Author's Note : Beginning with this chapter, Reader's Interactivity will be included (yay!).
Reader's Interactivity 101 :-
Allow me to make this clear. My version of Reader's Interactivity is quite different, well, maybe not so different from the general "I give u poll u vote and that is reader interactivity" stuff.
At times, when the Main Character decides to perform something, perhaps a simple one, or a complex one that would change the story, instead of deciding it myself, I will hand over that power, to you readers :).
Choice may increase or decrease depending on the situation, and they will ALWAYS come within tables to ensure that it pleases the readers' eye. The thoughts of the Main Character also change within each choice, so read up before you make any decisions, for that decisions will decide the flow of the story!
Even so, happy reading! :)
Psst... please do comment. My reader's words are the oil to my fire!
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Chapter 1 – I escape, therefore I am free
My hands crafted from the fabrics of illusion proceeded toward the light orb. A finger at a time, I laid every single one I had upon the orb, slowly grasping its everything into the palm of my own hands. Together, they resonated, producing a combination of beauty from the light showering upon the surrounding of the cave, sending the darkness to cower into the nothingness.
So beautiful… and… sad. Despite the outer shell of this orb displaying its magnificent beauty, deep within its own core are the sins of its controller. I can see it… violating countless innocent women of the… humans, killing thousands of men and children, robbing the weak and torturing them… these crimes are so heavy that only death could be the hammer of repentance for this goblin.
I pity you… little orb… to be possessed by such vile creature… I truly pity you.
However, as I feel remorse for the fate of the little orb, I felt a sudden pain deep within the boundary of my mind.
This soul has suffered. This soul has cried. It seeks help from someone, someone who could put an end to its existence. As dark as its core could be, its plea is as bright as the sun. It deserves its help, to put an end to its misery.
As the strange voice became louder, an unknown sensation swelled up within me. The sensation twists and spun, and within my imagination, it was as if it had a mouth, jagged with teeth far sharper than any blade in the world, and that very sensation was climbing out of me.
I… I feel hunger. I feel the need… to devour. This soul… seems… fulfilling. Eat. Devour. Assimilate. Absorb.
And without an ounce of a warning, a void opens by itself within me. An anguish howl vibrated from it, as if the void wasn’t a part of me to begin with. Just… what am I? The void… it was pitch black, spiraling endlessly as fast as I could see. Like the imagination I had, it resembled this void, jagged teeth with its skittering black aura, and the endless space encaged deep within.
Unable to resist the force equivalent to a black hole, the orb, the soul, gave up on its futile effort to resist, and its very network web that kept the soul together, began disintegrating into million pieces of mana. What was once intricate and complex combination of life to create a soul, was no more but mana once more.
As the disintegrated soul pieces races its way into the void of my being, I still wonder at this time. Should I be sad, due to the fact I just had obliterated a life, or should I be glad, for I have saved it from its misery? But… by doing this, I have saved a thousand souls more, thus, I should be glad I was able to do it. Perhaps, I… should do it more often.
Soon enough, the last piece of the remaining soul disappeared into the darkness within the void. The void then perishes into nothingness, as if it wasn’t there In the first place.
The goblin, possessor of the soul I had just absorbed had been standing motionless ever since I took grasp of its soul. After absorbing it, the goblin went limp and fell on the ground like a ragdoll, its dying golden eyes now a grey color, just like that of a dead fish.
After devouring… absorbing the soul, I could sense that my strength was rising. I didn’t know what and how exactly it would affect me, but perhaps, it was a good thing. Nevertheless, that doesn’t change the fact that I have to kill a life to become stronger.
However… if it’s these goblins…
…Huh…?
I… I feel… tired….
I… feel… sleepy…
…
..
.
Uh… hmm?
I open my eyes… and before me, was a place far different from where I had been. Instead of being dark and gloomy cave, it was an altar surrounded by five different statues. Each held a different type of weapon, and their eyes were blank stone. What is this place, and where am I?
Could this perhaps be… a dream?
“Exinus!” a voice echoes from the entrance.
At the entrance that led up to the altar with the stony path, came forward a boy that exuded a bright blue aura, and his body was… transparent. Following after him was five peoples, three men and two women, each faces identical to the statue before these six. Only the boy did not have a statue of his own.
