"Sleeping on the floor sucks," I remark to myself.
My arm I laid on is asleep, my neck is sore, and I don't feel all that rested. There is no sun in the dungeon to explain where the light is coming from, but it’s daytime now. Thankfully I was never one of those people who eats breakfast, and it’s helping me ration what I do have. I do some light stretching before checking my status and see I'm back to full health. Rolling up my sleeve, I gingerly prod the bandage to see if it still hurts. It doesn't, thankfully.
I loosen the makeshift bandage and use the other side to wipe away the caked-on blood and mud on my arm. There is a little redness showing, but that might just be because I scrubbed the gunk off too hard. Other than that, there isn't any scarring or pain. Hopefully, this means the burn on my back healed adequately. After that bit of good news, it's time I make a to-do list out loud.
"Number one; Don't die. Number two; try out my spells. Number three; distribute my stat points based on my findings from number two. Number four; explore and hopefully find a way out."
Bringing up my status, I wonder if there is any way to customize it. As soon as I think that, a new screen appears.
Translucent Screen Y/(N) HUD Y/(N) Combat Logs Y/(N) Auto Stat Point Distribution Y/(N) Pop Up Screens During Combat
Y/(N
Edit Name Show Age (Y)/N Show Race (Y)/N Condense Notifications To Peripheral Y/(N) Abbreviate Resources Y/(N) Change Screen Color
I decided to condense notifications to peripheral, abbreviate resources, and HUD. As soon as I do that, three bars appear in the top right of my vision. Upon inspection, I found out I could move it, so I put it in the bottom left of my eye. The three bars are self-explanatory; green for HP, blue for MP, and red for AP. Simple enough to understand, and maybe now I'll be able to better notice if I get hurt. After messing with all the toggles and even briefly changing the color of my screens, I finally attempted to cast a spell.
"So if spells are like everything else, then just thinking the name of them should activate them.”
Thinking the names does nothing.
"So spells aren't thought activated, good to know that now and not in combat. Here goes nothing, Summon Familiar".
I feel my mana swirl around inside of me, permeating my whole body. Every part of me is pins and needles until it suddenly stops when a blue screen materializes before me.
Please choose one of the following options as your familiar:
WARNING! Familiars are permanent bonds that cannot be undone. They are not enslaved people but partners who will learn and grow as you do. So choose wisely; you cannot change this decision.
WISP: Wisps are creatures of pure mana. They provide increased Mana regeneration to their partner. Wisps take on their partner’s affinity, beco)ming elementals eventually. SPIRIT FELINE: Spirit Felines are mythical cat creatures whose unique senses detect traps and treasure. They are said to bring great fortune to their partners. LESSER WYRM: Lesser Wyrms are said to be descendants of dragons. They grow more powerful the older they become. Known as prideful creatures, they will not partner with someone if they think they are weak. SYMBIOTIC SLIME: Symbiotic Slimes are relatively weak creatures living inside their partner’s blood. They feed off their partner’s dead skin and even help fight off disease and infection. Over time they temper the body of whoever they inhabit. IMP: Imps are selfish demonic tricksters from hellish realms. They are crafty and sneaky beings that give their partners a boost in all manners of illusion-type magic. VOIDLING: Voidlings are said to spawn during the end of a universe. Others claim they are fragments of a long-dead monster known as The Maw. They are capable of devouring almost anything and grow stronger through consumption.
"Those are certainly some choices.”
Right off the bat, I can cross some off the list. Lesser Wyrm doesn't do anything for me right now when I don't know how much longer I'll even be able to survive. Wisp is also out because, as far as I can tell, I don't even have an affinity yet. Slime sounds disgusting, and I'm not trusting demons. That leaves me with Spirit Feline and Voidling. Treasure sense is most certainly helpful, but Voidling just sounds cooler. Maybe it's dumb to pick a familiar off whether it sounds cool or not, but I got a good feeling about this.
"I choose Voidling.”
The mana from before that I felt disappear suddenly begins coalescing in front of me. I can't see it, but I can feel it in the air. The mana rotates faster and faster, condensing the whole time. It finally stops when it becomes the size of a marble, and now I can see it. It's not just a feeling or a sixth sense. I can see it plain as day in front of me. The marble is a deep blue and quite beautiful. It's not moving anymore, and I'm starting to worry that I broke it. Slowly I inch my trembling hand forward as the doubts fill my head. Did I do something wrong? Am I fucking up again? Why am I such a stupid failure?
