This was how it ends, he thought. He watched as the disintegration spell tore at the chest plate and integrated wards of his armor. It was using what magic it possessed to buy him time. He sensed that intention in it, even without understanding what it was trying to do. The rear of the armor snapped open from head to toe in a series of clicks.

Confusion shocked him even as it force ejected him. As he stumbled out of the rear, he sensed a sadness from it. The armor was young, only a few infusions old, but it wanted to protect him for longer than it could. A mission left unfinished. Purpose unfulfilled.

His sword hissed at him. That woman is dangerous. She knows how to wield tier 5 spells in a casual manner. She’s well practiced in the art of death. If we want to avoid the armor’s fate, we must evolve beyond our current limitations and become something more!

Lucinda watched with a cold detachment as the last of his armor broke down into oblivion. She shook her head. “I never wanted this. But the fact is, kid, you just lack the skill to beat me.”

Akamori watched as the armor dissolved into dark purple particles that winked away. His mental connection the armor lost. He was hopelessly outclassed and knew it. No matter what he tried, this was the end. “Screw it.”

He advanced on Lucinda, his blade whipped about in a flurry, sending a torrent of wind slashes at the champion. Lucinda casually parried most, blocked what she had to, then spun and drove her blade into his chest.

“I’m truly sorry.” She said.

“So… am I.” He coughed back. Blood splattering the rags of her shirt.

Confusion and curiosity fought a contest for dominance in her expression. His wasn’t exactly something someone just ran through would say.

Akamori shoved himself off of her blade. His hand reached up to prevent his blood from gushing from the wound, even as he channeled his magic. His sword’s words echoed in his mind. He had to become something more. He had to change.

Power radiated from him. Void magic gathering around him like a thick fog. Something cold and familiar reaches out from across planes. It was foreign, but to his soul; it resonated with a familiarity. Like two different pieces of the same puzzle. The membranes between life and death became transparent. The barrier between the light and the umbral planes fractured like cracking glass.

The next instant he was aware of, Akamori found himself in an all white expanse. With no details to orient himself, he felt his head swim with nausea and shock. He clutched the still bleeding wound in his chest. Black viscous fluid mixed with his red blood like oil slicks on water.

“It’s the void poisoning.” A deep voice rumbled. “Your consciousness teeters on oblivion.”

He looked up and saw a dark figure standing in front of him. Darkness billowed off the figure like smoke. It had jet black skin with red and purple accents. Aggressive looking muscles and skin made it look almost demonic. It was a voidspawn he realized. Draped in a cloak of shadows, it held a large scythe lazily across its shoulders, looking down at him. With its free hand, it brushed back its hood, revealing a mane of red and black hair, much like his own. He was staring into his own face and for an instant he was certain his heart stopped.

It gave him a knowing nod. “You sense the right of it. I am a soul splinter. A shard torn off a soul we share ties to.”

Akamori coughed a mouthful of dark blood up onto the white, detail-less floor. “What do you want with me?”

“To lend you my power. I fought the air wyrm that sought to destroy you before you could visit with the diviner.”

“That was… you?”

The dark figure nodded. “I sensed our through the magic we share. Our shards are similar enough we can forge a pact.”

“And what do you get?” Akamori asked through the strain of his wound.

“Completing my purpose. Your past self created me to wait for the day when you might be in greatest need. That time has come. I am… returning home, so to speak.”

“Home?”

The voidspawn version of himself nodded silently and pointed to the center of Akamori’s chest. “We have split our power long enough. Do you accept my compact?”

Akamori paused. Doubt and uncertainty flickered through him like a wildfire. This being looked like everything he didn’t want to be. If this voidspawn was a shard of his soul, what did that say about himself? His brows furrowed.

“I don’t know. I don’t know what to do.”

“Become what you must, then save creation. If you fall here, Sauridius will rise and savage this place. Making slaves of the few survivors it deigns to leave alive while devouring the magic of what it doesn’t.”

“Damn… no pressure.” Akamori said. Already noticing the pain was less pronounced. He glanced up to the voidspawn who again tilted his chin, showing he was the cause.

“I have slowed the rate of progress of your void poisoning, but I cannot stop it like this. Only merged will you possess the power to negate it.”

“Heh, a devil’s bargain.” Akamori choked.

“What will I be once I accept the compact?”

“One step closer to whole. The vast emptiness that has compelled you to travel the stars is a powerful sense of absence. Your soul yearns for its missing parts.”

Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

“Do you know where the other pieces are?”

“No. but I can help you look for them. Alongside providing you with more robust combat abilities. Such as what you will require now.”

“Like what?”

“The evolution of a spell warrior to a void reaper.”

Akamori hesitated, his life force slowly leaking from the stab wound in his chest, courtesy of Lucinda. “What happens to you?”

“I remain in the void, but through our link, I can share my power with you via a soul bridge.”

“So I won’t become a demon or anything?”

“No. you would become a nascent Void Reaper. You would evolve beyond your current limitations. This evolution will mark the beginning of your path to something greater.”

