Seated on his thrones of bones, Kuk, the god of Darkness and of the Abyss was releasing his consciousness in his territory. Lately, some disturbance had made some waves, misplacing the order currently in place.
He was curious, who would come here to make trouble for him, another god or one of his Plasma level creatures that thought he could be released from his powerful grip? He knew it was highly unlikely for a god to come here, there wasn't really anything interesting for them here, and this planet had long been deserted by Energy level life form. It was not sturdy enough to accommodate too many gods. There were just gods like him, ancient being cursed who couldn't come out or some others who choose a life of peace and wandering.
He knows three Plasma level creatures under him could at any moment open the Door to the Energy level but they were waiting for his death to come, for their curse to end with him. "Well, I won't be able to satisfy your desire, an Energy level being can't die easily, if it can..."
Catching the origin of the disturbance, he startled, surprised. "How come this tiny thing can actually be on an equal footing with one of my Liquid level creature without even having passed the Origin threshold ???" The scene in his mind was incomprehensible for him, having no sense at all.
Observing with great care in the minute details, he soon came to a shocking conclusion. "This mortal can actually fuse with my Darkness Emanation? How is it possible for such things to be possible, even a god would be reduced to ash absorbing my own Emanation! And he used it in such a vulgar way, wasting nearly all of its potential!"
Shocked, Kuk had to get up from his throne with a quick motion. A kind of incredulity could be seen in his powerful and mysterious dark gaze. "Is it a creature from ancient times? It seemed not, I can feel its age, it should be around fifteen or so years, literally a pup! How come? How come... "
Feeling he needed to see it from closer, he directly appear next to it, easily bypassing matters in his Energy form. Appearing above the fight, he looked, interested in what was happening.
The little one was fighting madly, dodging, turning, running around an Exspiravit of the first Transition in the Liquid level. He didn't touch the creature for it was a kind of specter with razor teeth and sharp nails, a kind inherently difficult to deal with even at the same level.
Clawing the creature with all its strength, it didn't even manage to land a blow, the claw passing through the ethereal body as if nothing happened. Visibly trying something, during a short moment he seems to concentrate.
"Oh, interesting, he is using my Darkness Emanation, shaping it with his own Emanation, the process is interesting, kind of similar to the Humi species. Could it be one of these inherently intelligent species? He is similar in stature and in the composition of his body but is really far from it. It should be a remote offspring of this species, crossed with a lot of others... "
Remembering the prideful Humis, he sighs, regretting their mysterious disappearance. He was not powerful enough to be in the secret of their disappearance, but he knows it was something shameful, carefully planned.
"It's a shame, this species was quite amazing, achieving great discovery in The Abraxas! He didn't seem to have inherited any of their knowledge. He doesn't know what to do with my Emanation after willing it with his mind and let it dis-construct herself, imposing little damage to his enemies..."
A big explosion occurred, sweeping away the specter which seems to wince for the first time under the damage. The tiny Humi like being seems surprised to see his opponent still alive after his attack but strangely he seems interested and taking joy with it.
Neither of them seems to feel that a powerful being was watching them with curious dark eyes, analyzing their fights.
"Tch seems that Humis were crossed over with a warring creature, like some kind of Bellum species, a shame really to see such a bloodthirsty gaze in the offspring of peaceful and knowledgeable species. Wait, there is some kind of weird thing besides in his eyes..."
Watching silently and pondering, the god of this abyss was the spectator of an ending fight. After a few detonations, the Exspiravit was beginning to dissipate, its ethereal form slowly taking the shape of a few bones falling on the floor. The one responsible for its death sat on the soil, gasping for airs, obviously exhausted by this fight.
"He obviously consumes a lot of my creature to have this much green blood in his body, much more even than ancient creature I bred a long time ago. Is the Emerald stone special for this being?"
He knew where came from this incredible life force present in his creature. It was a stone-like material, emerald in colors, that was present only in this canyon. He briefly explored other planets when he was at his peak and never before he saw such a stone. But in the myriad of treasures present in the vast universe, it was not particularly noticeable.
When bored in this abyss he experiments and formed a long time ago a group of creatures able to consume this stone and slowly refining it incrementally as the food chains make its wonderful work.
Many years ago he tried to use this powerful life force, to no avail aside from empowering a little his creature. He let this experiment goes on in own little way, not caring for it anymore. Now somehow, his interest was piqued again.
"But it seems to react differently in this person, allowing him to used much more power than he could normally manage, even enabling him to use my own Emanation... What is this thing really, could it be a great treasure, how come I didn't feel anything? But I can't see where his great power could come if not of this..."