I'm getting so caught up in my head that I can't see that the marble is now pitch black. By the time I realize the change that has occurred, my hand reaches the marble and grabs it. It explodes in my hand, and darkness swallows me whole.
I can't see anything, and I can't feel my body. Even my panicked screams are silent. It is complete sensory deprivation, and I'm starting to wonder if I'm dead. Is this what the end entails, just nothingness for eternity? My panic and fear are gone, replaced by curiosity. How long have I been here? Has it been hours, days, or years? Is this the purgatory that religious fanatics preach about? A place neither heaven nor hell but the emptiness in between the two.
"Welcome," a voice whispers in my ear.
How did I hear that in here, a place where no sound exists? I attempt to look around, but only nothingness exists everywhere. I need to communicate with whoever I hear before leaving me alone again. Maybe they have a way out of here.
"Relax, I am not going anywhere."
Okay, so whoever I'm talking to can hear my thoughts and isn't going to leave me alone again. That's a relief.
"Where are we? Am I dead?"
The voice lightly laughs.
"I'll answer your second question first. No, you aren't dead. And as for where we are… that is a little harder to answer. Currently, we are in the void left behind by the death of a universe. That is why you feel nothing; because nothing is all that is here."
"How did I get here then, and you for that matter? How come I can hear you?"
"Short answer is I brought you here. And before you ask, it’s because I wanted to meet you. The reason you can hear me is that this is my domain."
I'm confused. If what this being is saying is true, does that mean I'm dealing with a capital g? That thought is terrifying. Who or what is the voice?
"Some do consider me a God, and certainly, by your standards, I would count as one. I am known by many names; The Void Empress, The Maw, The Lady Of Darkness, etc. But an easier way to put it is that I am The End."
To say I was terrified would be putting it lightly. Is this God evil? She doesn't sound evil, but those names sure sound evil. Does she want my soul for some dark ritual? Is she going to eat me?
"I don't want your soul for a ritual. I have plenty of people who would give their souls willingly to me. I'm not going to eat you either. As for the question of my supposed evilness, that depends on your personal views. Just like you, I was once an inhabitant of a world that went through the System's integration. And I gained power, enough power to become a God as you said before. Like I told you before, I am The End, I am the inevitable, I am Death. And death comes for everyone regardless of circumstance. For some, I am a curse, others a sweet reprieve. So to answer your question, I will ask you one of my own. Is death evil?"
My answer comes naturally; no, death itself is not evil.
“Exactly. Now listen, Gregory, we do not have much time to communicate. I have brought you here with a purpose in mind. Whenever a new world is integrated into the System, the established powers within the multiverse take notice of new prospects. Now I can’t tell you too much except that your world has five years before the ^%*&%^& happens. It looks like I can’t even tell you about that thing. I will be frank with you; you are not the only one I am interested in on your planet. I have an offer for you. Will you fight to become my champion? While I cannot directly interfere in your world or its happenings, I can provide other types of support.”
Obviously, a God wouldn’t just pick me. Even if I’m not the only one she is interested in, it still feels nice.
I am interested in your support. If this place indicates your power, you would be a mighty ally to have. I do have two questions. What would I need to do to become your champion, and what kind of support could you give me?
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“I will issue you a quest to complete. And in terms of support, I will place my mark on you. My mark will allow you to unlock your affinity ahead of time and give you a spell. On my side of things, the mark will let me keep track of you.”
In that case, I accept. Also, you mentioned that one of the names you are known as is The Maw. Does that mean my familiar is part of you?
“No, the Voidlings are not part of me. They were created in the void left by dead universes. So they are created because of me, but they aren’t my children if that’s what you were thinking. Take good care of your familiar. I’m interested to see what becomes of it. Goodbye Gregory, show me what you are capable of.”
I’m back in the dungeon and no longer in the void. The shock from going from having zero senses and barely existing to being a corporeal, physical person is extreme. Intense nausea and dizziness grip me. I have to hold back the bile and vomit from coming up actively. Shutting my eyes, I focus on my heartbeat and slowly calm down. Now that I’m back, it’s starting to set in that I made a deal with a God. There is an exclamation mark in my peripheral, alerting me to some blue screen that needs reviewing.
*Hurt.Pain.Bad*
I can hear a faint echo in my head. Thoughts and feelings transmitted into my brain without the use of language. Almost alien in the way it tries to convey intent to me. Slowly opening my eyes, I see a puppy staring at me. The puppy is unlike any breed I've ever seen before. Its fur is pitch black, and there is no sheen to it. It casts no shadow as if it's absorbing the light that touches it. Deep purple eyes are looking at me with intelligence I haven't seen in a dog before.
