Infinity in the Void – Freedom in the Abyss

"Game... set."

All of us were transferred into the Game, and the knowledge of this game came to me...

Huh...

"Dodgeball."

The area transformed into a stadium made of golden crystal.

"The rule is simple, get hit with a ball and you are retired from life.", I state the rule.

"What is that supposed to mean?!", Francis glared at me.

"Hey, I can't control whatever Game of Hope it will be. The win condition is whichever side gets eliminated first loses.", I held my hand out, and a flaming ball appeared in my hand, "Hands and shin don't count, of course."

I threw the ball at Mach 1 speed, but the Lord of Tindalos just reshaped its body to let the ball fly through the hole it made.

"Come on, try to hit it just once and it'll be gone."

As a response to my Game of Hope, the Replica just... tore a hole in reality and escaped.

Fuck.

With my opponent gone, the Game of Hope judged that it was defeated and the game ended.

"Uh... Charlotte?", Mitsuki looked at me with worry.

Alright, we have a Replica on the loose and nobody knows where it is—

I felt a sudden pressure, a feeling of absolute dread. My entire body is trembling in fear...

"Oh no...", Francis whispered.

"What is it?", I turned to her, seeing her completely in fear.

"It's the actual Lord of Tindalos.", she spoke with a grave tone.

I quickly expanded my search range— and there it was, in the form of a tall figure, wearing a cloak made of simple shapes moving to cover their body. In their hands... appendages are more correct, is the Replica. Then they turned toward me, staring at me with a bottomless void for a face.

So I stare at it, holding my gaze without blinking.

"What are you doing?", Francis stares at me in disbelief.

I didn't answer her, I just kept staring at them.

"Sanity Beat: Pleasure Ballet."

I stepped forward, creating a wave of golden crystals, crashing into the Eldritch Being— huh?

My crystals split apart, not even touching them.

"C̴̟̖̓́a̵̟̹̔̆̽͂̚̚ͅĺ̴͙̪͚͎̅i̴͖̞̜͎͊͐̂͛͠b̴̟̳̈̋́̓͐r̵̪̱̐͑̀̔ḁ̴̧̛͉͉͖́͒̿͆ͅt̵̡̺͎̀̾ĩ̷͈͉͔̥͊̌ö̸̠́̀͌͝ņ̵̡̱̙̖̙͛̍̇̓͂: C̵̻͚̓͝ò̸̡͉m̴̫̈́̉p̴̮͆̇ĺ̸̩̬ȅ̷͙͙͝t̶̯̙͝e̶̹̓́.", they spoke in a low and mechanical voice.

I... can't hear them properly.

"Ä̶̦̇n̴̼̆̌o̷̘̽͋m̷̡̟̈́a̷̢̲͑̀l̶̖̏l̷͕̺̀ŷ̶̰͊ ̵͙̮̆L̴̰͖͊e̵̼͈͊ṽ̶̥e̴̬͋l̷̙̆: 4̸̨̳͌̀͝."

What are they talking about?

"S̸͕̑ų̷̿b̷͎̾j̷̛̙e̶̞͒c̵̝̃t̵̮͛ ̵̩̔I̴͇͐d̷͉̽e̷͍͛ṉ̵̛t̵͓͘ḯ̸͓t̶̛̩ỳ̸̝: ANCHOR."

Is it... me?

Then thousands of tendrils came out from the cloak, consuming the Replica.

They teleported right in front of me.

"Ả̴̼c̶̜̽t̸͍̓ǐ̶̮o̴͗ͅn̵͕̆: Ṳ̷̄̕n̶̲̤̅ǹ̶̖ḙ̶͝c̸͕̪̐̋e̶̻̬͆͒s̵͚̘̈̉s̶͍͕̄a̷͔̔͒r̴͙̊̒y̷̧̔."

A portal opened right behind them and the Lord of Tindalos retreated back into their domain... the dreadful air was gone.

What came next was a blue screen in front of me.

I was pissed, really pissed. My prey got away, and I faced the actual Lord of Tindalos... what even is an Eldritch Being anyway?!

"Mitsuki, Francis, you two go back first.", I ordered them to.

"But—"

I shut Francis up with a glare.

"Let's leave her be.", Mitsuki placed a hand on her shoulder, "When Charlotte wants to be alone, you leave her alone."

They left me by myself.

I punched the air on my right side, uprooting dozens of trees in an instant.

"Utopia, explain to me what exactly are Eldritch Beings.", I demanded.

