Chapter 9: Fabled Object

Ah crap, it hurts like hell.

I know it's not the first time I've died but... the pain of being crushed made Myru's body motionless. This body was ready to slowly die until it finally ran out of blood and was lifeless.

Myru coughed a few times. He held his chest-beating weaker and weaker every time he breathed.

The thick liquid spread to various places. The ground, as well as the rocks near Myru, made the place like a pool of fresh blood.

After that, Myru closed his eyes completely.

The flowing blood was still absorbed into the ground, passing through the stonework. Except... one stone that was pitch black next to his head. The stone magically lapped up Myru's blood, sucking it up like a hungry beast. When Myru closed his eyes, the stone glowed.

The light spread to the ground and other boulders... making the place around Myru glow brightly amidst the eerie darkness. Unbeknownst to him, the large wounds on his head and legs were giving off light, and blood began to stop coming out along with the wounds that were sealed shut.

Myru opened her eyes.

He immediately sat up. "What is this?"

The nature around him began to move again and headed towards a nearby rock. The stone sucked Myru's blood without a trace.

One thing was certain, he must have survived because of this particular little rock.

Do rocks like this exist in novels? 

Myru tried to remember the story in Journey to Defeat the Demon King that discussed the abyss and the land of the dead.

But he couldn't remember anything at all.

Did I forget about the story? But I'm sure there's no blood-absorbing stone in the novel I had read. Or is this part of the ground crystal dead on the surface?

Myru stared at the stone and the surrounding light. Then his eyes widened. Ah, is this one of those legends?

The stone currently in front of him must be The Stone Of Eternal Misfortune, a legend that was mentioned once during the main character Colim's adventure. However, this stone was never discovered at all and was only a complete legend.

No one ever knew what it meant or what it did, but as the name implies... it was a stone that was placed into the abyss after a painful fate. He always saw his loved ones killing each other and dying, so he was sent here so that he would no longer see any bloodshed between his loved ones because in this abyss... You can't see anything but darkness.

To see a stone like this before the main character...

Myru held the stone and lifted it. The light from the stone grew brighter, then instantly the stone turned into an extremely bright light that blinded the eyes. The light began to move around, and slowly moved closer to Myru.

The warmness felt comforting as the light entered through his chest. from outside the clothes, Myru could see a symbol formed from the light on his chest, the symbol absorbed the remaining light. It feels like a miracle especially when you see it this close.

After all the light was gone, the symbol on Myru's chest began to disappear and darken.

It felt like he could feel his strength returning and his body became healthier.

[You're awake! I missed you!]

I lifted my body and stood up. It's the same voice I heard before falling off the cliff, only... this time I can hear it very clearly.

[I'm here! In your heart! Are you okay? You're bleeding a lot. That's worrying]*

Myru blinked a few times. Don't tell me that...

"Are you... the stone of eternal misfortune?"

Stone of eternal misfortune replied, his voice unclear whether it was male or female, whether it was old or young. But it echoed in Myru's head.

[The humans in this world call me that?]

Myru nodded. Myru could feel a sad feeling inside her chest.

[Ah... but that's just how my life is.]

It seemed... because it had entered into his inner self, Myru could feel the feeling of belonging to the stone of eternal misfortune. This was confusing because stones couldn't possibly have any feelings.

But it must be useful since it was mentioned by the author of the story, it must have some meaning. Perhaps it was explained in the volume that Arditian hadn't read yet.

The stone of eternal misfortune opened its voice again. The area around Myru, which was initially dark, now began to lighten due to the light given by the stone. Myru then walked slowly without knowing the direction.

[I'm glad you didn't die again.]

Myru nodded.

"Yes, but if it wasn't for you I wouldn't have fallen off the cliff and almost died just like that."

Did this stone not think what if Myru's body fell to a different place with the stone and died for real this time?

[So-sorry, I felt excited when you were close to the cliff.]

"Whatever."

Can I be frank?

Myru's surroundings were currently incredibly pitch black. He could see nothing but darkness even as the stone of misfortune's light shone around him.

Myru therefore looked down, but there was only dirt and gravel around him. There were no large or even small animals like worms. More precisely there was no life whatsoever in this place. 

Myru's footsteps came to a halt.

"How did you know?"

The stone of eternal misfortune asked. 

[Know what?] 

The voice seemed confused.

I opened my mouth. What I saw was still darkness, and the bottom I stepped on was still a small pebble.

"How did you know I was going to die 'again'? "

Myru held his chest.

"How do you... know that I've died before?"

Stone of eternal misfortune replied with a stutter.

[hu huh? isn't it like that?]

It seemed like he was startled or he did not understand what Myru had said.

Arditian recalled the novel again.

Stone of misfortune had been spoken of but never explained. This meant that he never knew what it was and what it was capable of.

'The stone said that I almost died again. But this could have happened not because of Arditian in the previous world, but the original Myru who died and was replaced by Arditian some time ago.'

If the speculation was correct, then the original Myru from this novel had already died. 

But why did he have to die and have his soul replaced by Arditian's?

[We've arrived.]

The stone of eternal misfortune that had been silent earlier now made a sound as Myru set foot inside a strange, giant-sized line on the ground.

The calm blue light around her now spread and she could now tell that the line formed a large circle, similar to the magic circle she had seen several times in the book Ben had brought her.

The Stone of eternal misfortune cheered happily.

[I knew it was around here! Luckily I didn't forget. With this you can return to the surface!]

Really? I’m glad.