“Exinus, stop! Listen to us!” a man, adorned by glimmering platinum armor halted his chase towards the boy and held his palm forward. The rest of the four behind him also ceased their movements.
“There is no stopping me, Lucio. My time has come, and my duty is done,” said the boy as he stood on the altar, facing down toward the five on the ground. His sword radiated a blue faint light, and then it disintegrates into nothingness.
“Wait a minute, Exi. I know, that because of us five, the world have been saved and became peaceful once more. But, without you, we are powerless. Even the five of us cannot beat you in term of… anything, at all!” said another man shrouded in white robe. His long ears protruded in his hood. An elf, it seems.
“Oh Deldrich, it seems that being an elf doesn’t make your intelligence any difference. You see…” –Exinus waves his hand on accord from the left to the right on the five statues, “my task is to unite all five of you, each different race to make each of you overcome that difference, so that all five you will be able to save the world in its crisis moments. And to this day, that is what all of you have achieved. As such, my task here, is done.”
“But! What if the world falls into a chaotic state once more and each of us are incapable of defending it? Won’t the world as we know it collapse, without your presence?” shouted a woman, her choice of outfit a little revealing with only a strip of leather covering her chest, and the skirt barely hiding her hips.
The boy threw them a weak smile.”Then… once more, I shall appear within the world. I may not be here, but I will emerge, somewhere.”
A circle appears on the altar, emanating an oppressive barrier that prevents the five from entering the altar. Slowly, the body of the boy began to perish, starting from his foot, and climbing up towards his head. The five could do nothing but to watch as Exinus disappears from their view. Their face clearly shows rejection, but how could they intervene now?
Exinus’s body could no longer be seen physically, but his voice echoes within the altar. “Children of the substance world, I entrust the safety of the world, of the kingdoms, of all the livings within this dimension in your hands. Protect them; help them, like the way I have done the same for each of you. Shall fate deem necessary, we will meet again. Be it… as an ally… or enemy…”
…
..
.
What… what just happened? That… transparent boy, the five before him… and that… altar. What is the meaning of this dream? Perhaps it a sign, for something that will happen in the future, or something that has happened in the past. Either way, it’s a vital piece of puzzle, and remembering it I should do, till the remaining pieces are assembled together.
After wandering within the dream I myself did not know, I have returned to the previous place, the dark cave with the goblin of whose soul I had absorbed. However, I noticed a difference in the surrounding. Instead of being full pitch black, a dim light shines upon the cave around me. I could see exactly, the brittleness of the floor, the wet and black ceiling of the caves, and so on.
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Wait a minute… am I exuding light?
Curious for answers, I hovered beside the dead goblin, and as I expected, the darkness that infested its face instantly scurried away as I came close. So, it’s true. I became a floating orb of light, I guess. Somehow, it doesn’t feel so good, because this probably means I’m visible to everyone, in the dark especially.
Before anything… I should escape this cave.
In haste, I zoomed away at the speed of a bat. The complex arrangement of the caves tunnel are very confusing, as taking a path will lead to another, that leads to yet two other paths, of which one would return me to the original point. And going to the second path would probably get me another three tunnels, which breaks down into six more tunnels individually, and each would lead to more tunnels.
My head hurts.
Before that… I have realized how there are almost little to no presence of goblins here at all. Considering that I came across one of them, it should have been natural that this cave should be crawling with them, and yet, there are not even a sign of any other monsters at all. Complex tunnel systems… absence of monsters…
Ah! Could this place be a dungeon? That would make sense.
As I recall, a dungeon is also a place where humans and other… more civilized humanoid beings will venture into, and kill all of the monsters residing within. And… monsters should also reappear after a set time of being. I do not know how the system of these monster creation works in dungeon, maybe some sort of necromancy and so on, but for now, that should not be my priority to discover.
Since I am now visible to the eyes of the living, I should ensure that I exit this dungeon before being spotted by anyone. Perhaps monsters are fine, since I can somehow… ‘kill’ them, but humans? No, they are not a being that I should lay my hands on. At least, not all of them.
With that in my mind, I sped up and began travelling through every possible selection of tunnels within the dungeon. Memorizing every single of them were simple, as a look was all I require to store the information deep within myself. Alongside other memories that are simply… blanked out.
