Genesis awoke nestled in the feathers of the always rotting bird. He looked up to sky of eyes and knew that he had to get out of here. It was maddening staying in a constant war against creatures, animals and monsters.
Genesis sighed as he stood up. His mouth was as dry as the surface of the sun. He had no water or food in the past days and it was affecting him. Genesis knew that he had to push his sword through the center of the heart before. The fatigue, hunger and thirst got to him.
Genesis stretched his hand out, as if attempting to hold the sky in his very hands, his closed it. He did his daily routine in which he hadn't done for the past days. He picked up his golden blade and started to slash.
Genesis was getting used to having only one singular eye. His right eye was hyperfocused, his balance was getting better, and the strength of his strikes was improving. Genesis attempted to use the power of his divine soul to strengthen him, but instead, something magical happened.
His gold sword radiated an even more pure light. His divine soul felt like a circuit system, like he was the socket in the wall. His soul was the cord connecting to the golden sword.
The feeling was rejuvenating. It was like a boomerang that came back to its rightful owner. Genesis bathed in the emotion for some seconds and turned it off.
Genesis had suspicions that the Purposeless Wanderer mixed his soul with Genesis's, but now it was confirmed. The lightly colored golden sword was the Purposeless Wanderer's, he knew that thanks to the dream his soul have him, he also knew that the Purposeless Wanderer must have had some symbiotic soul connection with his sword.
Genesis was ecstatic. He could now channel his divine soul's power through his golden sword. The feeling was less draining as the sword returned some of the energy. Genesis's soul and the golden sword were a perfect mobius strip. He was smiling until he realised the effect on the sword was not too grand and only boosted his strength slightly, but slightly was all he needed to make a difference.
Genesis woke up the bird as he wanted to train, but the bird slapped Genesis away, slamming him into the White Room. The bird grumbly said.
"Go to sleep, you need more rest, constant strain on the body is not good."
Genesis arose from the broken flesh walls and spat out the blood that spilled in his mouth before stating.
"I know what my limits are and I know I am not at my limit. You don't have limits because you're always dying."
"I take that very offensively, Genesis. Constatly decaying and dying are not the same thing and even if they were, I would still sleep because dreams are a fascinating aspect of the mind and I love to participate in the endeavour."
"Does everyone dream here?"
At this point, Debmaw was already awake and able to speak more clearly.
"Does everyone dream here? No, everyone dreams everywhere. A dream is the reflection of the mind you have. It may be filled with your delusions or ambitions or it may be riddled with current conflicts. If you pay more attention to your dreams, you can see your mind clearly and understand it."
Genesis took a moment to unveil what the rotten bird was saying and gave a simple nod at the words that were so philosophical at concepts so important he dared not dabble with.
Once Debmaw was fully awake, his decaying slowed down, which put questions in Genesis's head but questions he would keep to himself. The bird suggested that they trained now, so Genesis gripped his swords' wooden hilt and unsheathed it. The bird ruffled it's feathers while they lasted and then looked at Genesis, preparing for what he would do next.
Genesis used his new ability to channel the power of his divine soul into his sword, which leaked out into his hands. The bird looked up with his interest peeked and then spoke.
"Your soul, it's almost the same as the Purposeless Wanderer. The way you wield your divine soul, through that same golden sword, also brings back memories, memories of a bold but reckless man."
Genesis let his shoulders release tension and asked Debmaw.
"Did you know the Purposeless Wanderer personally? Was he a good person?"
"Know him personally, I would say not but a good person... The Purposeless Wanderer was made before the word "good person." I looked up to him, a liberator of the White Room. They were others chain breakers with him 5 of them, I was the only to break free of the White Room's message and the only one to gain my self back, that was part of the reason the White Room, put the virus on me."
"What do you mean by break free of the White Room's message? Does it control your minds."
"Yes, that it does, the message is different to everyone, the malice as you may know it is so infectious that when it has an open wound, it will even make the White Room delirious. It's message to the "organs" was to defend any intruders, the "bladder" was the middleman, sending the message through the vents to your selves, but when the Purposeless Wanderer stumped across this trap, he had a notion, a notion to free us all."
"Was he really that good of a man, I mean, he is the reason I am here now, but is he not to reckless."
"His recklessness is what saved my humanity. I mean by birdmanity, but he saved me from the message of the White Room and let me see life not as a servant but as a bird... Saying human would have sounded better, wouldn't it?"
"Definitely. But we still have a boxing session to get to, don't we."
"Indeed."
After their little conversation ended, they skipped to the good part.
