In the inky depths of Phantom Rain, I stood beneath an enormous cloud, its tentacles stretching out like the appendages of some cosmic horror, dwarfing even mountains. Shadows squirmed around me, as if nourished by the very darkness they were born from. The pale green light that shivered below me was Aeona—present, yet veiled by the murk.
"Are you still there?" Aeona's voice broke through, tinged with loneliness and dread.
Ah, a moment to collect myself. A strange serenity washed over me, unlike any I'd experienced before—neither in this realm nor my original world. The interface unfurled before me.
Aldrich Kerrigan
Job: Creeping Harbinger
Level: 20 (MAX)
Experience: -/-
Sanity: -/-
Attributes:
- Strength: 5/35
- Agility: 6/40
- Intellect: 7/70
- Wisdom: 9/80
- Charisma: 5/25
- Perception: 12/80
- Fortitude: 9/60
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Skills:
- Madness Insight (Passive): Ability to perceive the cosmic horror that remains invisible to others. As Sanity decreases, Perception increases.
- Cosmic Lore (Active): Allows user to understand fragments of ancient, unspeakable knowledge. Increases Intellect temporarily, but reduces Sanity.
- Ethereal Emancipation (Active): The sacred chant, "Atash-Na N'gha Ya N'ghft," drawn from the ageless wisdom of the eldritch depths, grants the wielder the power to shatter unseen or otherworldly chains, calling forth the sacred chants of the Elders to illuminate the obscured. Note: Usage demands caution
- Harbinger's Fury (Active): Unleashes a wave of destructive energy on adversaries. Power is proportional to the wielder's Intellect and Sanity loss.
- Dual Identity - The Forgotten Hero (Passive): Offers the user a spontaneous connection to some of the memories and abilities of Aldrich Percival Ravenshaw
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Inherent Weakness:
Frail Psyche: Reduced resistance to mental afflictions. Sanity depletes faster when exposed to Malignant entities or otherworldly phenomena.
Fractured Mind : A consequence of Dual Identity - The Forgotten Hero, Aldrich experiences unpredictable episodes of personality shifts and memory overlap. This randomness can result in cognitive instability and, if unchecked, an overall degradation of sanity.
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Moments later when I arrived, before Aeona arrived, the system notification popped up, it declared that all external modifiers had been neutralized. My core attributes like Strength, Agility, and Fortitude remained the same. Intriguingly, Cosmic Lore had become activated, a skill previously held back by the condition labeled "unwilling spirit," from the card I draw, Inverted Prism Seeker.
This revelation was accompanied by an unexpected clarity that washed over my mind. The usual tumult of paranoia and self-doubt was conspicuously absent, replaced by a quiet I had never known. Could I really trust this newfound sense of calm to strategize effectively? The memories of my blundering arrival at the village now seemed like scenes from someone else's life. My careless lies had only drawn the attention of Cassius and Elara, inviting unnecessary scrutiny.
Pondering the two, Cassius seemed less of a concern. With the great attributes bestowed upon me by the mystical card, Prophet of the Fractured, he posed little threat when it come to physical combat. It was Elara was the enigma; her background, not her strength, was perilous.
Knowing this, my focus sharpened on an immediate priority: identifying the person or force corrupting the villagers into monstrous abominations. Trusting my own instincts had proven problematic in the past, and I couldn't afford a moment's lapse, lest I whimsically derail my own mission.
In the midst of these thoughts, my eyes were drawn to the dim green glow emanating from miles below. The user interface reappeared before me, this time detailing information about Aeona.
Alessandra "Aeona" Veyr
Job: Green Sprouting
Level: 4
Experience: 1/49
Sanity: 89/112
Attributes:
- Strength: 5/12
- Agility: 6/15
- Intellect: 17/19
- Wisdom: 12/16
- Charisma: 10/30
- Perception: 5/23
- Fortitude: 18/23
If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
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Skills:
- Veridiscernment (Passive): With a touch, the user can understand the unique properties and uses of any mundane plant, making it useful for crafting potions or rituals.
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Inherent Weakness:
Emotional Parasite: Aeona's manipulative nature means she often forms shallow relationships, using others for her own gain. This leaves her isolated and often emotionally drained, requiring her to constantly seek new connections to exploit.
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Behavior Traits:
- Naive Manipulator: Aeona, often without realizing, has a knack for swaying others. Her innocent charm can be both a gift and a curse, making others unsure of her true intentions.
- Empathetic Listener: Aeona has a genuine ability to listen and understand others' emotions, making her a comforting presence to those in distress.
- Curious Explorer: Driven by a thirst for knowledge and meaning, she sometimes stumbles into situations without fully grasping the consequences.
- Wavering Loyalty: While she wants to stand by her friends, Aeona's unsure nature can make her commitments seem inconsistent.
- Moral Novice: Aeona grapples with discerning right from wrong, often caught in the grey areas, trying to forge her own moral code in a complex world.
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"Agh..." A strained voice punctured my focus, an unwelcome intrusion into my contemplative silence.
Without lifting my gaze, I cut through the air with my words, cold and imperious. "Explain yourself."