The presence deep within him, locked away behind his golden super human strength seal, resonated with the voidspawn before him. It pulsed a single burst of his aura. In that instant, he understood his choice. He stood up, a hand pressed firmly to his wound despite the tackiness of drying blood.

“Ok. I accept.”

The voidspawn held its hand out and channeled aether directly into him. The magic was no mere mana transfer, but a full on infusion. His body was overcome with a flush of cold magic. It saturated and permeated every fiber of his being. Muscle fibers strengthened, tendons tightened, and neural synapsis fired faster. He’d breached the limitations of standard mortality and ascended the crest of something new. A new magic grew within his breast. Awe and wonder settled in as he studied the radiant energy. System messages flooded his vision, even despite his passive notification preferences. He set to sort through them one at a time.

System Info: You have accepted the compact of the Void. You have gained access to the Path of the Reaper. Progress 0.00%

Special Ability unlocked: Death’s Shadow. You may make a special attack that marks your target with the Death’s Shadow debuff. Targets suffering the Death’s Shadow mark feel the creeping cold dread of death. This ability boosts all the damage the target receives.

Path feature unlocked: Aether Gauge. Build Aether during combat and by defeating enemies marked by Death’s Shadow to accumulate 10 Aether Gauge. 50 Aether Gauge can be spent to use Reaper Special Attacks.

Path feature unlocked: Soul Gauge. Using Special Reaper Attacks builds Soul Gauge. At 50 Soul Gauge, you may activate the Void Shroud.

Special Ability Unlock: Void Shroud. Call upon your voidspawn soul shard, channeling its power on top of your own body. Damage output and defensive value is increased considerably. Void Shroud consumes 10 points of Soul Gauge for 1 minute of use.

New Weapon Evolution: Void Scythe. Channeling your deep well of void magic, your spell blade can now manifest itself into a scythe made of void glass. Giving you enhanced offensive and defensive capabilities. Costs 1 AP to maintain. Further AP can be spent to further enhance its damage.

He disliked the idea of just being given so many new powers and abilities. It felt like cheating in a way. His father had always tried to instill an honesty in his training. He knew he wasn’t a combat genius, but he always pushed to learn things. This served him well, even as he took tactics his opponents employed and adapted them to his own skill set. Now it seemed he had his own unique set of skills and abilities. For once, he felt a sense of uniqueness.

“You disprove of your new path?” The voidspawn asked, noticing the sour look on his face.

Akamori shook his head. “It’s not that. I just don’t feel like I’ve earned this.”

“You have endured the impossible. You struggle in the face of a destiny that all but consumes you. In my esteem, this was long overdue.”

“Amara will not like you puffing my ego up. Even still. Thanks. What’s your name?”

The voidspawn frowned. A puzzled look crossing his features. “My name? I am unsure. It has been so long since I’ve needed to use a name.”

Akamori blinked and smiled. “Oh. That’s not mildly horrifying at all.” He said, trying not to imagine being alone for so long he forgot who he was. “Well, we have to give you something. My sword too. I can’t keep talking to you two without something to refer to you as besides what you are.”

The voidspawn simply stared at him expectantly, where his sword thrummed eagerly. Finally, the darker version of himself spoke.

“I believe I can at least help with the name of your sword. It is named Thanton. The reincarnation of the first spell blade ever forged. The first sword to claim a life. It is viewed in some circles as an entity of death, returning in times of great unrest to lay low the wicked.”

“You know all that, but have no idea what your own name was?”

“It has been a… considerably long time.”

Akamori glanced at the voidspawn. This guy needed a name. Looking into a darker version of himself was too unsettling. “You’re gonna need a name, too. What to call you, though?” He tapped his finger on his lip absently. Oblivious to the wound on his chest, slowly knitting shut. The voidspawn Akamori watched impassively.

“Herman? No… Carl? Eh. Too short. What about Rupert?”

The voidspawn glared at him silently as he continued.

“George? Hmm, no. Frank?”

“Frank is amenable.” The voidspawn offered contemplatively.

“Well then, nice to meet ya, Frank. Now then. How about we go do something about my bosses dad’s possessed girl friend?”

Frank’s body rippled with magic and he broke down into a black smoke that flowed on Akamori, forming a black hooded robe. More than that, Akamori now had chitinous armor, much like Franks.

System Info: You have been granted full Soul Gauge.

System Info: You are now Enshrouded. Your damage has been boosted significantly. Your defenses have been boosted moderately. Your spell blade has channeled the soul of Thanaton, transforming into a memory of the Harvester.

“Whoah…”

The all white plane broke down around them. Only then did he finally poke his chest where the stab wound was giving an impressed nod. His aura exploded with power when Lucinda came back into view. Her expression was both surprised and amused. Like she took some joy in his refusal to lose. “I was hoping you had a little more fight left in you, for my daughter’s sake. Ruining her world here like this wasn’t how I wanted this all to end.”

“Well. I had to lull you into a false sense of security by kicking my ass so hard.”

“So it was all a show, hmm?”

“Oh, absolutely.”

“Show me the reality, then.”

The two blurred together to clash.

‎