Thinking for a bit, he decided to wait for this person to refine more of it, to see what it could do and if something would appear after.
" I don't think I could use it for me, but I'm really curious, I will help this warring little being refine it quicker by letting my creatures come after him without any stop, he wouldn't lose his time anymore searching for them... You are lucky to have encountered a generous god like me and not some destructive god, like Agni or Gabija! I will be waiting for your good news, See you later strange little being !"
Disappearing as he arrived, he dives at the depth of the Never Canyon, the seventh level to wait, whispering some word quietly.
"If he can make it, it would be a great boon for me! If he can't... Well, who cares?"
__________
Panting on the floor, Alix was remembering his intense fight, a desire to grow stronger than ever could be seen in his bright green shining eyes. His thoughts were a bit muddled but he didn't care anymore. This sensation of having forgotten something had persisted for a long time now that he didn't try to pry it open anymore now that he was on the fourth level.
Another month had passed since his departure from the second level, he quickly killed a good number of creatures in the third, descending in the fourth a week ago.
"I knew it! I knew there was another creature besides the Big Eyes, Bulkys and Spikys... This one should be named the Spooky! It seems quite suiting for this strange creature. Fortunately, I have my Darkness card to play, if not I would be finished. It seems like this level will be exhilarating. Time to see what I could eat in this strange things !"
Fives bones emanating a green aura where misplaced where the Spooky died. They looked a little crude but Alix didn't even hesitate, taking one in his hand and trying to eat it.
"CLANK"
"CRUNCH"
With two bites, he destroyed the solid exterior of it, making it explode in his mouth with the second. Sharp shard planted themselves in his palate but he didn't mind it, continuing to eat it without care. A good ten minutes was all he needed to fully consume one of this bone.
A powerful sensation gripped his heart as the food transformed in liquid in his stomach, streaming in his body as soon as liberated. The Spikys life force seems tiny like between the Big Eyes and the Spiky. It was an altogether class of life force. He could actually feel his body being slowly refined, expelling impurities, rearranging misplaced muscle fibers or healing ancient trauma.
It was a second rebirth, the first one being the first time he eats the Big Eyes meat. Here he could feel the extraordinary capacities of his new body, stronger, quicker, more resisting, healing faster, able to consume large volumes of energy.
As he thought about it, a powerful suction force appear, absorbing the Darkness Emanation around him, clearing the tunnel of it. The Darkness appear to fall in a hole without any bottom when entering his body, nurturing his cells as the life force but with a much slower ability.
"Time to quickly explore this fourth level. Even if it is like a hundred more concentrated in Darkness Emanation than on the first level, I appear to not need much time to clear it of it! Fortunately, the following level should be much more concentrate! "
Adjusting his breath, he began to run to his heart content but just as he was passing a turn, ten Spikys seems to follow him at the same pace. Not too far from his position, enormous Bulkys were also slowly assembling, covering for the movement of hundred of Big Eyes running around in chaotic movement. Five Spooky could even be seen converging in its direction. These creatures where just a tiny portion of the fourth level mobilizing.
Noticing the ten Spikys, Alix didn't even hesitate to engage, a claw in his left hand, his fist ready in his right. With powerful motion in jumped like an enraged beast on them, bloodthirst appearing around him in a powerful dark red halo. It was quickly suppressed by its green blood but as it happens, the Darkness Emanation chose this moment to stir in him making fall the previous status quo between it and the green blood.
Alix didn't notice it, occupied to fight, hit and kill. Darkness and Blood aura slowly surrounded him, flaring up when enough of it has been released, making his features disappear in a cloud of dark red smoke,, the last part of his lucidity slowly crumbling apart.
It was like a flame was blown out in his mind, his thought process disappearing, falling in the corner of his mind where nothing could destroy it, the memory center of its stronger memories.
Here, surrounded by pictures of his closed friends, the villagers, the Elder, his peaceful time making pranks, he was protected, unable to understand the situation, but not able to do something even if he did, like a carefree child with his toys, cut from his surrounding. A powerful greenish shield was protecting these memories from being erased with time, slowly revolving around it, like a small green oasis in the desert of Blood and Dark smoke of his mind.
His body acted alone, directed by his powerful impulsion of wanting to be stronger, killing abyss creature one after the other, making his reddish dark aura grow stronger and stronger, absorbing the Darkness Emanation and the Blood Emanation around him, destroying everything that came before him, consuming it even before its death.
He walked aimlessly in theses incredibly long tunnels, killing, growing stronger, killing more, eating, and slowly he was going down the different level of this maze-like abyss.