"My apologies if I've offended you—the incessant drumming, it's simply insufferable," Aeona nearly sobbed, her voice quivering like a fragile leaf in the wind.
Ah, my rhythmic tapping—a trivial habit, yet potentially maddening for others in this place. I ceased immediately. Drawing a measured breath to realign my spirit, I summoned the irresistible charisma of an iconic game character I once revered. "Listen closely, Aeona. I am entrusting you with a quest of utmost importance. You have precisely two nights to unearth the malevolent force wreaking havoc upon this village."
Her eyes widened. "Understood," she spoke, the words coming forth as though etched in stone, laden with both determination and a palpable sense of dread. "But how shall I communicate my findings to you?"
A question fraught with complications, touching upon our mutual secret identities. "Report what you discover to Aldrich; he will serve as the conduit to me."
She nodded. "Understood."
With a flick of my wrist, I dismissed her. "You may leave."
Then I was alone. "This constant masquerade we are forced to play is nothing short of exhausting," I uttered, letting the weight of my words fill the room. And then, as if my physical form were but a mist in the wind, I dissolved, eagerly severing the tether that bound me to this reality to reconnect with my true, corporeal self.
My eyes snapped open, and I was greeted by a sudden rush of cold air. It felt like I'd been yanked back from some cosmic journey. Next to me, Aeona's eyes flickered from haze to focus, as if snapping back from a similar voyage. The room had changed; the scent of burnt herbs, once soothing, was now tainted with an otherworldly musk. A previous urge for insanity had lifted, but it left behind a gnawing emptiness and fresh questions about this unfathomable world. My hand still bore the enigmatic crest, but its glow had dimmed, resembling the uneasy silence after a storm's fury.
"Atash-Na N'gha Ya N'ghft," I chanted, wrestling my thoughts back to something resembling normalcy. The words felt crude compared to the Nexus Realm, yet oddly familiar.
Aeona echoed, stumbling over the syllables, "Atash-Na... N'gha... Ya... N'ghft. Is that a prayer or something?"
"To whom?" I countered.
"I presumed a male deity? The words have a masculine resonance."
It dawned on me that she was talking about my alternate self, the one she'd encountered in that other reality. Tempting as it was to reveal the truth, doing so would unravel my carefully laid plans.
I opted for enigma instead. "For now, he appears male—easier for mortal comprehension." I watched her eyes light up, glistening like stars.
"Have you met him? His voice, it's transcendent—beyond kings and emperors, almost godlike," Aeona breathed, awe and fascination replacing her prior fear. She was falling into my web faster than anticipated.
Curious, I tried activating my Cosmic Lore Skill to gauge her changing emotions. Oddly, the skill yielded no insight.
Just as I was about to explore the topic further with Aeona, regarding the culprit, the door swung open with a creaking urgency. Targon, Aeona's longtime friend, barged in. His gaze met mine, instantly hardening. "Is everything all right here?" His tone was thick with suspicion.
"We're fine, Targon. Just done here," Aeona responded, sounding mildly annoyed by the interruption.
Feeling the tension rise like a tightrope, I decided it was best to make my exit. "Actually, I was just leaving. There's something I want to investigate in the woods."
Targon's eyes narrowed further, skeptical. "Don't create problems," he warned.
"No intentions of that," I assured him, our eyes locking for a charged moment before I slipped out of the room.
Drawn to the forest's call, I stepped into the wild expanse, breathing in the crisp air tinged with earthy fragrances and something... otherworldly. Avoiding Targon was just a fringe benefit; my main aim was to link this world with 'Dreamer's Legacy,' the game it unnervingly resembled. I ventured deeper, feeling as if the forest itself whispered enigmatic secrets through the rustle of leaves and dance of shadows. It was like navigating an uncannily realistic level of the game, a sinister version that resonated in every footstep.
Drawn forward by a sensation of eerie familiarity, I delved into the maze-like depths of the forest. My modern, dirt-streaked attire clashed vividly with the archaic wilderness surrounding me. Suddenly, I stumbled upon an abnormality: gnarled roots that circled an ominous void in the ground, from which emanated a low, unsettling hum.
[Danger... A layer of the Hidden Abyss has been found.]
A system alert intruded into my thoughts.
"Already? A hidden abyss at this stage?" The discovery shot my pulse sky-high. Such phenomena were supposed to appear later in the game's timeline, according to 'Dreamer's Legacy.'
Elara's youthful face flickered in my mind. Was the timeline here distorted? Were events misaligned compared to the game?
Drawn yet hesitant, I inched closer to the dark maw. Peering over the edge, I felt the atmosphere grow thick with whispers from the abyss, as if the chasm itself sensed my presence, beckoning me to uncover its secrets.
Just when I was on the verge of backing away, re-evaluating the peril of my find, I felt a violent shove from behind. My heart seemed to leap into my throat as I teetered and then plunged into the abyss I'd decided to skirt. Cruel laughter echoed from above, vanishing into the alert that sounded both organic yet mechanical:
[Alert... Hidden Abyss Entry Detected... Assimilating Unforeseen Variables. Caution... Exposure to Unknown Elements Imminent.]
As I fell, darkness devoured me, leaving nothing but the chilling certainty of the unknown.