American Comics: Multiverse of Madness

297. The Delusions in the Dark.

There's something quite interesting about magic.

Whether or not you understand the so-called costs doesn't matter. Whether you're affected by these brutal forces doesn't matter. Even if the ones you love or the things you seek are forever taken from you, it still doesn't matter.

Because you see, the feeling of casting magic is indescribable. Imagine that feeling, my friend—you can become the most special being among everyone and toy with the universe and reality at your fingertips.

Now, do those costs still matter?

Even if you've lost everything, as long as you recall the pleasure you felt while casting, all those worries will vanish like smoke.

You simply cannot give up this feeling.

Even if you've lost the one you love, or those who love you, even if the things you treasure are forever out of reach, even if it makes you feel sorrow, anxiety, and unbearable pain…

But you know what's going to happen, don't you?

You can no longer live without these mysterious and dazzling tricks.

In the delusions of darkness, everything seemed so chaotic and murky. The distant sound of pattering rain echoed, swiftly drawing nearer. It was the infinite waters of the void, and each raindrop was as if tainted with ink.

The once pitch-black environment gradually brightened. In the dim alley, a man lay face-down in a puddle. After an unknown amount of time, his fingers twitched slightly, and consciousness returned to his mind.

"Who am I?"

The man opened his eyes in confusion, staring blankly at the utterly unfamiliar surroundings. His body was soaked by the rain, and the unbearable stench of decay filled his nostrils, causing him to frown.

He had lost his memory. Looking at his unfamiliar hands, the man felt as if something incredibly important had slipped away from him.

"Where am I?"

Shakily rising to his feet, the man felt weak all over. He wiped the dirty water from his face and brushed his wet bangs back.

Looking around, he realized he was in a dilapidated alley. Filthy trash mixed with rainwater had created a pool of filth, and the disgusting stench filled the air. He even spotted a few decaying rats. The stench was so overwhelming that the man instinctively raised his hand to cover his nose and mouth, but before he could, the smell from his own hand made him step back in disgust.

Only now did he realize his entire body was covered in filth. Taking off his coat, the man looked up at the pitch-black sky, so dark that no horizon was visible. A new question arose in his mind.

"What am I supposed to do?"

He gazed blankly toward the direction outside the alley and, through the rain, vaguely saw lights flickering in the distance.

After hesitating for a moment, he decided to walk out and investigate. Perhaps outside, he could find someone who could help him. Maybe someone knew who he was and could help him recover his memories.

Without further delay, the man folded his coat under his arm and walked through the puddles, heading out of the alley.

As he approached the neon lights, he finally reached the outside of the alley. Out of instinct, he turned around to glance back, only to find that the alley had disappeared. Behind him was now a solid wall.

His pupils trembled slightly. The man couldn't help but reach out and knock on the wall, but it was solid and sturdy. Despite hitting it forcefully, there was no response, only pain in his hand.

"What... is this?"

The man carefully reviewed everything that had happened since he woke up. He was sure he wasn't hallucinating, nor had he gone mad. But he had no idea why the passageway he'd come from had disappeared.

Blinking his eyes, the man sighed and gripped his coat tighter, making up his mind.

He wanted to figure out what was going on. Apart from his identity and memories, the most critical thing now was to understand where he was and why everything around him was so strange. Walking down the street, the man initially intended to stop someone for help. But to his surprise, he didn't encounter a single person.

Or rather, the "humanoid" figures he saw couldn't even be considered human.

These strange, wax-like creatures, with their twisted, fleshy bodies, moved in grotesque imitation of human behavior.

They were strolling, interacting, even producing human-like sounds. They communicated with each other in a language the man couldn't understand, speaking in a lighthearted tone. Sometimes, they would even laugh joyfully.

But they couldn't be considered human. No matter what was encased in those bizarre, fleshy forms, the man instinctively knew they were not human!

Now, the man started to feel relieved. He thought that perhaps losing his memory was a blessing. If he still had his past memories, he would probably have been scared out of his mind by this scene.

