Limitless by John Gold (best e reader for android txt) 📕

little longer, sweetie. I’ll be back soon, and I won’t be alone, so hang in there.”

The next day, I perform the ritual with the sefirot seal and send Reiji to the Gray Lands. Then, I follow him. We’re in the same group, so we land in the same location just the way I planned. The hardest trials are hate and rage, where he just about kills me. The fact that he’s never experienced all these emotions before means he doesn’t know what to do with them. But Reiji’s consciousness is very different from mine. He quickly makes himself a scale to assess the emotions we’re feeling, and once he does that, it turns out to be pretty easy for him to adjust his sensitivity to them. The difference between us is that I spent my time looking for that zero point, and he’s already there. That’s why self-control is much easier for him than it was for me. It takes us about a month and a half to get through all the trials, though we spend a week each on the House of Happiness and the House of Love. They’re the most valuable emotions for anyone, but especially for someone who has never experienced them. We all want to be loved, to love, and to know that we’re loved, to love not because of something, but despite everything. To understand that even a simple smile on the face of someone we care about is an expression of love. Reiji practically goes crazy with happiness, having spent his life looking for love from his parents, his fellow soldiers, and the other people around him. And there we are, standing on the street with everyone coming up to pat him on the shoulder and tell him how proud they are of him. His grandmother comes over and kisses him on the forehead.

“I love you, baby. And I’m so happy you grew up this healthy, and even normal. You don’t need to hide from the neighbor’s kids anymore. Go get a regular education, baby.” She sniffs, tears welling up in her eyes. “I’m so happy! You’re such a good boy, so grown-up, so normal. I’m so happy.”

Reiji says nothing, but there are tears in his eyes, too. He isn’t smiling; he’s crying silently. As his father puts his arm around him and whispers something in his ear, he covers his face with his hands and sobs. A group of men wearing space marine uniforms greet him with respect, a few even hand him medals. Something changes in Reiji with each new medal he accepts, with each second that goes by, and with each new person. It’s like wax clutched in a fist beginning to melt and seep through the fingers. I sense emotions beginning to awaken in him. Here, in the House of Love, he’s experiencing fear as he watches his army mates walk away and knows he has to keep going. More than anything, he wants to be loved, to have friends, and to have the family he never had—parents, brothers, sisters, neighbors, and even the people he saved while he served. All his desire for happiness has gotten him is pain. He did his best, but he was always turned away. He was the faithful dog who never bit anyone. Still, he was beaten and kicked out. That was the story of Reiji’s life.

“I’m staying here.”

His phrase is so predictable, and my smile so open and honest, that he doesn’t notice me activating my paralysis spell. Then, it’s time for my thickest earth shield, a soundlessness spell, warm water, and darkness. My friend doesn’t yet know what this trial has taught him.

This happens three more times just in the House of Love. Each time, I strip him of his happiness and send him into the dark. By the seventh day, at the very edge of the House of Love, I wait to be sure that he can block out emotions when they’re forced on him. It’s only then we keep going. Reiji turns to me before we head into the next city.

“Thank you. I promise you I’ll repay you for the great gift you’ve given me. Nobody has ever been so kind, honest, and severe in protecting my best interests. I know it was hard for you to take my happiness and love away. You did it time after time though, dragging me forward when I lost consciousness.”

Feeling the pain and happiness of others is complete empathy. I feel all the emotions doubly, straight through until we reach the palace of death. My goal here, after all, is to talk with Tiamat, and not to help my new friend. But in the palace, Reiji doesn’t budge as I fight the thirty-two pets. He’s bewitched by Tiamat’s strength, and his skills are useless here.

“I get Reiji, but why are you back here?”

Yet again, I’m battered between the ceiling and the floor. I have my shield this time, however, so I’m not worried about dying.

“I’d like to trade my destroyer and necrification gifts for my parents.”

“Denied.”

“But you purposely said nothing about how I need five hundred people to unlock the portal!”

“Does that somehow contradict our agreement? Did I promise to give you complete information? Although… I’m prepared to resurrect your parents if you go through another couple trials.”

“Depends on what they are.”

“There are two Hells, and each of them offers their own set of abilities. You went through the fire version, though there’s also the icy Hell. Both of them lead to the seventh-level trial: Limbo. You need to get through icy Hell and Limbo.”

Are you kidding me? It took me more than a year and a half to get through Hell, almost two for the Gray Lands. I’m less than six months away from unblocking the portal, and I’m only here to speed up the process of getting my parents back. And now this, four years without a guaranteed victory.

“No, thanks. I’ll have the portal open in half a year, and you’ll