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Through the Abyss
Chapter 1: Awakening

Chapter 1: Awakening

Through the Abyss

Chapter 1: Awakening.

He woke up slowly, his mind trying to sort through its confusion. He couldn't form anything approaching coherent thought, but this somehow didn't feel like a typical wake-up. The rough rock beneath him certainly wasn't his bed. Then where the hell was he? Shaking himself awake, he got up off the ground and looked around. 

His breath caught in his throat. The only thing around was the same dark rock stretching as far as he could see. There was a hazy mountain in the distance, but other than that it was totally flat. He could somehow see as if there was omnipresent lighting over the whole place. However, there was a faint haze in the air that made far-away things like the mountain darkened and hard to see. The sky was also completely black with not a star to be seen or a faint glow of light pollution. Which made sense, considering anything up there would also be affected by the haze... 

Why was he applying logic to this... place? Why was he even here? Was he dreaming? It certainly didn't feel like he was asleep. Was he dead? Oh god, was this hell? Nah, he never did anything that bad. I mean, if one of the religions that said 'follow us or you'll go to hell' were actually right... Nah, no chance. 

Well, there wasn't much he could do about that, so... No, he wasn't just going to ignore the question of how he got here! He thought back to the last thing he could remember. Huh. He just couldn't remember anything as being the 'last' thing. Wait, he couldn't remember the end of his conversation with Kyle, and nothing after that either. 

So, he had figured out when he disappeared from Earth. Well, what else? His name was Trent. He was 19 years old. He was- why was he forcing himself to go over memories? It was pretty clear nothing was missing besides the sudden cut-off of his memories with no sign that anything was amiss before that. 

Now that he had confirmed all that and centered himself, it was time to think about where he was now. 

It was very possible (within the context that this was all equally impossible) that he had been isekaied. But that wouldn't be all that good. He was perfectly capable of recognizing this place as some sort of demon plane, which isn't the ideal place to suddenly be transmigrated to. 

It was still vaguely possible that he wasn't in deep shit. He could be in a simulation, and he would soon wake up to a nice facility with food and running water. That would explain his memory cut-off if it was being blocked. But that was wishful thinking, and he couldn't rely on it being the case. In which case... 

He had to find food, survive whatever hostile things were around, and somehow make it out of what might well be a dimension. All without running water, human interaction, or even his phone. Which was another odd thing. He was wearing his normal clothes, but his phone—which he knew had been in his pocket--was missing. Pretty much confirming that some sort of intelligent being was involved in his predicament. 

Of course, that is pretty much the worst-case scenario. But pessimism is an important human survival instinct. So, he would hope for the best but prepare for the worst. 

Speaking of hopes... "Status!" Trent spoke, his voice a little hoarse. And low and behold, a screen appeared in front of him. 

Name: Trent

Species: Human

Lv: 1

Affinity: Abyss

Sub-affinity: Opposition

Stats: 

Physical: 

Vitality: 3

Endurance: 3

Strength: 3

Agility: 3

Mind: 3

Perception: 3

Magical: 

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Capacity: 0

Regen: 0

Power: 0

Control: 0

Connection: 0

Perception: 0

Skills: Voiding

...Well, that was a lot of different stats. It probably wasn't a good idea to make assumptions about his situation based on tropes, but this was looking more and more like a 'He fights through hell for a thousand years and becomes the strongest' story. And while the end result seems fun, that relies on him being sane by the end of it. And not dying, which is probably harder than it would be in stories. 

Let’s break it down. His affinity was the most obvious standout. An Affinity of Abyss could have been gained in whatever process brought him here, or maybe the 'system' that gave him his status selected his Affinity based on where it first detected him, which would be... this place. Hell. The Abyss. Or maybe this isn't the Abyss and the Affinity is a coincidence... whatever. 

The other possibility is that his Affinity was always there on Earth--there was no indication that this Affinity would have had any obvious effects--and it caused whatever cosmic event that sent him here. It was a classic chicken or egg scenario. 

