Domison felt as though he was floating and for some reason, he couldn't feel the pain that he was sure he should be in. The lack of feeling should have alarmed him, after all, he was pretty sure he was right next to the explosion. There was an explosion, right? He couldn't seem to center his thoughts, but blurry memories started to surface from the depths of his mind. He had been burning alive, he should be in complete agony now, and… Something had been speaking to him.
Domison abruptly opened his eyes, remembering the primordial voice that rang through his mind. At least he thought he opened them, but there was nothing to be seen. Just a black void ranging out in every direction. He could see pricks of light in the distance, like pinpricks in fabric. It was so dark that he couldn't even make out his own body, or his hands waving about in front of his face. The only indication that he did have hands was that when they passed in front of his face, the small pricks of light in the distance disappeared.
In that moment of frantic hand flapping he felt a presence, 'Oh, finally awake are you?'. This voice was different, not ancient and reverberating or carrying an intrinsic truth. Instead, it was slightly nasally and it felt like slimy seaweed running across his brain as it filled his mind. It reminded him of the alley merchants of Old Town, their tech too counterfeit to make it into the Twilight Market. Domison wanted to be surprised but everything felt so muted. His emotions were dull as he floated away in the void of darkness.
'With the initiation of the Omnicrux System, the master has chosen you. He wishes to keep you unsoiled and... how should I put this? Hmmm... He has decided to sponsor you.'
As the voice continued in Domison's mind, a figure began to resolve in front of his floating form. It looked almost like a little imp. A small body with jet-black skin surrounded in a faint white glow, as though it was outlined in white ink. Beady red eyes peered below a slightly tipped gentleman's top hat that was supported by sharply pointed ears. Besides the outline and eyes, the only thing standing out from the deep ebony skin was a bright, stretching smile filled in with razor-sharp teeth.
'In that little facility you were trying oh so hard to do away with, was a piece of my master. To keep it simple we can say it was akin to a piece of shed skin. Luckily, because of your closeness to a piece of the Abyss, the master was able to connect with you, if only for a short time.'
Domison still felt somehow disconnected, he didn't know where he was or why his body felt so numb. He should be freaking out and feeling his sanity slip, but instead, there was just a pervasive feeling of nothing. As Domison was taking a look inward the little imp floated closer, trying to meet his eyes.
'Well, no matter. Even if you don't understand now, you will.' The imp's smile seemed to grow larger then, its lips stretching unnaturally. It donned a feverish, predatory mannerism. 'Your training will begin, immediately.'
The words had barely registered in Domison's mind when the numb disconnection he had been experiencing suddenly disappeared and was replaced by an unbearable pressure squeezing down from every possible angle. He could feel frost starting to grow upon his skin and a scream ripped from between his lips. For some reason though, he couldn't hear his own wailing even though he could physically feel his windpipe tearing with the force of his bellowing.
'What better way to train your new abyssal body than by subjecting you to the void of space hmm..?' the little imp giggled and danced upon the empty void. It hit Domison then and his head whipped in every direction while he felt the air being torn from his lungs. Finally, he saw it, the pinpricks of light far off into the distance were dimly twinkling. They were so far he could barely make it out, but after several moments he realized, it was the twinkling of stars.
He barely had the mental capacity to come to that resolution before the pain wormed its way past his self-control and his clawed hands began digging away at the flesh of his face. Instead of making light furrows, his skin began to crack away as it was freezing over completely. Vapor was pouring off his skin and every part of his body felt like it was expanding to several times its original size. Nothing in his life had compared to the agony he was feeling, not the explosion, not the punishments at the auction house. Nothing.
He could feel joints tearing and skin splitting or shattering dependent on the level of frost accumulated. His eyes were just glassy frozen orbs at this point and Domison could feel his eyelids frozen to them in a surprised expression. This kept him from even squeezing his eyes shut against the pain. He was going to die and he could feel it. There was no way that even the best doctors on Terra would be able to revert him to his original form. He knew that if he got out of this at all, everything would need to be replaced. Tears began to freeze against his open eyes, causing another layer of ice to build up and obstruct his vision.
Moments before Domison's sanity slipped, his body stopped flailing and the frayed edges of his mind collapsed inwards on itself, the little imp spoke again. 'Do not worry young master... Neither I, nor your Abyssal body will not allow you to die. Your healing at first will be... slow, but that is why we must train. Once you can resist the influence of the void, and we can have a simple conversation it will be time for the next step. So for now just.... enjoy...' it whispered those last words into Domison's mind like it was trying to soothe a petulant child.
Domison didn't think he could hold on much longer. The pain was immense and all-consuming. He could feel his very sense of self starting to unravel at the seams and all he could do was flop his body in the silence of the void while everything else faded away. His flailing continued until the shadow enveloping his soul was as dark as the void surrounding him.