The man wandered aimlessly among the bizarre creatures, carefully avoiding them and avoiding eye contact because he knew that among these monsters, he was the most unique one. However, for some reason, these creatures didn't seem to care about him at all. They didn't even glance his way; they were simply busy with their own affairs.

The rain intensified, and the man felt the cold seep in, his body temperature dropping further.

Exhaling a breath of fog, the cold made him shiver. He knew he couldn't continue like this. To figure out where he was, he had to take action.

He didn't know what these monsters were, nor what would happen if he interacted with them, but he understood that he couldn't keep going like this.

With that thought, the man steadied his nerves, turned around, and summoned all his courage to look at one of the grotesque creatures not far from him. However, the sight that met his eyes made his pupils contract.

In the midst of the rain, the creature in front of him was rapidly dissolving, as if it were salt dissolving in water, slowly losing its original form and turning into something even more grotesque.

But what shocked the man the most was that the creature seemed entirely unaware of it. It was still chatting with another equally dissolving creature beside it, as if it hadn't noticed it was slowly turning into a puddle of slime under the rain.

Swallowing hard, the man watched in disbelief. His remaining rationality couldn't process the shock of what he was seeing. Unconsciously, he took a few steps back, only wanting to leave this place as quickly as possible.

His stiff legs finally regained some feeling, and without a second thought, he turned and ran. As he saw more and more humanoid creatures being corroded by the rain, he quickly lifted his coat to shield his head.

Running blindly in the rain, the man had no idea how long he had been running. It felt as if the rain covered the entire city, and he had the constant feeling that no matter how far he ran, he couldn't escape. But he didn't dare to stop. He told himself it was all in his head, that he still had a chance to escape this strange place.

His vision bounced wildly as he ran, and exhaustion began to overtake him. Each step forward felt like an enormous struggle, as though he were carrying an unbearable weight on his body.

Panting heavily, the man finally came to a halt. He felt like he couldn't run anymore. The rain seemed to stretch on infinitely, and now even his breathing was becoming difficult.

Turning back, he wanted to see how far he had run. But when he focused his eyes, he was shocked to discover a trail of blood-like substance behind him, as if his body had left a grotesque, fibrous trail, still faintly wriggling.

That strange, fibrous residue stretched all the way from his feet, as if he had turned into a snail, leaving an unsettling, slimy trail behind him.

His teeth chattered uncontrollably, and the man trembled as he lowered his head, focusing his gaze beneath him.

Only then did he realize that his body had already begun to dissolve like the other creatures. Now, only his head remained, quietly resting on the ground. The surroundings were eerily silent, with nothing but the pattering of the rain. The man wanted to shout, but he found that he had lost control of his body. All he could do was watch as the rain slowly blurred his vision, unable to do anything.

And he knew—it wasn't that the rain was rising, but rather that his vision was sinking. His head, too, would soon dissolve into this void.

The last thing in the man's fading vision was the distant glow of neon lights.

As his sight dimmed and his mind sank into oblivion, he told himself one final thing: this was all just a nightmare.

It was only a nightmare...

The sound of rain continued, with countless inky droplets falling in the dim alley.

Fingers trembling slightly, the man opened his eyes in confusion. He glanced around at the unfamiliar surroundings, unsure of why he was in this place.

Numbly, he got to his feet. The foul stench made him wrinkle his nose in disgust.

Holding his breath, he frowned and looked toward the source of the smell. Dirty trash and rotting rat corpses, mixed with rainwater, created an unbearable stench.

Turning around, the man decided to figure out where he was. He lifted his head and looked toward the mouth of the alley—the direction of the neon lights and the only path filled with light.

In the next moment—

The man froze, stopping in his tracks.

In the midst of the haze, he vaguely saw a strange figure standing at the alley's entrance. Dressed in a black trench coat, with a bird-like mask covering its face, the eerie figure stood silently, holding a black umbrella.

.....

30 advanced chapters on p@treaon
For advance chapters: /Uchiha_Itachi007 (replace @ with a)
298. The Dionesium.
299. The Way to Recover a Name.
300. The Great Devourer Approaches.
301. Rescuing Nightwing.
302. A Warm Family - Raven and Trigon.