The Absolute Chair
Omnipotence Is Not Freedom
Chapter 7 — The Shape of Fear
Karl-Jay woke up choking on pain.
His eyes snapped open, vision blurred, the ceiling above him nothing but cracked concrete and hanging wires. His chest rose sharply as he sucked in air like he had just surfaced from drowning.
Bandages.
Wrapped tightly around his chest. His arms. His side.
He lifted his right arm slowly—and froze.
"…I survived," he thought.
His voice wouldn't come out.
He tried to sit up.
Pain exploded.
Karl-Jay slipped off the makeshift bed and hit the floor hard, teeth clenched as his body screamed in protest. Sweat poured down his face.
"…It healed," he realized. "But the pain's still here."
Gritting his teeth, he forced himself up, leaning against the wall as he staggered forward. Every step felt like his bones were remembering how they had been broken.
He pushed open a half-broken door.
Inside, the others were sitting around a small fire, eating quietly.
Zuko turned first.
"…He's awake."
Everyone looked up at once.
"Sheesh!" Zuko grinned. "Look who decided not to die."
"Thank God," Junior breathed.
Sheila stood up quickly, relief written all over her face.
"You scared us."
Karl-Jay let out a weak laugh that turned into a cough.
"Feels like my body hates me."
Siel glanced at him lazily from midair.
"Oh, he definitely feels the pain."
Karl-Jay swallowed.
"…What about that monster?"
The room went quiet.
Li Fang sighed and sat down heavily.
"About that… we might be cooked."
Karl-Jay frowned.
"What do you mean?"
Li Fang looked at Sheila.
"Show him."
Sheila hesitated, then pulled out a battered tablet.
"Don't worry," she said softly. "I modified it. Time here messes with electronics—I upgraded it to sync with this world's flow."
She tapped the screen.
Symbols appeared.
Images. Data.
Karl-Jay's stomach tightened.
"So," Sheila continued, "when we fought him… his eyes glowed. That symbol."
She zoomed in.
🔅
"When that happened, Li Fang and La Dang were dragged into another dimension."
Karl-Jay clenched his jaw.
"If my research is right," she went on, "his name is Bang Min. He was once human."
"…Was?" Karl-Jay echoed.
"Yes," La Dang said quietly. "Because something took him."
"The Sea," Sheila said.
Karl-Jay blinked.
"The sea? Like… the ocean?"
La Dang shook his head.
"No. The Sea isn't water. It's a collective. Multiple beings. They enter humans, use them to cause chaos and destruction."
He looked straight at Karl-Jay.
"Bang Min isn't just powerful. He's possessed by something from hell."
Karl-Jay's eyes widened.
La Dang continued, voice heavy.
"You see where I'm going with this?"
Something clicked.
Karl-Jay's breath caught.
"…This place," he whispered. "It's not just chaos."
Li Fang nodded.
"Yeah. This world is built on fear."
He pointed at the tablet.
"In our real world, humans fear death. Monsters. Gods. The unknown. This place takes those fears and gives them form."
He paused.
"This is Earth—but twisted. Endless. Infinite. There's no edge."
"No end," Junior added.
"The only end," Li Fang finished, "is the tower."
Karl-Jay frowned.
"But… I saw it. It looked close."
La Dang let out a bitter laugh.
"That's what they want you to believe."
Siel floated upside down, arms crossed.
"Based on my calculations? It'll take years to reach it."
The words sank like knives.
"And when you enter the tower," La Dang said, voice dark, "it's worse than this."
Karl-Jay's hands trembled.
"…Worse how?"
"Not just monsters," Li Fang said.
"Gods."
Karl-Jay dropped to his knees, grabbing his head.
"…We're dead."
Silence.
Then Siel floated down and gently patted his shoulder.
"Hey," he said. "Come on, buddy."
Karl-Jay looked up.
Siel smiled softly.
"We're with you."
Li Fang nodded.
"You're part of the group now."
Junior gave a small grin.
"We survive together."
Sheila smiled shyly.
Even Zuko raised a fist.
"Misery loves company, right?"
Karl-Jay stared at them.
Then smiled.
"…Yeah."
Later, the group moved again.
They grabbed what supplies they could and fled through the ruins as a giant monster tore through buildings behind them, its roar shaking the streets.
They ran.
They hid.
They survived.
Barely.
Far away.
In a land of bones and darkness.
Bang Min sat on a throne made of skulls.
Human bodies lay scattered around him, torn and lifeless.
He held a severed human head in one hand, examining it with mild disappointment.
Then he dropped it.
"…How greedy," he muttered.
His eyes glowed.
🔅
End of Chapter 7