( Unknown time in the past.)
In the boundless void of space, there was only darkness, an eternal silence stretching across infinity. Amidst this abyss, a nebula drifted like a ghostly fog, shimmering with myriad colors. Dominating its hues were five distinct lights: red, dark violet, golden starlight, silver-gray, and dark starlight. The nebula pulsed faintly, each fluctuation hinting at a power beyond comprehension.
Within the fog, voices rose, sharp yet subdued, echoing across the void. Every time a voice spoke, a corresponding light flickered brighter, as though the words carried physical weight.
The dark violet light flared, a voice furious and sharp, cutting through the stillness.
"Damn it! Where's that evil thing disappeared to?"
The golden starlight responded, calmly.
" It's gravely wounded. It can't have gone far. We will find it."
"Injured? And so was I! Don't dismiss what we've lost!" Violet snapped " You three, why are you so silent? Hey, Red, say something!"
The red light flickered, its tone slow, cold and indifferent.
" He knew he couldn't win, so he split himself from it. He sacrificed his unity, to divide our focus, meaning we're no longer fighting a single entity, but fragments. Make no mistake, the part he left behind is far more dangerous."
A tense silence followed, broken only when the golden starlight spoke again.
"What do you think, Night?"
The dark starlight glowed faintly, its voice serene and tranquil.
"No matter what happens, we must retrieve it before it falls into the wrong hands." A pause " You all know what it's capable of."
The silence thickened, but it was shattered by a series of faint yet persistent dings like warning chimes ringing in the endless dark. The lights flared slightly in unison.
The dark violet light flared.
"Black! what's happening?"
The silver-gray light pulsed, its voice ancient and heavy with weariness.
" Good news, bad news, and very bad news."
Golden starlight responded calmly.
"Start with the good."
Black sighed.
"I've found that thing. And it's close to the sanctuary."
" The bad?"
"The fellas outside are getting restless. They're trying to force their way into this universe."
Dark violet hesitated.
"And the very bad?"
Black hesitated for a moment, its glow dimming. When it finally spoke, its tone was grave.
" The second pillar has been activated. "
A heavy silence fell over the group, only broken by the dark violet light's trembling whisper.
"The second pillar… Don't tell me—"
"That's right," Black interrupted. " Yes. And it's close to that thing."
"That bastard. Damn it!"
Night's serene voice broke the tension.
"What's the plan?"
Black's light flickered, pulsing with urgency.
"There's no time for a detailed plan… They're here."
The nebula trembled violently as the sound of shattering glass echoed through the void. In the infinite distance, a crimson sphere ignited, expanding rapidly. Its core split open, revealing an abyssal black line that divided the crimson like a colossal, unblinking eye. The sight radiated a presence so ancient, so overwhelming, that even the nebula seemed to recoil.
Black's voice remained calm, though heavy.
"Red, Night, Sun—I need you to handle that. Don't let those outsiders in. Violet, your mission is to retrieve that thing. You cannot fail."
Without hesitation, the nebula contracted violently. Four lights shot outward in different directions, three toward the crimson eye and one toward the opposite edge of the void. Left behind was only a silhouette: a figure seated upon a throne of silver light, shrouded in swirling gray fog.
The silhouette sighed deeply, its voice resonating with finality.
"…We're in the final countdown."
A silver ring materialized around it, spinning rapidly before it collapsed inward. The figure disappeared, leaving only silence and the faint echo of its final words.
•••
( Somewhere else, present day.)
The flaming red light slowly dimmed. The world blurred as Alex braced against the cold wall, his chest rising and falling in ragged breaths. Smoke curled through the ruined lab and the broken remains of machinery sparkled with dying embers.
His heart pounded against his ribs as the shadow ahead rushed towards him, its figure distorted by the haze.
"Professor..."
The word barely left his lips before the monstrous figure lunged.
