All Walter knew was pain. All he was, all he could be was tied up in agony. All around him the colors swam, twisting and distorting in ways that only the insane could comprehend. Which made sense as no man, sane or otherwise, could live through what happened next. His body Twisted. Writhed. Danced. As something undulated right beneath the surface of his skin.

“Hello.”

A voice spoke and Walter heard it. Felt it. Not with his mind but with his body. It reverberated through him, the base of it caused his bones to shake and his mind to blank. And with dawning horror Walter began to sob. The voice, it came from within him. From his deepest parts. Crawling from within his chest and echoing about his body before it finally escaped through his ever thinning skin. And then he felt something pushing, as if it wanted to be birthed into the world. But as hard as it pushed something kept it bound within Walters body, a barrier that went beyond the physical.

“Hello. Is this the right flesh language? I can’t remember the last time I spoke words with meat.”

Walter’s tears slow and with a gulping breath he brings his shaking under control as the pain starts to subside. As the thing beneath your skin slowly stops moving.

“P… Please stop. To loud. To loud. Hurts.”

Walter can’t help but whimper as the voice echos about inside him, his ears near to rupturing by the volume of the unseen voice.

“Hurts? IS that what this is? Pain? I had forgotten. “

The voice grew softer or softer tell it was right above a whisper and right below a murmur. Comfortable, if distorted to the ear.

“IS our discomfort gone? I sense a difference but do not understand how flesh works.”

There was a deliberate pause. A tense silence.

“Flesh is confusing.”

Something pushes at his insides and Walter winces, but other then the odd feeling the pain does not come.

“Please. Please stop that.”

The… Thing writhed inside him. And he sensed confusion.

“Stop? Stop what?”

The flesh of his abdomen dances as something hard and sleek pushes from behind his eyes.

“That. Stop that. You're moving… Inside me?”

He almost cries as the feeling grows stronger. And he presses his hands to his eyes. And then suddenly it stops, though some of the pressure. The weight. Remains.

“Th… Thank you. Please just… Thank you.”

With a deep breath and a shake of his head Walter colapsesses to the ground shaking. Wondering for what felt like the hundredth time in that same hour what the hell was going on.

“ You are welcome Walter William Ward. I failed to take ownership of this flesh vessel so you retain the right to self determination.”

He blinks.

“I yes thanks for that… What… What are you?”

“I am one of the Hungry Dead. A champion of the Lord of Starved ghosts. I am one of legions dead to deprivation and hunger. I am a Wraith.”

“I see. I mean. I don’t. But okay. I wait… What?”

SOULS HAVE BEEN WEIGHED. WALTER WILLIAM WARD YOU ARE A TABULA RASA. A BLANK SLATE. YOU HAVE IN YOUR THIRTY-TWO MINUTES OF LIFE NEVER MADE A CHOICE OF SIGNIFICANCE. NO SIN OF YOUR OWN MAKING MARKS YOU YET YOU HAVE CONSUMED AND PURGED THE SIN OF OTHERS. YOU ARE A REDEEMER OF THE DEAD.

NO ARCHETYPE DETECTED. ONE COMBAT SKILL DETECTED. ADVANCED LIFE SKILLS DETECTED. GIFTS DETECTED. PHYSICAL AGE THIRTY-THREE MINUTES. AGE OF SOUL IN CURRENT ITERATION TWENTY-EIGHT SOLAR YEARS. DETERMINING ARCHETYPES…

DUE TO THE MARK OF THE SILENT, A SOULBOUND CONTRACT, AND HIGH WILLPOWER ARCHETYPE SELECTION IS LIMITED. REMOVING DISALLOWED ARCHETYPES. REMOVING BANKER. REMOVING CHEF. REMOVING BUTLER. REMOVING ARCHIVIST. REMOVING HISTORIAN. REMOVING BUTTLER. REMOVING PUGILIST.

REMAINING ARCHETYPES:

* CULTIST: AN ARCHETYPE CHARACTERIZED BY ITS DEVOTION TO A CAUSE OR INDIVIDUAL. OFTEN MISUNDERSTOOD, CULTISTS GAIN STRENGTH THROUGH THEIR DEVOTION AND BELIEF OFTEN GAINING ABILITIES SIMILAR TO PRIESTS IN THAT THEY CAN USE PERSONAL SACRIFICE TO FUEL MAGICS TO HARM AND TO HEAL. CORE ABILITY: SACRIFICE

* CONTRACTOR: AN ARCHETYPE CHARACTERIZED BY THEIR RESOLVE AND LUST FOR POWER, A CONTRACTOR GAINS POWER THROUGH BARGAINS MADE WITH BEINGS BOTH GREAT AND POWERFUL. THESE BARGAINS COME IN MANY FORMS, BUT ONE AND ALL LEAVE MARKS ON THE CONTRACTOR’S SOUL FOREVER CHANGING THEM IN UNIQUE WAYS. CORE ABILITY: CONTRACT MAGIC

* MEDIUM: AN ARCHETYPE CHARACTERIZED BY THEIR CONNECTION TO A REALM OF DEATH AND THE UNDERWORLD. SERVING AS A BRIDGE BETWEEN WORLDS MEDIUMS DRAW STRENGTH FROM THE UNDERWORLDS AND THEIR INHABITANTS. CORE SKILL: MANIFEST

* HEX:AN ARCHETYPE DEFINED BY ITS BAD LUCK AND WANDERLUST. A HEX OFTEN FIND THEMSELVES SHUNNED DUE TO THEIR ABILITY TO INFLICT THEIR OWN LUCK ON OTHERS. CORE SKILL: JINX

WALTER WILLIAM WARD PLEASE CHOOSE YOUR ARCHETYPE. WHAT PATH WILL YOU FOLLOW?

