He opened his eyes to a dark expanse. The Abyss. People had described it as many things, but it always took the shape of infinite space. Floating in front of him was a golden paper slip, the shape and size not unlike the one back at the facility.
"That's strange." he thought "What does this mean?" In The Abyss, every person was shown their own unique "relic". It determined how your Genesis would progress and what superhuman abilities you would awaken. He snatched the slip from the air. Before he could examine it, it disintegrated into golden sparks and disappeared, leaving only the black void in front of him.
"What the hell?" He looked around frantically. "Where's the relic?"
A voice called out to him. "When you stare into the abyss, the abyss stares back.." He recoiled in shock. Next to him was a tall, unidentifiable person in a sleek suit. "Quote from Nietzsche. You like it?" The figure grinned, identifiable by the glint of their teeth.
Why was someone else here with him? This was his personal domain, nobody else should have been allowed in.
"They call me Shobatsu, deity of the spiritual connections in the mortal plane. Bow before me so that you may receive my powers." It wasn't a request. His knees crumbled before the being, his head instinctively slamming down beneath himself. The figure snapped their finger and with the blink of an eye, the darkness was cleared, leaving only a blank white space. His head faced the ground, but he could sense the Shobatsu standing before him. A heavy pressure pressed down on his torso as the deity's eyes burned into his back.
"Kenji Nakamura. I don upon you my mortal identity and send you my power. From now on, you answer only to Hitoshi Kami." A momentary surge of energy pumped through his body, like a heart delivering blood. He tried to speak, but his mouth was dry.
"I'll keep in touch." Another snap and the tension in his body released. When he looked up, Shobatsu was gone. He stood up and looked around. Nothing.
"Close Domain" The words shot into his head, a great force behind them.
Before he could react, the ground shifted beneath him, and the expanse disappeared with a flash.
Hitoshi jolted awake, his eyes frantically scanning his surroundings. He was still in the room, strapped to the chair. The woman was there as well, intently watching him. She undid
his straps.
"Follow me." She walked up to a door off the side, gesturing for him to come. It opened with a click. The room was larger, with a paper-covered cot and what looked to be like a large MRI scanner. "We will now assess your experience. Did anything happen out of the ordinary?"
"Someone—" He focused, trying to remember what had happened. "No... something came to see me. A deity."
"That's.. interesting", she mused. "What did they call themself?"
"Shobatsu." And it was the first thing in years that he said with complete certainty. "Their name was Shobatsu, deity of spiritual connections in the mortal plane."
"Mr. Nakamura, please take a seat on the cot"
The name felt unfamiliar to him, as if she was addressing another in the room. He wasn't Nakamura anymore. He was someone else. His name was..
"Kami. My name is Hitoshi Kami now. You can feel it can't you? You must have sensed the change."
Names were sacred in this world, they tethered oneself to the world. Those with detection or clairvoyant type abilities often worked as midwives or practitioners in clinics such as these.
She hesitated for a bit before speaking. "Yes, I can. Lay down please."
He reclined into the bed, the waxy paper crinkling beneath him. She moved the scanner across his face, blocking his vision.
"Close your eyes, please." He obliged. Aside from the beeps and whirs of the machinery, the room became silent. After a half hour, she finally stood up and slid the scanner off of his head.
"I have not obtained any information pertaining to this being, Shobatsu. Your ability, however—" She paused. Her voice had become hoarse. "The machine seems to have deemed it an F-class ability."