Chapter 52: My soul |
“How do you repent for betraying your family, your world? How do you continue living when everything you have ever known is gone? How do you continue fighting for a cause that is almost as lost as your own soul?
I don’t know the answer to those questions, yet I still try. After all, what is the point of giving up after all those cycles?”
~ Unknown
Good Luck. Let the Prime Night Hunter be born.
For the first time since the System appeared, those words weren’t thrown in Leo’s face, and instead, a booming voice spoke them right into his mind. Chills went down his spine in an instant, freezing him in place. Yet, before the bone-chilling fire could settle, the System acted again.
An ominous dark mist began to ooze from his every pore, slowly filling the room with swirling shadows. The density of the darkness forced him to narrow his eyes to maintain focus. Yet then, just as the mist settled, a black and red miasma slipped out of his body, pooling at his feet and forming a living and breathing cocoon around him.
His breath grew rapid and shallow as the dark matter crept higher and higher, consuming more and more of his body. Panic welled up inside, but his limbs remained unresponsive, rendering him a helpless spectator. And so, he could only watch, wide-eyed, as the dark matter continued its conquest.
Calm down. Leo took a deep breath. The System won’t harm me. It is only starting my evolution.
However, despite the truth being obvious, his heart continued to race. It was an instinctual response, the natural impulse of a human trapped in a confined space. Only in this instance, the enclosure was a cocoon of an alien substance, devouring his body, slowly burying him alive.
He wanted to chuckle. Instead, he closed his eyes as the sticky miasma swallowed his neck. Inch by inch, the living matter finally reached his eyelids, gluing them to his face, trapping him completely.
Despite all of that, Leo had no trouble breathing, and when the dark substance claimed his entire body, even the pressure on his skin disappeared. It was as if the cocoon had dissolved into thin air. Only it didn’t, as no matter how hard he tried, he still couldn’t move.
Am I gonna just stay like that, unable to see until the evolution ends? He questioned internally as even the constant pain faded away, leaving him numb.
As if hearing his query, the bindings around his body snapped away. His eyes flew wide open as he fell toward a vast darkness below. Hell, everything around him was dark, yet he could still see, still comprehend what was happening.
This is gonna hurt… again.
Leo gritted his teeth as his body crashed straight into the ground. However, the pain never came, and the impact barely registered in his mind, almost like it never happened.
“This is wrong. Where am I?” Leo breathed out, slowly rising to his feet and scanning his surroundings.
True to his previous observations, the land was shrouded by darkness. A hard, stony ground lay beneath a thin veil of shadowy mist, while the sky above was a canopy of darkness adorned with specks of red and violet stars.
It was a realm consumed by shadow, a place where they ruled supreme. And to Leo, this strange place called out a single word.
Home.
“You wouldn’t be the first—or the last—to call it that. After all, what better way to describe the sensation of one’s soul wrapping around their being from every side?”
The voice was soft, melodic, and very, very clear. Leo froze before turning on his heel toward the sound—only to gape at the figure that appeared in his sight.
Throughout his life, he had encountered more people than he could count. Their appearances rarely mattered. Beauty, charm—those things held little weight when he often had more pressing matters to worry about.
But now?
Now he couldn’t look away.
Never before had he seen a woman who seemed to embody the very essence of allure—something alien, dangerous, yet impossibly captivating. But now she was standing just a couple of meters away from him.
Leo watched as she took step after step, mist swirling around her bare, tanned feet.
Ethereal. That was the word that described her perfectly.
She moved with a grace models could only dream of. Her long, waist-length hair poured down her back like violet silk, its rich hue almost blending into the surrounding darkness. Her dress, if it could even be called that, was a flowing garment of black and purple—an alien matter that shimmered as if it were alive.
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Wow… was all Leo could manage, still rooted in place as his gaze landed on her face—familiar, somehow.
It held the softness of youth, paired with a subtle, teasing curve of her lips. Innocence touched by mischief. Yet her eyes—deep crimson with vertical slits—held something older within, something far more dangerous than the rest of her body suggested.
“You…” Leo muttered.
“Indeed, Leo Hale,” she replied, stepping closer.
“I’ve been called many things,” she continued, her voice calm and steady. “But I only ever took one name for myself—one you know well enough.”
She stopped just a breath away from him, crimson eyes boring into his.
“I’m Nikra. The first Old One born. Lady of Darkness and the Void. The one who failed the entire Multiverse.”
Her gaze softened, though her presence remained quite overwhelming.
“I’ve been waiting for this day longer than you can imagine. It’s a pleasure to meet the bearer of my middle shard, the one person who can finally share my destiny… and my burden.”
Leo took a step back, his mind racing a hundred miles per hour.
Okay… well, that’s one hell of an introduction. But “destiny and burden”? What am I supposed to say to that?
Nikra suddenly smiled wider. “You don’t have to say anything. I don’t even expect you to. At least not before I explain everything.”
Leo gulped, looking away from the dangerous woman. Only that was a mistake, as that action made him look at his hand. He froze.
