Entering Apocalypse in Easy-Mode
Chapter 346: Seeing

Chapter 346: Seeing

Clyde felt his entire body tense at the sound of that voice. It wasn’t something he could explain, as if it came from an unknown and incomprehensible source. The voice didn’t reach his ears but vibrated inside his head and chest.

Something like this shouldn’t be possible, but Clyde knew it was. And it was happening to him. This was the voice of that unknown creature with a slit eye, the one that resided deep within the realm of black ash and ancient ruins.

"What... what do you mean...? Who are you, really? Why did you choose me?"

Clyde tried to ask with his mind. If that voice was connected to him, then he should be able to connect with it as well — assuming the creature was willing to answer his questions.

But no response came. Clyde waited, his heart pounding, eyes widening, and cold sweat covering his body. Yet, no answer arrived.

"Goddamnit, creature! Answer me!"

Frustrated, Clyde slammed his hand against the bed. He gritted his teeth, but the creature completely ignored him.

Finally giving up on trying to establish a connection, Clyde sighed. Maybe this only worked one way. That entity could reach out to him whenever it wanted, but he couldn’t do the same.

"For now, all I can do is send a warning. And maybe..." Clyde furrowed his brows as a thought crossed his mind. "Maybe I can connect with that creature through a dream, or maybe through my system."

Not wanting to waste any more time, Clyde removed his coat and sword, then lay down on the bed, staring at the ceiling. He opened his system interface.

He focused his gaze on his Title—The Catalyst. He concentrated his mind, trying to access and draw power from it. But it was harder than he expected.

Even though that Title belonged to him, it felt as if it resisted his access, as if it was only there to remind him of his current state rather than something he could actually use.

However, Clyde refused to back down. He gritted his teeth and pushed through the resistance.

And then, somehow, he broke through.

A surge of unknown energy shot toward him, flooding through his body.

"Arghh...!"

The energy made him groan in pain. It felt like needles stabbing every inch of his body, from head to toe, piercing through every cell inside him. The sensation was almost unbearable.

Then, as suddenly as it had come, the pain vanished. Clyde gasped, feeling sweat pouring down his body. When he wiped his nose, he noticed blood on his hand.

"Shit. What the hell..."

Clyde frowned in confusion. The pain had been excruciating, yet it had only lasted a few seconds.

So what is this Title? Is it just as ancient and unknown as that creature inside the black realm? What exactly has entered my body?

Clyde didn’t like it one bit. Knowing that something foreign had invaded his body and soul, possibly influencing him without his knowledge, was deeply unsettling.

For now, after breaking through to the Title but gaining nothing but pain, Clyde closed his eyes. He focused all his thoughts on the vision of the black realm filled with ash.

The sensation of accessing his Title was still fresh. He hoped he could enter that realm again more easily this time.

It turned out he was right. It was easier than he had expected.

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After experiencing the sensation of falling into an abyss—a feeling that utterly terrified him—Clyde finally returned to this realm. But this time, he was no longer just a wandering spirit, floating aimlessly.

His feet touched the soft ground made of black ash. He wasn’t wearing any shoes, allowing him to feel the strange texture of the ash as it tickled his skin.

"What exactly is this black ash? It’s too soft to be just sand, so I’m sure it’s really ash. But what burned in this place for the ash to cover an entire realm?"

Clyde darted his eyes around. As far as he could see, there was no end to the ash. At the farthest edge of his vision, all he could make out was mist curling like a massive wall. But he was certain that beyond that mist lay even more vast lands, also covered in the same black ash.

He gulped, pushing away thoughts about what might have burned to create this endless sea of ash. He had more pressing matters to deal with right now.

Clyde looked up. That familiar fear crept in again, but this time, he had no intention of backing down. He was far too frustrated with how that creature kept toying with him—he needed answers, and he needed them now.

"Come here! We need to talk!" Clyde shouted at the sky, filled with swirling dark clouds that shifted and moved as if they were alive.

The dark clouds above began to shift, as if something massive was stirring within them. Clyde narrowed his eyes, his breath hitching as he caught sight of movement. Something coiling and twisting through the black storm.

Black tendrils that writhing like serpents slithered through the sky, their inky forms blending seamlessly into the roiling clouds. They moved with an unsettling grace, coiling and unfurling like living shadows, stretching out as if searching for something.

Then, without warning, the clouds split apart.

A colossal eye snapped open in the heart of the storm.

It was unlike anything Clyde had ever feel. He saw an abyssal void surrounded by rings of shifting colors, pulsating and swirling. The sheer immensity of it dwarfed everything else he ever saw, making him feel like an insignificant speck beneath its gaze.

The moment his eyes met that terrible all-seeing slitted pupil, a crushing force weighed down on him.

His chest tightened, his breath stopped and his limbs trembled uncontrollably. A wave of vertigo overtook him as if the world itself had tilted beneath his feet.

Then he fell.

His legs gave out, and he collapsed onto his back, his hands sinking into the soft black ash. His heart pounded against his ribs, his entire body shaking as an unnatural cold seeped into his bones.

This was beyond fear.

This was something deeper, something primal. A terror not meant for human minds to comprehend.

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