Chapter 15: Gift

 

“What the hell!” I shrieked as I looked inside the box. 

 

I couldn’t believe what I saw. This was not what I had expected, and it certainly was something that was never mentioned by anyone as a possibility.

 

What did this mean? 

 

The sword smirked and muttered, “I told you you won’t be able to see anything inside. You should’ve listened to me and let me put your hand back on. Then, you wouldn’t still be single-handedly stuck here. Get it? Single-handedly?”

 

“What are you talking about? You never told me it was going to be empty!” I yelled. 

 

I was confused and furious, but most importantly, I was out of time. I didn’t have the luxury to ask more questions and get even angrier.  

 

I couldn’t believe I was still alive let alone run, but I did. 

 

“Do it! Do it now, Sword!” I screamed as I rushed to pick up my hand on the ground.

 

I begged, “Put this back on!” 

 

“Didn’t I tell you my name is Gomi?” 

 

The sword grumbled, but at the same time, it shook lightly. Within a blink of an eye, the sword vanished from my hand and the baby wearing the monster costume reappeared. 

 

Fwoosh!

 

Suddenly, my amputated and muck-covered left hand began glowing. I vaguely wondered if I should have at least wiped it clean, but it was too late now. I saw that the severed end of my left arm was glowing the same way, so I slowly brought the two together. 

 

A familiar and intimate warmth spread from my left wrist to my entire body.

 

***

 

Squeeze.

 

I clenched and unclenched my left-hand several times and find that it was working perfectly. It looked as if nothing had happened; the reattachment was flawless. This wasn’t something even the most expensive healing potion or the Supports with powerful healing abilities could accomplish, so I’m sure you can understand my shock and awe. 

 

The only thing that could achieve something like this was the Miracle Potion. In fact, what Gomi did for me wasn’t simply put my hand back on. It appeared that all of the ghastly wounds I suffered from the test were healed as well. It was like I bathed in a tub full of healing potions.

 

“Ahem!” 

 

I was still gaping at my own body when I heard Gomi clear her throat for my attention. It was strange to hear a baby voice making such a disapproving noise.

 

Assuming that she wanted me to thank her again, I murmured, “Hey, thanks again! I can’t believe you did this.”

 

Gomi shook her head and replied, “No, not that! Though you’re always welcome to appreciate me anytime! I gotta say that it’s so nice to see a well-mannered young woman! Anyway, since you’re feeling better, I think we should get going.” 

 

She pointed her chin at the ground a few feet away from us. I turned to see a shiny red gem on the ground. It had to be from the dead goblin, so I walked over to pick it up. As expected, it was much bigger than anything I have ever earned in my life. This was enough to remind me that the goblin I managed to kill was a powerful one. 

 

I was a tiny bit impressed with myself, but I knew I shouldn’t have. Not that I was complaining, but I basically cheated to pass this test. I didn’t intend to, and I still had no idea how this baby appeared out of the blue, but it didn’t change the fact that I didn’t pass it on my own. 

 

After putting the gem in my backpack, I headed back toward the box that was supposed to contain the Gift. I hadn’t noticed it before, but I now saw that it was heavily bejeweled. 

 

Apparently, the Door was a teenage girl with a gaudy taste. 

 

This definitely wasn’t my cup of tea, but I still drooled over it a little because the shiny stones looked real and expensive. Suddenly, I wondered if it was the box itself that was my Gift. My mind raced, coming up with ideas as to whom I could sell this. I also began estimating how much it might fetch. 

 

Peering inside, I asked, “So you said you knew it was going to be empty? Does that mean you know why? And do you know how I can get out of here?” 

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Gomi shrugged and answered, “I never said it was empty. I said you weren’t going to see anything inside. There is definitely something there though, cause I can feel it. You should put your hand in it.”

 

What was she talking about? I looked inside to confirm that it was still empty. 

 

I raised my hand and cautiously reached for it. But for some reason, I felt very hesitant about putting my hand in it. I thought that perhaps I subconsciously feared that the ugly box might suddenly close and chop my hand off. I have already lost my hand once, so I think this fear wasn’t too unfounded.

 

Gomi seemed to understand my hesitancy. She said encouragingly, “Don’t worry, sweetie. You’ll be just fine. I think… I really think you need to do this.”

 

Well, there was nothing I could do. I had no idea how to get out of here. And I had to admit that Gomi seemed to know what she was talking about. She healed me as well, so I couldn’t imagine her having an ill intention toward me.

 

So I did as she suggested.

 

At first, nothing seemed to happen even with my hand inside. 

 

“Well, nothing’s happpeni…!” 

 

I began mumbling when suddenly, I gasped because I saw a tiny spec jump out of the box. It was so minuscule that my eyes could barely detect it, but before long, I saw it growing bigger and bigger. Soon, it turned into a giant pitch-black ball before it flattened with a squishy sound. 

 

The final result resembled the biggest flat-screen TV I have ever seen. Before I could ask Gomi if she knew what the hell was going on, I saw a strange scene appear on it.

 

So it WAS a TV screen. I suddenly wondered if this meant that the Gift was some kind of a movie. 

 

Well, that would suck if I was forced to watch some stupid movie the Door chose for me. Based on what the Gift box looked like, I got a sinister feeling that it was going to show me some silly piece like “Glitter (2001)”. And don’t get me wrong, I would never diss Mariah Carey because her music can bring my dead eyes to tears, but that movie was definitely on my “watch again” list. 

 

It was just my luck that I was going to get a movie night as my very first Gift. It was especially disappointing because I was mutilated and almost killed while trying to pass this test. 

 

Unless it was willing to show me the advanced episodes of the “House of the Dragon”, which would actually make it one of the greatest gifts after, I was going to be one very unhappy Rhombic. 

 

The background scene on the screen looked unfamiliar to me. This movie was taking place in a desert, but instead of being yellow-brown, it was made entirely of black sands. I had heard that certain floors or Pockets contained desserts like this. 

 

I wasn’t a huge movie buff, so I didn’t know about this particular film. But it was a known fact that the Door was a popular muse for Hollywood.

 

Then, suddenly, several figures appeared in the scene. I was unimpressed by the quality of this movie because the characters were so far away that I couldn’t see their faces clearly. 

 

Based on their stances, it seemed like there was some kind of a confrontation going on. 

 

A tall guy with jet black hair suddenly raised his hand and a dim light shot out from it. It seemed that this was a silent movie, but despite it, it was obvious that he was in a middle of a battle. But instead of the monsters, his targets were other people. 

 

I saw two figures, a man and a woman, screaming silently before collapsing to the black ground. Several other characters, who looked like they were on the couple’s side, screamed and tried to rush toward them. But unfortunately, there appeared to be some kind of a barrier that prevented them from reaching the wounded. 

 

Even though this was such a random scene with no explanation, I was absorbed. It felt like I had seen this movie from somewhere. I couldn’t think of the title, or when I saw it, but the whole scene looked so familiar. And my mind must have subconsciously remembered how it ends because anxiety bubbled up inside of me. 

 

Suddenly, the movie zoomed in on the character. 

 

Wait, no… That wasn’t it. 

 

The movie was still muted, but I felt the deadly heat on my skin all of a sudden. The air smelled different like it was filled with anguish and… betrayal. I didn’t know why, but I wasn’t surprised by the familiar vehemence my body emitted. 

 

I looked down to see that I was standing on the black sand. I raised my hands to see that I was holding a scythe-like weapon. Both of my hands trembled from emotions that overwhelmed me.

 

I realized that it wasn’t the camera zooming in that allowed me to see closer. 

 

I could see everything more clearly because I  now found myself in the scene too. 

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