His Sub-affinity made a bit more sense. Trent had a mild version of O.D.D., so being classified as oppositional wasn't a surprise. It did imply that he was similarly fitted by the Abyss Affinity, which was a bit concerning. He was interested in what these Affinities would give him in terms of power, but that could wait for later. 

His stats were a bit weird. The low number in the physical stats implied that baseline human was extremely weak for whatever the system's benchmark was. It could also be that the stats were a magical enhancement of his normal capabilities, that were added by the system or would be added in the future. That would explain the uniform numbers, although it could also be that the differences in his abilities weren't large enough for it to any of them change from a 3. 

The magical stats were even less of a good sign. Unless it was possible for these stats to go into negatives, he had the worst magical abilities possible. That didn't bode well for his chances of survival. 

There was always the chance that all humans started out like this and increased those stats via levels, but again, prepare for the worst. Literally any other stat line would be better, after all. 

With all the doom and gloom out of the way, he could finally look at the most hopeful part of his status: the Skill. He focused on it and a description appeared. 

Skill Name: Voiding

Nullify and void the very foundation of existence. Decreases the strength, quantity, and connection of all mana in the target area. The more active the mana, the more it is affected. Can be used in a spherical area around the caster to decrease the power of all external spells, magical abilities, and magical Skills that pass through or are cast from the zone. Can also be used on contact with a being or object to focus the nullifying power on the target. On an object, this has a higher effect on inactive mana and can weaken or destroy enchantments. On a being, this increases the power of the effect and allows it to affect internal spells, magical abilities, and magical Skills. 

Yes! A broken, overpowered skill that totally turns the genre on its head! He wouldn't have to suffer through a thousand years of hell! Now he just had to hope that he never encountered anything with a physical means of attack! Pfft, what are the chances of that? 

All jokes aside, it seemed like a powerful skill, especially against magical enemies. But could he even use it with no magic? 

Trent concentrated on the idea that Voiding brought to mind. An aura of nothingness that dissolved all magic around him. A sphere where no magic existed--

Wait, did this Skill have something to do with him being from Earth? A place where—as far as he knew—no magic existed? Huh. Maybe that was why his magical stats were garbage. Well, now he really hoped it could be used without magic. Otherwise that would be a cruel joke. 

Shaking away his thoughts, Trent refocused on his skill and mustered up an image in his head. "Voiding." He muttered quietly. There was no sign of anything happening, within or without him. Maybe he just couldn't tell it was active? His magical perception was zero after all. 

He strained mentally, trying to find some sort of trigger. "Voiding!" He yelled. Nothing happened, but he thought he could feel something trying to... come out, for lack of a better word. He tried again, focusing on that feeling. "Voiding!" 

The activation of the Skill was hard to describe. There was a sense of pressure release, as an aura spilled out of him. There was a strain on his focus to even use the Skill. There was the feeling of suppression in the air, but it didn't bother him. After all, he was the one doing suppressing. 

Trent released the Skill after a dozen seconds of use. He didn't feel any more tired, but the Skill definitely took effort to keep active. It was just a matter of focusing on the Skill, and not even that hard. He tested a bit more and found he could keep it up while walking or talking, but using the Skill while walking and talking at the same time was taxing. 

The range of Voiding was about 5 meters, which seemed like plenty for him. Of course, its use still relied on any enemies he fought using magic or being made up of mana. Which could mean everything in the world, or a select few. In fact, this realm could have beings made up of demonic energy instead of mana, or they could all be entirely made out of super-active mana. Well, prepare for the worst. 

All of that said, he was elated on the inside. He had actual magic? Or at least supernatural powers. To him that was a steppingstone. If he could figure out how Voiding worked, then maybe he could gain other skills; maybe even something that worked in physical combat. Heh, he was assuming he would have to fight. Well, if there was nothing to fight there wouldn't be anything to eat. 

The enormity of the situation he was in suddenly came crashing down on him. There was no evidence he would be able to obtain water or food here, and he had no clue where to start on escaping. He basically had to hope that something would randomly happen that would allow him to survive. 

Putting away the useless thoughts for the moment, Trent looked around at the bleak and dark landscape. Now what to do? 

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