The skies darkened as Zephyr journeyed towards the center of the spawn field. For the first time since the great battle between the forces of light and chaos the heavens began to thunder, a sign of approaching showers. The wind intensified, causing his dark hair to flow in its ethereal dance and pushing up clouds of vibrantly colored dust from the ground. Endless hallows could be heard from across the land, these were the sounds of creatures that feared what they had never experienced in their 13year lifespan. Thirteen years, just barely over a decade ago this environment was home to millions of people going about their daily lives an almost inconceivable past when looking at the current state of things. This simply put was the work of one existence and his insatiable lust for domination and control.
The sun had set long ago and the moonlight illuminated the barren landscape. Zephyr still kept on moving without rest, speeding through hundreds of kilometers to reach his destination. During this journey of his he had met no other spawn stronger than Medusa, making them easy kills at best and slight nuisances at worst. This endless slaughter he had as a mission had made him somewhat unbothered in the face of death at this point for there was no time to waste; this was the final day allotted for the missions' completion after all.
He stopped in his tracks when a loud buzzing sound came north of him, looking over only a small sandy hilltop could be seen. Still his gaze didn't falter, over the mounds of sand and rock a dark swarm had made eclipsed the skies. The swarm was a gathering of Drakelings. Their exoskeletons, as dark as the abyss, bore markings that pulsed with an eerie light, and malevolent eyes gleamed in the darkness. Four iridescent wings unfurled, their serrated edges rasping ominously, granting them unholy grace. Venom-dripping stingers and spindly, clawed appendages completed their nightmarish visage, as they moved in unison.
I saw them gathering over a single spot, leading me to presume the dead carcass of some spawn had been found. Not wanting to waste any valuable time on them I used the hand of god to crush them all in the air. This was a rather effective method but it also left quite a mess. Afterwards I was about to keep going before a rather unsettling feeling etched its way into my stomach followed by an inconspicuous growl.
I grabbed my stomach as I fell to my knees feeling nauseous and weak in an instant.
"Ugh, how long has it been since I've eaten." He asked while in utmost agony.
Actually how long had it been since he had eaten a proper meal? The rations at the camp were not nearly enough to satiate ones hunger coupled with the fact that he had been here for days on end refusing to ingest the meat of the spawn. Even when he was within the Divine Training Room, he had not noticed the feeling of starvation, not until now.
"Alex, why the hell is this happening now?" Howling in pain as I asked for an explanation.
[The rate at which the host experiences metabolism is extremely slow so as to release bundles of Qi from every molecule within ingested food. An unexpected side effect of this is a reduced feeling of hunger temporarily, but once in a while the latent feeling of starvation will come up at once]
"Why can't you ever tell me these things before they happen? I swear you do this on purpose don't you?
[The host need not worry; he only needs to ingest something, anything edible will suffice]
"Well there isn't anything for miles now is there.....no you can't possibly be referring to"
[Yes I am referring to the spawn carcass ahead]
*chuckle*
I laughed at the ludicrous suggestion made by Alex for sometime before calming down.
"There's no way in hell I'm doing that, a little tummy trouble isn't gonna make me eat a fxcking demon spawn."
[The host has received a sub-mission]
[Mission: Ingest edible food within a 1km radius within the allotted time limit
Rewards- Chances of surviving the main mission increase, Penalties applied to the host will be removed
Penalty- All stats are weakened by 99% until the mission is complete, The host will experience constant nausea, weakness and dizziness until the mission is complete
Time Limit- 1hr]
"Huh? This is a joke right?"
Then right on cue an overwhelming sensation of nausea began to churn deep within the pit of his stomach. It was a sickening, twisting feeling that seemed to claw its way up into his throat. Waves of queasiness swept over him, and he could taste the bitter bile rising in the back of his mouth.
Dizziness, like an insidious fog, began to envelop his mind. His vision blurred, and the world around him spun in disorienting circles. Each step he took felt like an unsteady stumble, as he struggled to maintain his balance. Simultaneously, a profound weakness overcame him, like all the strength had been drained from his limbs in an instant. His knees buckled, and he sank to the ground, feeling as though an invisible weight pressed upon his shoulders. Every movement, every attempt to rise, was an exhausting ordeal. It was as though the very essence of vitality had been sapped from his being.
