It was all black. Black for miles and miles.
Static sat in this endless void, just looking around. "Hello?" He called out. There wasn't even an echo, as if sound didn't dare to travel in this space.
Suddenly, a bright green display with black text appeared before him. As if it were tailored to his favorite color. "Huh?"
[You have died.]
Static stared at the display in disbelief. "Usually I think all pranks are funny, but this one isn't!"
[You have the potential to be brought back anew. Not in the world of the living , but in the Grand Spirit World. It is one of the 9 possible places you can go to when you die.]
His pupils dilated as he saw the text. "You're telling me I'm going to be a mindless zombie FREAK!" He yelled, covering his eyes and kicking the abyssal air.
[You do have a chance of being a zombie. However, you will maintain all cognitive functions.]
"Fine then! Bring me back! I don't want to be dead!"
The display then disappeared. Static began to awaken, laying on a lush grass field with fireflies... Or little glowing bugs floating in the night air.
"Is this the Spirit World?" He asked, standing up slowly. He looked at his hands, and everything about him seemed normal.
[Correct. You are currently in the Spirit World, a mirror to the living world. This place is rather difficult to survive, User.]
"Are you able to pull up a sort of overview?"
[Yes, I can. Give me a moment.]
[Static Crypt]
[Level: 1]
[Race: Youkai (Tengu Type)]
[Health: 100/100]
[Mana: 80/80]
[Passives: Feeder of The Damned: Due to you being a Youkai, you only feast on the souls and bodies of the inhabitants of the dead worlds. This means you can travel through 8 of the 9 worlds of the dead. Due to your feeding habits, normal inhabitants of the dead worlds hate you.]
[Tengu Youkai Type: Since you are a Tengu Youkai, you can transform into multiple crows that share your consciousness, essentially making them a hive mind. They can be any distance from each other.]
[Type of Trickery: Due to your nature before you died, all passives and skills will be about trickery and illusions. This means that once you obtain magic at level 5, you will be granted illusion magic and things similar. However, this comes at the cost of you slowly losing your mind the more you try to enhance your illusion magic. Remember, perfection-seeking leads to insanity.]
[Loved by Youkai: Due to being a Youkai yourself, you are loved by Youkai and can reside in areas such as Youkai districts or the Forest.]
[Call for The Show: You can entertain others by doing almost anything. They will find what you try to make entertaining.]
"What the hell! Can't even hang around normal people?!" Static thought back to his friends.
"How do I return to the world of the living?"
[You must ask the souls, or other Youkai. This place is only partially part of the game files; some of it has been corrupted, so I am unable to gather information on that.]
"Great, just AMAZING." Static kicked the ground and kicked up some dirt into the air.
"Fine, alright." Static sighed and began to walk north. "Wait, I can transform into a crow!"
Only static didn't know how to. "Uhm... Hey, system thingy. How do I transform into a crow."
[If you think about it, it will automatically activate the skill Transform.]
"Oh... Okay. Can you call me Static, by the way?"
[Very well, I will refer to User as Static.]
"Alright!" Static transformed into a crow, being of slightly larger size. He flapped his wings and flew into the air, continuing to head north.
As he flew, he got a beautiful view of the night sky and the stars that filled it. There was no moon, which threw him off, but he didn't mind.
He looked down, finding a small light down below. He began to descend from the sky, seeing that it was a carriage carrying some goods.
He landed on top of the carriage silently, taking a break as he transformed back into his human form.
"See dude, I told you we should've brought some talismans to ward off any Youkai that may be out." A male voice spoke, and Static crawled over to see who talked.
"Yeah but c'mon, we're heading to Fort Link. This haul should fetch a large price; after all, the Youkai Hunters graciously gifted us this after beating the Inugami Youkai, Baboki." Another voice, slightly deeper than the other, spoke.
"I've heard tales of that thing. It was a Hoarder type, right? I heard it collected a lot of weapons in its lifetime. I even heard that thing was giant, like 13 feet tall, I think." The other voice spoke.
