Chapter 23: Empty Darkness

The empty world turned cold…

From the pitch black darkness came a figure that seemed truly demonic, yet somehow animalistic.

Bull horns protruded out of his head, and the already worn out shoes he wore broke open.

Hoof-like guards appeared on his ankles…

With a skin tone visibly shaded a tone of pitch black, he approached like a furious Demon Lord.

Adam swallowed his saliva…

'Fuck training! I have to get out-' His thoughts were cut off while turning his back to head to the door.

Not even Sebastian could protect him when the once feeble old man grabbed him by the collar.

Even using his power to weaken the life supports on Simon's body didn't have any effects on him.

The man proceeded to throw him into the distance.

But not before kicking the Magician like spiking a football. A flying kick instantly launching him far.

They seemed absolutely powerless before him.

With a body unaffected by magic and fighting instincts of an adept of battle, it was too easy.

Adam only saw a blur before seeing the world turn.

He could feel the wind resistance brushing past his body through the gaps in his fingers and hair.

The memory he'd suppressed finally arose…

For the first time in his life, the man had been hit by someone. That too in a way that had 'killed' him.

This time, he landed on the ground and felt his skull being crushed by the impact of the landing.

"A- A… AAAAARGH!" He screamed in pain and agony. Tears and snots running down his face.

He couldn't believe he was hurt so badly…!

The injury on his head instantly healed up, but the pain had been unbearable. It lingered like a ghost.

'I… Where… is the door?' The Landlord looked around to see himself far away from the entrance.

He couldn't even see where the door was anymore.

Fortunately, Simon had vanished as well… but it wouldn't take long before the geezer found him.

The moment he did, his 'Hell' would start again.

Adam chomped and bit on the tip of his thumb nervously while looking around. It was too crazy.

'Why is he doing this?' There we're too many thoughts in his head trying to figure the situation.

The time inside here and the outside was likely cut off, but so was his unique 'Father Nature' ability.

His senses was completely cut off from the outside. As well as how much time was passing.

This made things even worse.

Adam had never fought anyone… not once in his entire life had he raised his hand at someone else.

So how was he supposed to go against Simon?

Beg? Plead?

No, he could tell from the geezer's momentum that he wouldn't stop this session until he was satisfied.

However, the Landlord couldn't think of fighting back regardless of how much he hated 'dying'.

It just wasn't in his nature as a person.

'…I need a weapon.' But regardless of his innate nature, a human being was an animal that adapted.

That's when he thought of his Innate Gift.

Or the right phrase to term it: His 'Semblance'.

From what Sebastian had described to him, this power was something he had to cultivate himself.

There was no way for another to help him out.

From what he derived from the explanations of what Semblances were, it had to do with 'feelings'.

The power by nature was just an aspect of him.

First, he had to identify how this relates to his own Innate Gift, 'Empty'. Why did it manifest this way?

Was it because of the emptiness of boredom that defined the reason why he came to this world?

The existential crisis born from this feeling?

In what way did 'Emptiness' define him?

When he started to ponder, he emptied out his feelings in order to gain an objective perspective.

This, he realised to be a 'crude use' of his power.

A primitive way to use the Innate Gift as it was.

He'd heard that Shane knew many people that had seemingly useless Gifts, until they chose an 'ideal'.

The slick samurai himself only had the ability of storing pain at first, and letting it overflow within.

It was through the ideal of retaliation that the former 'tantrum' gained a new usage for itself.

The belief of turning his pain into a tool allowed him to apply a calculated release pattern to the ability.

It permanently altered it from that day forth.

This example was one Adam couldn't copy.

He could feel a deep connection and control of his Semblance like never before, but it was too weak.

He couldn't define himself by any ideal.

His mind just thought of the current desires he had… The desire to escape from this prison!

Just as he finally calmed himself down, he felt a hand grab onto his shoulder and jolted awake.

He turned to see the horned figure of his mentor.

"Wait! We can talk this-!" Simon didn't talk any nonsense, his foot landed to interrupt the man.

"W-wait! Can't you listen to me!?" *Bang!* A fist ripped through his shoulder and broke his neck.

The same thing kept on happening whenever Adam tried to stop him. His pitiful words fell on deaf ears.

Every time he spoke, he would be injured again.

It was to the point he stopped speaking altogether.

This act was a subconscious mechanism born through fear. His mind was already in submission.

The violence inflicted on him only hurting his will.

However, even that didn't change anything. 

The devil with the horns started to laugh while continuing to hit him harder. His bones broke again.

Crushed, flailed, punctured through the heart, and being literally beaten to death a multitude of times.

"Why act so quiet? That's sooo unlike you~" Simon chuckled while listening to his 'pleasant' screams.

His personality seemed to have been altered…

"Please… stop!" Because of his regeneration and lack of access to his Skills, Adam continued to beg.

He didn't want to fight.

"Any what will you do if I don't?" The arrogant face of the geezer leaned in and spoke: "Gonna cry~?"

Boisterous laughter followed that statement.

Adam couldn't recognise who this person was.

This definitely wasn't the drunkard he'd taken in that night… The man who looked at him with care.

As it was only a mere gaze, he'd pretended not to have seen it before. Acting like it never happened.

But wasn't like he'd forgotten…

In contrast, the person hurting him was nothing more than a thug that had acted purely of instinct.

He could tell the demonic man standing high and mighty above his knelt figure was enjoying this.