*ARGGH*
"You dammed son of a-" I lost all my strength at that moment, my body now falling into a vegetative like state as my eyelids shut.
With the last of my strength I outstretched my arm calling forth the power of the hand of god once again, and in an instant an overwhelming force lifted me of off the ground slowly levitating myself towards the location of the corpse. Finally having reached past the mounds of rock that blocked my sight I faintly saw the creature that gained the attention of the drakelings.
The colossal carcass of the beast lay sprawled upon the shore. It was a creature of nightmarish proportions, its massive bulk stretched out along the muddy banks of a nearby lake, as if the land itself groaned under its colossal weight. The creature's scales, once shimmering beneath the water's surface, now glistened with a slimy residue in the harsh light of day, fading into a dull, lifeless gray. Its enormous, gnarled head lay at an odd angle, crowned with a tangle of slick, kelp-like tendrils that clung to its lifeless form. Its eyes were now milky and clouded, their gaze forever extinguished. Jaws, lined with serrated teeth the size of daggers, gaped wide, revealing a cavernous maw and its limbs, sprawled haphazardly across the shoreline, its webbed appendages ending in clawed, decaying talons.
"Ugh, no wonder those pests gathered, this is basically an all you can eat buffet." I said before losing the strength to continue using the skill and falling to the ground like a lifeless lump of flesh.
[The host has run out of Qi]
"Of course I have." I said with an annoyed groan.
Using the last of my strength I crawled to the decomposing body of the creature, a truly unfortunate turn of events as the blood splatters of the drakelings I killed littered the floor. The putrid smell gave an overwhelming and gut-wrenching foulness strong enough to make the olfactory system of any human reset ten times over, but that was nothing compared to the odor being given off by the body of the leviathan like beast which can only be described as a visceral assault on the sense of smell.
All of this coupled with the penalties from earlier were more than enough to push my endurance to the limit as I expunged the contents of stomach unto the floor further adding to my discomfort.
[The host lacks the Qi to use the skill Void Blast]
[Does the host wish to use a portion of their Qi reserves to activate the skill?]
"Yes, dammit." I said with a weak voice.
[.....complete]
[10% of Qi reserves used]
I barely managed to raise an arm up as a violet sphere of energy was generated, and in one swift movement it completely engulfed the decaying beast in its eternal flames instantaneously preparing the meat for consumption.
"Just a little more effort and it'll be over."
While covered in grime he managed to cut off a chunk of the creatures flesh using raw strength alone, and with hesitance he took a bite out of the freshly cooked meat. Quickly he swallowed with haste, hoping to not get even a taste of the meal. Gulping it down with some water from his storage space he sighed awaiting the notification from Alex.
[The host has completed the sub-mission]
There it was, that message was the best news he had heard in a long time.
[All penalties applied to the host have been lifted]
So in an instant all my abilities which were taken away in an instant were restored back in their fullest.
[The host now has the minimum Qi to activate passive skills]
[The host has been poisoned by leviathan meat]
[The host has been poisoned by decaying drakeling blood]
[Detoxify Active]
A soothing feeling then came over my body as if all the impurities within it were now being terminated in an instant. With my body now at full capacity I now was able to get up of my feet with ease, it was then that I realized that my body was entirely covered with blood and dirt, prompting the use of the water I had stored up.
"Open Inventory."
The blue screen appeared once again before me with its many empty slots.
"Damn, it seems like I've used up all my clean water." Then I looked at the lake nearby.
"No, there's no need for that, I should have a decent enough mastery over the hand of god by now."
Thus with a simple gesture once again displaying the amazing level of mastery Zephyr had the grime upon him was all removed as if it was never there to begin with. With that done I breathed a sigh of relief as I looked beyond the edge of the corrupted lake seeing the beginning of a new terrain.
Stretched out before me is a desolate, ashy, and charred wasteland, a place where life had been utterly extinguished. The closer I got the more I realized that the very ground beneath my feet, which once seemed teeming with vitality, was now reduced to a barren expanse of grayish-black ash. The very earth seemed to have given up, its once-fertile soil reduced to a powdery residue that crumbled at the slightest touch.