"What was the fight like?"
"How should I know? You know I wasn't there; I only saw its foot and 5 dead hunters."
Static listened to the conversation, now a little scared. He thought there was just a simple divide, with humans avoiding Youkai altogether, but there were people who hunted them. Oh no.
Static sighed quietly, deciding to ride the carriage.
As Static began to get tired, his eyes grew heavy, and his mind began to drift until the carriage came to a stop.
"Ahh, you guys again?" A stern voice spoke out, the unfamiliarity keeping Static on edge.
As he sat up, he saw walls extending out for a bit. The walls were medieval in design, made out of concrete yet meant to keep archers on them.
Static looked around, seeing a man in armor and a helmet leaning against the carriage.
"So, you two got a nice haul?" The soldier asked, raising a brow.
"Yep, they got Baboki." The younger voice spoke, laughing.
"Is that so?- Huh?" The man looked up, seeing Static.
"Did you guys have another guy along with you?" The soldier asked.
This caused Static to panic, and as he did so, he jumped into the air and turned into the crow. He flew into the city, causing the soldier to panic.
"Oh shit!" He ran through the open gate, heading to the right and ringing a bell that was attached to the wall.
"A YOUKAI HAS ENTERED! BE ON HIGH ALERT!" He yelled, causing other guards to sound their bells to alert others.
Static continued to fly, trying to leave by going over the walls, but there was a barrier. It shocked him out of Youkai form.
"Ow!" He yelled, catching the attention of nearby archers.
"There he is!" One yelled, the archers drawing their bows.
Static immediately jumped off, transforming back into a crow and diving down. He began to fly through the streets, but due to the effects of the barrier, he was sent back out of the form.
Guards saw him and began to chase him. He ran, heading through a district where they sold food. He jumped over stands, tables, and innocent bystanders.
"Leave me alone!" He yelled, breathing heavily.
He made a sharp left through an alleyway and scaled a building.
Turning back into a crow and flying into the air. He flew to the closest structure he could find, that being a structure that was built like a prison.
Some guards saw this, and their panic only got worse. "STOP HIM!"
One of them yelled, Static flying through a barred window and turning back into his human form.
He panted, the transforming back and forth taking a toll on his body. He coughed blood, shaking and feeling weak.
He then heard footsteps coming to the door next to him; immediately, he got up and went to a sealed door. He tried to get it open, but he was too weak.
"Open damnit!" He yelled, suddenly phasing through the door and falling through multiple floors.
He screamed, landing on the cold stone surface.
"Ow..." He mumbled, tears forming in his eyes.
"Great, just great!" He stood up, dusting himself off.
"Oh? A visitor? A Youkai at that. I heard the commotion you've been causing." A raspy voice spoke as it laughed. "Excuse me, I haven't spoken in 1200 years."
Static turned around, startled by the voice. In front of him sat an individual whose form seemed to be compromised out of energy.
It had 4 arms, white 'skin', long white hair, and blank yellow eyes. It stood at 6'10, looking down at Static.
The being was chained by all 4 wrists, his ankles, and his neck. "Oh, do tell me your name, little man."
"..Static Crypt. You?" Static said with a bit of hesitation, taking in the figure's ever-shifting appearance. His body moved and waved like a fire.
The being's eyes widened, a grin forming. It revealed razor-sharp black teeth and an abyss for a mouth.
"Haha... HAHAHAHA! THIS IS MOST ENERTAINING! A CRYPT? BEING A YOUKAI? IT'S TRULY HILARIOUS!" The being laughed, causing the room to rumble a little bit.
"My name is Reyuma! You, my boy, are bound to me by the lines of fate." He grinned, leaning forward.
"What are you on about?" Static said, backing up a little.
"I've been imprisoned for so long. You, Static... I can help us both out. You can set me free, and I can have a vessel so my form isn't sent into oblivion." Reyuma grinned.
