‘Accepting my fate? What fate?’ Feeling worried, I notice the mental wall crack more, and I start to remember my dreams, my memories. That void in between that I existed in before being brought here, the time I spent there, and how I got there.
I died, and was lost to time. So lost, that time and reality could no longer grasp my being. I was and am, an enigma with no boundaries, I exist with no overseer to hold me.
[Users' fate has been recognized. Please accept your fate to increase the level of, :Voice of nothing:.]
Do I even have a self? Or am I to wander these lands with no reason till the day I die. Either killed, or freed from this confusion.
I feel my mind shake, crack, and nearly collapse. Reality perceived changed, there is only truths. Lies and falseness disappear before me, the table seen as only a piece of wood, comes to life. A tree created out of nothing as it floods the room and destroys the window.
The stone of the walls tremble, shifting back into cracked rocks, and then mountains. The building around me, no longer a structure, but a mass of truths and original forms.
I hear a bell, I move to the door, I walk outside, I see things moving. Greys and whites blur past me as the summoned move along the ancient mountain, with their souls the only thing to be left of them.
Orbs of life, and lies. Not belonging to this plain, a blight on this reality. The maid, further down the slope, rang the iron that called me out. A twisting mess of flesh and bones, shaped to look human.
Stumbling back over roots, stones, and grass, I fall back to the tree that engulfed me, where I was first given truth. I stumble, trying to learn, to know what was around me, what made this place, what I am.
A sound of shattering glass. Floating, drifting shards of nothing that reflect lies of what could be seen. I look into the shards, hoping for an answer. And the shards reflect the lies that were perceived.
A room, a desk, a bed, a book, an axe, me. Blood falling from my eyes, in an attempt to cloud the truth. I look away from the shards, but they follow me, I try to scream, but my voice is gone again.
I claw at my face, my nails ripping through my false skin to free me from its falsehoods, so I may embody my wishes, my anger, my futility. I look at my hands, yet all I see is the truth, a mist of nothing. A broken soul to show my true being, yet blood falls from my hands, both mine and something else’s.
I look to the shards, yet they reflect the truth now, with no lies to show. I see myself, my broken existence, wavering and wandering. Trapped in an eternal scream of pain and horror, the shell of my old lies falling from my being, to reveal only my writhing soul.
Freed from its enclosure, the wisps of my violent being trailing off into nothing…
They say the eyes are a door to the soul, but I had no eyes, yet my soul violently churned in the mirror of the shards.
The shards move, floating towards me at speed incomprehensible and unavoidable, yet slow and agonising.
They pierce my being, seeping under the mist that covered my soul.
I reel from the phantom pain as they dig into me, gouging out my nonexistent eyes. I cover my face, hiding my sight. I collapse to the ground, the mountain and wood beneath me, crawling up my limbs with roots and vines.
I reel my head to the heavens, and I see no sky. Only the roof of my room. I stare, panting heavily, covered in sweat, and… blood? I look at my hands and see them dyed a rich deep red.
I shakily stand up, moving to the bathroom to see my reflection.
Before me stands a human, me. Yet with eyes of a pure gold, splitting and cracking. The middle centred by a dark void that reminded me of the nothing I came from, leaking into the cracks that covered my eyes.
Blood, falling like tears. I wash my hands, dyeing the sink red, trying desperately to remove it. Failing, I move to the shower to wash myself more thoroughly. Spending the next half an hour scrubbing away any signs of blood, I miss the voice calling my attention.
Brought back from my mindless cleaning by the sound of a bell calling us to start the day, I freeze for a moment, reliving everything that didn’t just happen. I pull myself from my daze, and notice the voice calling my attention.
[User: Erja, has accepted their fate. Level requirements met, increasing user and :Voice of nothing: level. Please hold.:
Time passes, and nothing happens. Just as suddenly as the truths from before appeared, I feel a strength fill my body. A feeling of becoming weightless for but moments washes over me, and I close my eyes to revel in the feeling.
Slowly dissipating, I’m left with the feeling of being stronger, lighter, tougher. My mind feels like it could comprehend more, and the voice tells me the change in my stats.
[Name: Erja
Race: Soul-Humanoid
Class:
The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
Level: 02/15
Vit: 18
Agi: 17
Str: 17
Mag: 16
Def: 17
Status:
Innate Ability:
:Voice of nothing: lvl 2 - (Hidden)
Skills:
Inexperienced water affinity: lvl 1, Inexperienced blood affinity: lvl 2, Axe handling: lvl 3,]
Looking over the massive jump in stats, I notice that I now had a level. Wondering why I didn’t have one before, I ask the voice.
[Levels are only shown when something reaches level 2. Depending on if the person has a class or not, their level cap will change.
