For some, hallucinations were the same as being tortured for real. When suddenly all of the emotions, all of the trauma, and none of the empathy that would come rushing towards you with such a real-life ordeal it was to be expected. But for Arnold, hallucinations were just like any other dream or nightmare. Right now, he was in one such sequence, after a long time.
He was walking around a dark and empty space. There was nothing in sight, just him and darkness. Still, the place looked oddly familiar to him. It was like he was stranded in his domain, only Avalon and his summons were missing.
"Anyone here!?" Arnold yelled at the top of his lungs.
He knew he was hit by a nuke. He also knew his life was in danger, that's why he needed to get back to the real world as fast as he could but sadly he couldn't a way out. No matter what he tried, nothing seemed to work. He was still stuck in the void of darkness.
"It's weird," A voice echoed, "you weren't in a hurry to save yourself mere moments ago, but now you want to rush to save yourself?"
"It's you, isn't it?" Arnold let out a sarcastic smile, as he now knew who was behind it all. The one who gave him his abilities, the man whom he kept chasing in his dreams. The man with the Trident, Shiva.
"Who else do you think would waste their time on you?" Shiva replied. His words were harsh yet had a weird kindness hidden in them, "I don't think anyone else would. But I'm not here to discuss your worth but to give you a choice. A choice to live, or to die."
"And... What's the catch?" Arnold was aware nothing in the world was free of cost. Especially, before taking a chance like this, thus he wanted to gain as much information as he could before engaging in negotiations with a God who would likely screw him over.
"Nothing. I can't control your fate anymore. Shall you choose to live, your life would be completely in your hands." Shiva's voice echoed in the void, but he was nowhere to be seen, "However, having your fate in your own hands might not be an ideal choice. Only a few mortals are granted such freedom. And out of them, only a handful of them go ahead to achieve great things. The rest get drowned in an ocean of choices and end up living a cursed life."
Shiva continued, "Despite what you mortals think, having your fate in your hands more or less leads to a path of destruction. So beware of the choice you make, my vassal. Carefully think it over before making any decision."
"No matter what the future has in store for me," Arnold smiled, "I still have some business to take care of and dying is not an option. Thanks for the head's up, but I think I'll choose to live. No matter the cost."
"I should've known. Either way, your wish shall be granted." Shiva happily granted Arnold's wish, "But remember, the future ahead of you might not be to your liking and you will have no choice but to live through it. I wish you achieve the greatness you desire, or maybe you won't..."
As soon as Shiva uttered those words, Arnold's vision began distorting. After moments that felt like an eternity, he slowly forced his drowsy eyes open. He was greeted by a gruesome sight. The greeny swamp had been turned into a grey marshland. The entire place was either burning or had been obliterated. Arnold could barely move his head, for it felt like his head would fall off the shoulders if he forced himself too much.
He was covered in a mixture of his blood and radioactive ash and rain. The sky had turned black with a weird greenish thunderstorm raging over his head. Black droplets of God knows what were raining over him. Each drop burned like a bullet on his skin, but slowly the pain faded away. Or to be precise... Arnold couldn't feel the pain anymore. The pain he felt earlier was so severe, his pain receptors had already stopped responding.
'I don't feel pain anymore... At least something good came out of this shit...' Arnold thought. He wanted to smile but his broken jaw didn't allow it.
As Arnold thought, 'Sacred protection' saved his life from the initial explosion. But his unconscious body remained vulnerable to the after-effects of the nuclear explosion. 'Essence of life' ability was trying the best to heal Arnold's wounds but its effect was slow and the damage done was severe.
<Unable to restore the host's life force due to excessive loss of blood.>
<Unable to restore the host's movement.>
<Several internal injuries detected. Starting the procedure to begin healing now.>
<Radiation poisoning is slowing down the healing. Searching for an optimal solution.>
<Concentrating the radiation poison into one body part. So that other parts can begin healing.>
The system went berserk trying its best to save its host. But Arnold wasn't much hopeful. After all, even the all-powerful system had to have its limits. He may as well be doomed. Maybe he got too cocky about his strength. Having a nuke burst over his head was quite a wake-up call. He was a little late but that was fine.
Arnold didn't notice but slowly his left hand started turning black, while the rest of his body began healing. Until now, Arnold was more or less able to feel his limbs. But now, all of a sudden he lost all feeling in his left arm but regained some control over his remaining body. Slowly but surely his body began recovering. His pale skin turned lively again. His wounds started recovering faster. Soon enough, Arnold regained control over his body. He couldn't feel pain anymore but he knew he was hurt. After all, his body was still covered in innumerable wounds.
Happy, that the system once again saved his life, he tried getting up. Only to notice his left hand had turned into the darkest shade of black he had ever noticed. Also... He couldn't feel the arm anymore. He tried moving it but nothing happened. Before he could grasp what was happening, system-sama notified him about his condition...
<Deposition of radiation poison into user's subservient arm completed. Requesting the user to sever the arm to stop the poison from spreading further into the body.>
"Sever... My arm?" Arnold mumbled involuntarily as his jaw was fixed.
<Affirmative. If action is not taken with 15 seconds, the poison would start spreading throughout the host's body. The arm is useless either way. It's better to sacrifice the arm rather than your life.>
Arnold knew the system was serious. The arm was indeed useless to him now. He had no choice. Arnold took a deep breath, steeling his resolve. He had sliced the limbs of countless people, yet now he wasn't so sure in his skill.
He quietly took his glove off his left arm and began carefully heating the hidden blade on it using hellfire. He had to make sure the cut was quick and clean. Otherwise, the radiation would find another way into his body.
He curled up his left hand. Taking quick breaths. The next moment, He reached out with his right hand and picked up the glove, raising it high. He took one last breath, the blade hummed through the air as it swung down sharply. It sliced through perfectly, cutting the hand clean, right from the shoulder.
Arnold thought he would feel some kind of pain. But he didn't. No blood came gushing out of the wound as Arnold quickly sealed the wound shut by smearing a bit of lava over it before quickly freezing it.
He gave one last look to his severed arm. Black and ashen... The arm which had taken countless lives of both humans and monsters laid there as dead as the rest of the swamp. Arnold's job was done there. It was time to return to his void and do something about his missing hand. He wouldn't be much of a creationist if he didn't have both of his hands.
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