Chapter 3: Awakening in Darkness The Void
As Yush opened his eyes, he was enveloped in darkness—not the simple absence of light one might find in a cave or cellar, but a void so vast and complete that it seemed to have swallowed the entire universe. The darkness pressed against him from all sides, thick and oppressive, as if it were a living thing with weight and substance.
He stood up slowly, his movements echoing strangely in the endless space. The first thing he did was examine his body, running his hands over skin that should have been torn and bloodied. To his amazement, there wasn't a trace of the injuries he had sustained in his desperate battle with the assassins. The deep gash in his thigh, the cuts on his arms, the fatal wound in his stomach—all had mysteriously healed, leaving him whole and unmarked.
I was certain I was going to die, he thought, staring at his unblemished hands in wonder. That wound should have been fatal.
"Is this hell?" he wondered aloud, his voice disappearing into the infinite darkness without even an echo to answer him.
But even as the thought formed, he dismissed it. This place felt neither like the torment of hell nor the peace of heaven. It was something else entirely—a realm that existed outside the normal boundaries of existence.
Determined to find answers, or at least a way out, Yush began to walk. He chose a direction at random—though in this featureless void, all directions seemed the same—and moved forward with steady purpose.
He walked for what felt like an eternity. Minutes blended into hours, hours into what might have been days. In this place without sun or stars, without any reference point save the sound of his own footsteps, time became meaningless. The darkness remained unbroken, unchanging, eternal.
The only sound in this endless void was the rhythmic echo of his footsteps—step, step, step—a lonely percussion that seemed to mock his efforts to escape. As he continued, exhaustion began to creep into his bones like a slow poison. His mind, deprived of any stimulation save the oppressive darkness, started to blur and fracture.
Thump-thump. Thump-thump.
His heartbeat grew loud in his ears, each pulse seeming to echo through the void like thunder. The sound became overwhelming, drowning out even his footsteps, until it felt as though his heart might burst from his chest.
Fear began to seep into his thoughts like ink spreading through water. The uncertainty, the isolation, the sheer impossibility of his situation—everything became magnified tenfold in the oppressive darkness. His imagination, freed from the constraints of reality, began to conjure horrors from the shadows.
What if something is watching me? The thought slithered through his mind unbidden. What if creatures lurk just beyond my sight, following my every step?
He spun around, peering into the darkness behind him, but saw nothing. Yet the feeling persisted—eyes watching him, predators stalking him, unknown terrors pressing in from all sides.
What if I never escape? What if I'm trapped here forever?
The questions multiplied like parasites, each one feeding his growing panic. His breathing became ragged, his steps less certain. The void seemed to pulse around him, alive with malevolent intent.
Eventually, Yush's strength gave out completely. His legs buckled, and he collapsed to the ground—though what constituted "ground" in this place was as mysterious as everything else. He lay there, drained of all energy, his body trembling with exhaustion and fear.
"Is this how I die?" he murmured to the uncaring darkness, his voice barely a whisper. "Not in glorious battle, but alone in this... nothingness?"
His eyes fluttered closed, and consciousness began to slip away like sand through his fingers.
But then, with a sudden jolt that sent electricity through his entire nervous system, Yush's eyes flew open.
He was back in the cave—the same underground chamber where he had fought and killed the four assassins. Their bodies still lay scattered around him, their blood dark and congealed on the stone floor. But something was terribly, impossibly wrong.
Black flames were seeping into his body.
They came from everywhere and nowhere, wisps of darkness that defied all natural law. The flames entered through his fingertips and toenails, creeping up his limbs like living shadows. They reached his face, forcing their way in through his eyes, his nostrils, his mouth, filling him with their alien essence.
The pain that followed was beyond description.
It wasn't the sharp agony of a blade or the burning torment of fire. This was something far worse—as if countless needles were stabbing into every cell of his body simultaneously. The pain was all-consuming, a symphony of torment that left no part of his being untouched.
His nerves screamed in protest, overwhelmed by the relentless assault. Every fiber of his being rebelled against the intrusion, but there was no escape, no reprieve.
The pain intensified, transforming into a searing fire that seemed to burn from within. It felt as though his very blood had turned to molten lava, setting his veins ablaze, scorching his skin, muscles, and bones from the inside out. The heat was unbearable, as if his entire body was being consumed by invisible flames that fed on his very essence.
Make it stop, he tried to scream, but no sound emerged from his throat. Please, make it stop!
His mind struggled to hold on, teetering on the edge of complete collapse as the pain consumed him. His thoughts fractured and scattered like leaves in a hurricane, unable to focus on anything other than the torment that had become his entire world.
Every breath was agony, each inhalation feeding the flames within him, every exhalation offering only the briefest, most fleeting relief before the cycle began anew.
His muscles tensed and locked, sweat pouring from his skin as his body instinctively tried to brace against the unrelenting agony. Time distorted around him, with every second stretching into an eternity of suffering. The world faded into insignificance, swallowed by the inferno raging within his flesh.