"[Yes, Your Highness. Eldritch Beings, or what the wider universe calls them - Voidborns, are Scions of The Original One. There are a total of 16 Voidborns, there may be more that have yet to show themselves, but each bore a Primordial Force. The Lord of Tindalos, The Time Lord, is the one who governs and guards Time; then there is The Master of Durrey, The Space Lord, who maintains the fabric of Reality in the void.]"

This domain is insignificant to the universe itself, so that must be why the Master of Durrey doesn't come in and fuck me over with the amount of time I rip open the fabric of Reality.

He continues, "[Like you had witnessed at Libertas, a Twilight Gaunt which belong to The Lord of the Abyssal Depth, who governs the Unconscious Mind. The Voidborns themselves often do not go into solar systems, since they are generally hated by all Eldritch Gods.]"

Hah... I don't need any more of this. I'm on vacation!

"Stop, Utopia. Give me some good news."

"[The war front is turning good for the Russian, since they had detonated multiple Ivan Tears and created an ice wall to stop more Undead from entering Siberia.]"

Huh, that's good.

I sat down below a tree and hummed to myself.

"I dream of a Starless Sky, a Land of Quiet Serenity."

The world before me began to flake away, becoming chalk as I kept on chanting.

"Through the Looking Glass, I am the Void, I am Infinity."

I reached my hand out, the world flashed black and white for a moment.

"So come forth, my World of Chalk."

The rainforest was replaced by an endless land of grey, where I feel my memories becoming hazy. I know I shouldn't do this anymore, every time I do this I lose something, but this is my form of therapy.

To be alone with only myself. I took in a deep breath.

Hah...

I am not fine, no matter how hard I try to hide it. This whole trip was meant to be a fun vacation trip, that's why I am so lax and try not to go overboard with the things I do.

I want a fun adventure, one that is deadly and full of surprises, I wanted to share it with other people - my attempt to break out of my position as the Princess.

But it ends up being too dangerous for the students. I don't know if there is any kind of Eldritch disease, even from a Replica, I don't know if I can prevent things from getting out of hand, in fact, I want things to get out of hand for the chaos of it. I... just don't know.

Can you blame me? Despite being the so-called Records of Mankind, there is a fundamental difference between me and other people, just like no two people are the same. I just want others to enjoy what I enjoy.

To hunt and play with the lives of others, preferably other species since I can indulge in my own cruelty...

Hah... this is stressful.

This is all a distraction from my duty, I'm pretty sure I put SAVING HUMANITY below my need for entertainment. But now I have that sense of looming doom is coming closer, the actual Lord of Tindalos certainly did not help.

The hunt for Theia I left for Avalon, do I have enough trust in mere animals? No, of course not.

If I want to do anything, I have to do it myself.

I'm glad that this is the last day...

I exit my Inner World, and it's already dark.

"[Your Highness, please, stop entering your Inner World.]", he chided me the instant I got out.

"Heh... hehahahaha!", I let out a burst of laughter, "I know, but I need to collect my thoughts and speak to myself so that I can keep it together."

"[Then talk to me, Your Highness, Charlotte.]", he put more emotion in than he usually does, which surprises me, "[I am not a human, I am a machine created with a Soul and Mind, I am a Herald of The Machine Overlord. I am better than a normal human in every shape or form to handle your worries, Your Highness.]"

...

"[Know that I will always be by your side, Your Highness.]"

"Fine, you win.", I clicked my tongue, "Utopia, I am shouldered with the weight of an entire race that I've been ignoring for the better part of my life, it is creeping up on me now more than ever. The back of my mind keeps on telling me that I need to act fast or else I'll be too late, especially with whatever Theia is doing."

"[It is you who said it best, while I am hesitant to advise you to indulge in your less than savory hobbies, but as human say, you need to let loose once in a while.]"

"Hahaha! You always know what to say to make me feel better.", I stood up, summoning Quirinus and Fallen Starlight.

"Welt Ealam, do you need any other world in need of a calamity?", I asked the Eldritch God stuck to me.

The blue screen appears to me once more.

[There is indeed one :) ]
[Would you like to go to it now?]

I took a step forward, teleporting onto my ship and Utopia began to move.

"Yes.", I accept with a smile.

An iridescent portal opens before me and the ship moves forward, entering another world.

The feeling of discomfort is still there, but I don't care. I am going to relieve all the stress I have.

I stare at my golden gauntlets, still glittering with the power of Euphoria and Hope...

This will be fun.

And in a flash, I enter another world.

A perfect battleground for me...