A person doesn't die even if he loses a finger, right?

At best, it will just hurt......

What if you lose a hand and a foot?

Death is not death, but if you don't deal with it properly, you will lose too much blood and die......

What if one eye was missing?

Well, probably half the world you can see......

That one... What happens to people if they lose their souls?

Maybe... It might not feel like it exists to you, right?

What if......

Okay, good~ If you have any questions, let's talk about it next time.

But I want to ask you a little more......

Don't be willful~

――――――

（......？）

The sound is gone?

I don't know how long it took me to kneel on the ground, and I didn't seem to hear the voice in my head again, so I raised my forehead against the gravel floor.

It's strange that I can see so clearly in this dimly lit underground cavern with Fringeld on?

I couldn't help but widen my eyes as I saw through the crystal goggles in the eye sockets of the mask, and I thought that my vision would become even darker after wearing the mask... But this was obviously the one I was mistaken, and I could see very clearly through the crystal goggles in the eye sockets of my mask in this dark environment. I looked at the stalactites in the high place, and the small insects that were flapping their wings and fluttering. Everything I saw through the goggles was as if I had seen something from a technological artifact from my previous life, Earth, [Night Vision Devices].

(It's really...) That's good. ）

I stood up and looked at the stones, puddles, insects, and lizards that were clear in the darkness in the distance, and I didn't think about any emotional fluctuations.

(Then again, I... Is this the process of successfully obtaining the powers granted to me by Fringeld?)

I scratched my cheek with the index finger of my left hand, but since there was nothing wrong with me, I must have done it through the process of the power that Fringel had granted me.

That means that... Great, great...... That's great?

(Wondering? Why don't I feel anything...... ）

[Congratulations Tut, you have passed the test you must pass in order to gain strength.] ］

Just when I felt a little strange to myself, the voice of "Fringard" suddenly sounded in my head, and after hearing the voice of "Fringard", I subconsciously touched the surface of the metal mask on my face with my left hand.

"'Fringard' I have something to ask you. I asked 'Fringard' in a voice devoid of emotion.

[What do you want to ask?]

Fringard asked rhetorically.

"Why can't I feel any joy from the beginning? Why can't I laugh? Why do I ...... Can't even be angry with someone? Why... I can't feel any emotion?" I asked Fringeld a series of questions in a flat voice, knowing that my face was expressionless under the metal mask.

[You'd love to know why?]

"Fringeld" asked me in a steady voice.

"I want to know. As soon as Fringard's voice fell, I opened my mouth to respond.

[You have lost all emotion, and this is the price you have to pay to gain power.] ］

In response to my inquiry, Fringard said.

"I've lost all emotion?" I muttered to myself, covering my mask-covered face with my left hand, looking down.

(That's it...) Why can't I laugh, why can't I get angry? That's ridiculous, isn't it?)

With my head down, I looked at the gravel ground with a blank face.

"How did I become like this......" I muttered to myself, as if I had lost my God.

[Don't worry too much about Tut~]

I don't know if I heard my voice, "Fringard" responded to me leisurely.

"Why wouldn't I be worried!" I shouted to Fringard, as if I wanted to be angry.

[Later...... In some future opportunity, you may be able to recover the emotions you have lost. ］

[Fringgerd] laughed at me as if ignoring my shouting words.

"That's right......"

After hearing Fringerd's reply, I felt a lot more relieved.

"In that case, I'll take off my mask first. I said as I grabbed the ends of the mask with my hands and tried to remove it.

[That's impossible...... ］

Just as I was about to take the mask off, Fringeld said something that didn't make sense to me.

"Huh?"

When I heard what Fringard said, I felt something bad for a moment, and a fact that I didn't want to admit but had to face was right in front of my eyes. The mask on my face cannot be removed no matter what, no matter how hard I try... Even with all your might, you can't take it off.

"What a joke!"

I struggled to remove the mask I was wearing as if I didn't want to accept the facts in front of me, but no matter what I did, I couldn't take Fringard off.

