She had hit the nail on the head. The only reason I could usually maintain my composure was thanks to my trait, Absolute Obedience. But the Chaos had overwhelmed me so instantly that I hadn't even had the chance to activate it.

It was different from before. Normally, even if Alan Flake's mind began to fracture, my consciousness as the player remained intact, allowing me to stabilize myself with Absolute Obedience. But Chaos had bypassed that, directly assaulting not just Alan's mind, but my own player consciousness in an instant. If Gwen hadn't been there, I would have been in grave danger.

"Thank you for saving me."

"No need to thank me. We made a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠deal, and I simply agreed to escort you to the Trial." At this rate, Gwen was starting to look like an angel. I pushed myself up, brushing off the dirt, and looked at her. "Let's try again."

"Can you handle it?"

I nodded. Now that I had calmed down, I understood what had happened. Earlier, I had simply panicked from the sheer shock of an unfamiliar sensation. Now that I knew it wouldn't kill me, I could handle it. Stay calm. Don't panic.

Just to be safe, I decided to activate Absolute Obedience beforehand. If Alan's mind didn't collapse, then my own consciousness would remain unaffected. Having finished my mental preparations, I followed Gwen and stepped back into the Chaos Zone.

"In, out..." An unfamiliar sensation clung to my throat like thick grease, but I forced myself to recognize that I was still breathing. My vision felt as though I were looking through thick, distorted lenses, but I could see well enough. Only then did the true landscape of the Chaos Zone finally register in my mind.

This was an extreme environment where an ordinary human couldn't survive for even a second. The air, heavily contaminated by Chaos, was thick and murky, with dark red dust swirling through the atmosphere. Although the Holy Relic allowed me to breathe, it was far from comfortable.

"You should put your hood up. That dark red dust floating around is condensed Chaos." Following Gwen's advice, I pulled my hood over my head. I still didn't know exactly what Chaos was, but I now had a very clear grasp of its danger.

"Well, you seem to be holding up much better this time."

"It's a bit uncomfortable, but I can manage."

"Usually, it takes at least five trips out here to get used to it. You're quite unusual. After seeing you earlier, I thought you might struggle." In truth, it was largely thanks to Absolute Obedience, but I couldn't exactly tell her that. Still... I looked out at the landscape unfolding before us. "It's surprisingly magnificent."

We were standing on a high ridge, which gave us a clear view of the valley below. Spanning from the far left of my vision to the far right was a vast expanse of ruins. Though uninhabited for centuries, the ruins stood in stark, distinct contrast to the surrounding wilderness, evoking a strange sense of awe.

"Finding ruins magnificent... you have peculiar taste." Gwen, however, didn't seem to share my sentiment.

"People lived in that town down there hundreds of years ago. Every inch of land outside the barriers was once human territory. Well, it's a past that has nothing to do with us now, so I suppose I can understand why you'd find it magnificent."

"...I see."

"Let's head back. We've achieved our goal of getting you acclimated to the Chaos. I thought it would take at least two days, but I didn't expect you to adapt on your very first try." After lingering in the Chaos Zone for a brief moment, we turned back. This excursion was purely to help me adjust, not to reach the Trial. We had only walked a short distance back when—

"Alan!" Gwen's voice rang out. The moment I stopped at her urgent shout... my vision plunged into pitch darkness.

"Alan! Alan!" Gwen's frantic shouting of my name snapped my eyes open. Her face filled my vision.

But why was I still hearing these voices? As I listened closer, I realized whose voice it was. It was mine. Not Alan's voice, but my voice from the real world.

My cheek stung. Gwen was slapping me mercilessly. Yet, the voices continued to echo.

*Give up? Give up what?* I couldn't understand. Then, an unbelievable sight caught my eye. Gwen was pointing her sword directly at my face. *Gwen?* Gwen would never draw her sword on someone without a reason. But if she did draw it, she wouldn't hesitate to strike. Knowing her, my instincts kicked in instantly. *Dodge!*

I threw myself to the side, rolling away. When I scrambled to my feet, I realized Gwen hadn't actually swung her sword.

"I'm sorry. I figured this would be the most effective way to wake you."

"What on earth..."

"You were showing early signs of Chaos Beastification. I had no choice."

Early signs of Chaos Beastification? Was it related to the voices I had just heard? Then, Gwen suddenly offered an apology.

"I'm sorry. This is entirely my fault."

"What?"

"I should have warned you to watch your step. I was careless. I didn't think you would step directly into a puddle of condensed Chaos..."

So that was why I had lost consciousness so suddenly. But one question still remained. "If I was undergoing Chaos Beastification, why didn't you kill me?"

I knew it wasn't a very polite question to ask someone who had just saved my life. But knowing Gwen's personality, it was highly unusual. She was warm-hearted under normal circumstances, but when a hard decision had to be made, she was colder and more pragmatic than anyone. There had to be a reason.

"Because it was different from normal Chaos Beastification. It was a phenomenon I've never seen before, so even I hesitated."

"What do you mean?"

"At least physically, the beastification was completely halted, as if some immense will was actively resisting it. The problem was that your consciousness wouldn't wake up. Normally, the body and mind corrupt at the exact same rate during beastification. But in your case, it felt as though your inner self and outer self were completely severed..."

Severed inner and outer selves. That description was a remarkably accurate depiction of my current state. But looking at it another way, it meant that while Alan's physical body had resisted the Chaos Beastification, my own consciousness ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had failed to do so.

*My consciousness was the problem?* Until now, if there was ever an issue, it was always on Alan's end, never mine. *Why?*

Since I knew so little about the true nature of Chaos, I couldn't begin to guess the cause. Why was Alan's body able to resist, while my mind couldn't fight back until I saw Gwen's blade? As I lost myself in these thoughts, Gwen spoke up.

"In any case, you overcame it, so there's no need to dwell on it. As long as you don't make direct contact with raw Chaos, it won't happen again. And even if you do happen to touch it, those who successfully resist it once are usually able to do so again."

Well, I wasn't entirely sure if my escape from Chaos Beastification this time was actually due to my own resistance. The only thing I knew for certain was that I needed to watch my step from now on.

Three days passed after that. Gwen purchased supplies like food and cloth from the village, while I joined her under the cover of night to cross the barrier a few more times. By now, as long as I had a 2-Star Relic, I could breathe in the Chaos Zone with almost no difficulty.

"Are you fully prepared?"

We would likely be outside the barrier for at least ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a week. There was no guarantee we would even return. Because of that, I had already said my goodbyes to the Innkeeper. Other than that, there wasn't much else for me to prepare.

"Yes. Let's head out. To the Trial."

To be honest, I was still afraid. The world beyond the barrier was a perilous place where a single mistake could cost me my life. Suddenly, the voice that had echoed in my mind came back to me.

Somehow, I felt like I understood the meaning behind that voice. *Is there really a need to get stronger? Do I really have to become a Hero?* It would be a lie to say I hadn't had those thoughts. But there was still too much I didn't know. Ignorant as I was, the only choice I had was to keep moving forward. I took my step, heading out beyond the barrier.