Once a level cap is reached, a chance to upgrade the person's class will be presented, bringing them back to level 1 and giving a new level cap to reach.
If a person does not have a class, they will be granted one once they reach their level cap.]
With the voice answering my questions in one go, I wonder why the people who have been teaching us haven't said anything about levels and classes. Assuming that its something we will learn about later, I grab my axe and go to the final etiquette class before we meet the king of Devorial in the coming day.
Walking past the maid who had rang the bell, I take a side glance to see if there was any tell as to why I didn’t see her as a human when I was shown truth. Not seeing anything out of the ordinary for the most part, my eyes are pulled to her neck. And same as lady Arwin, her veins were overly prominent.
Feeling that same disgust and rage when I noticed it on lady Arwin, yet way more manageable, I stay alert and discreetly inspect everyone I walk past to see if it was a more widespread issue.
Coming to the lecture hall, I go over everything I noticed on my way. Concluding that roughly half of the people in the castle, at least that I had seen, were being affected by whatever it is that was happening. At the revelation, I get a worrying feeling.
Waiting for a few minutes, a man in a suit with good posture steps onto the stage at the front of the hall.
“My apologies, but Lady Arwin is currently sick and unable to attend the class today. I shall be taking her place in the meantime. Now then…” He says, starting the class.
Passing the next few hours, we go over everything we needed to know about noble movements and how not to be rude while speaking with people of high stature. Along with general need to know for the next day.
Following the class while being torn back and forth between what had happened earlier as well as the weird veins I had been seeing, more than once fumbling or missing something because of it, it concludes uneventfully.
“Well then, I believe you have been educated enough to present yourself to his majesty the king tomorrow. I look forward to seeing how well you execute what you have learned today.”
Dismissing the summoned, we all get up from our seats and head out to do whatever, with a handful of groups being formed along the way. Not knowing what to do, and feeling like if I were to do anything noticeable I might end up involving myself with the weird happenings.I look back at everything that had happened, and I start to notice more such weird occurrences. Such as people being overly emotional, weirdly distant, stiffness and forced motions, as well as the most recent… vision? I guess I’ll call it that.
Walking to the arena where we had first trained, I decide to mess about and get used to my body properly. Hoping that something might happen, whether bad or good.
Warming myself up, I do a casual lap of the agility course before doing some basic movements like jumping jacks and sit ups. Feeling like I had done enough to ready myself, I pull up my stats to see where I was at in terms of strength. Not having a basis for power though, it ended up being pointless.
[Name: Erja
Race: Soul-Humanoid
Class:
Level: 02/15
Vit: 18
Agi: 17
Str: 17
Mag: 16
Def: 17
Status:
Innate Ability:
:Voice of nothing: lvl 2 - (Hidden)
Skills:
Inexperienced water affinity: lvl 1, Inexperienced blood affinity: lvl 2, Axe handling: lvl 3,]
Glancing over it, I note nothing of change and continue. Swinging my axe a few times to feel its heft, I am once again reminded why I love axes as it cleaves through the air in a weighty motion. Imagining it ripping through something as I swing it, I move onto attacking the dummy I was standing in front of.
Continuing for a while, I realise that I’m not feeling tired or even remotely pushing myself. At a bit of a loss as to what to do, I end up just leaving the arena and heading back to the library as I had nothing better to do. Walking away and to the main castle, I pass Sir Roland.
Giving him a casual greeting as I go by, I notice that he doesn't even acknowledge that I was there. Walking by without so much as moving his eyes. Confused, I glance back at him and see yet again those weird overly pronounced veins, yet even more obvious on him then anyone I had seen yet.
Standing still on the path for a moment, I start to worry that something is seriously wrong. Racking my brain as to who I could tell this to, I come up short with no one who isn’t already acting strange. Being left with no choice other than to hope it blows over, I continue walking to the library.
Arriving there, I wander the isles in search of anything interesting. After a while, I had gathered a few books that caught my eye. But still feeling that weird sense of unease for lack of a better word, I weigh either staying in the library to read or going back to my room.
Remembering that I had the suit I ordered arriving soon, I decide to read in my room. Confirming with the librarian what I was taking out, I left in a bit of a hurry. Coming to my room, I set the books down and make myself comfortable, intending to read until I hear a knock at my door telling me that my suit had arrived.
Reading for about an hour, I end up spacing out at some point and letting my mind wander yet again. Going over everything that had happened so far, I begin to wonder why the lessons have been so short and why it almost feels like things are being rushed. Not wanting to jump to conclusions, I try and piece together reasons for why things were going the way they are.
I had a few wild ideas as to why, but nothing I could even remotely consider as the truth with what I know. Spending what would probably be a concerning amount of time thinking, I’m pulled from my thoughts by the knock on my door I was waiting for.