[Useless, stop struggling.] ］

That's when Fringard said this to me, as if helplessly, and he wanted me to accept the fact that I had no choice but to accept it.

"What did you do to me?" I asked, still trying to remove the mask with both hands, and asked "Fringeld" loudly.

[This is a curse that cannot be taken down by brute force alone.] ］

Hearing my questioning voice, 'Fringged,' explained the current situation to me in a tone of a passer-by.

"What are you talking about?curse?'Fringard,' why didn't you tell me about this beforehand!!," I confronted him again aloud at the fact that Fringard had understated.

[Even if I don't say it, you can guess it, right?] How could an object that exude an ominous aura not have a curse on its body?]

Hearing my questioning, "Fringeld" replied to me angrily.

"You... This guy. With that, I put down my hands that I wanted to take off my mask.

Standing still, I froze as if I had fully accepted this helpless fact, and while I was in a daze, I was also thinking about some other questions.

“...... I said, 'Fringard,' what should I do when I'm going to eat or drink?" I tapped the mask on my face with my right hand and asked the seemingly unimportant but important question of 'Fringgerd'.

As soon as I finished speaking, the metal mask on my face squirmed as if it had a consciousness of its own, and the metal covering my face was rapidly revealing from the bridge of my nose downward, and the metal covering my face crawled towards the face covered by the mask as if it had life, and it only took a second or two for my nose, mouth, and chin to be exposed.

[Satisfied?]

After a series of changes to the metal mask, Fringard asked.

"This feature is really convenient. I touched my exposed chin with my right hand.

[There are two other variations of the Tut mask; 1. In addition to exposing the lower part of your face like this, the mask also exposes the upper part of your face, which means that your cheeks, eyes, and forehead are exposed.] 2. Completely Naked: Under this change, the mask that originally covered your entire face will converge into a small piece of metal that will attach anywhere on your face, but remember not to try to remove this small piece of metal, this is not a suggestion but a warning!]

While I was still touching my chin with my right hand, Fringard told me about the two other changes that the mask could make, and gave me an important warning.

"yes, if it can change like this... I don't have to worry about it. I nodded and said to Fringard.

[You can try to control the change of the mask with your mind yourself, remember!!Try a few more times before you become fully proficient in the change of the mask.] ］

Seeing that my worries seemed to disappear, Fringard smiled at me and suggested what to do next.

"Oh, okay. ”

After responding to "Fringeld", I focused on the face that fit the mask perfectly, and as my mind moved, the nose, mouth, and chin that were originally exposed were instantly re-covered with liquid metal, and the change was that the upper part of the face was exposed, and when the eyes covered by the goggles were exposed, I couldn't help but widen my eyes, and what I saw without the goggles was so dark.

Immediately after that, the control mask converged into a piece of metal to expose the entire face, and with the movement of my mind, the metal mask covered the face, and the metal mask continued to flow towards a little bit and gathered together, and when all the flowing metal gathered together, a small piece of metal attached to the center of my forehead.

It's incredible... This mask... No, it was as if Fringard had 'grown' on my face, as if for a moment I felt like the metal mask was alive... He is definitely not a dead thing without life.

[Very good!] You can control it perfectly just the first time, and you can say that you are really good. ］

As if sensing the change in my mask, Fringard let out an 'oh' and laughed at me.

"Is that so?" I asked, a little incredulous, at the sound of Fringard's compliment.

As soon as I asked, I loosened my grip on the mask, which instantly dissolved into a flow of liquid metal that covered my face again.

[I say...... Can you not speak to me without opening your mouth in the future?

Suddenly, Fringard smiled at me, as if he was a little dissatisfied.

"How do I communicate with you?" I retorted when I heard Fringeld's words.

[We can communicate in your mind~]

Hearing my rhetorical question, "Fringeld," he laughed and said to me.

"Really, you can do that, huh?" I asked, a little incredulous.

[Really, didn't I tell you all.] Don't make a sound and talk to me, it's like you're talking alone... It's really stupid. ］

To my re-voiced exchange, "Fringard" said angrily.

"That's—'Fringard', I'm sorry. "When I heard Fringard's angry voice, I subconsciously apologized to him.

