The Void's Embrace
Rayen's consciousness flickered like a dying ember. His body felt weightless, suspended in an abyss of swirling darkness. There was no sound, no gravity—just an overwhelming void that seemed to stretch infinitely.
His mind reeled. What happened? One moment, he was in the Quantum Nexus lab, conducting the experiment of his career. The next, he was falling into the unknown.
A pulse of energy coursed through him, jolting his nerves. His senses sharpened. He could feel something—an eerie presence woven into the fabric of this dimension. It wasn't just emptiness; it was alive.
Suddenly, his vision adjusted, revealing a vast, otherworldly space. Dark tendrils of energy swirled around him, stretching like a cosmic web. Strange, flickering shapes drifted in the distance—fragments of something shattered. The air, if it could even be called that, vibrated with a low, ominous hum.
Then, pain.
A sharp, searing pulse ripped through his chest, igniting every nerve in his body. He gasped, clutching his torso as veins of violet energy surged through his skin, crackling like lightning. His body convulsed as the energy burrowed deep into his bones, reshaping him.
Rayen screamed, but no sound escaped.
His fingers clenched into fists as raw power pulsated through his veins, fusing with his very being. He wasn't just trapped in the Void. He was becoming a part of it.
A New Identity
Time lost meaning. Minutes? Hours? Days? He had no idea.
But eventually, his mind stabilized. He could think. He could move. His body—changed—felt different. Lighter. Stronger.
Rayen looked at his hands. His once-normal skin was now laced with glowing purple and blue veins, faintly pulsing with energy. He clenched his fists, and a small burst of Void energy crackled around them, responding to his will.
This… this is impossible.
He flexed his fingers, and the energy coiled like living electricity around his arm. It wasn't just raw power—it was connected to him, a part of him.
A realization hit him like a shockwave.
He hadn't just survived the experiment. He had become something new.
Something beyond human.
A faint whisper echoed in his mind.
> Neutron Shadow…
The words sent a chill down his spine. He didn't know where they came from, but they felt right.
He wasn't just Rayen Voss anymore.
He was Neutron Shadow.
And his journey had just begun.