The Absolute Chair
Omnipotence Is Not Freedom
Chapter 9 — Warmth Before the Screams
The mountain rose like a scar against the sky.
Jagged stone, frozen wind, and silence so heavy it pressed against the chest. The group climbed slowly, boots crunching over gravel and snow-dusted paths. Every breath felt sharp, but compared to the ruined city below, this place almost felt… peaceful.
Almost.
"Why is it always uphill?" Zuko groaned, leaning on his knees.
Siel floated upside down above him. "Because suffering likes high places."
Li Fang smirked faintly. "Keep moving. We rest when we're sure nothing's hunting us."
They pushed forward—and then they smelled it.
Warm steam. Minerals. Heat.
Junior froze. "Wait… do you hear that?"
They followed the sound around a bend—and stopped.
A natural hot spring, carved into the mountain stone. Steam rose gently into the cold air, the water glowing faintly under the pale sky. No monsters. No blood. No screams.
For the first time since arriving in this world… something felt normal.
Zuko's jaw dropped. "No way."
Sheila blinked. "Is this… real?"
Karl-Jay stared at it, stunned. "A hot tub… in this hell?"
Siel slowly descended, eyes wide. "I swear, if this is a trap, I'm haunting someone."
After a long, cautious scan, they lowered their weapons. One by one, they stepped into the water.
Warmth wrapped around Karl-Jay's body, easing the constant pain just a little. He let out a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding.
"…I forgot what this felt like," he muttered.
Li Fang leaned back against the stone. "Don't get used to it."
Karl-Jay snorted. "Yeah. Wouldn't dream of it."
Zuko splashed water toward him. "Relax, MC. You look like you're planning your funeral."
Karl-Jay smirked weakly. "Just thinking how we're supposed to reach a tower that takes years to walk to… in a world where even resting can kill you."
His eyes drifted to the horizon. Somewhere beyond endless land, beyond fear itself, the tower waited.
How do we even survive long enough to get there?
A sound.
Water rippling.
Junior's eyes snapped open. "Something's wrong."
On the other side of the hot spring, shapes began to rise.
Hands first.
Then heads.
Then bodies.
Human shapes—rotting, twitching, eyes dull and empty. Zombie-like creatures, their flesh pale, soaked, mouths hanging open as they dragged themselves from the water.
"CONTACT!" Li Fang shouted.
The moment of peace shattered.
Karl-Jay burst from the water, sword already in hand despite its cracked blade. Zuko kicked a creature back into the spring while Sheila scrambled to higher ground.
Junior grabbed one by the skull and slammed it into the rocks—crack.
Li Fang moved like a machine, precise strikes tearing through necks and spines. La Dang followed, blade flashing, fury burning through exhaustion.
Karl-Jay charged.
His sword sliced clean through one zombie's chest. Another lunged—he ducked, drove the blade up through its jaw. The body collapsed, lifeless.
The water turned dark.
Within moments, it was over.
Silence returned—but it felt wrong now.
Zuko wiped blood from his face. "So much for relaxing."
Karl-Jay stared at the bodies sinking into the spring. "They came from the water…"
Sheila hugged herself. "Nothing is safe."
Then they heard it.
Chewing.
Slow. Wet. Endless.
The group turned.
Beyond the rocks, hidden in a lower valley, something far worse revealed itself.
A massive creature—wrong in every way—sat crouched over a pile of bodies. Humans.
Children.
Adults.
Elderly.
Age meant nothing.
The monster tore into them without emotion, stuffing flesh into its mouth, crushing bones like nothing. No hunger. No rage. Just instinct.
An unthinking beast.
Zuko froze. "It's… it's eating everyone…"
Karl-Jay's stomach twisted. His hands shook. "It doesn't care who they are."
Li Fang's voice was quiet. "Because to it… they're not people."
The creature lifted its head. Blood dripped from its mouth. Its eyes were empty.
They backed away slowly. Fighting this thing now would be suicide.
Far away—beyond space, beyond fear—
In a different dimension, something watched.
A godlike being sat upon an unseen throne, laughter echoing through nothingness.
"Look at them," it said, amused.
"Running. Screaming. Hoping."
Its eyes gleamed with cruel delight.
"Humans are not lives."
"They are tools."
"Fear is their purpose."
The laughter spread across dimensions, unheard—but felt.
Back on the mountain, the group fled in silence, the warmth of the hot spring already fading into memory.
Karl-Jay glanced back once.
This world isn't just cruel, he thought.
It was built to be.
And the tower still waited.
End of Chapter 9