Domison's eyes grew wide as he began to sink into the floor while he maintained his cross-legged position. It was a feeling akin to being dipped into a cool swimming pool. The shadows beneath him hugged his form as they drew him into their world and after only a moment, he was fully immersed and the world became monochrome.
It was as though he were a specter floating inside the world and every shape looked like wire sketching in an architectural blueprint. Fixtures of the world stood out as though white paint was drawn across a piece of thick black vellum. As Domison marveled at the new setting around him, a wispy impish form floated into view striking a pose as though lounging on the beach.
'This is the realm of shadows,' the imp said as he did a backward somersault through the air, spreading his arms wide as he tumbled. 'You will become very familiar with this place over the next millennia.' At those words, Domison's attention fell fully on the creature. 'That's right, cultivation is the road to immortality after all. The Abyssal body is the perfect foundation on which to build upon,.' the imp said as it noticed Domison's unspoken surprise.
'But enough of that,' The imp said as it made a showing motion with one of its ghostly hands. 'Do you have any questions before we resume training? And PLEEEASE nothing stupid.' It gazed at Domison expectantly.
'Umm...' the man responded tentatively in his mind, projecting his thoughts outwards. 'What can I call you? I mean, do you have a name of any sort? I'm starting to feel a bit awkward just referring to you as "Imp'' or "creature" in my head.'
The little Imp just stared at Domison for a moment, its Cheshire grin nowhere to be seen for the first time. After several more moments, the creature responded, 'You're serious, aren't you? You have seriously just been referring to me as "IMP'' or "CREATURE" to yourself?' It had an air of incredulity with those last words, as though it expected him to be thinking of it as the "little gentleman". 'My name is Razekel Anetex Rexidan, the progenitor of his line and the one who lies in the shadows! Also, I am not an IMP you dickhead.' Razekel said in a huff, crossing his arms.
'Well that's a bit of a mouthful,' Domison replied, unfazed by the outburst. 'Could I just call you Raze?'
For several more seconds there was only silence, then 'Fine, I can work with that. Like razing a country and slaughtering its tyrants! I'm all for total annihilation after all.' A cheery glimmer returned to Raze's eyes.
'Yeah, sure... Exactly what I was thinking.' Domison replied nonplussed.
Raze grinned to himself for another moment before returning to the subject at hand. 'Let us start with an explanation of this world before we begin your training proper. This is the shadow world. It is connected to the plane of existence you are normally aware of, existing as a parallel dimension of sorts. Think of it as a blanket lying snuggly across the observable world you see on a day-to-day basis. You catch glimpses of this dimension where the light does not reach but here we are fully immersed within it.'
They began moving then, though unintentionally on Domison's part. The man was slightly disconcerted by the way he was being pushed around seemingly against his will. As soon as these thoughts entered his mind though, he drifted to a stop. Raze only followed suit only after he noticed the man's absence directly behind him. This soothed Domison's mind as he came to the conclusion it was some sort of unconscious trust that allowed the shared movement. 'Well I guess this is as good a place as any,' Raze said, gesturing around.
At the wispy form's motion, Domison noticed they had sped to the top of the cavernous hole he had awoken in earlier. The landscape lying in front of him was a black topography, where he could only make out the horizon by the thick, white line that ran along its expanse. Instead of twinkling stars speckling the sky, bloody red orbs glared down from the heavens. They cast no light, only pinpricks in the veil, seemingly observing in disdain. In contrast, the land below was an expanse of white wires that webbed off in an infinite conglomeration of geometric shapes interspersed with the void. Domison thought he could make out the silhouettes of thousands of distended bodies, milling about and doing a myriad of miscellaneous actions along the ground.
'As you can tell, movement and travel are exceedingly more efficient in the shadow world.' Raze spoke again. 'Before we return to your pollution-ridden and rot-filled dimension, however, you will need a weapon.' The shadow beast half-lidded its eyes and looked upon the man in contemplation.
'I'm sure you've noticed the thousands of bodies shifting about out there? That signifies the system has initiated the tutorial. Master halted its advent while we built your foundation, but that seemed to be a double-edged sword. You would have died had he not pulled you into the void of space and infused your body with the Abyss though, so the point is moot. Nevertheless, the system sensed your primordial energy and apparently increased the mana level on your planet significantly.' At Domison's dumbstruck look at the mention of mana, Raze blinked slowly several times.
'You don't know what mana is? The building blocks of magic and the energy that acts as the framing of the universe? Well I guess that might make sense, I had just assumed there must be some fantastical stories of magic and it must have been explained as being powered by something. Causality typically keeps certain aspects the same across the multiverse, things like the names of important building blocks of the universe hence, mana. Also... The Omnicrux seems to have merged your world with a completely rotten planet, which I would guess is where the additional energy came from.' Raze stopped for a moment, making sure Domison was absorbing everything.
