376  375: Am I In Hell?

    After The Clown announced where the Battle of Chosens was going to take place, Corey perceived spatial energy from his seat. He could fight it and choose to oppose the spatial energy that was about to engulf his body, he decided not to since that would not be wise on his part.

    However, he felt that the spatial energy around his body was somewhat different from the spatial energy he felt during the Death Race he partook in with Divine, Rosa, and Fatty Black Bonez.

    A second after the spatial energy engulfed his entire body, Corey finally noticed why he felt that the spatial energy was different from the spatial energy of the Death race.

    It was of better quality, it felt purer and at the same time... malevolent and chaotic?

    Corey was baffled by this discovery.

    Before he could ponder on the strangeness of the spatial energy, he heard an extremely strange sound directly inside his mind.

    Ohn!

    Corey felt like something was taken from him. This something felt intangible and also extremely familiar. However, for some reason he could not connect the dots and figure out what the sound was, and also what was taken from him.

    Just as he was about to push this thought and strange feeling to all his stars of consciousness, he suddenly felt a stabbing pain in his head, neck, and left arm.

    The pain seemed to go past his high pain tolerance, and it made him feel like when he was just a tier 0 who had not even killed a single revenant.

    He was about to scream, however, the spatial energy had already engulfed him and it performed its duty.

    He vanished.

    All he felt was a blur, and countless colors of blinding light engulfed his vision for a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of a second.

    Thud

    Corey felt his body hit a solid object, however, it also felt like his body hit nothing. He felt extremely disoriented, and his vision became a blur.

    He inhaled and exhaled deeply for a few seconds, or at least, what he felt was a few seconds. After what seemed like forever, he was finally able to get himself.

    Luckily for him, the extremely strange and unfathomable pain he felt when he was in the Amphitheatre had dissipated.

    He could still feel the lingering effect and remnant of the pain in his body, however, he could bear it this time around.

    ''What the hell was that pain? My pain tolerance was like a child before the pain, and it seemed to even go past my pain tolerance.'' Corey suddenly shivered, ''... I don''t want to feel that pain again.''

    Although Corey had this thought, he had a feeling he would not be able to escape the pain in the near future.

    He opened his eyes, and at first, all he saw was darkness.

    ''Are my eyes still trying to adjust to the surroundings because of the pain and the blinding lights I saw?'' Corey wondered, and then he realized something about himself.

    He realized that he was lying flat on the ground, and his back was against the ground. He was not standing, nor was he in a sitting position like he was in the Amphitheatre.

    Corey shook his head, and then he moved. He placed his hand on the floor and attempted to push himself off the ground.

    However,

    In the center of the Temple was a massive altar. The altar was carved from obsidian and drenched in blood. On the altar were the remains of countless sacrifices, with their bodies torn apart and arranged in a grotesque manner.

    Corey''s senses perceived a dark energy around the altar. The energy was familiar and also unfamiliar at the same time.

    Corey made a mental note to avoid the altar for the time being.

    Not only could Corey perceive the strange dark energy around the altar, he could also perceive the extremely minute vibrations in the air around the altar due to his Vibration Manipulation skill.

    As Corey saw all of this, his Ears of Omniscience picked up on an extremely soft sound. Not only that, a liquid dropped on his forehead.

    He quickly looked up and took a defensive stance, fully expecting to see a monster or an enemy above him.

    However, what he saw was completely out of his expectations.

    Above him were corpses of humans, animals, and creatures Corey had never seen before. The corpses were twisted and mutilated beyond recognition, and they hung from rusted chains that dangled from the high, vaulted ceiling.

    Some of the corpses seemed recent, their bodies still dripping with blood, while the others were nothing more than mummified husks, their faces frozen in eternal screams of agony.

    Corey felt the air behind him move, and his face scrunched up in immense disgust.

    The wind that just blew caused Corey to perceive the stench of decay and decay that had filled the Temple.

    As Corey pinched the bridge of his nose in disgust, his eyes suddenly widened in realization.

    ''Wait? Wind?''

    Corey quickly turned, and looked behind him.

    To his relief, he found no monster, but the entrance of the Temple.

    Just like the interior of the Temple, the entrance was also something out of a horror story, and could not be described as normal at all.

    The entrance was a gaping maw, lined with jagged teeth-like protrusions, making it seem like the Temple itself was a living creature waiting to devour anyone foolish enough to enter.

    ''How funny would it be if the Temple was actually alive, and was a living creature?'' Corey thought with a nervous smile.

    He then looked away from the entrance, and released a nervous sigh.

    His gaze shifted to everything that was around him, and he could not help but speak with a suspicious tone, "Am I in hell?"

    This was the only explanation Corey had when he saw his surroundings.

    Apart from hell, he could not think of any other place that would be so... evil.

    Three seconds after Corey spoke, a holographic image appeared in front of him.

    Corey was at first taken aback, however, when he saw who was in the image, his tensed nerves relaxed slightly.

    The holographic image showed The Clown smiling like the mad man that he was.