Darkness...
That was the very first thing Neo perceived when he finally regained consciousness after staying unconscious for who knows how long.
'What... Urgh... What happened?'
With a soft groan, Neo opened his eye weakly, only to be welcomed by a sharp, assaulting pain in his head the very next second.
The pain was truly piercing, a sensation almost akin to his skull getting drilled and his brain pierced with a very sharp object several times over and over again!
...Even his whole body, every muscle, and bone in his body felt numb and ached, to the point where he wondered whether he was beaten up by hundreds of hammers while he was senseless.
'Death? This is what death feels like?'
Neo mumbled in his heart once he saw that even with one eye open what surrounded him was complete darkness and bone-chilling coldness. The latter was especially harrowing, so much so that it was not an exaggeration to say it was slowly becoming tormenting.
'Curse this! Why is it so cold here! I'm freezing! No one told me the afterlife will be like this!'
Neo grunted agonizingly and wished to look around to see his surroundings, but even before he had the chance something unexpected drew his attention.
[Host awakened!]
[Launching Legacy System...]
Whoosh!
_________________
[Legacy System]
• System Status
• Legacy Status
• Quest Hall
• Artifact Hall [Locked]
• Legacy Hall [Locked]
_________________
Upon seeing the floating holographic panel in his line of sight, Neo frowned deeply and complained.
'Legacy... System? What the hell is that?'
Neo felt confused, but sure enough, the next moment he loosened up and let out a somewhat bitter laugh, sounding almost as if he was ready to cry.
'Great... How splendid! It seems even in my death I am completely out of my mind!'
"Shh... Keep it down! You will wake it up."
With a bit of a surprise, Neo fell silent hearing the familiar voice talking in his head, then he continued to laugh, this time with even more bitter joy.
'Yeah... It seems I truly have! Even in my death, that damned voice is still talking to me! Haha, how lovely!'
The voice, also known as Zen, as that is how he called it. When he was still alive, there were several occasions when it appeared and talked to him, almost like a real person with the only difference that it was only present in his mind.
Yeah, that's right.
A second voice that was not his and talked like it was a different personality of his, one that only he could hear... In his head.
At first, he tried to ignore it, thinking with time it will just go away like a bad disease. But unfortunately, it was the complete opposite of that. Not only didn't it vanish, but the more time passed the more it spoke to him, the more it changed in behavior, and the more it tried to manipulate him.
...Influence his actions, something which it more or less succeeded with as it was because of him that his life became cursed.
And no, not because he has done some crazy stuff like running around naked in public or beating up some kids while laughing like a maniac, making him look like a lunatic in other people's eyes.
Well, there were times when he has done something "similar" to those, but no, nothing like that.
It was because of it, because of Zen, he created something that earned the envy and spite of many, mainly of those with bad reputations.
The Zenith Fluid.
A miraculous liquid that allowed people to feel as if they were on cloud nine while being completely sane. It also granted those who drank it a sort of adrenaline boost with which they could work with 100% focus for several hours straight without experiencing any fatigue once the effects disappeared!
The only downside it had was the heavy addiction it could induce if one consumed too much in a very short span of time.
A heavy addiction that in some cases urged people to become aggressive, cause physical damage to things, or even worse, compel people to kill.
A side effect that once arose at many people more than a few times opened Neo's eyes and resulted in him stopping producing the fluid even though it brought him a great sum of money upon selling it.
The only thing he didn't expect at that time, or to be more precise, didn't foresee, was that people who bought from him in the past would become angry and start to bother him after learning about his decision.
At first, they simply shouted and threatened him, then they started to blackmail him which, as time passed, turned into physical abuse and torture!
...His life literally became a living nightmare!
'Yet, here we are, even after escaping from that pit of hell, I still can't get rid of that damned demon that cursed me.' Neo laughed bitterly.
"Demon... That is a good way to put it. However, now it's not the right time for this. You have to get out of there or you will die, this time for real."
'Huh?'
This time, Neo fell silent for real and scowled.
What the hell did Zen mean he had to escape? Escape from where? He was...
'Wait a second... Since when did it get brighter?'
Neo felt surprised when he saw how the darkness around him at some point in time became thinner, allowing him to discern his surroundings and realize that he was not floating in nothingness but instead was inside a... Cave?
Yeah, he was definitely in a large cave as the ceiling he was staring at was rocky and filled with various crystals.
Not only that, but now that he could see his surroundings with greater clarity, he could even discern how he was lying on a small platform with a nightmarish monstrosity staring right at him from beside.
'So I have not die-, Wait! What!?'