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~~“Hello, Demonnnn.”~~

The words were unlike anything he had ever heard or felt. Low and distorted, they stretched through his mind, dragging it along with with them, interfering with every new thought that struggled to arise.

A root cause attack.

Even just realizing the danger was difficult. He’d never experienced this before, but he’d read of it, long ago.

One of the most powerful psychic techniques ever invented--and by most powerful psychics to have ever existed, no less. The ancient Kingsparrows.

It paralyzed their prey by preventing any and all thoughts from being formulated in the mind. Reserved for particularly resilient minds that the psychic could not simply snap with brute force. And once it was activated, there was no escaping it, except by the will of the psychic who used it.

Morgunov, therefore, found himself abruptly trapped in a prison of his own mind.

And yet, when he’d read the claims in that ancient text about just how strong a root cause attack was supposed to be, he’d found himself quite doubtful, especially regarding that last part.

So now, he was about to put it to the test.


Chapter Two Hundred Ninety-Six: ‘The Dance of the Mad Gods...’
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The first thing to do was invoke a feedback loop. It didn’t require any real thought. More of a feeling than an idea. And quite simple, besides. Well-practiced.

So if he was to be trapped, then at the very least, he would not be alone here.

It only seemed fair, right?

Aha.

Yes.

Fascinating. The space of his mind had reduced immensely. No feeling of his body. No senses whatsoever. Not even aura or time.

A simple black void. But not even a vast one, like the true Void. This had walls. Impassable barriers all around him.

A tiny room.

Good thing he wasn’t claustrophobic.

“But what about you?” said Morgunov without a mouth. His voice simply carried forth, originating from nowhere and everywhere at once. “You’re not afraid of tight spaces, are you?”

His passenger was there, though he had no form, no body, just like Morgunov himself.

“There’s no point playing coy, now,” Morgunov went on. “Speak to me. It seems you’ve granted the both of us an abundance of time. And to be honest, I’ve been waiting for an opportunity like this for years. Germal.”

A long silence drew out, but it didn’t bother Morgunov in the slightest.

Actually, it made him giggle. Was he causing frustration for this creature that had long frustrated him? How positively delightful.

“You cannot sustain this, Demon.”

“Mm, I dunno. I kinda feel like I can.”