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02 - Journey to Madness

  [Skill: Void Rend]

  MP Usage: 0

  Skill level: 1 / max. 10

  Skill exp: 4 / max. 20

  Cooldown: 3.8 hrs / 4 hrs

  Description:

  A skill trait exclusive only to the Emissary of Doom, bestowing the user the power to traverse within the space continuum by ripping the fabric of reality from two parallel worlds.

  As I entered the rift, I could feel the immediate tug from an unknown force, pulling me towards the only opening. I gazed upon the darkness that I'm plunging in, but the entire surrounding was devoid of light and sound, yet I could clearly sense the bizarre monstrosities lurking within the desolated space. I could only imagine what horrors these beings would bring if they had the means to traverse the gaps I made.

  Perturbed by these notions, the uneasiness crept slowly towards my conviction. Fortunately, it didn't take long until I arrived at the other end of the gap. At my behest, the gap's translucent wall gave way to my desire to leave the Void.

  "Thank God, I have survived!" I whispered in delight, clutching my fist in mid-air.

  "Heave...ho-"

  Now that I'm standing on a firm ground, a sense of relief showered my quivering heart. I immediately scanned my surroundings to see any people or maybe some traces I could follow, as I gaze upon the looming horizon.

  Snooping at a mountain cliff, just above the thick forest surrounding the vicinity, I quickly noticed that all of my senses have sharpened to extremes. I can now clearly see beyond a mile away without squinting my eyes to death. And even though it's almost pitch black, my enhanced vision can easily spot the faint glow from everything I look upon closely. I can hear the miniscule footsteps and ragged breaths treading towards me, prowling within the depths of the darkness.

  I immediately decided not to linger and wait for what was coming. I speed off as fast as I could without any delay from the dreadful silence of the night.

  Huff... Huff... Huff...

  I stood still, clutching my chest and gasping for air. My lungs were burning almost passing out, as I stumbled upon a hollowed cave after running for some time. Pushing my utmost limit, I examined the gaping entrance for any signs of movement, but couldn't find anything unusual.

  "I could use some rest before setting off again.." I mumbled and nodded affirmatively.

  The cave was actually small inside with a wide entrance. Luminescent plants can be seen growing on the cave walls, driving away the obscurity veiled from the outside.

  I sat down on one of the flat rocks laying beside the wall. The coldness from the stone soothed my exhaustion. Contemplating, I promptly opened the status window and read as much as I could in the guide section.

  First and foremost, the system doesn't open quickly when I'm preoccupied with my thoughts. The Status Window is just a projection through an interwave connected to my soul. In short, it can only be seen by the one who projects it. It also emphasizes that by increasing the intensity and area of my interwave, I can also perceive the soul of other entities. Anything that glows faintly in the dark, houses a soul.

  "So the glowing weed here has one too?" I pondered silently as I watched the plant sway peacefully beside me.

  The guide states that the soul is the culmination of one's life. It's what we refer to as a database, uniquely imprinted within the body to record everything up to present. My age, personality, functions and even history are all embedded into my very being. And with the help of the interwave; a benign cosmic pulse that can establish a connection between my soul and mind, I can fully access and analyze my statistics more fluidly and accurately.

  "So I'm literally just a level 1 noobie.." Still reading the contents, I became curious to what the ranking pertains. And as if the system sensed my contemplation, another window popped out in an instant, responding to my query.