Shadows. His entire arm was made of them. His gaze went lower, hoping to find something else there, but no. Shadows ruled there too.
What?! How the hell didn’t I notice this before?
“You were overwhelmed,” Nikra said smoothly, as if reading the thought straight from his mind. “And your cognitive functions are still impaired. But there’s nothing to fear. This form is as natural as it can get for you.”
Leo spun to face her. “Okay. First of all, stop reading my mind, please. It’s seriously not helping. Second, what are you even talking about?! Natural?”
Then he hesitated.
Shit. Maybe yelling at the ancient god-like being isn’t the best idea. Goddammit, get a grip, Leo.
But instead of reacting with anger, Nikra laughed. A soft, chiming sound that wrapped around him like velvet.
“No need to worry, Leonardo,” she said with a light smile. “I’ve waited lifetimes to speak with someone again. It’ll take more than a bit of yelling to offend me. And while I am an Old One, the power you fear… faded long ago.
She tilted her head slightly. “As for reading your thoughts… I will try not to. But it may be difficult, given the link we share.”
A link? Ah, whatever. Add it to the list of things I don’t understand, Leo grumbled, meeting her gaze again.
“If you say so… Oh, and just stick with Leo. Or should I start calling you by your full title?” he quipped, holding his breath. If the ancient woman was sincere, this shouldn’t be an issue.
Thankfully, Nikra just chuckled.
“I shall do that. I have heard enough pleasantries to last an eternity. I don’t need more from my Legacy.” She smiled, although it didn’t fully reach her eyes.
And that’s a can of worms I don’t want to open right now. Leo grimaced and quickly steered the conversation elsewhere. “So… about my form being natural?”
Nikra’s eyes lit up just a bit. “Ah, yes. Follow me. You will understand better once you see it.”
He raised an eyebrow that probably wasn’t even there anymore and trailed behind the Old One as she glided effortlessly through the mist. Her dress billowed and swirled with each step, and despite everything, he found his gaze straying to her back more than once.
He was only human, after all.
Well, probably not any longer, but who cares? Leo shook his head and sped up to match Nikra’s pace.
“So where exactly are we going? I mean, I get that this should be my soul, but as embarrassing as it sounds, that doesn’t tell me much.”
Nikra gave a graceful nod. “You’re right. This is your soul, or Soulscape, to be more precise. Right now, we are headed to its core. You need to understand that each soul has infinite potential. And those lands”—she gestured to the vast empty plains surrounding them—”represent that potential. The core draws from it to grow, expand, and evolve.”
Huh… Already learning something new. Leo hummed. “And what about the sky? Same idea?”
“Partially,” Nikra said, her eyes glinting. “But the sky also serves a different purpose. Take another look, Leo. A real look. Tell me what you see… and what you feel.”
Leo frowned as he stared at the endless darkness. Every once in a while, another violet and red star would appear, piercing through the veil. Yet aside from that, he didn’t really know what to search for.
What you see and feel…
He blinked and let the view consume him. The vision of the black sea with countless colored ships filled his mind. And so, he watched as the boats fought for their place, bringing others into fold, and growing into forms he felt he should know.
Wait… It can’t be that simple, right?
Leo blinked again and turned to Nikra.
“The sky reflects your potential too,” she confirmed. “Not just of your power, but of affinities you may be able to wield in the future.”
He let out a breath, chuckling despite himself. “Okay. Got to admit. That’s kinda nice.”
Yet, even as he said that, he still couldn’t forget that this was the woman who was at least partially responsible for the first Outbreak. But still, her enthusiasm was strangely infectious.
Don’t worry about that now. I will have plenty of time to get mad later. No point in ruining a decent conversation with someone who actually knows what’s going on.
“The Darkness is pretty self-explanatory,” Leo said aloud. “Feels like the next step after Shadows. And red and violet? That’s my connection to the Void, right?”
Nikra nodded.
“So then why are there more and more of those stars appearing?” he asked, frowning. “I am not doing anything special right now, am I?”
Nikra’s eyes sparkled with amusement. “Tell me, Leo. What’s happening outside your Soulscape?”
Leo blinked. Hard.“Ah… Shit. Right. The evolution.” His brow furrowed. “But wait, if evolving alone strengthens my Void connection, does that mean all Voidlings have some kind of Void aspect? I mean, they come from the Void and evolve too.”
For the first time, Nikra’s smile faltered.
“It’s a lot more complicated than that,” she said quietly. “I will explain—soon. But for now, let’s put that conversation on hold.”
She turned, gesturing ahead. “Look. We’ve arrived.”
They came to a sudden stop at the edge of a cliff. Leo followed her gaze, for a moment forgetting to breathe as his eyes fell on the scenery before him.
Shadows, living and always in motion, danced in a vast pond below. But now that he was so close, the connection that he had been missing ever since he arrived here suddenly snapped back into place.
At once, the entire pond froze, waiting, begging for his command.
Wow…
“Indeed.” Nikra’s musical laughter echoed all around. “Welcome to the core, Leo Hale. The truest part of your soul.”