Along the way, I had stumbled upon some monsters that were coming out once more in the dungeon, but as I was travelling at the speed faster than a bat, I was able to escape their detection easily. Killing would have been a method applicable in this situation, but I did not want to rely too much on it. Plus, I haven’t learned of how much vulnerable am I just yet, in this exposed state.
And so… some time passed by.
This is… odd. I have explored the entire dungeon, up until the very locations of every treasure room adorned with deadly traps and so on. Even so… the exit is nowhere to be found. Is there some sort of method that I must use to escape this forsaken place? Or am I doomed to be trapped in here forever?
No, I shouldn’t give up.
As I took one last round of the day –if it still could be counted as a day that is, I came close to a point where mana irregularity was most concentrated at.
Everything within this world are composed of mana, even up to the force that made up the very existence of souls. In other word, souls are simply a combination of much more complex mana, so complex it possess a personality of its own.
Mana irregularity, as mentioned, are a phenomena where the mana composition within a point has been tampered with, causing instability to its arrangement. Of course, in the view of a normal person, something that has been affected with mana irregularity only slightly, would have no change in term of appearance.
However, if it has been severely affected, it could cause even the worse of effects, such as… turning humans into monsters. Nonetheless, since mana irregularity was a common thing within this dungeon, I became so accustomed with them that I no longer care for its presence. And so, as I flew away from the point of mana irregularity, the wall where it had resided, suddenly perished away.
And there I could see it, adventurers of various races, ages and genders, came walking in, each expectant of their gain for the day. I see! The people of the living have quite the mind, making use of mana to cloak the presence of the exit from the knowledge of the monsters residing within. I can’t believe I haven’t think of that.
Well… time to say good bye to this dungeon.
Without wasting time any longer, I flew towards the adventurers without any feeling of fear. They can’t possibly capture me in this speed, after all.
As I zoomed past by the adventurers, one of them spoke, “Huh? Did I just see something fly out?”
I traveled away for a distance, their voices becoming hazy. “Probably… you…”
No matter. They should forget about the unexpected meeting soon enough.
As I hover upon the open sky of the outside world, I took a moment to appreciate the beauty of the nature before me. It has been… quite long since I first awakened inside that place, after all. The green forest dancing by the instruction of the calm breeze, shining their aura of peace and tranquility. The sun, raining its ray of light upon the busy ground of the living, and also cloaking my presence away from them.
Ah… I like this world.
But… me awakening here, as a mysterious being, does it perhaps… signify something? I should learn why am I here, what am I and perhaps… soon enough… to discover my true self. Even so… how should I start, I wonder?
[ Choice 1 ]
Absorb souls to strengthen myself first
I... I am weak. To be frank, I do not know how long will I survive in this harsh world of the living. Even when I first met the goblin, I was just lucky that I had minor mana that made me an astral existence. But since I have become physical, and can probably be injured, absorbing souls from monsters should be a good idea. After all, the best defense is a good offense.
Time to begin hunting.
[ Choice 2 ]
Locate the nearest village and request assistance from the villagers I... I am alone. As a solitary, mysterious being in this world, I lack the ally needed to be on my side. Considering that my journey will become harsh, a few allies up on my sleeves shouldn't be a bad idea. Not to mention, I'll be able to tap into local rumors and information and hopefully, learn more about myself. Along the way... maybe, just maybe... I can eliminate ill-natured villagers, the fox that hides among the sheep.
Lend me your help, humans.
[ Choice 3 ]
Return to the adventurers and seek their assistance
I... I am doubtful. In this world where humans turn upon each other, placing my trusts on them doesn't seem like it will end well. Of course, I may be able to see the true nature of humans through their soul, but what if their lies roots within them, so deep that it shrouds the true color of their souls? As such, adventurers like the recent ones I have met, are the one I should trust for now. Why? Because they fight for their life, trusts their life on each other, and protect each other from death. Maybe even protect me.
That is what I call a bond.
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Be sure to vote after you have done reading!
The poll will last for 2 days, but if the major decision has been made, I will begin on working on the next chapter as soon as possible!
Edit : The majority has decided to pick choice 1 and seem unlikely to be beaten. As such, I have decided to close the poll early as opposed to my statement.
Thank you for reading, and voting if you did! :)
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