To an outside observer, the scene would have appeared as a manifestation of pure malevolence. The black flames that consumed Yush burned with such intensity that they seemed capable of devouring the world itself. They radiated an aura of dread, malice, and destruction, as if some ancient evil had descended from the depths of hell to plunge the realm into darkness, death, and eternal pain.
The very air in the cavern grew thick and oppressive, charged with malevolent energy that made the stones themselves seem to recoil. The flames danced and writhed around Yush's convulsing form, their movements hypnotic and terrible.
As his consciousness began to fade, his mind—shattered by the relentless pain—could no longer grasp the passage of time. All he wanted was for the agony to end, to find peace in the embrace of death. He would have welcomed oblivion as a mercy.
But gradually, almost imperceptibly, the black flames began to recede. Their influence over him waned like a tide pulling back from the shore, leaving behind changes that went far deeper than mere flesh and bone.
The injuries he had sustained in his battle against the assassins—the deep cuts, the fatal stomach wound, the countless smaller injuries—began to heal. The flesh knitted itself back together as if the wounds had never existed, leaving not even the faintest scar as evidence of his near-death experience.
More dramatically, his appearance began to change. His hair, once a striking combination of half-red and half-blue that marked him as a member of the Hussein bloodline, darkened to pitch black. His heterochromatic eyes—one blue, one red—also began to change, the irises turning as dark as midnight.
But then, as abruptly as the transformation had begun, it seemed to fight against itself. Half of his hair reverted to its original blue, while the other half remained the new black. One iris returned to its natural blue, while the other stayed dark. It was as if two forces were waging war for dominance within him, ultimately settling for an uneasy truce that split him down the middle.
Unaware of the dramatic transformation his body had undergone, Yush drifted into a deep, dreamless sleep. His breathing steadied, his face relaxed, and for the first time in what felt like ages, he found peace.
When he finally woke, sunlight was filtering down through cracks in the cavern ceiling—though how long he had been unconscious, he couldn't say. The first thing he did was frantically check his body for wounds, expecting to find the fatal injuries that should have ended his life.
But there were none.
He was perfectly healthy, his skin unmarked and whole. More than that, a strange, boundless energy coursed through his veins—not the artificial boost of the life-burning potion he had consumed, but something deeper and more fundamental. He felt stronger, faster, more alive than he ever had before.
What happened to me? he wondered, flexing his fingers and marveling at the power he could feel thrumming beneath his skin.
It was then that something impossible occurred.
A translucent screen materialized in the air before his eyes, glowing with soft blue light and displaying text that seemed to burn itself into his vision:
[Initializing system...]
Yush stumbled backward, his eyes wide with shock and disbelief. The screen followed his movement, remaining fixed in his field of vision no matter where he looked.
"What in the name of the void is that?" he whispered, reaching out tentatively to touch the display. His fingers passed through it as if it were made of light and air.
[Initialization complete.]
The moment those words appeared, a flurry of additional screens materialized in rapid succession, each one more bewildering than the last:
[Devouring host's illusion mana affinity...][Devouring host's death aura affinity...][Devouring complete.]
A surge of fear coursed through Yush as he read these notifications. Devouring? What did that mean? His illusion magic and death-touched aura were his most prized abilities, inherited from his bloodline. What was this system doing to him?
[Integrating illusion mana with Darkness mana (new)...][Integrating death aura with Darkness aura (new)...]
Darkness mana? Darkness aura? Yush's mind reeled as he tried to process what he was seeing. It was universally known that a single individual could not simultaneously wield both aura and mana from the chaotic path. In all the recorded history of the universe, there had never been a single case of anyone possessing both mana and aura from either the chaotic or ordered paths.
The vast majority of beings existed within the impartial path, where both mana and aura could coexist in harmony. Only nobles who inherited bloodlines aligned with either the chaotic or ordered paths could access those more powerful but restrictive forms of energy. And it was exceedingly rare for a commoner to develop any affinity with the chaos or order paths at all.
Yet here he was, apparently wielding both chaotic mana and chaotic aura simultaneously—something that should have been impossible.
As these thoughts raced through his mind, another screen materialized:
[(Stats) (Affinity) (Shop) (Quest)]
Four options, glowing softly and clearly meant to be selected. Despite his confusion and growing unease, curiosity won out. With trembling fingers, Yush reached out and touched the "Stats" option.
A new screen appeared, displaying information that made his blood run cold:
[Name: Yush Hussein][Age: 16][Race: Half-Abyss, ???][Bloodline: ???]Note: The hereditary continuity of genetic traits or characteristics transmitted through generations.Condition to Ignite: Unknown???
[Physique: ???]Note: The general structure and constitution of the body.Condition to Ignite:– Attain the Sword Master realm.– Comprehend and embody the Sword Law.– Embed sword law, a divine eye, and impartial path affinity into aura.– Slay 10 beings above two sub-ranks.– Assimilate rare magnetism from the impartial path into mana.