The man was shaking his head, scowling slightly. 'I've heard of mana, you ass, this is just a lot to take in alright? I just got back from deep space and you told me I'm on the path to immortality earlier. My only prospects a little while ago were bringing down a mega-corporation through espionage and well-placed improvised explosives. Can I have 2 seconds to process my emotions 'The shadowling inclined its fedora-rimmed head waiting a few moments in silence.
Those measly seconds were enough to mollify Domison and after a deep breath, he gestured for the progenitor to continue. 'Those things out there are called Naxkrupe. They typically have long scythe-like arms that can propel them forward at quite impressive speeds. Although their forms can differ based upon many factors, they will only appear in environments that are completely saturated in the energy with sentient lifeforms present. Non-sentient creatures just become more horrifying monstrosities. This is because both are a product of complete mana poisoning.'
Raze shook his head slightly with this last proclamation. 'Many beings are unable to process mana in such high concentrations and become corrupted. The process begins in the mind before the body follows suit. It takes decades if not longer, which is why I came to the conclusion the system merged your planet with another doomed by mana overexposure. It couldn't integrate a planet with any sentient life remaining, after all, this is still just the tutorial, no sentient outsiders allowed.'
'Like I was saying before, you will need a weapon. Luckily for you my young reaper, your Abyssal powers can take on a tangible form. You are able to take a chunk of the power you have already absorbed into your core and shape it. This energy will be fully dedicated and you will be unable to re-absorb it into your core to be used elsewhere once the soul bond has been forged. While you need to be careful with the amount, the more dedicated, the stronger your weapon will become. You will always be able to dedicate more abyssal energy over time as well. With those beasts out there, I would suggest at least half to be able to pierce their mana-hardened flesh. Cultivation in the shadow world will allow for fairly quick reabsorption of the Abyssal energy you deplete in the process, as your core has already been stretched to accommodate what was there. That being said, it will still take hours and I doubt I will be able to keep you here for that long, so just ensure that you leave yourself at least twenty-five percent of your core remaining. Any more than that and I doubt you will have the energy to fight your way through, your body is powered by your Abyssal energy now. If you run out, you will not even be able to escape into the shadow world as every transition costs a small amount from your core.'
Raze clapped his claw-tipped hands together. 'Lecture over, let us put theory into practice. Retreat into your core and pull the desired amount of energy from your center. Once you have it accumulated, imagine your chosen weapon in your mind's eye. You won't be able to make projectiles, so none of your silly guns. Your core will shrink slightly as well, to accommodate the connection to your soul. Now, begin!'
Doing as he was told, Domison fell into a cross-legged position and drew into himself. He once again saw the silhouette of his form with a black orb floating at his navel. It was considerably larger this time, changing from the size of a pinprick to that of a pong ball. The man knew however that the amount of energy inside was massive. Taking Raze's advice into account, he pulled a tendril of energy from his core using his mental hands.
Domison continued pulling and it felt almost like he was stretching taffy until seventy percent of his core's energy was floating separate from his silhouette. From there he pondered what weapon he would prefer. Apparently, this would be bound to his soul and he wasn't sure if that meant that its form would be static. He would rather be safe than sorry, so he took this line of thought very seriously. 'A sword would probably be the best choice.' Domison thought to himself.
After what he assumed were several minutes, but he couldn't be sure, an image started to take shape in his mind's eye. A razor-sharp double-edged sword, five feet in length began to appear. It started with a wide base before tapering off quickly to a deadly point. The cross-guard winged out before recurving into wicked serrated edges that acted as partial protection to the hands. The handle resolved into being with deep, bloody red leather strips that wrapped perfectly to the pommel ending in a sharp spike. Domison felt the blade solidify then and his core shrunk ever so slightly as a portion of his Abyssal energies was dedicated to maintaining the bond. Domison opened his eyes as soon as the process was completed, feeling a new weight in his hand.
There before his shadowy body, gripped in his right hand, was a beautiful ebony blade. Every inch was a polished black metal, only broken by the crimson leather handle. It was a gorgeous instrument of death and Domison could feel the power pulsing through the weapon. It felt primal, alive almost, and the man could sense a new presence nestled into the back of his mind.
Raze grinned widely as the blade came into form in Domison's outstretched hand before it returned to the void of his inner mind. 'You are quite impressive. To think you were able to infuse even the smallest amount of primordial aspect into the blade..... Now is the time, little reaper. Show me that you can sow the fields.' Bloody red eyes shone with a lust for violence and Domison could feel himself starting to shift back into the regular world. He didn't resist at all, he was actually quite excited to test his newfound abilities. Violence permeated his entire life after all and it was the only thing he felt he was proficient in. It was time for war.