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“This is unexpected.” Said the voice. “I will help you choose.”

Honestly, Walter had no idea what he thought. He was lost. Lacked information. And to top it all off he appeared to have been taken to a new world where some sort of video game logic held sway. In short he had been isekaied.

“So let me get this straight. I made a deathbed deal with the next best thing to a great old one. Was … Possessed-”

“Technically I failed to posses you. Much to my shame.”

“-and now I have to decide on what I am in this world? What Archetype I fill? Good god if I turn into a chuuni I may well have to kill myself.”

Walter looked panicked for a moment then laughed. A manic sound conveying little actual mirth.

“Oh god it’s already started. Deep breaths Walter. Deep breaths. I have no idea what to do. Which seems to be my life now.”

“Luckily, I can provide guidance. As I failed to take control of this flesh suit it is in my interest to garner your good will. And prolong your life. Ask and I will attempt to answer.”

“O… Kay. First off, what can I call you? By what name are you known? Honestly I have no idea what you actually are other than some sort of poltergeist.”

The pause that followed was longer than Walter hopped but shorter than he feared.

“I’ve been known by many names but some have called me… Elliot.”

“Elliot? The not so friendly ghost? Got it. Thanks. Okay. Not exactly what I was expecting. But I’ll take it.”

Elliot,because he now knew it was Elliot writhed just a little within him. A sense of satisfaction emanating from the being.

“Yes, my name strikes terror in all who hear it. Be thankful meat mortal. I will keep you safe. I will guide you. Yes. yes.”

Walter finds himself nodding as he… It? Speaks. It obviously wasn’t trustworthy, but any input. Any at all was better than none, even if it came from a untrustworthy, other worldly, possibly hostile being. ‘You gotta make do with what you’re given.’

“Okay Elliot, what can you tell me about Archetypes? Do you have a suggestion as to which i should choose?”

“No one can make suggestions in regards to archetypes. It is forbidden. They represent you and what you will or might become.” More slithering. More pressure behind his eyes. “But I can tell you what little I know about the Archetypes you are deemed worthy of.”

“Of the four you have access to, the Cultist is the most common. They are those that venerate a concept, person, or being most would consider dark or at least questionable. This is not to say they are evil, just that their religion or beliefs often go against standard morality. Conceptually this is the only difference between them and those who fall under the archetype of the Priest. Though on the whole Cultists due tend to cultivate more varied abilities such as transformation, summoning, and the like as opposed to their mainstream counterparts that tend to gain healing and shielding abilities more often than not. But they are powered the same. Through personal sacrifices such as gold, memory, or the most common and potent. Blood. Life force.”

Walter nodded his head. The Cultist sounded somewhat like a more offensive healer. Something that could fight if needed or they wanted. Though the cost of using those abilities sounded rather extreme. Or at least they could be. He honestly didn’t like the idea of sacraficing his life force or memory.

“The Contractor on the other hand gains power from an outside source, gathering eclectic abilities that could be just about anything. From flight and teleportation, to energy projection and enhanced senses. It all depends on the contracts they hold and the beings they contracted with. In your case, you already have a contract with the Lord of the Hungry Dead which would result in rather powerful abilities tied to his realm and purviews such as summoning wraiths and spectors, to manifesting spectral tentacles. The costs vary, but in most cases contractors give over some of their free will in order to gain their powers. h/aving to perform favors for their patrons in return.”

So something of a grabbag that one. While it seemed he had a hand up there, Walter was not sure if he wanted his fate tied more with that being from the place between places. He already owed it more than he could imagine. He knew he would be called upon by that… Being to repay it. Giving the creature more leverage might well spell his doom. Though the power on offer sounded… Enticing.

“The medium is probably the rarest archetype you have available. Few meet the necessary prerequisites. Fewer still would tie themselves to the dead in such a way. But those that do gain something unique. Not only can the speak and interact with the the dead, which outside of necromancy and necromongering is extremely rare, they are able to manifest and force into existence portions of the realms of the dead. This is due to their nature and their connection with spirits. While they can mimic other schools of magic, everything they do is powered by those that died before.”

He may have been missing it, but of all the Archetypes this one was by and far the most confusing. What did it mean to manifest the underworld? Did he command the spirits of the dead to do his bidding? Or did he channel the powers of the underworld? Honestly it wasn’t vary clear, but it was more than he had before.

“A Hex is rather interesting in your case. They represent those who suffer from a karmic imbalance. Bad luck if you will. While i know little of you, I do know you have excellent luck as I am here and you retain control of your flesh puppet. With that being said, a Hex can inflict their nature on others causing misfortune to befall their targets. They can at times even steal the fate of others to use themselves. OF all your Archetypes, the Hex is the most nebulous and undefined as their abilities are dependent on circumstance and chance. “

Walter blinks and lays back, sprawling in the drying mud. Not caring that he looks like the poor mans clayface. He somehow knew that he had to make this choice now. That nothing else could happen tell he defined who he would be here… But he had so little information. So little knowledge and he was running out of time. And yet one of these options rang clear in his mind. Resonating with him on a level that was profound and horrifying. His body, as if under someone else's control reached out and sealed his fate and he hoped beyond hope that in the future he would not come to regret his choice.