[Profession: Mage][Mana Condensation Realm: 3-Star Sub Rank: Mid Rank]
[Profession: Knight][Sword Warrior: 1-Star Sub Rank: Low Rank]
Yush stared at the display in shock. His mage profession had advanced by an entire sub-realm, jumping from 2-Star to 3-Star in the Mana Condensation realm. Even more dramatically, his knight profession had leaped from Sword Apprentice all the way to Sword Warrior—a full major realm advancement.
But the truly disturbing information lay in the details that were obscured. Why were his bloodline and physique hidden behind question marks? And what did "Half-Abyss" mean? He had always believed he was fully human—after all, both his mother and father were human, as far as he knew.
What are these "Conditions to Ignite"? he wondered, reading through the impossibly difficult requirements. Terms like "embed" and "assimilate" were completely foreign to him, and some of the conditions seemed beyond the reach of any mortal being.
Pushing these perplexing thoughts aside for the moment, Yush decided to examine his affinities. He touched the corresponding option, and another screen appeared:
[Mana: Darkness][Sub-Affinity: Illusion, integrated with Darkness]Note: It is possible to merge various mana affinities into Darkness mana."The deeper you delve into darkness, the wiser and more enchanting you become."
Condition to Integrate:– The target must have lost more than 80% of its life force– The target must be of equal or higher realm than the host.– The host may only embed affinities from the chaotic or impartial paths. If the target possesses any mana from the ordered path, the host cannot assimilate it into their own mana. Attempting to do so will result in severe backlash.– To incorporate an affinity, the host must place their heart on the target. The process may take anywhere from 30 seconds to 1 hour, depending on the target's rank and affinities.
[Aura: Darkness][Sub-Affinity: Death, integrated with Darkness]Note: It is possible to merge various aura affinities into Darkness aura."Understanding your own darkness is the best method for confronting the darkness in others."
Condition to Integrate:– The target must have lost 80% of its life force– The target must be of equal or higher realm than the host.– The host may only embed affinities from the chaotic or impartial paths. If the target possesses any aura from the ordered path, the host cannot assimilate it into their own aura. Attempting to do so will result in severe backlash.– To incorporate an affinity, the host must place their heart on the target. The process may take anywhere from 30 seconds to 1 hour, depending on the target's rank and affinities.
After absorbing all this information, Yush murmured to himself, "I still don't fully comprehend everything, but I think I understand the gist of it."
The implications were staggering. He could apparently steal the magical abilities of others—but only from those near death, and only through some kind of direct contact involving his heart. The limitations were severe, but the potential power was immense.
"Let's see what the shop has to offer," he said aloud, clicking on the "Shop" menu with growing curiosity.
A new screen appeared with a disappointing message:
[Host must reach the Sword Master and Mana Origin realms to unlock this function.]
Those were incredibly high requirements—realms that most people never achieved in their entire lifetimes. Deciding not to dwell on it, Yush selected the final option: "Quest."
The Path of Vengeance
What appeared next made his heart race with a mixture of excitement and bloodlust:
[Quest 1: Eliminate the remaining assassins.]Reward: For each kill, increase one sub-realm of the host's choice.
[Quest 2: Slay the leader of the assassins.]Reward: Increase two sub-realms of the host's choice.
[Quest 3: Discover the identity of the person who hired the assassins.]Reward: Increase one major realm of the host's choice.
[Quest 4: Destroy the assassins' organization.]Reward: Increase one major realm of the host's choice.
"What...?" Yush was completely taken aback by the incredible rewards being offered. To increase even one sub-realm typically required three to four months of intense, dedicated training. For someone at the peak of their current realm, it could take a normal person two to three years of cultivation. Even acknowledged geniuses needed at least a year to advance through the higher sub-realms.
And this system was offering to do it instantly, as a reward for killing his enemies.
As thoughts of the assassins filled his mind—their cold voices, their coordinated attacks, the pain they had inflicted—a potent wave of murderous intent began to seep out of him like a dark miasma. The very air in the cavern seemed to grow heavy and oppressive.
But he quickly regained control, forcing the killing intent back down into the depths of his soul. Still, his voice was cold as winter when he spoke his vow:
"I swear on the blood of my ancestors, whoever orchestrated this attempt on my life, I will make their existence a living nightmare. They will beg for the mercy of death long before I grant it to them."
The words seemed to echo in the cavern with unusual weight, as if the darkness itself was listening and approving.
With resolve burning in his heart like a cold flame, Yush turned toward the narrow tunnel that led out of the cave. Above ground, Patrick and the remaining assassins were still waiting, unaware that their prey had just become their predator.
Time for the hunt to begin anew, he thought, his mismatched eyes—one blue, one black—gleaming with deadly intent.
The boy who had crawled into this cave wounded and dying was gone forever. In his place stood something far more dangerous: Yush Hussein, wielder of darkness, heir to mysteries beyond imagining, and the coming doom of all who had dared to cross him.