*Hurt.Pain.Gone?*
I can even begin to explain how this dog is communicating with me. It's a mishmash of images, feelings, and words but coming from a creature that doesn't quite comprehend those concepts.
"Ummm, hi. Yeah, the pain has subsided. I feel better."
*Hurt.Gone.Good*
This is going to take some getting used to.
"Are you my familiar? Are you a Voidling?"
*Nothing.Void.Born*
*Partner.Pact.Mark*
"Alright, do you have a name, little one?"
*Name.Call.Explain?*
So no name, how am I meant to explain names to this creature? Pointing to myself, I attempt this impossible task.
"Names are what you call someone to differentiate them from others. My name is Gregory Solis, for example. Sometimes we call others by nicknames to show affection and closeness."
*Name.Close.Other?*
*Sol.You.Name?*
"No, my name is Solis. Well, my last name is Solis, my first name is Greg. I guess it doesn't matter what you call me. Since you don't have a name, do you want me to give you one?"
*Pact.Give.Name*
Staring at the puppy in front of me, I feel a weight on my shoulders. The Empress told me to take good care of my familiar, and I don’t want to let her down. This Voidling will be my partner for life, so I want to give it a good name. I start to space out, getting lost in the beautiful fur of the pup, and then the perfect name comes to me.
“How does Vanta sound for your name?”
*Vanta?Name.Mean?*
"It comes from the color vantablack, which is so dark it absorbs almost all light. It's what came to mind when I thought about your fur. I hope you like it."
*Name.Good.Like*
"Vanta, I don't want to sound weird, but are you a boy or a girl voidling?"
*Boy.Am.Vanta*
*Sol.Are.Boy?*
"Yes, I am also a boy, well, a man. Nevermind. Are all voidlings like you? By that, I mean are all voidlings canines?"
*Canine?Voidling.Unique*
I'm starting to realize how hard it will be to communicate with him. I have to fight the urge to pick him up and squeeze him. He looks so soft and fluffy.
"I was about to head out to test my other spell. Do you want to come with me?"
*Spell.Test.Hunt*
I stand back up and see several new notifications.
Congratulations! You have been Marked. Your mark allows your patron to track your progress, administer quests, and even give you skills/spells.
Congratulations! Your affinity has been unlocked. Your affinity is Death.
Skills/spells of the same affinity as yours will level up faster and be easier to use. Places with the same type of mana as your affinity will benefit you.
Congratulations! You have been gifted the spell Curse.
Curse (Tier 1) [Epic]: Inflict one of five curses on your enemies.
-Pain: Target is racked with intense pain for one minute.
Mana Cost: 50 Mana
-Fear: Target is stricken with extreme fear. Will not work on targets with resolve stat higher than the caster.
Mana Cost: 100 Mana
-Bleed: All open wounds bleed faster, and the target takes 5 points of damage per second for 1 minute.
Mana Cost: 200 Mana
-Deprive: Target loses their sense of smell, touch, sight, hearing, and taste for 5 minutes.
Mana Cost: 500 Mana
-Drain: Drains the target of HP, MP, and AP at a rate of 20 points per second. Refreshes caster's health, mana, and aura by 5 points per second while draining. Must be touching the target.
Mana Cost: 30 Mana per second.
Even if most curses cost way too much mana to cast, the spell seems very powerful. I wave away the screens and tell Vanta we're going outside. I lead Vanta back to where I killed the two centipedes from before. His head keeps whipping back and forth as he soaks in our surroundings.
*Scent.Smell.Much*
*Sight.Color.Look?*
I can't help but chuckle at his amazement at everything. He acts as a regular puppy if you ignore his abnormal coloring and silent movement.
"Yeah, go ahead and explore. Just stay close, there are monsters around here, and they're very dangerous."
*Danger?Monster.Protect*
“Thank you, bud. But we should be safe where we are so you are free to have a little bit of fun.”
*Run.Explore.Discover*
He rushes around me as we towards the centipede corpses. I catch a whiff of the dead bodies and nearly throw up immediately as we approach. Vanta, however, is unperturbed by the smell and walks right over to the remains and begins to sniff at them. After investigating for a couple of minutes, he approaches one of the pieces and promptly swallows it.
"VANTA! DON'T EAT THAT. THEY'RE ACIDIC."
