Demon Slayer : LEveLing uP

[Enemies Defeated : 15/15]

[Exp. Gained : 4,000]

[Fatigue : 75/100]

[HP : 580/620]

[MP : 550/600]

I was completely worn out this time, but somehow, I still managed to defeat the last of the demons on this floor. The mission was really tough, and I was almost at my breaking point. I felt dizzy as I sat down to catch my breath after that wild fight just a few moments ago. It might have been one of the hardest fights I've faced so far.

I plopped down and leaned my head against the only wall still standing in one piece in the whole place. I closed my eyes to take a little break. Just like that, I didn't even notice when I drifted off to sleep right there.

...

Suddenly, I found myself in a completely different place, somewhere I didn't recognize at all. I stood up and looked around, but the broken and torn-apart building I had been climbing was nowhere in sight. It was all just emptiness, and when I say emptiness, I mean absolutely nothing was around me.

I somehow managed to get on my feet, and suddenly, the darkness around me faded away. I was standing amidst the ruins of massive buildings, either collapsed or maybe even floating in the air. But I couldn't wrap my head around it—what was happening here? What were these things?

When I opened my eyes, I found myself in a place like nothing I'd ever seen before. The world was drained of color, with a dull, lifeless gray sky stretching endlessly above. Buildings floated aimlessly, as if gravity had forgotten them. It felt unreal, like I'd stepped into a dream—or maybe a nightmare.

I turned my head, trying to figure out my surroundings. The ground was solid but felt fragile, like it could crumble at any moment. Mirrors floated around me, showing only my confused reflection. I reached out to touch one, hesitating as my fingers got closer, but before I could, a voice echoed through the emptiness.

"Why are you here, Ishida?" The voice was familiar, yet distant, a part of me but still separate. It sent shivers down my spine.

I turned, searching for who was speaking, but there was no one. Just the floating buildings, the colorless sky, and mirrors reflecting my confusion back at me.

"You couldn't save your family, Ishida," the voice continued, each word hitting hard. "You watched them die, powerless to do anything. Can you remember their faces? The fear in their eyes when they realized you wouldn't save them?"

The accusation hung in the air, heavy and suffocating. Memories I tried to forget came rushing back, vivid and unforgiving. My family's faces flashed before me, their last moments playing over in my mind like a cruel, never-ending loop.

"You failed Akira, too," the voice pressed on. "Your friend, your close relative. You promised to protect him, but where were you when he needed you the most?"

A knot formed in my stomach, tightening with every word. Akira's laughter, his faith in me, all vanished in an instant, leaving only guilt and the echo of my broken promises.

"And the family, the child you saw just moments ago. Do you remember how they cried out for help? How you stood there, helpless, as they were taken from this world?"

The mirrors began to ripple, distorting my reflection into grotesque shapes, each one a twisted version of my failures. I tried to look away, but everywhere I turned, there was another mirror, another reminder of my shortcomings.

"You're not good enough, Ishida. No matter how hard you try, you can't save anyone. You're just a pathetic fool, tricking yourself into thinking you can make a difference."

The ground beneath me trembled, a deep rumble echoing through the empty void. Cracks appeared, snaking across the surface, as if the foundation of this strange world was collapsing under the weight of my despair.

Rain started to fall, cold and relentless, each drop a stinging reminder of the truth I didn't want to accept. The mirrors shattered one by one, their fragments falling like silver tears into the growing pool of water that was quickly covering the ground.

The water rose fast, surrounding me, reflecting my twisted image back at me from every angle. I was trapped, drowning in my own self-doubt, each question from my subconscious self a weight pulling me further down.

"Why, Ishida? Why do you keep failing? Why are you never enough?"

I had no answers, only relentless questions, each one more piercing than the last. The rain was relentless, the water rising higher, threatening to swallow me whole. I was alone, with only the echoes of my failures for company, and the voice that wouldn't let me forget.

"You know why I'm here now?! Because of you, I have to go through the same misery, the same failures, and above all, the same feeling of never being good enough. I hate it. I hate feeling useless. So today, I came to end it all. I will end it all by ending you."