It started as a tingle in the pit of his stomache that spread out slowly through his body, not unlike a balloon inflating within him. He could feel it pass through every fiber of his being, enveloping muscle, organ, bone, and deeper. Much, much deeper. The only rational though was that this feeling was now filling his soul, and that's when the pain began.
What had started as a tingle was now burning fiercely inside of him. He bit his lip hard, trying his best not to scream, sweet pouring down his face and body as his body temperature rose rapidly. Never in his life had experienced pain like this, and this was a GAME?!?! If he made it out of this experience alive, he'd have to have words with the development team who had created this game, he thought through grit teeth.
The pain had heightened forcing a animalistic scream from his throat. At that moment he barely caught a glimpse of movement in the shadows. All around him the shadows themselves seemed to come alive and move of their own accord. Dancing and shifting, lunging and jumping, moving ever closer to his body.
New found pain coursed through Zalin's body and mind, forcing his eyes closed and his teeth to clench. He could feel the shadows engulfing him, devouring him, crawling over his skin. It was enough to send shivers through his body. A cooling sensation washed over his body, the pain vanishing as quickly as it had assaulted him. He felt different.
Zalin opened his eyes and surveyed the space he was in. The shadows were no more, and the space was very dimly lit, as if glowing. He was positioned on his hands and knees dead center of what appeared to be some kind of ancient temple of worship. Pillars of nightmare black marble lined the room on either side of him, leading to a tall marble statue of the same coloring. There was an engraved plate at the base of the statue, though from this distance he could not see the words.
"Come to me," an ancient male voice whispered.
He was going to ask who it was the called to him, but deep down inside he had already known the answer, his eyes lifted to meet the statues gaze.
"Stand and come to me, Zalin of the Shadows," the statue spoke again in a gentle but commanding voice.
It was only after hearing the voice tell him to stand that Zalin realized the overwhelming pressure in the room had lifted. It was more than that though, it was if he, himself, had become almost weightless. He tried to stand, but his body didn't cooperate. He couldn't physically use it, but he needed to get to that statue. His eyes lifted and focused on the engraved plate at the base of the statue. He saw himself standing there in his mind, and felt a tingle inside of him again.
His body seemed to react to his thoughts and shot out like a shadow, flying across the room low to the floor. He was standing before the statue, exactly the way he had pictured it, within moments of actually having the thought. It felt unnatural, but at the same time the most natural thing he has ever experienced. He glanced down at the engraved words.
"Heir to the Shadows, lift your eyes and offer your Existence as a willing Sacrifice to the Shadows. Only then can you obtain the true Power of Shadows left by the Creator and given to the Celestials. The Deity of Shadows awaits your decision."
"I offer myself as a willing Sacrifice to the Shadows," his eyes lifted to meet the unfaltering gaze of the statue. "Grant me the true Power of the Shadows.". He kept staring, but nothing happened. Well, that was aggravating, he thought to himself. I went through all that for...
His thought process was cut off short. The eyes staring back at him from the statue had began to glow red, shadows as black as nightmares appeared around the statue forming what appeared to be a semi-solid aura. The statue lifted his arm and pointed his finger at Zalin's chest. A blast of shadows shot from the tip of his finger and into him.
"Heir of Shadows, return to the World of the Living, Alrisia awaits you...."
The world faded to black once again, but this time words flashed in the air in front of him.
300 experience gained
50 copper obtained
Zalin has gained a level
Zalin is now level 2
+10 to all Stats
600 experience needed to level up
Shadowform has gained a level
Shadowform is now level 2
5 uses left to level up
Cool down time has dropped by 2 minutes
Current cool down time is 18 minutes.
The words faded, the world around spun and twisted. He felt the, now, familiar feeling of unconsciousness coming upon him and allowed himself to drift into it this time, his thoughts fading as he wondered where he would wake up next in this I'll begotten world.