Deus tried to scream, but only a faint grunt escaped. His lungs screamed for air.

Am I dying? A last thought emerged before the oxygen supply hit zero.

…

Slowly, the blurry edges regained some sharpness. In his vision, there was only red.

Deus gasped for air, choking from the blood in which he lay. He tried to stand up, but a weight restricted his movement. He pushed it aside and rose to his knees.

Smearing the blood off his face, his eyes darted around his surroundings, surveying it for hidden dangers. His mind was still hazy, uncertain of what had transpired.

When his gaze landed on the man dressed in a robe and vestments of red and gold, memories of the battle assaulted his mind. Immediately, he tilted his head downwards and beheld a revolting sight. Squinching, he stroked his temples in an effort to relieve his pounding headache.

A disfigured corpse lay in a puddle of blood, its wet muscles exposed and twitching from the remaining nerve activity. Its features were completely unrecognizable.

What could’ve put him in this state? Was it an acid attack?

“You’re too weak.”

The robed man’s harrowing voice reverberated throughout the stable. Before Deus could take the initiative to respond, the robed man continued, “Your soul had nearly disintegrated. If it’d been anyone else, you’d have died immediately.”

He paused. “However, I do recognize your potential.”

Deus didn’t respond.

“This’ll be the last time disposing of bodies. On January 1st, recite the third chapter of The Twelve Red Doves beneath Unity Crossing, at dusk. He’ll find you.”

The robed man didn’t seem to care for any consent, taking his subservience for granted and turned to walk away.

“You must’ve noticed the patterns by now. Winter solstice will mark the resurgence of our family. Consider your timing lucky.“

He drew a silver dagger from his vestments — the same used to gouge Deus’s navel — and weaved it vertically in a swift sweeping motion. A sound alike cutting paper resounded, and the robed man took hold of an invisible veil.

“Praise be to our ancestors,” he added, taking a last glance at Deus, before disappearing into thin air.

Despite his [ A Thousand and One Tongues ] skill, these words were gibberish to Deus, yet he didn’t mind at all. Instead, a sense of relief washed over him as he reflected on this fight.

The outcome had been decided from the very beginning. His opponent defeated him, it proved that he was still far too weak. However, in face of the robed man, they’d both been but ants crawling at his feet.

If it’d been the self of his previous life, he’d have complained that it was unfair. However, his transmigration had been a crucible for change. And slowly, he began adjusting to his newfound identity, straying further from what he’d once prided himself with.

With a queasy state of mind, Deus let the entire scene set in.

That’s when he noticed translucent orbs slowly floating from the bodies, in a manner similar to how the planets of the solar system were circling earth. However, in place of the sun’s mass, it was his body which seemed to attract the orbs. And they were steadily coming closer.

The thought of evading immediately emerged in his mind. This was a logical thought, since this phenomenon was completely unknown to him. However, an unusual desire to merge with the orbs soon swayed his heart.

Before his rationality could point out this particularity, the desire overtook him. Only when the orbs conjoined and merged with his body did he instinctively flinch backwards, but it was already too late.

The same crooked letters which had previously helped him translate this world’s language now reappeared, displaying multiple lines of text.

[ Assimilating Firmament… ]

[ Firmament assimilated successfully. ]

[ Warning: high risk of destabilization! ]

[ Skill “A Thousand and One Tongues” forcibly deactivated. ]

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

[ Skill “A Thousand and One Tongues” mutating... ]

[ Skill mutated. ]

[ Categorizing skill… ]

[ Skill categorized successfully: “Fractured Self”. ]

Deus frowned as he skimmed through the messages. He didn’t know what this instability was referring to, but it didn’t seem very good. Besides, did the mutation from [ A Thousand and One Tongues ] to [ Fractured Self ] mean he wouldn’t be able to understand the language anymore?

And besides these immediate problems, what was up with these orbs and their frightening influence on his mind? He’d barely perceived them before they completely annihilated all mental defenses. Although he couldn’t explain this phenomenon, he was sure it was some kind of life force or soul essence, excreted from the body upon a lifeform’s death.

As this text had seemingly responded to his desire to understand this world’s language before, Deus gathered his mental energy to try and communicate once more.

Who are you?

The text didn’t respond. He tried again.

What is your purpose? Can you hear me?