[Why do you apologize? Strange, there's no need to apologize for such a thing, right?]

Hearing my apology, Fringard's voice looked a little embarrassed.

[Tut, do I have a good proposal to hear?]

Fringard asked.

(Proposal?)

This time, instead of speaking in response to 'Fringeld', I communicated with him in my thoughts.

[Yes, proposed.] Can we henceforth refer to each other by one of the two words, "partner, partner", instead of each other's names?

"Fringard" said to me in a calm voice, and in his voice I could tell what he was expecting.

（...... I said, 'Fringard'... Actually, this is the first time I've addressed someone like that. ）

Hearing the words come out of Fringer's mouth, I scratched the cold mask with my right hand.

[What?Excuse me?]

"Fringeld" said with a smile to me.

(It's not.) ...... I'll take care of you in the future, partner. ）

I denied Fringard's question, and the next second I seemed to agree to his offer to call him "Partner".

[Hmm!I'll take care of you in the future, partner!]

When I heard me call him his partner "Fringard", he responded to me with a voice full of joy, and I could tell that he was very happy at this time.

Gollum――――――

Just as I was about to talk to Fringard again, a loud grunt came from my stomach.

[Haha~ What, partner, are you hungry?]

Hearing the grunt in my stomach 'Fringeld' asked with a loud laugh.

(It's a little ...... I haven't eaten or drunk anything in two days, partner...... ）

I nodded to Fringard's question and answered in the affirmative in my mind.

[So partner...] Want to go grab a bite to eat?]

Hear my response to Fringard's concerned question.

(What to eat?Is there really anything to eat here?) I asked in confusion when I heard this.

[There's a whole lot to eat!, like the 'Underground Guardians.'] ］

"Fringeld" said to me with a snickering in my voice.

(Huh, let me eat those 'Underground Guardians'?!What are you kidding, mate!) I confronted Fringard loudly when I heard what Fringard said.

[Who was joking with you, partner!] 'Guardian of the Underground' is indeed edible, but it doesn't taste great...... Oh, by the way, in addition to these 'Underground Guardians', the unspeakable things that stay in the ruins can also be eaten!!]

Fringard ignored my questioning, but spoke to himself as to what I could eat in this ruin, Lesa Jega.

(You're kidding, right?)

Hearing what Fringard said, I asked rhetorically.

Are you kidding......

Except for the 'Guardians of the Underground'... You can eat the unspeakable?!Please don't tease me, if you can eat it...... What about the corrosive blood in the body of the multi-hand? If I bite it so carelessly, my mouth will be corroded in an instant, right?

[sigh...... Partner, why are you so cowardly? I can still hurt you? I said that you can eat anything that can be eaten. ］

In response to my sudden reaction, Fringard said to me helplessly.

Gollum Purr ---

Again, my stomach made a grunt that only came out when I was hungry.

[Look~ You must be hungry now!]

After hearing the gurgling sound in my stomach, Fringard said to me with a smile.

Feeling the feeling of hunger coming from my abdomen, I subconsciously swallowed saliva in my mouth, to be honest, I am really hungry and thirsty at the same time...... If they can eat as Fringard says, then I'm willing to try it......

[That... Partner, go eat!By the way, try the unprecedented power you've just gained!!]

Only a second had passed, and Fringard was impatient to cheer me on.

I asked.

[Hmph~ You can feel this kind of thing yourself!]

............

――――

Late at night.

Ruins "Lesa Jega", among the surface ruins.

Countless "multi-handed" people covered with tentacles are casually crawling through the streets that look like roads in the ruins, on the buildings that have long been dilapidated, apes with some parts of their bodies rotting are squatting here, in the far streets of the city, a "horse remains" with only skeleton skulls and red glows are patrolling through the streets, and in the high sky, one by one, the bat-eater beasts are flapping their wings and flying in the late night sky.

Tonight, some of them walked aimlessly in the ruins, some looked at the sky without a single star, and some simply lay on the gravel and fell asleep......

They may not know that tonight may be the last time of their lives......