Lux suddenly found himself wandering in a dark place. The ground beneath him was black. It looks like a combination between sand and ash.
The sky above was dark and speckled with faint stars that blinked coldly. This wasn't the night sky he usually saw in Eryndell. This was something far more desolate as if the remnant of a dead world.
The barren land stretched in all directions. No trees and sounds, just a haunting silence broken only by Lux's uneven breaths.
But, he didn't care about the strange environment right now. He didn't care about what exist beyond the horizon or beneath his feet. All he could see and feel was the memory of his family.
Their faces flashed in his mind — his father was lifeless and headless on the floor, his mother strangled and drained, his little sister impaled against the wall. The images burned into his soul like brands filling his chest with intense pain that threatened to swallow him whole.
"AAAAAAH!" Lux screamed into the void with raw agony. The emptiness around him did nothing to muffle his cries and they echoed endlessly into the dark.
The anger attack him like huge wave, surging up from the depths of his soul. Lux clawed at his face, his nails raking across his skin until warm blood trickled down his cheeks.
He didn't care. He welcomed the pain as if it could somehow lessen the storm raging inside him.
His knees gave out and he collapsed onto the blackened ground then wailing like a broken child.
He didn't know for how long he remained there lost in his grief. But then, cutting through the silence like a blade, came the voice.
["I know how you feel."]
Lux's cries stilled, his breath catching as the words reverberated in his mind. It was that voice again, the same one that had spoken to him as the darkness had claimed him.
Its tone was cold and detached, yet there was an odd weight to it as if it truly understood the depth of his feeling.
["I will help you. Together, we will seek vengeance."]
Lux's head snapped up. His tear-streaked face twisted in confusion. "Who's there?!" he asked.
Before him, the darkness began to twisting and coiling as if alive. Slowly, something emerged — a swirling mass of pure shadow.
Golden rings hovered around it and moving in erratic patterns. Each ring glowing with pale golden light, casting faint reflections onto the blackened ground.
Lux stared at the apparition. Somehow, he knew this was the source of the voice.
"You..." Lux whispered. "Are you the one who spoke to me before? The one who said I could get revenge?"
The swirling entity didn't answer immediately, but the golden rings glinted brighter as if in acknowledgment.
The voice speak again.
["You are weak. You failed to protect them. But I can change that. I will give you the power to destroy those who had killed your family."]
Lux trembled. The words hit him. He had been weak. He hadn't been able to protect his family. Their faces and deaths flashed in his mind once more.
He clenched his jaw, his teeth grinding.
"Power..." Lux whispered, his voice shaking. "You'll help me... kill them?"
["Yes. All of them. But you must bind yourself to me. Accept me into your soul, and I will make you unstoppable."]
Lux hesitated, his gaze locked onto the swirling shadow and its gleaming golden rings. He felt a pull emanating from the being before him. Deep inside, a part of him whispered that this was wrong and he was making a deal with something far darker than he could comprehend.
But another part of him — the part consumed by grief, rage, and the desperate need for vengeance — screamed louder.
"I... I'll do it," Lux said. "I'll accept you. Just... just give me the strength!"
The rings spun faster, the shadows convulsing as the voice responded, its tone sharper now.
["Very well, Lux Aliqyeri. From this moment on, you are mine."]
The world around Lux began to twist and blur.
The black ground and the star-specked sky dissolved into a chaotic swirl of light and shadow. Lux felt a searing pain in his chest, spreading through his body like fire. He screamed, his body arching as the sensation consumed him.
["Welcome to the Abyss System. Through me, you shall rise. You shall conquer. And through me, you shall destroy."]
The circle grew brighter and flooding the void with its light.
For a moment the pain subsided and replaced by an overwhelming sense of clarity. The light dimmed and vanished, leaving behind a single floating runes suspended before Lux.
---
Name: Lux Aliqyeri
Level: 1
Class: None
Exp: 0/100
HP: 100/100
MP: 50/50
[Stats]
Strength: 5
Agility: 5
Endurance: 5
Perception: 5
Intelligence: 5
Charisma: 5
Luck: 5
[Abilities:] None
[Equipment Bonuses:] None
[Quest:]
Main Quest: Getting Stronger I
Objective: Reach the minimum stats to become a decent hunter.
---
Lux stared at the screen in confusion. His fingers hovered near it instinctively though he wasn't sure why. He'd never encountered something like this before. Is this some kind of magic from the gods or goddesses?
He can see the neatly listed stats, the lack of abilities or equipment, and the glaring weaknesses. It all screamed one thing.
He was starting from nothing.
["This is your foundation,"] the voice said, breaking Lux's thoughts. ["Pathetic, isn't it? Weak. Barely enough to survive."]
Lux's fists clenched. The voice's disdain was real, but it didn't crush him. Instead, it fueled the embers of his rage.
"I'm just starting. Just tell me what I need to do."
The shadow orb stirred, its golden rings spinning slowly.
["Kill. Grow. Conquer. Every enemy you destroy will make you stronger. Their blood will fuel your ascent. And when you are ready and the time comes, you will bring ruin to those who took everything from you!"]
Lux gritted his teeth, his eyes set in grim determination. He stared at the system window, at the numbers and empty fields.
This was all he had now. His vengeance, rage, and this strange power.
He wouldn't waste it.
The window flickered, and a new runes appeared.
[Tutorial Stage Unlocked:]
Objective: Prove yourself to the Abyss System. Slay a Lesser Shade.
Reward: Unlock Basic Combat Skills, Gain 100 EXP.
A faint rumbling echoed in the distance shaking the black ground beneath Lux. The golden rings began to dissipate, retreating into the shadow orb.
The voice spoke one last time before the entity fully dissolved.
["Your first trial awaits. Do not fail, Lux Aliqyeri. Prove you are worthy of the Abyss System."]
The world shifted again. The ground cracked and split beneath Lux as the void warped and contorted. Before he could comprehend what was happening the world consumed him in a whirlwind of light and shadow.
When the chaos cleared, Lux stood in a dim cavern.
The air was thick, oppressive, and filled with smell of decay. In the distance he saw movement of a shapeless figure made of smoke and shadow.
His first enemy awaited.
---