What is this skill, “Fractured Self”?

Finally, the text wriggled and typed,

[ Fetching information... ]

[ Name: “Fractured Self”. ]

[ Type: Hybrid. ]

[ Stratum: Tenth. ]

[ Failed to fetch information: Strata. ]

[ Troubleshooting… ]

[ Troubleshooting successful. ]

[ Warning: high risk of destabilization! ]

[ Strata: The Illusionist, The Scholar, The Gatekeeper, The Undead ]

[ Fetched information successfully. ]

Deus momentarily fell into deep thought, but he couldn’t make sense of anything.

Suddenly, a faint low-pitched cry resounded from near the old man’s corpse, interrupting his thoughts. When he caught sight of what lay in the man’s bloody puddle, his pupils constricted.

It was the same baby thought to have been dead. However, the baby didn’t have any human features — instead of eyes and a nose, there was a hideous mouth. Countless fangs protruded from it while it stretched to where its forehead would’ve been.

A drop of sweat trickled down his back, blending with blood, as he thought, Is it human?

He sneaked towards it, cautiously so as to not make a sound. However, while it didn’t have any vision, its auditory perception was highly sensitive. Noticing his approach, it responded with intensified cries.

His mind was slightly numb, perhaps due to the bloodshed he’d experienced today.

Sorry, little guy. I can barely take care of myself, it’ll be impossible to take care of you.

All of the sudden, a strange thought materialized, Don't leave him there!

After he’d been influenced by the desire to merge with the orbs, he allocated a significant amount of mental energy to resist any subtle manipulation that might still linger. Therefore, he was sure these thoughts weren’t foreign. However, they didn’t match him either.

His gut tingled slightly, hinting at his intuition, Could it be, this is the effect of [ Fractured Self ] ?

He set his attention to the deformed baby again. Should he obey these thoughts?

He weighed his options. It was possible these words were trying to sabotage him. Another possibility was that they were actually trying to warn him. There was no way to tell.

However, what did he have to lose? He was dying. With his future uncertain, if he didn’t take any risks, how would he prevail? This was the only way of surviving — a constant struggle balancing between caution and risk.

“Do you want to come with me?” he asked.

The baby didn’t respond, continuing to cry. Its deep-pitched voice, along with the faint greenish light, amalgamated into an eerie sight to behold.

“I’ll take you with me.”

He stepped in front of the baby and probed its aggression. When he found it was harmless, he swiftfully scooped down and picked it up. Its cries promptly grew silent.

Without any further delay, he set his eyes on the wooden door to the stall from which the light was cast. While hurrying outside, he lifted his robe to inspect his injuries.

He frowned. As he’d expected, his fight had actually weakened the wax seal. Blood leaked from it, mixing with the other. There was little time left.

Outside, Deus’s gaze fell upon the starry sky, curtains of green light blanketing it. However, while aurora filled him with a sense of profound mesmerization, these didn’t. On the contrary, when he peered into the expanse of this light, his mind returned to the world of everlasting fog, filling him with a sense of dread. And while only the moon and a star pierced the lights, he was sure this wasn’t the star from his dream.

However, in face of imminent danger, such things wouldn’t slow him down. And so, he returned to searching for an escape route.

The back wouldn’t be a viable option, since a lake blocked his way. And while there were still lights lit within the manor, the only possible path was to circle it and escape from the front. And while it was possible they had already departed without turning off the lights, he had to tread carefully.

Luckily, he arrived at the front without any interruptions. Although the limp from his first battle had improved slightly, his overall state was much worse than before. To add insult to injury, the night’s coldness only amplified his languished state.

For a moment, he considered searching the manor for bandages and food, but he quickly dismissed the idea. Although he managed to circle the manor, it didn’t prove the cult members had all departed. Likewise, if there weren’t any cult members present right now, there was no guarantee they wouldn’t return the next.

And so he continued, tottering down the rows and circles of overgrown bushes until arriving at a large iron-wrought gate with two stone pillars on either side. As he pushed it open, it creaked slightly as if rust had already corroded parts of it. This added onto his ill-maintained perception of this manor.

Beyond the gate lay a cobblestone road surrounded by cornfields. In the far distance to his left, the road turned into a forest, its oak trees looming bare from the cold, while to his right, the fields stretched to the horizon.