Prologue - Sinking
Darkness stretching out as far as the eye could see, the only light seemingly coming from the body afloat in the water-like void. Light traced lines and shapes under the surface of the young boy's skin, circuits and seals carving themselves into the skin of Arthur Luria. His body, his whole being, was undergoing an alteration, with no knowledge of it. Slowly, in a half-asleep state, akin to a feverish haze, Arthur came to consciousness. He couldn't see anything apart from the dim light coming from his own body, surrounded by what felt like muddy water. He wasn't completely aware of his surroundings or state just yet- barely awake enough to realize something was wrong, going off of instincts and feelings alone. The light tracing over his skin intensified with a warm glow, increasing in heat. As if a flame was being passed over his body, he felt intense jolts of pain wherever the light touched, burning marks and scars into his naked skin. The pain was strong enough to force him awake- but that fog in his conscious mind just seemed impossible to clear.
The heat, and the pain, only grew. Light cutting into his flesh and muscle, burning his skin and his insides, feeling as if a thousand knives were cutting him apart, while needles pierced his every nerve. Hazily opening his eyes, his vision was still dark- with the exception of a bright spot, in the corner of his vision. He didn't have the physical strength to turn his head around, nor the ability to focus his blurry sight. And thus, the bright spot moved instead, towards Arthur's line of sight. A glowing figure, as if made of flames, vaguely resembling a humanoid shape, an appendage reaching towards him, five fingers stretching out.
The heat coming from the figure was even stronger than the lights before, slowly encroaching upon his body- as if reflexively, Arthur's left arm lifted off of his body, his index raising itself. Slowly, but surely, the two figures made contact.
Flames spreading on every mark and carving which had spread on his body, his being was lit aflame, the energy surging inside enough to destroy him from within- and destroy him it did. Bursting into flames, his essence was completely destroyed, burning up, shattered in an uncertain number of pieces, sinking even deeper and faster in the murky abyss, a pain of magnitude he had never felt before.
And then, Arthur Luria woke up.