This desolation was all that could be seen for miles, there were not even remnants of what once was a long time ago. The ground was pocked with craters, evidence of explosive forces that had torn through the land. Each depression seemed to tell a story of violent eruptions, as if the earth itself had rebelled against the horror of death which crept upon it.
"What is this?" He exclaimed, revealing his shock.
[This is the central area of the spawn field, a desolate wasteland that's comparable to the depths of hell itself]
[I advice that the host uses up all his stat points before going any further]
"Can you scan the spawn that reside within the area?" He pondered.
[It is pretty far but just within the range of my capabilities]
[Initiate scanning process]
[Multiple enemies located]
[Compressing all Information due to their being in a large group]
[Displaying General Statistics]
[Opening Character Profile]
[Name: ??? [Due to the presence of innumerable creatures]
Age: ??? [Due to the presence of innumerable creatures]
Stats: ??? [Due to the presence of innumerable creatures]
Level: None
Exp: None
Skills: Dragons Breath, Reanimation
Inventory: Swords, Spears, Bows and Arrows, Shields, Necromancers Staff
Rank: A]
*BEEP*
*BEEP*
*BEEP*
*BEEP*
*BEEP*
Then a familiar beeping sound rang in my head non-stop before an intriguing message popped up.
[Danger Sense Active]
[Error]
[Error]
[Error]
[Multiple failed attempts at measuring the statistics of a single entity]
[I do not have the capabilities to measure the strength of this entity]
[The host will absolutely die if he faces the opponent at his current stats]
[I request that the host retreats for now]
"Will you increase my time?"
[...No]
"Then forward we go......…" He suddenly stopped in his tracks as a paralyzing feeling of overwhelming fear hijacked both my mind and body, plunging them into a nightmarish state of extreme distress.
Time seems to slow, and the world around me blurs as my senses sharpen, hyper-focused on the scene unfolding before my very eyes. Once again my entire being was within the realm of the purple lotus, its violet hue lighting up the dark zone; but this time I wasn't alone. Before me stood a nightmarish entity akin to a demon king, its skeletal body exudes an inexorable force that ushers in an absolute tone deafening silence, so much so that even the lotus which would usually be flickering around like an uncontrollable flame was silent. Cloaked in tattered, crimson robes that ripple like shadows, its bony, skull-like visage is crowned with obsidian-black horns and violet eerie eyes that flicker with a malevolent authority. Its skeletal body large and imposing similar to that of a titans wielded a massive obsidian great sword that seemed as though it was plunged into the essence of the world itself.
"So you are the one who has been using the power of the lotus." His voice echoed with a bold, unwavering, absolute power that seemed as though it could destroy entire civilizations in an instant.
I wanted to speak but I couldn't, it's not as if he prevented me but for some reason I couldn't break free of his authority.
"It seems as though you also have quite a number of demonic skills as well as some of divine origin. You must be quite the creature to achieve such a thing." He paused before continuing.
"To have such a profound understanding of death at such a young age, you must have lost someone you were quite close with right? Yet you still stand strong even before an unyielding power such as mine." And he paused once again before letting out a sigh.
"I'd hate to see such a bright star lose its shine because of me, but I'd also love to see just how much this star can give before it burns out." He grinned as his eyes flared up.
Finally mustering up the strength to speak I questioned him.
"Who are you?"
"Hmm, who am I? Well, you could say I am living incarnate of destruction or better yet I AM THE DEATH OF ALL THINGS!!!"
Endless shivers were sent down my spine as he spoke, absolute terror running through my veins while the entire realm began to crumble.
"Now I noticed you tried to observe my abilities beforehand, so I may allow it, only because I look forward to seeing your preparations."
Then he vanished without warning, at the same time releasing my soul back to my body. I clenched my chest while breathing heavily, my senses being in overdrive from the encounter I just had and before I could catch my breath the system delivered a message.
[Opening Character Profile]
[Name: Grim, The Sovereign End, The Death of All Things
Age: ??? [He seems to have existed before the creation of the mortal realm]
Stats: ??? [Due to the presence of immeasurable power]
Level: None
Exp: None
Skills: Reanimation, Dragons Breath, Rot, Void Blast, Cardiostasis, Fission, Soul Tether
Inventory: Demon Core
Rank: SS+]