All Rylen could feel at the moment was emptiness. This feeling had plagued him most of his life but was much stronger now. Currently, he could feel he was conscious but wherever he turned, his vision was black.
Rylen looked down and could see his hands and the rest of his body. But around him, there was nothing but an empty void.
"Welcome."
A voice sounded from every direction that seemed to be the culmination of a thousand whispers at once.
"Hello?" Rylen asked, confused. "Where am I?"
Although he was in a completely foreign environment and a strange and unsettling voice was speaking to him, Rylen didn't feel any fear, only confusion.
"This is what is known as the Abyss," said the whispering voice.
"The Abyss?"
"You don't have to worry about that for now," it continued. "Just focus on your surroundings."
Rylen calmed himself and listened to the words of the whisper. He closed his eyes and focused on everything around him.
After a few minutes of silently trying to sense anything, Rylen was about to give up but sensed a slight prick in his mind. This prick opened his consciousness and suddenly he could feel an energy around him. The feeling of being able to feel this foreign energy puzzled Rylen, who had never experienced anything like it.
"What you feel is the energy of the Abyss, also known as the abyssal shroud," said the whispering voice. "This is the energy that keeps the Abyss together and powers it. Try to feel it with your mind."
Rylen sensed that the voice was trying to assist him, despite being unable to feel its presence. He heeded its advice and focused his thoughts on reaching out to the energy he could perceive.
Similar to before, a slight prickling sensation flickered in his mind. However, this time, the pain didn't subside but instead intensified. It transformed from a mild headache into an excruciating feeling as if his mind was being torn apart. The energy surrounding Rylen invaded his consciousness, causing immense agony. He attempted to cry out, but his body seemed disconnected from his mind, leaving him floating helplessly in the emptiness.
Gradually, after the pain nearly made him faint, it stopped. However, suddenly, the focus shifted to his physical body. The energy rampaged through his insides, causing a pain that was less intense than before but just as incapacitating. For someone who had never experienced more than a broken finger, this suffering was overwhelming, plunging Rylen into immense pain for the second time.
After enduring a few agonizing minutes of intense pain, the sensation gradually diminished, relieving Rylen of its overwhelming grip. However, the aftermath left him in a state of complete catatonia. His eyes appeared dull and unfocused, and his breathing had ceased entirely. Yet, a faint glimmer of hope emerged as his heart, which had momentarily stopped, gradually rekindled its rhythm. With each passing moment, the beats grew stronger and faster until they eventually steadied, returning to their regular pace.
In a desperate attempt to regain control, Rylen gasped for precious air, feeling the life force surging back into his body. Coughing uncontrollably for several minutes, he expelled the remnants of the harrowing ordeal, grateful to have been restored to his senses once more.
"What the hell did you do to me?" Asked Rylen incredulously.
"After your consciousness interacted with the abyssal shroud, it fused with your body and mind."
"It fused with me? Why?"
"Your questions will receive answers. Now that you have fused with the abyssal shroud, you can return to Earth," the whispers said. "I'm glad I could meet you, Rylen. We will meet again soon."
Rylen's mind started to slow after the voice's words. He tried to resist but was unable to fight against the tugging at his mind and he quickly fell unconscious.
…
Back in Rylen's bedroom, the young man's eyes suddenly opened. He was lying on the floor beside his bed. As he rose into a sitting position, a headache caused him to wince in pain and he grabbed his forehead.
"Ahh, shit. What happened to me?"
Trying to ignore the pain, Rylen slowly stood up by grabbing the bedside and pulling himself up. As he finally stood on his feet, a sudden nausea took over his stomach, quickly pushing up vanilla cake and soda.
Rylen bolted for the bathroom for the toilet and emptied his bowels with a loud upheave of his dinner. He kneeled in front of the toilet for several minutes with his eyes closed, letting the feeling of nausea slowly leave him.
Once he felt fine again, he flushed the toilet and stood up. But something in the mirror above his sink caught his attention. Rylen inched closer to the reflective surface that showed a tall, handsome man with deep black hair that had an unnatural shine to it. His skin was paler now, like he hadn't been in the sun for many weeks but his eyes were the most prominent change. His irises were a vibrant amethyst that seemed to slightly glow in the darkness of his bathroom.
Rylen turned his head from side to side and his eyes shone like violet diamonds.
"This is crazy…" he said as he touched his face in amazement. His skin felt like marble, it still was elastic but gave the impression of being very sturdy.
As he thought about his appearance, the mirror in front of him started to change. On the reflective surface, carvings were etching themselves, revealing a column of words and letters.
—
Name: Rylen Aptera
Titles: Heir to the Abyss, Lord of Apocalypse
{STATS}
Body: E-
Mind: E
Essence: F-
Shroud: F+
Power Grade: E-
Potential: ???
—
Rylen's eyes widened upon seeing the words. He would be a fool to not realize what was happening.
"It's like a video game…"
After he read through all of the stats, the mirror again started to change.
—
Essence Skills: N/A
Shroud Skills:
{Touch of the Abyss (NEW): Any being subservient, capacitated, or killed by the user will be consumed by the abyss upon physical touch.}
{Harvest (NEW): Any being consumed by the abyss will have their existence transferred to the user. The user can decide what to do with the target's existence.}
—
Rylen was even more surprised by the new words. He has skills now? And what was essence?
"Just what the hell happened to me?"
After a few moments, the carvings on the mirror began to shrink until completely disappearing, leaving the mirror blank.
Rylen left the bathroom in a daze and sat on his bed.
All his life he had been empty. But now, everything has changed. Rylen didn't know what was going to happen in the future, especially after seeing the titles on his stats. Lord of Apocalypse? What could that mean for him?
He pondered on his bed for a while before he grew tired. Rylen grabbed the sheets of his bed that had been thrown to the floor earlier and laid down under the covers before drifting off into sleep.