Just a glimpse of it, his thoughts seem to fracture, drowned in a suffocating abyss of terror. Not just fear, it was like the world was whispering that he had glimpsed what should never be seen.
Instinct took over. His trembling fingers gripped the cold metal pipe beside him, and in a last desperate motion, he struggled to raise it.
The impact came like a freight train. A sickening crunch echoed through the room. The impact forced his back against the wall. His vision wavered as he gasped for breath, expecting pain, expecting death...
But it never came.
Instead, a strained, choking sound filled the space. Alex forced his eyes open.
In his view, a human old figure with messy hair and tattered lab coat, however, his distorted monstrous appearance no longer looked human. His wide red eyes stared back at Alex.
Alex's eyes travelled downwards.
The pipe he had raised blindly and desperately, stood embedded deeply in the professor's chest, piercing straight through his back.
Alex breath caught.
Did I...?
The professor shuddered violently, a gurgle escaping his lips. His hands twitched, fingers curling and uncurling as if trying to grasp something.
At the same time Alex's body shuddered. He felt something strange inside him, as if he had been punched hard in the stomach knocking the wind out of him. His face turned pale, leaning forward with the urge to vomit, barely restraining himself awake.
A chime rang in his head.
[System activated... Synchronizing... Synchronizing complete. ]
Alex stiffened. What?
[System online. You can now view your status window whenever you wish.]
What… is this?
No time to think.
The professor's monstrous eyes flickered, dim embers of humanity barely visible. A whisper, weak and broken, reached Alex's ears before fading into nothing.
"It… wasn't… supposed to…"
And then, silence.
The professor's weight sagged. His body slid backward. The pipe pulled free with a nauseating squelch. He collapsed to the floor, his twisted face frozen between agony and… relief?
Alex stood frozen, blood pounding in his ears. The indescribable terror that seem to almost make his heart burst gradually receded.
Alex's hands trembled. He hadn't meant to do it. His body had just moved. But now, staring at the professor's lifeless eyes, something cold and suffocating wrapped around his chest.
Professor Stein always had an answer. Strict, distant—but he had taught Alex, pushed him beyond limits. Despite attending a prestigious university, only Alex knew how hard he had worked for his scholarship, an effort Stein had recognized.
And now he was dead.
The lab was in ruins—smoke, sparks, burning metal. The experiment was going well until the reactor exploded. When Alex woke, the professor had changed.
Pain? Rage? Grief? He wasn't sure. But beneath it all, something darker clawed at his mind.
Because as much as he wanted to deny it—
The professor had recognized him in those last moments.
And he had looked, relieved?
He stood there frozen until a chime rang in his mind.
[ You have absorbed the soul essence of a devouring demon human mutant. Soul points +3.]
[ You have reached level 1. You acquire 2 status points to distribute freely.]
[ You have acquired skill-]
In that instant before he could finish reading the notifications, a cold dread run up his spine. Something shifted. His eyes snapped at the professor's corpse, noticed a black fog now coming out of the body, swirling and slowly coalescing into an ominous mass. At its center a crimson light flickered. An unspeakable wave of hunger poured from it. An unnatural, insatiable greed, all of it directed at Alex.
Then, under Alex terrified gaze—it moved.
A black streak shot forward, plunging into Alex's chest, he didn't have time to react.
Pain.
A searing agony struck his mind like a hammer against glass.
Alex only heard a crack in his mind, his body suddenly froze. Adrenaline drained from his system, leaving exhaustion in its wake. A searing headache hit, like a hammer striking his skull. His willpower crumbled. Darkness rushed in.
It's... over_
Just before unconsciousness claimed him, he heard something. A voice, deep, confused and impossibly close.
Who's... there?... Help...me...
" I'm pretty sure I felt that presence here. How come it has suddenly disappeared?...
Hmm?...
What do we have here?
Interesting… To think I'd find a human with such a unique talent so soon after arriving."
A pause. Then, it exclaimed with pure satisfaction.
" Ah! There you are."
Then—blackness.