  [The Twelve Emissaries of Doom]

  - Aries (The Tyrant): 1st rank

  Location: Earth-0

  - Taurus (The Fallen Demon): 2nd rank

  Location: Unknown

  - Gemini (The Basilisk): 3rd rank

  Location: Unknown

  - Cancer (The Serpent): 4th rank

  Location: Unknown

  - Leo (The War Maiden): 5th rank

  Location: Unknown

  - Virgo (The Maelstrom): 6th rank

  Location: Unknown

  - Libra (The Ravenous): 7th rank

  Location: Unkown

  The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  - Scorpio (The Poisoned Dart): 8th rank

  Location: Unkown

  - Sagittarius (The Tempest): 9th rank

  Location: Unkown

  - Aquarius (The Beast): 10th rank

  Location: Unknown

  - Pisces (The Sword): 11th rank

  Location: Unknown

  - Capricornus (The Leviathan): 12th rank

  Location: Earth-2999978

  "What's with these fancy titles? And why I'm so dead last in the rankings huh?!" I whispered in discontent.

  The rankings are a base metric of how far they have unlocked their cosmic potentials. The higher the ranking, the more powers they can harness and the closer they are to become the incarnation of the beings they represent.

  The Emissaries of Doom is an exalted group consisting of 12 chosen ones, handpicked by the system itself based only on one category; Extreme Aggressive Impulse. The catalyst to push one's self, driven towards survival or destruction.

  The 12 Emissaries of Doom are directly based on the constellations of the space. Their powers are tied to the cosmic beings that once roamed the stellar universe. Each drawing powers from the cosmos, the emissaries have the control over space and time.

  "If I can control the space and time itself, can I go back to the past then???!" I exclaimed cheerfully.

  [You lack the necessary cosmic powers to retract the wheels of destiny.]

  A big NO is what I got, trampling my hopes and dreams of time travelling.

  "Well there's no point dwelling to what I can't do.. let me see.. hmm.. what can these Innate Traits do?"

  With a thought, another window appeared to quench my piqued interest.

  [Innate Traits]

  - Devourer of the Sun (Passive Skill)

  Effects: The power to absorb the soul of another by consuming enough flesh from the target.

  0 pts out of 100,000 pts

  - Truthseeker (Passive Skill)

  Effects: Using the eyes of Doom, you can now see the souls of other entities within your range. This in turn, will show you the name, rank and level of the target. The information that can be collected will be based on how intensive the interwave is being projected. Some entities can disrupt the wave by force or produce the same wavelength to cover their attributes.

  1 pts out of 5000 pts

  - Transcended One (Passive Skill)

  Effects: Your body has gone to various biological transformations beyond human comprehension. You have increased senses, high stamina and superhuman resilience. The more trauma inflicted on your body, the stronger it will become.

  2 pts out of 1,000 pts

  - Ungodly (Passive Skill)

  Effects: The essence of death eludes you as you have now an undying body. As long as your soul is intact, you can definitely regenerate even from disintegration. Pain receptors are not nullified.

  0 pts out of 50, 000 pts

  - Vorpal Hex (Passive Skill)

  Effects: Using the cloak of cosmos, you can curtain yourself with a cosmic aura to repel beings within the Void whenever you enter a spacial rift. The more rifts you open and cross, the more cosmic energy you will be able to absorb and expel from your body.

  1 pts out of 10,000 pts

  Reaching the pre-requisite points will evolve the trait to its higher form.

  There's also a Unique skill given by my title as "The Leviathan".

  Unique Skill: As the ruler of the vast sea of the Void, you have the power to call forth the very essence of the creatures you have consumed to rapidly transform into your Supreme Form; Lotan, enhancing your attributes by a thousand fold in exchange for a portion of your soul.

  [This skill is temporarily unavailable.]

  "Who the hell made these kinds of sorry pieces of sh't traits?! Why do I need to suffer to get stronger?! Can't I just sit here and do some cultivation sh't and become a god?!"

  Maybe the system didn't like my sudden outburst as I felt a strong jolt of pain in my most treasured jewels between my groins.

  "Ahem- I was wrong, these will definitely help me survive. Thanks buddy, I was just overreacting you know." Quickly muttering the words of praise out of fear.

  Immersed by my fascination and wonderment, I missed the uncanny trotting of the creatures, advancing stealthily and making their way towards the cave.