"What makes you think I'll trust you?!" Static asked, taking another step back.
"You'll just have to. Yes, I am imprisoned here. I am a Youkai, just like you. You can't escape without my help; you are far too weak. I'll even throw in a little bonus and help fulfill whatever dreams you may have, What do you say? We both benefit from this; I get partial control of your body, and you get helped along the way. I can switch out with you, and the such... How about it?" Reyuma extended his hand as the sound of heavy footsteps could be heard beyond a large metal door.
"Clocks ticking, little man." Reyuma grinned, the lower left hand being held out; the offer was hanging in the air.
"Fine!" Static grabbed his hand and suddenly became engulfed in a bright light.
The guards burst through the door and their eyes widened with horror as they saw static, looking at his hand, and the most dangerous Youkai of the Past, Reyuma, was missing.
Static's face twisted into a wide grin as a white orb formed around him. Once it shattered, he was slightly taller, about 5'5 now.
He had 4 arms but kept his usual appearance. Aside from the 4 arms, his eyes were now a mix of silver and yellow. "HAHAHA! THIS BOY WISHES TO BE A SHOWMAN! VERY WELL, STATIC. I WILL GIVE YOU A SHOW!"
The guards immediately began to signal for backup, but one of them had the top half of their torso blown off.
"Come on, dear friends, you already know how a guy like me functions." He snapped his upper right hand, a giant rubber ball being summoned. "See ya!" He said, turning into a crow and flying out of the prison.
He landed on the high roof and let Static take control. A large explosion could be heard below as the 'Present' Reyuma left had gone off.
"From here on out, boy, you WILL be the greatest showman to ever live. People will be chanting your name; you'll be famous, rich... A Youkai loved by souls and other Youkai alike." Reyuma said, manifesting as an ethereal mist, grabbing onto Static's shoulders.
Static's body went back to normal. "So... What do I do now?" Static asked, rubbing his arm.
"Well, these guys aren't going to just let you leave. So, kill them all and consume their souls... That's how one gets stronger as a Youkai, right?" Reyuma grinned, beginning to laugh.
[Current objective: Wipe out the entire city: 7/6500 residents.]
[Doing this results in a great reward.]
"I even have to target innocents?" Static said, getting a bit nervous.
"Of course... How else will you get strong enough?" Reyuma said as Static jumped off the building and turned into a crow.
And thus began the extermination of Fort Link.
Static swept through the town, killing guard after guard and having Reyuma kill the innocents.
By the time it was done, Static was left pretty traumatized, but he was convinced it was necessary.
[Congratulations! You have gained 7520 EXP. You have reached level 16!]
[Magics obtained: Illusion Magic, Thunder Magic, and Sound Magic!]
[Passives Obtained—Vessel of The Demon Lord: Due to being part of the Crypt clan, you are a perfect vessel to work on tandem with Reyuma, an ancient being who once ruled over the entire Spirit world before being sealed by the hero Agula. She is a hero that ascended to the mortal world.]
[Consumer of Souls: Due to consuming a large quantity of souls, you are able to evolve slightly.. You can choose to either become a more advanced Tengu Youkai or be able to have a broader variety of shapeshifting.]
[Emotional Death: When you are upset, your primary target will hear a ringing noise. This raises their chances of being killed by you by at least 60%, and they are your priority.]
[Weapon Bound: You are able to choose two weapons to be bound to you. Normally, you are only able to choose one, but due to having Reyuma as a spirit, you are able to choose one of his weapons.]
[Choose a weapon of your choice!: The Yoyo of Infinity, The Blade of Dance, or The Staff of The Chosen.]
Static looked at the UI, his eyes looking lifeless. The flashes of brutality that he and Reyuma committed haunted him.
Static looked at the Yoyo and just chose it, not even wanting to look at the rest.
The Yoyo was set in his hands, making him sigh a little.
"You did good, kiddo. Trust me, it'll all be worth it." Reyuma said, his grin plastered on his face as he felt the sunrise.