Author Of Worlds: I Reincarnated Into My Novel As A Random Character
Chapter 6: Fusing With The Shadow!

Chapter 6: Fusing With The Shadow!

[The sun is dead.]

Those words appeared in the minds of everyone.

As soon as the voice faded, the sun, which hung silently in the sky, cracked and shattered with a bang.

The skies split apart as though they were bleeding. Spiderweb-like fractures spread across the heavens, allowing rays of light to pierce through.

It was only because of this that they were still able to see each other. The corruption, as it advances, causes the world to slowly collapse. That means I don’t have as long as I thought, Matthew realized.

"Everyone. Calm your thoughts. Do not let the fear get to you." Calming his nerves, he advised the group.

Since he didn’t want the corruption to spread further, he had to ensure that no one gave in to fear or any other negative emotion.

Matthew immersed himself in the mysterious fourth wall and began to speak. He didn’t dwell on the fact that it was still accessible even during the trial.

In my novel, I remember writing about this trial. One of the deadliest, if not the most lethal, trials in the Dream Dimension.

There were only two people who ended up passing this stage. But they both died in the following trials because they became increasingly difficult.

Although it sounded simple, ’find the Decay Heart’, it was far more complex. The trial required finding the Decay Heart in the literal sense.

The Decay Heart could be inside a person, hidden within an object, or buried somewhere in the world itself.

If it turned out to be the last case, passing the trial within the time limit would be nearly impossible.

But everything was not hopeless yet. The two people who managed to pass the trial in the novel were proof of that. And now, he was about to become one of them.

Everyone seemed to have responded to Matthew’s words. Their fear began to subside. They looked at him with wide eyes, surprised.

How did he know that suppressing fear would prevent the twisted, grotesque shadow from attacking? It felt unreal to them.

Just as they were still processing the moment, a loud cracking sound shattered the silence. Screams followed.

A boy who looked no older than fifteen was clutching his face, eyes filled with panic.

"No, no, no. That’s not real. That is not real." He had been trying his best to stay calm.

Earlier, he had touched a strange object he came across. It caused him to feel dizzy, and he fell into a deep sleep. When he woke up, he was already here.

But he didn’t want to stay any longer. He wanted to go back to the peaceful world he remembered.

His shadow twisted unnaturally behind him, stretching and rising. It split into two parts and soon hands emerged from it, then came a row of teeth.

The boy’s scream stopped abruptly as the shadow surged over him like a wave.

He vanished before Matthew could even shout a warning.

[Trialist Eliminated: Kazel Varn]

[Corruption increased by two percent. Remaining participants: 44]

[Current Corruption Level: 12%]

Matthew looked at the others and spoke calmly.

"This is what happens when you let fear control you. Everything you are seeing is not real. It is only a dream."

He tried to shift their focus away from the suffocating pressure of the environment.

[Corruption Level is past 10%. Passive suppression activated]

[Each trialist will experience a slight suppression.]

As soon as the notification appeared in their vision, they felt it. Gravity seemed to intensify.

Even simple movements, such as walking or lifting their limbs, became harder. Their expressions turned grim, but they resisted the urge to panic.

"What is this place? And how do you know so much about it?" someone asked, turning toward Matthew with wide, questioning eyes.

From within the crowd, a tall woman with short white hair and a scythe on her back stepped forward. She said nothing but clearly waited for him to respond.

Haha, it is because I created this trial, Matthew thought to himself. But he quickly crafted a believable reply.

"It is easy to notice. The more fear they show, the more the creature grows."

Matthew pointed at the monstrous figure not far from them.

"In that case, the less fear we have, the easier it becomes to find the Decay Heart?" a young man asked from the group.

"Well, technically, yes," Matthew replied with a smile. Since he had created the trial, he knew several hidden mechanics that even the two successful participants had never uncovered.

Unfortunately, just as he spoke, the young man didn’t wait for him to finish his explanation.

"In that case, we have nothing to fear," he said with a smirk and casually slapped the shadowy figure ahead.

The creature had remained still ever since it slaughtered the previous five participants. It had not moved once since then.

The moment the young man touched it, Matthew’s expression changed completely.

According to the rules of this trial, touching the shadow would result in a temporary fusion.

Everyone still wore relaxed expressions until the shadow shifted.

In the blink of an eye, it coiled around the man.

"What is happening?" the man cried out, his eyes widening in terror as he watched his body slowly being consumed by the black mass.

He turned toward Matthew as if begging for help.

But Matthew remained silent. There was nothing he could do.

The man had broken one of the unspoken rules of these trials. Touching the shadow meant fusion, and fusion led to slaughter.

There was only one way to stop the bloodshed, but the price was steep. Matthew turned to glance at the others, his expression shifting unnaturally for a brief second.

Stopping the shadow required a test of humanity. It was a twisted concept he had come up with, purely for entertainment.

At the time, he never expected to find himself inside the novel. So he created the challenge without holding back, enjoying the idea of readers watching morality get pushed to its limits.

Now, the fusion was complete.

A painful, guttural roar echoed across the fractured world.

A slaughter had begun.