Genesis charged in first, letting the wind blow his sword back. He swung the blade with full forced slicing through the very concept called "wind resistance" and delivering a vital blow on Debmaw's wing. In the moment, Debmaw gave a nonchalant gaze at Genesis.
Debmaw gave consecutive talons to Genesis's stomach and when his talons decayed, the ash went behind Genesis's back and gave him some more damage. Genesis coughed out some blood that he directed into Debmaw's eyes. The bird had to decay his eyes to avoid being blinded, but Genesis took that chance to strike.
Genesis perfected a feint to avoid the rotten flesh of Debmaw's eyes, then he used his slightly enhanced golden sword to slash at Debmaw's lower abdomen. When the slash connected, Debmaw utilised the dust of it's eyes to blind Genesis and used his withered feathers to pinch at Genesis, while getting repeatedly hit Genesis felt the attack pattern and he dodged the feathers, while low to the ground he slashed at Debmaw's ankles.
When he successfully countered Debmaw's ashes, Debmaw's eyes came back to it. They backed away from each other and Genesis and Debmaw went blow for blow until Genesis threw his sword up into the air, he mitigated the damage from Debmaw's fury of talons with his hands and rolled under it's legs. Genesis reached up to grip the sword in the air, but Debmaw did a roundhouse kick, slamming Genesis into the floor and pinning him there.
"You lost. What were you trying to pull back there when you gave up your perfectly fine weapon."
"I was thinking it was going to be epic."
Genesis said while blood leaked out of his mouth.
"It might have been epic if you did that to the lungs and then you just got slammed into the ground."
Debmaw said jokingly.
"Don't do that ever again, not in a fight not in a spar, not with any type of combat should you throw your weapon away."
Debmaw spoke more sternly.
Genesis nodded his head to show that he understood.
Genesis and Debmaw went for a walk, but being in close proximity to the bird was annoying, as decaying body parts were constantly in his face. So he backed away from Debmaw. The bird walked into the same distance he was previously, so Genesis backed away again, and the bird did the exact same action.
"Why are you doing that?"
"I do not know what I am doing wrong. Could you please educate me?"
"You keep decaying and your particles, keep blocking my vision and when I move away from the ashes, you move closer to me."
"Oh, that is because I feel safer when I am closer to you."
"Can't you feel safer, a few feet away?"
"No, it has to be this exact distance."
"Why does it have to be this close."
"It has to be this close because I feel safer when closer to someone."
Genesis did not know whether the bird was merely in its joking attitude or being serious, so he kept his mouth shut.
Genesis and Debmaw stumbled into tentacles of the White Room, which tried to constrict them, but they made quick work of them.
Out of nowhere, Genesis and Debmaw heard a sound it sounded like the breaking apart of walls. They both looked at each other in shock. It was Hallowion. Sure, Genesis expected that he would meet the worm on his journey, but this, this was too early, Genesis had just recently been beaten to the ground.
They both readied their stances and Genesis watched on as he ignored the dust of the bird's decaying body. Genesis kept his sword to his chest as the burrowing was revealing it's self as the sounds were loud enough for Genesis to pinpoint a location, when he did do that he tried to roll out of the way but the previously decimated tentacles were back and stronger, they held Genesis tight, pressing weight on his armor, Genesis used his sword to cut away the tentacles but it was too late as the Grey Soul of the White Room came trlhrough the walls like a wrecking ball and took a chunk of Genesis's torso and leg, it also completely removed his arm.
Debmaw was safe as he turned himself into dust, slipped free from the grasp of the now eaten tentacles and reappeared just out of the range of the gaping mouth.
Genesis was bleeding out with his armor, gaining a new coat of painted vermillion. He was losing consciousness and fast. But there was a way out as long as he had the title of "Genius," there was always a way out. Genesis cut off the lower section of his mouth and jammed the flesh into the hole in his body. The healing of his mouth was almost instant, but his torso did not have the same luxury.
Since the cells of the Agent were less than in his mouth, his wound closed slowly, making him bleed out more blood than his heart could pump out, if he did not do something fast he would die. Genesis turned around and saw the tentacles. He cut them off and took them in his hands. He looked disgusted as they squirmed around in his palm, but he had to stay alive or atleast conscious.
Debmaw gagged as he saw Genesis put the flesh of the tentacles in the area that was no longer there and they started to heal faster, his wound was getting closed up and his heart could save blood again, but at what cosy, this had already happened once before but twice. At this rate, Genesis would become a patchwork god.
Genesis tried to calm himself as his wounds closed up and he heard the noise of the Grey Soul getting close to his destination. But this time he was ready, he and Debmaw ran away from the noise and entered the next floor.