*Hungry.Food.Want*
*Burn.Good.Okay*
I cannot believe he’s okay after eating them. Just a bit of their acid ate right through my hoodie and burned me. I could see no signs of damage or discomfort on Vanta’s face. Not that I had any idea how to read a dog’s facial expressions. He continued eating the centipedes, and I had no idea where it was going. Vanta could not have weighed more than five pounds, and he was eating two creatures the same size as adult Dobermans. He didn’t stop until nothing was left and was even licking the ground.
“Jeez, where are you putting all that? Your stomach must be some sort of physics-defying pit.”
*More.Food.Find?*
*Hunger.Less.Happy*
“You can’t eat any more of them. I need to test my spell. And I’m betting I can’t raise a corpse if there isn’t even a piece left. Now we need to kill another one to see how it works. Please, don’t eat the next one.”
*Sol.Upset.Vanta?*
*Kill.Leave.Test*
I can’t even be mad at him. He was just born and didn’t know any better. What kind of guy gets angry at a baby?
“No, I’m not upset. I should’ve been more prepared. From now on, just ask me before you eat something.”
*Vanta.Boy.Good*
*Ask.Eat.Consume*
Having company for the first time since I ended up in the dungeon gives me a sense of normalcy. Even just walking with Vanta helps soothe my soul. Vanta was on high alert now, and instead of running away, he stayed at my side, watching for any surprises. It took me a while before I psyched myself up enough to enter the forest. We steadily advanced along my usual route until Vanta stopped short and began looking off into the distant darkness. I stopped and tried to see what he might have found.
“Did you find something?” I whispered.
*Clicking.Enemy.Danger*
*Hiding.Fight.Soon*
Soon I heard the clicking and rustling of leaves rapidly approaching us. It was at this point I realized I was not carrying a weapon. God, I am such an idiot. There weren’t any fallen branches or rocks I could use; time to try out my new spell. I told Vanta to stay behind me and held out my hands, ready to cast Curse. The centipede rushed me, and I pointed my palms at it while shouting “Curse-Pain”- and nothing happened. It knocked me right on my ass. It wouldn’t activate, no matter how much I yelled. I noticed my mana bar had a bit of it grayed out. It felt like time was slowing down as I realized my mistake. Summon Familiar took ten percent of my total mana pool, and ten percent of fifty-five is five and a half. I didn’t have enough mana to cast it. I swore at that moment if we survived this fight, I would never bank my stat points.
The centipede circled back, aiming to finish me off. I crossed my arms to protect my head, but the attack never came. I lowered my arms and saw Vanta holding the centipede back with his jaws around its neck area. It thrashed and squirmed in an attempt to make Vanta drop him, but it was doing nothing. The acid it was so proud of wasn’t effective against him. Part of me wanted to laugh at the sight of this tiny puppy holding back a monster four times his size. The more rational part knew that I had gotten very fortunate, and we weren’t out of the woods yet.
*No.Eat.Spell*
*Okay.Bite.Kill?*
“YES, YES, KILL IT. "
Vanta ripped a chunk out of its carapace and leaped back when it tried to bite him back. For an hour old puppy, he sure knew how to fight. His small size and speed gave him a considerable advantage over our opponent. He takes small bites out of it every time it lunges past him. Slowly but surely, the bug is bleeding out. Vanta seems content just to wait it out. After a couple of intense minutes, in which I hid off to the side, the monster collapsed.
“Vanta, the fight isn’t over yet. The dungeon we’re in makes things come back as mindless undead. Stay on guard and get ready.”
*Fight.Over.Safe*
*Live.Dead.Still?*
The bug started stirring, but Vanta was ready for it. He jumped on top of it and tore into its face. It dropped back down to the ground as the blue screen popped up.
Your Familiar has defeated: level 5 Acidic Mutant Centipede. Experience awarded!
You have unspent stat points available!
*Vanta.Protect.Safe*
“Vanta, that was fucking awesome. You’re pretty strong, aren’t ya? I’m going to distribute my stat points, and then we’ll see if I can raise this thing,” I said, motioning towards the dead creature.
My lack of mana is why Vanta had to fight alone, so I need to sure up that weakness. I placed nine points into my Intelligence to make it an even twenty and put the remaining seven into Resolve. My mana pool instantly tripled, and my regen was almost doubled. I could cast Curse-Pain and even Curse-Fear now. I feel the excitement building in me as I look down at the corpse. It's weird how the system puts the knowledge of how to cast each spell directly into my brain. I can feel my mana churn in my core as I cast Create Undead. My mana feels different; denser, thicker, more potent. Now there is a certainty that it lacked from before The Void Empress awakened my affinity. It has a comforting coldness, a flavor of finality, that comes with the end of life. It is death, and death comes for everyone.