The pain that once consumed every sense I had slowly subsided, leaving me to slowly regain my bearings. Looking at the floor, I recognize a command line in the top left of my vision. Focusing on it, it pulls to the center of my vision, not that it allowed me any further knowledge on what it was. The commands and outputs were rushing by so fast, I couldn't even identify the characters. Putting it off to the corner like before, I notice the notification icon from before, with two plus signs in place of numbers. Pulling myself up against the wall, I lean back and pull them up.
[Congratulations! You have opened your origin to form your core! Continue along this path to ravage all who stand in your way!]
[Core
Stage: origination
Aspect: N/A]
[Congratulations! Through hard work you have forged the beginnings of your spiritual pathways! Continue along this path to reach the peak of cultivation!]
[Spiritual Pathways
Stage: framework
Step: 1/3]
[Congratulations! Be it through hard study or pure intuition, you have used pure will to manipulate energy!]
[Energy Manipulation (passive)
Level: 1
Rarity: common
Description: through application of one's will, exert control on the energies of the universe.
Effects: willpower’s effect on ambient energy +10%]
[Congratulations! By perceiving without stimulus, you've earned +5 to dexterity!]
[Congratulations! By surviving a fall into a hole with no bottom, you've earned +5 to fortitude!]
[Congratulations! By performing a ritual 10 tiers above your skill level, you've received +1000 to-
CORRECTION: By performing a [System] granted ritual 10 tiers above your skill level, you've received +10 to willpower!]
[Congratulations! By summoning and integrating an {!&$@&$%!#} into your origin, you've received -2,147,483,647 to spirit!]
[ERROR: {Independent Variable} Immune to [System Interference]...
SOLUTION FOUND: N/A
STATUS: RESOLVED]
{Congratulations! By not having your very soul collapse upon itself dooming the very essence of your being to never exist again, you've received +50 spirit!}
[Alert! Your spirit has met 25 points! This may result in unforeseen consequences.]
[Alert! Your spirit has met 50 points! This will result in drastic changes!]
{Not to alert you, but your spiritual frame seems on the verge of criticality. Do you mind if I prevent it from expelling the sudden influx of energy from your origin outward?}
“Uh, shit, I'm going to trust you on this.”
{vague statement interpreted as yes.}
I felt a growing warmth just above my navel. Deciding to look inward, I found myself reeling from the brightness. The spark from before was now the size of a penny, but the brightness it emitted was blinding, even to my mind’s eye. Right as the light started flashing, tiny cubes of pitch black flowed in streams to it, turning bright green as they encased my core. Not a moment later, the sphere of tiny cubes was pushed outward like a shockwave before closing back in on the core, pressing it all the way back to a spark. Pulling away, the cubes now all glowed a bright green with only some showing the pitch black that was so precedent before. The cubes then formed into two separate streams, both with spinning drill-like tips. Each stream exited my core into my soul matter, opposite where I created my channels.
{Using excess soul energy to finish energy framework}
The drill tipped streams of energy dug through my metaphysical flesh like the sun melting a British person’s ice cream. What took me hours of meditation to do, the streams efficiently and completely melded with the flesh, not tearing its way through but rather softening the energy flesh and pushing it out to the side where it hardened once more. Once it reached down to the base of my heel, the streams split off to reach my toes before pulling a tight curve and reconvening at the base of my heel. They then traveled back up to where my torso was, going through the channels I had created and sticking out little tendrils through the walls, slowly taking the torn and discarded energy from when I dug into the flesh and reforming it around the channels like they did with my legs. Once the channels had been reformed to the green and black energies specifications, it all coalesced into my chest before pausing.
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{Do you allow the formation of your energy framework to take place in your head?}
“Well, the fact you're asking me does worry me on what that would entail. Mind giving me a breakdown?”
{Typically one would wait until they are able to separate their metaphysical consciousness from their physical body to create their cranial framework, as the slightest mistake can and will lead to severe and irreversible damage to the framework and the physical body. This process also affects the mind's ability to take in information, improves the acuity of all senses, and strengthens one's metaphysical ties by allowing them to [REDACTED]. Apologies, it seems that you will have to find for yourself. Do I have your permission sir?}
“Ah, fuck it. You clearly know what you're doing. Have at my wet electricity jelly.”
{Unusual response interpreted as minor to moderate brain damage. Restoration and construction process allowed under emergency circumstances. Please do not resist.}
The energy started spinning, becoming one large ball of green twirling energy, before it all suddenly split off into millions of tightly compacted yet separate tendrils. The energy held for a second before shooting off for my brain.