Blatantly having fun with him.

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This incongruity in what he thought was real or fake started to birth a strong fire within his heart.

It was to the point he couldn't breath properly.

"Simon… Are you in there?" He asked, only to see the demonic man hide the sheer shock in his eyes.

'Simon' replied while covering his mouth:

"Are you hallucinating or something?"

"No, you're definitely not him."

"And where's your proof?" Adam knew that his words sounded like nonsense at this point.

However, he was sure of his judge of character.

Even when in training, Simon wouldn't be like this.

There was no way someone like him would be this brutal towards a person he considered a disciple.

Then the problem was: How can he get him back?

Wait for the effects of the Mystic Tool to wear off?

No, that was already impossible. Although Simon didn't make use of martial arts, he was too strong.

Adam could tell that it'd probably take months to years before he ran out of those damn cigarettes.

The ones that let him extend his use of this form…

On top of that, he wasn't sure he'd be able to stay sane from being beaten up for such a long time.

There was no way he'd let this continue.

Adam wasn't one who could silently take a beating.

With his 'Empty' Semblance still active, he could probably hide behind a veil of feigned emptiness.

However, if there was ONE thing he wouldn't do…

…it was pretending this part of his heart was fake.

Although Adam came from a world where he'd never truly fought for anything, he wasn't someone who'd just make concessions to his bottom line. It was either balance or going to absolute extremes!

If his dear 'instructor' was going to mess him up like this, then reason and common sense were out.

Those who fuck him up get fucked up x1000!!!

He finally threw the first punch he'd ever thrown in his entire life. With a long and overextended arc.

*Slap!*

But he failed to connect, the fist travelled barely an inch before he was humiliatingly hit back down.

A redness appeared on his broken lips…

"You call that a punch? Look, this is how you make a fist!" The devil giggled and scrunched his hand.

The thumb wasn't being held by the rest of the fingers, but was placed on the finger knuckle.

He experienced a professional punch firsthand.

It was at this point that Adam realised this weird persona was practically FORCED to follow rules.

Although he was beating him up out of malice, the Dark Persona seemed unable to ignore the intent.

It had to do what Simon actually wanted…

This act could've been interpreted as a taunt, but the Landlord knew as an expert that wasn't true.

After all, taunts worked better like this:

"Did your mum teach you that shit?" This time, it was Adam's turn to act like a total piece of crap.

He wasn't at all careful in his petty taunts. The real Simon deserved it for unleashing this mutt at him!

"…You should kept begging me for mercy. I'd have hurt you less that way." The devil cracked its neck.

The next few moments felt like hell…!

His eyes were poked. Balls were kicked in. His skull crashed into ground. Bones broken once again.

The moment he finished attacking, 'Simon' took a breath. That was when his victim timed a counter.

Ignoring the pain of regeneration, the Landlord got off his butt and finally connected his first strike.

Punching the cigar out of the devil's mouth.

"…Did a fly hit me?" Of course, the lack of weight behind it was understandable with this situation.

The way he positioned to strike was all wrong.

Adam continued his assault with a tackle that incorporated a headbutt. Not a creative move.

The demonic man reached out to intercept him.

He was planning to continue playing around with the young immortal until he really died of shame.

However, he underestimated his opponent.

What was the point of retaliating if you didn't go all in? Adam threw away his honour, pride, and shame.

He threw everything into the emptiness…

…until his eyes displayed the state of nothingness.

The difference between the two was while someone who was 'empty' could be filled, one who was 'nothing' didn't exist in the first place. His power started seeping into the nature of his flesh.

Before the demonic man noticed what was wrong here, the headbutt broke straight past his guard.

Even managing to land another sucker punch on him from the side. It tripped him up uncontrollably.

Making him take steps back…

He didn't look shocked or confused. Rather, it was like the devil's original nature started to open up.

The white of his eyes started to become red as blood, and he made a face filled with malice.

Adam felt like a malevolent demon looked at him.

However, his dull eyes didn't give it any notice.

The power of darkness erupting out of the geezer's body, along with the energy strings of moonlight.

This also failed to intimidate Adam, who was smoking the cigar he'd stolen from the old fart.

Ignoring the gnarly taste of saliva on top of it.

The disgust sucked into his empty heart.

Just like how he stole the cigar, he'd firmly rooted himself in the idea of 'stealing' everything else.

The refinement of his Semblance started to progress once he made up the resolution to fight.

The darkness that was supposed to only improve his physical abilities mixed right in with 'Empty'.

He found the nature of darkness seeping deeper into his body, transforming his very personality.

Although no side-effects like growing horns or insanity occurred, there was a subtle difference.

Almost like his own 'darkness' was amplified.

Rather than feeling repulsed, this enigmatic yet devious sensation felt like an extension of himself.

He couldn't quite explain it.

The shadow… the hole in his heart… became all-encompassing black hole that fully devoured him.

For the sake of survival, this was his choice.

Becoming emptiness itself to survive.

Taking in all that was thrown at him to recreate himself in a new form. Forgoing stagnation.

In truth, his ability was still processing itself.

Refining itself in a way that suited his ideals.

An endless battle started between them from that moment on. Blows were exchanged each second.

It was invincibility versus immortality…

The first one to fall would lose. The first one to truly collapse would be the one being defeated.

Adam only hoped he'd retain his sanity by then.

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