  Loud cacophonous howls echoed from a near distance and erratic movements from the wilderness scattered the ever silent night.

  I knew that I'll be surrounded right away if I idly sit around. So with great haste, I ran towards the only exit but got petrified by the very first thing I have seen.

  Is that a wolf?

  No.

  A creature prowling by all fours, a predatory gaze landed upon its prey. With a body size similar to a human, and limbs of eight, grotesquely sewn in its body, it approached me at a lightning pace.

  Howling and breathing coarsely, hunger driven.

  Without time to process, my body shuddered as the dim light of the cave beset the creature's appearance.

  A face of a man in extreme agony with a pale skin, light faded blue eyes sulking yet never blinking, and the harrowing sound of breaths from the massive darkened wounds plastered in its neck and chest. Black liquids spewed from its dried-lip mouth, its extra arms were stitched to its bare back, rigor mortis already set-in and wagged wildly in the air rushing towards me.

  I could clearly see the light blue hues of unblinking eyes drawing closer to me.

  [Innate Trait: Truthseeker]!!

  Accursed Polymelia lvl. 3

  Pawn-rank Aberrant

  Health: 70-------Mana: 10

  ????--------------????

  ????--------------????

  ????--------------????

  ????--------------????

  [Further attributes can't be deciphered.]

  With my lack of experience in an actual life-and-death situation, I underestimated the monster's speed and made a dumb decision not to run to the opposite side before it could reach me.

  Swoosh!!

  Pluck!!!

  My health went from full to barely 10 in a split second. If my HP goes down to zero, I will immediately collapse.

  Within a flash, an excruciating pain from my right arm that I have never felt all my life, brought me back to my own sense of fragility.

  That I am weak. I have no weapon to defend myself, just a high school teenage delinquent thrown into this madness.

  "Aaaaaaaaargh!!" I gritted my teeth as I wailed from my relentless suffering.

  Sweats profusely march down from my face and my eyes were bawling involuntarily while I tried to reach for my right arm. But it's been torn viciously from me, leaving fresh bone protruding and flesh hanging just below my shoulder. The open wound drains my health ever so slowly.

  "Wha-what..? How... Am I going to die in this hell hole..? Will I ever see my mom again?"

  Questions barrage my inner turmoil, kneeling down and succumbing to my misery.

  "...Lei.."

  I am sorry.. I can't keep my promise.

  With 5 HP left, I slowly dozed off to the netherworld and my burdened eyes closed.

  Sheeeeerwk!!

  As I was about to lose consciousness from the abrupt blood loss, a murky viscous liquid violently sprawled from my mortal wound, gushing outward and forming a deformed black arm. The torment it brought from regenerating a new limb was doubled more than I lost one, as if my flesh, bone and nerves were pulled down in one swoop.

  [Ting!]

  [Passive Skill Activated: Transcended One and Ungodly]

  Blood surged upward, yet I forcefully gulped it down and tried to stand up. My fading mind was brought back again. Perceptively, the monster rabidly munching my arm halted its motion and probed me. It's making a purling noise of dislike and a staunching poise ready to pounce.

  The other monsters are already yards away from my proximity.

  I immediately dashed forward to the side were I could hear no sprawling movements. The monster without hesitation, decided to pursue me while towing my old arm in its wide mouth. We were both equal in speed but the monster is more agile in this rocky terrain, jumping like a spider hunting for its prey.

  A glimpse of opportunity made the aberrant jump straight aiming to clutch my back, but made a mistake, pushing me unintentionally into the cliff instead.

  The wild chase came to an end as soon as I fell down to the abyss. The monster howled signalling the others to continue the hunt. Other beings shrieked back vigorously, rushing and heading down to the thick and vast forest.

  The swarm from the Void is coming.

  Hi guys~

  I am planning to insert GIFs instead of static images for the rest of the novel 'coz it's more compelling in my own humbled opinion. But let me know in the comments if you rather want static images. Ciao.

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