----------------------------------------
With a start, I felt myself nailed to the floor, large metal spikes impaling my wrists and and ankles. Looking around the room, I see a moderately tall figure in dark black robes flipping through an old tome furiously.
“Impossible, well, not impossible but clearly improbable! How could they have awoken so early, I read no signs of high fortitude! Has the committee learned what I'm doing? They shouldn't have, I would know if they did anyways. No, this must simply be an anomaly, it's not unheard of for humans to survive events miraculously, everyone knows the tale of David Tearin the Foul. I'm getting off track, where was that diagra- AHA! Here we go.”
Quickly closing my eyes, I could still see the figure, kind of. Everything was hazy, but thin soft lines surrounded everything, the walls and floor provided a nice backdrop with their dark brown, but the man had a bright red and green color surrounding him, making his frame very visible. He walked over and leaned down right next to my face, the tome in his hand held open, something made very apparent with its bright red framing.
“Anomaly seems unconscious yet alive and well. Wounds have healed over from a glance, an impressive passive regeneration. Energy levels low, most likely freshly opened origin, no detected framework, ambient energy nearly zero. Body looks untouched magically, still quite weak and fragile beyond regeneration. Hopefully the anomalous aspect of this specimen will lead to favorable results, else ill need to grab some more of those scaley shits.”
The man pulls away and looks at his tome once more before grabbing a cylindrical item from his robes, holding the tome in his left as he crouches down and drawing what can only be described as another diagram on the floor. After a couple minutes the object was returned to his inner robe as he set the tome on an altar I am certain I didn't miss from before. Turning around with flourish, the man began speaking in a tongue I didn't understand… at first.
[Passive Skill: (Gift of Gab) Activated
Language: Infernal
Competency: Mastered]
Now I understood what he was saying, and the archaic language did not truly translate well when you understood it on a communicative level.
“Please please please accept this offering! I promise it'll be to your liking oh great Quarizotial! Devour the offering in all your greatness so I may be bestowed with your benevolence in all its unholy glory, pretty please!”
On and on the man continued. It took a solid 20 minutes of him spouting off weird terms of the ritual while also begging and praising whatever lied on the other side. After that allotted 20 minutes, the circle grew extremely bright, the pentagram inside following soon after. Soon my entire vision turned red as the room was suffused with the dark crimson energy.
“Finally, the archaic tongue always grates on my throat. Now time to see if you were worth all that hassle.”
The man said before tendrils that glowed dark green in my energy sight started rapidly approaching me. They pulled me off the wall, tearing my hands and feet off with the metal spikes. Surprisingly, the pain this whole time had been nearly nonexistent, that stung though. Keeping my eyes shut softly, i was ragdolled up in front of the man, him lifting me by the collar of my shirt before the tendrils receded into his cloak.
“In you go”
The man said before pulling me closer, probably preparing to throw me into the circle. I wouldn't know, as I had a little eensy weensy bit of a plan. One that was greatly helped by a sudden message.
{Energy restrictions lifted, All passive energy being cycled at 100%, directing energy lost from torn energy channels to central core, Regeneration allocation set to 0%, Enhancement raised above safe levels, Enhancement has reached maximum energy allocation. Sir, if you have a plan I suggest you do it now.}
Not waiting for a moment, my eyes instantly open, and I use the sudden energy to swing my head directly at his, my skull bashing into his. There's a wet crunch as tentacles emerge from the robes of the human male, quickly falling limp as I fall on his body, the man falling to the floor. The tentacles tried to reach for me but it was too late. Wiggling as fast as my limbless body would allow, I tear into the man's windpipe, ripping into it before gnashing my head like a wild animal. I felt the tentacles grab my body before falling to the ground, the slimy things shriveling up as the energy surrounding them dissipated. Falling to the side, my whole body felt like it was both burning and being electrocuted at the same time, all of it enhanced by the fact that everything was much clearer and enhanced by my mind.
{Mortal peril avoided, rerouting all energy to restoration.}
The wet fleshy mess of torn meat that was the end of my limbs glowed a soft silvery white as they began regrowing, though i could only see for a second before my head slammed to the floor, knocking me unconscious, that didn't stop me from catching a glimpse of the circle opening a rift into a fiery dead realm, a form stepping out before I followed my favorite workout routine, passing out and getting stronger for it.