Loopshard

Adam’s feet sunk into the deep layer of ash. Burning fragments rained down like snow and his surroundings lay in ruin. A haze of heat and smog curled through the air around him.

Even though his father hadn’t been a part of the Trials, he had still been given an island, or, more likely, this ruined ash-filled place was the same regardless of which dead person he travelled to using the visiting stone.

He instinctively knew not to travel to any of the players’ dimensions in this universe, since they were infected with the Flayed Lady’s power, but he needed to speak with Fal, so this had been the only way to find her that he could think of.

Adam trotted through the deep ash, going north towards the player house. Above him, the dark clouds drifted lazily by, while crimson lightning swam through them like leviathan monsters.

His relics were gone and his newly acquired boosts to his stats were likewise suppressed, but he wasn’t afraid of this place like he’d been last time, because he knew the power that Fal’s soul bargains represented. Especially to someone like him, who needed to take risks to reach his goal.

The smog cleared briefly to reveal a silhouette in front of him. Unlike Luvicidix and Alivida, she already looked humanoid.

Fal turned to meet his eyes, the fire in her irises standing in stark contrast to her grey hair and dark moth wings. “You returned,” she said evenly.

“I need your help,” Adam told her. “The Flayed Lady has pitted every single player against me in this world.”

“That explains the sense of wrongness I feel about this universe,” Fal remarked.