Darkness consumed. It roamed the nothingness with a hunger, devouring all those who spoke against it. There was no sound, sight, touch or smell. Only the dark. Then suddenly from out of the darkness came light, burning away all that was.

The once-bleak realm was purged until nothing remained, a lack of substance. It was now a true void. The process could now begin. The space began to slowly but surely fill, from silence there was now sound. A rhythmic chanting pulling something forth from this realm and into another. The being was pouring forth into the next place now, a torrent of destructive and powerful energy trying to simultaneously create and destroy. It ached to expand, to belong and to own. It rushed outwards, wishing to spread its influence overall before being curbed back and forced into the crystalline prison. The energy cried with frustration, it had been through so much, seen so much it would not let it end here. It would not let them take its soul as they had taken everything else, his family, his body and finally his life, he would not let them have this as well! It fought its hardest but the disembodied consciousness lost all individuality and was reduced to three main elements. It wanted to own, to belong and to expand. Viktor Grieswald was no more, his fight was in vain, he was but fuel now.  

Light and darkness began to coalesce in equal measure into the vessel staining its unmarred crystal surface with swirls of undulating energy filling it to the brim and then some before finally stopping.

The new being began to take shape, opening it's non-existent eyes and taking in its first ever memory. Standing around it were a dozen robed men of different heights and weights, yet it could clearly see great grey beards pouring forth from their chins.

The being frowned, he knew not where his knowledge of beards and other seemingly trivial information came from, but nonetheless it was there. The being stilled, contemplating these mysteries.

"Did it work?" Reverently whispered one of the robed chanters, reluctant to even breathe for fear of disturbing the ritual.

"Quiet you fool, let the elder speak first." Hissed a smaller man with a higher pitched sounding voice.

They stood in a small dark room. Water dripped from the ceiling and several colonies of mould were growing in the corners. This wasn't what the being was curious about though. It was more puzzled by the fact that it understood these strange beings it knew as humans. The being stared at them curiously.

"Ah come off it Albrecht, I told you this was a waste of time, it's just a fucking crystal." Spoke a large sweaty man as his chins rippled with each syllable.

The being was confused at this, turning its sight inwards instead of out, finding that the man was indeed right. It was indeed a crystal, the being had a jagged crystalline surface that undulated between black and white as if an imprisoned tempest warred within it.

It was at this point that the man with the longest beard and the frailest looking appendages walked toward the being. It began to become agitated, this man was coming far to close to it. It felt wrong as if something were pulling out his insides piece by piece with each step the man took.

"Young one can you hear us?" Asked the man with a raspy voice.

The being knew not what to do, it had memories of speech but also knew that it would not work as of its current form. It was quite sure that it was no longer human, at this, the being felt a small pang of sorrow, as if in mourning for a memory that was not its own.

The being thought on this for a while, if it could see without eyes then surely it could talk without a mouth. It began to attempt to broadcast its thoughts outwards.

The older man heard nothing, he was then filled with a foreign essence transplanting the idea of affirmation into the man's mind. The man understood that this was the crystals doing.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"Do you know where we are?" He asked again, confusing the other people in the room, it looked to them that he was having a conversation with an inanimate object.

No. The being transmitted. It was managing a crude form of telepathy, projecting concepts and ideas instead of words and language into the minds of others.

"We are in the village of Heimlenstadt. Do you know who you are?"

Once more the being projected negativity but also mixed it with curiosity. He was ravenous for knowledge, all former discomfort at the closeness of the old man was gone, the being was far to busy wishing desperately to know what or who it was. It wanted to own an identity, to belong within itself.

"Your name is Viktor Griesricht, and you are my son." The being now known as Viktor was pleased with his new identity. He didn't know why but he wished to belong. He liked his father, he seemed kind.

The older man now removed his hood prompting the others to do the same, they then introduced themselves, his father's name turned out to be Franz Griesricht.

Franz Griesricht had an old and wrinkled face upon a frail body. He sported a bald head with a smattering of liver spots and a long, ponderous white beard. The man smiled widely, showing several of his yellowing pointed teeth.

"It is good to see you again my son, these are your brothers." He said whilst gesturing to the other men in the room.

Viktor was happy, his want to belong being satisfied with his new family. He projected his happiness to all in the room, shocking several of the others.

The man smiled even further at this and several of the other men in the room looked a few seconds short of jumping for joy. They had finally done it.

"Now my son, let me tell you the most important part of a family. Family help each other isn't that right boys." He said eliciting a round of sinister grins and vigorous head nodding from his other 'sons.' "And it just so happens that we have such a problem. Some people don't like us, they want to hurt us, take us away. They are bad people Viktor and they are coming here!" He said with feigned outrage.

The elation in the men was in stark contrasts to what burned within Viktor. People wanted to take his father and brothers away. They wanted to hurt them! Viktor fumed, he would butcher them like cattle.

"So Viktor. My boy, will you help us? Will you help your family?"

Viktor projected both loyalty and assurance in equal measure at this, the naive being knowing nothing of the world.

"But Viktor, how will you help us?" The man asked in mock surprise.

This caused Viktor to think. How would he help them? He had only been alive for a few moments, and yet he already had an enemy and a family to protect. But how could he protect them if he had no real power?

Viktor projected sadness and failure toward his father. Ashamed of his weakness and inability to take action.

The man smiled wider than ever at this. Grinning so hard many thought his face would fall right off. On the outside, Franz cut an image of confidence and happiness for he knew that was what the creature needed to see currently on the inside however he was a bag of nerves, one slip up and it might bring the old consciousness back to the surface. Soon, he thought. Soon I will be free of this shit hole and these trivial problems. I will be a god!

"Don't worry my son. You are special. You are the key to our salvation! And I have oh so many plans for you." The man began to cackle sending the whole room into a frenzy of laughter and celebration, Viktor joined in the rest, rhythmically sending amusement into the room to simulate laughter. He had no idea what it was he was laughing about. And even less on what he had just gotten himself into.