Three days after his encounter with Captain Aric, Kriel huddled in an abandoned temple at the edges of the Devil Lands. Blood dripped from his mouth as he fought against the changes wracking his body. The void energy he'd absorbed during the battle refused to settle, writhing beneath his skin like living smoke, threatening to tear him apart from within.
[Status Alert:
Health: 1,892/4,000
Void Energy: Unstable
Evolution Progress: 58%
Warning: System Corruption Detected]
"Show me," he growled through clenched teeth. "Show me what you are, what is the system!!!?"
[Analyzing Void Patterns...
Unknown Energy Signature Detected
Initiating Deep Scan...]
Kriel pressed his palm against the ancient temple floor. Shadows spread from his touch, revealing faint markings that had lain dormant for centuries. The pain intensified as his void energy resonated with the forgotten runes left for thousands.
A memory surfaced, not his own, but one absorbed from the marks he'd devoured. A glimpse of something vast and dark, existing between realities.
[Memory Fragment Accessed
Origin: Unknown Mark
Data Corrupted
Warning: Reality Distortion Increasing]
"The Void isn't just power," he muttered, understanding dawning. "It's a place I need to know."
His revelation was interrupted by approaching footsteps. Kriel melted into the shadows as three figures entered the temple—Patrol members, but not from Aric's unit. Their marks glowed softly in the darkness.
"The Captain said the void walker came this way," one said, scanning the room. "Be careful. This one's different he went head to with the captain even at his age."
Kriel observed them silently, waiting. After his battle with Aric, he knew better than to attack recklessly. But the void within him stirred hungrily at the sight of their marks.
[Tactical Analysis:
Targets: 3 Patrol Members
- Fire Mark (D+)
- Wind Mark (D)
- Shield Mark (C-)
Threat Level: B
Recommendation: Proceed with Caution]
The weakest of the group separated from the others, moving deeper into the temple. Kriel followed, his movements liquid smooth despite his injuries. The void energy that had been tormenting him suddenly grew quiet, focused.
[New Skill Forming...
Requirements:
- Stealth Kill
- Mark Absorption
- Void Resonance]
The patrol member never saw him coming. Kriel emerged from the shadows like a specter, his hand clamping over the man's mouth while he plunged void tendrils into his chest. The void tendrils wrapped around the man's mark, and Kriel whispered, "Your power has a greater purpose—my ascension."
As the patrol member suffocated, the darkness enveloped him. The mark resisted briefly before shattering. Instead of simply absorbing its energy, Kriel let the void energy within him resonate with the mark's fragments, studying its structure as it broke down.
[Skill Unlocked: Mark Analysis
Effect: Understand mark structure and properties during absorption
Current Analysis: Fire Mark (D+)
- Core Elements: Heat, Combustion
- Binding Pattern: Standard Trinity
- Weakness: Structural instability in upper matrix]
The knowledge flooded his mind as the mark dissolved. Each piece revealed new secrets about how the system bound power to flesh. More importantly, he began to understand how his void energy could disrupt those bonds.
But Kriel's hunger wasn't sated. He descended upon the remaining two patrol members, his movements swift and deadly. The first fell with a brutal kick that shattered his shield mark, sending him crashing into the stone floor. Kriel pinned him down, his hand closing around the man's throat like a vice. The patrol member's eyes bulged as Kriel squeezed, the sound of his neck snapping echoing through the temple.
The second patrol member tried to flee, but Kriel was too fast. He caught the man by the wrist, twisting it until the bone cracked. The patrol member screamed as Kriel dragged him back into the temple, slamming him against the wall. The void energy surged through Kriel, amplifying his strength as he ripped the man's wind mark from his body, leaving him to writhe in agony on the floor.
As the last patrol member lay dying, Kriel leaned over him, his eyes burning with an otherworldly intensity. "You should have stayed out of my way," he whispered, before ending the man's life with a swift twist of his wrist.
[New Skill:Unlocked body absorption
Grants: user the ability to absorb bodies into the void sub dimensional space can also put anything in space]
Kriel smiled and said " body absorption" he absorbed the bodies of the patrol members
Kriel then watched from the shadows as the temple fell silent, the only sound the distant howling of wind. He had what he needed.
Miles away, in a another secluded cave, Kriel began to experiment. The knowledge gained from analyzing the mark had shown him something crucial—the system had rules, patterns that could be understood and exploited.
He pressed his hand against the cave wall, channeling void energy in careful patterns. Each attempt brought searing pain, but also progress.
[Experimentation Log:
Attempt 1: Failed - Energy unstable
Attempt 2: Failed - Pattern collapsed
Attempt 3: Partial success - Basic matrix formed]
Hours passed as Kriel worked, pushing through exhaustion and pain. Finally, something clicked. The void energy coalesced into a stable form—not a true mark, but something similar. A void-born approximation of the system's power.
[Achievement Unlocked: Void Imprint
First stable void-based power structure created
Warning: Unknown consequences detected]
Kriel stared at the shadowy pattern burned into his flesh. It wasn't as refined as a true mark, but it was his. Created from darkness rather than granted by light.
A path forward was becoming clear. He didn't need to simply steal marks—he could learn to forge his own power, born from the void itself.
As he pondered his next move, a whisper echoed in his mind, guiding him to a place known as the Sky Cave. "Follow the wind, and you will find what you seek," it whispered.
Kriel's eyes narrowed, his mind racing with possibilities. He felt the void energy stirring within him, urging him to move.
[New Skill Unlocked: Void Wings
Effect: Grants the ability to fly using void energy
Warning: Energy consumption high]
With a grim smile, Kriel spread his arms, and from his back, dark wings unfolded, their edges shimmering with void energy. "Time to take to the skies," he muttered, his voice low and menacing.
He soared into the air, the wind rushing past him as he headed towards the Sky Cave. The void wings carried him effortlessly, a symbol of his newfound power.
As he flew, Kriel felt a sense of freedom he had never known before. The void was teaching him, guiding him towards a destiny that was both terrifying and exhilarating.
[New Quest Available:
Title: The Dark Path
Objective: Create 3 Void Imprints
Reward: ???]
But as he studied his creation, a troubling thought surfaced. The void patterns were spreading, changing him in ways he didn't fully understand. Each new power came with a price.
In the distance, thunder rolled across dark skies. Kriel smiled grimly as he began working on his second imprint. The system's laws were just chains waiting to be broken.
And he had found the first crack in their links.
[Status Update:
Evolution Progress: 67%
Reality Distortion: Expanding
The Void Teaches...]