At the entrance of a cave, the body of a young man laid against the cave wall, completely nude, his long hair flowed down his body like a silver river. His body twitched, his lifeless golden eyes regained their spark, and his mouth opened as if to say something, but no sound followed. Finally, he took deep breaths, remembering to breathe.
Adam sat up, suffering immense pain in the process. He wanted to scream, but no sound escaped his throat; only tears flowed from his eyes.
What the hell?? where am I? Why am I in pain!?
As these thoughts crossed Adam's mind, steam rose from his body, and the pain abruptly ceased; not only that, he felt exceptionally rejuvenated. Before Adam had time to comprehend what had happened, a line of golden runes formed before him, then it shifted, transforming into familiar characters, letters of the English alphabet, connecting to form a complete sentence.
[Congratulations on waking, Adam]
Huh? What is this? Is it talking... to me?
The runes shifted once again.
[Yes, Adam, I am talking to you]
It can read my mind! Slightly scared, Adam moved to the side in an attempt to retreat from the floating golden runes, but the distance between him and the runes did not change.
[No need to be afraid, I cannot harm you, I am a part of you, a kind of assistant to aid in your future endeavors.]
Now, a little less wary, Adam asked a question he had wanted to know since his eyes could first see: Then... could you... Tell me where I am?
[I am not sure, it seems to be a forest of some kind. What I can tell you, though, is that this is not Earth.]
Adam's eyes widened, and his pupils contracted, the revelation coursing through his body like an electric shock. He wanted to laugh, and so he did; he laughed loudly, it was the first sound to leave his mouth. Adam felt a weight lifting from his shoulders as he finally stopped laughing, leaving only a grin plastered on his face.
"Ah... Well, this should be better than suicide at least."
[…]
"So, uuh, what's your name again?"
[I do not have one. Would you mind giving me one?]
"Sure, what about Eve?"
[From this day forward, I shall be known as Eve]
"OK!" Adam rose from the ground before noticing that, not only was he naked, but he was also much taller, and even his hair was different from normal.
"..."
Replying to his thoughts, Eve's runes appeared.
[Yes, it seems that this is a new body]
"... What
… The
… FUCK!?"
~~~
One Week Later
Draped in makeshift clothes, Fashioned from leaves and vines, Adam was examining the day's yield. With Eve's help, Adam gathered edible fruits and found a nearby river with drinkable water. This was how he had been managing to survive the past week. Surprisingly, he had not encountered any animals in the nearby area, which he found suspicious but chose to ignore. Today, though, he had found a fruit that bore no resemblance to anything he had seen before, whether on Earth or in the past week.
The fruit was crimson in colour and was in the shape of a heart. He only brought it because Eve said it was edible, but he felt it was too unusual to be a normal fruit.
"Eve"
The golden runes materialized in front of him.
[Yes, Adam?]
"Are you sure it is edible?"
[Affirmative]
Sigh... Adam took the crimson fruit in his hands and brought it to his mouth, hesitating slightly before taking a large bite out of the fruit. Quickly, Adam fell to his knees, his veins bulged, blood violently rushing through them. His heartbeat quickened and burned as if it were lit on fire. His teeth felt like they were being pulled out and forced back in, his muscles tore and healed, his bones broke and mended.
Adam let out a guttural, blood-curdling howl as his body was being torn and put back together. The harrowing experience played on loop for the next 2 hours before settling down. His mind was blank, his vision was dark, his body was limp; he had fainted.
~~~
Darkness, there was only darkness, no feeling, no pain, only darkness. Within the darkness, the shine of a golden light burst forth, forming blurry, illusory characters, followed by an ethereal, illusory female voice that resounded from all directions. In the presence of the illusory characters and voice, the darkness retreated, once again, light entered Adam's eyes, returning both his vision and senses.
Straining his mind, Adam moved his alien and unusually light body, intending to pick himself up from the ground, but instead flew into the air.
"HOLY FU-"
flying above the trees, catching a glimpse of a tree towering above the rest, piercing the clouds, the evening sun crowning it with a radiant crown. With liquid silver-like bark, blood red leaves, and vines hanging, resembling golden waterfalls, the gigantic tree seemed to hold the world together.
"woah..."
Adam was witnessing one of the most beautiful scenes his eyes had ever laid upon. He was mesmerized. Snapping Adam back to reality was the sensation of moving downward. Remembering that he was falling, Adam flailed his arms, his mind racing, trying to figure out how to land.
Just before he hit the ground, his body slowed exponentially, safely landing. Adam's body quivered, and the contents of his stomach streamed from his mouth. After 2 minutes, Adam recovered slightly and shakily made his way into the cave, leaning onto the wall before stating in a shaky voice:
"Eve..."
Instead of the silent runes he was used to, they were accompanied by the illusory and ethereal voice of a woman in a subdued tone.
[…yes?..]
This caught him off guard, prompting him to state in surprise:
"You can talk?!"
[Yes. I gained the ability to speak with you after you ate the fruit.]
Calming his voice, Adam asked: "What exactly was that thing?"
[After you bit into the fruit, I analyzed. It was a crimson heart, one of twenty-one groups of fruits that can change one's race and grant them the corresponding abilities.]
Adam was in shock, completely befuddled, yet, he was completely calm, showing no reaction.
"So, what did this 'crimson heart' turn me into?"
[The 'heart' completely transformed you into a vampire, an immortal mystical creature that feeds on blood. They have extraordinary physical and arcane skills.]
Guess that explains how I jumped so high... "Explain the abilities of a vampire." With the existence of these fruits, there are definitely others with such powers and possibly monsters. If I don't want to die a horrible death, this is something I must know.
[Enhanced physicality]: Enhances the body's capabilities to superhuman levels. reduces pain.
[Enhanced spirituality]: The soul is more robust, enhancing mana capacity. Soul damage resistance.
[Enhanced mentality]: The mind is more stable, now capable of handling exponentially more load. Mind damage resistance.
[Dramatizing]: Enhances one's acting abilities.
[Immortal body]: As long as both heart and brain are not destroyed at the same time, one will not die and will regenerate without limit. Extremely weak to holy fire.
[Feeding enhance]: One's abilities become stronger and more fantastical the more they feed. The stronger the blood, the better the enhancement.
[Transformation]: Can become a swarm of bats.
[Hypno]: Can hypnotize and manipulate others.
[Enchantment]: Can enchant Things with one's powers or elements.
[Haze]: Able to become, manifest, and manipulate vapor.
[Blood]: Able to manifest and manipulate blood. Can enhance things both physically and mystically.
[Shadow]: Able to manifest and manipulate shadows.
[Subordination]: Able to turn beings into loyal vampire servants who must obey all commands. able to store servants within one's soul]
While Eve was listing his new powers, Adam believed that [Feeding enhanced] and [immortal body] were the best skills here overall, as he would be able to get consistent increases in strength with little to no fear of dying, while [hypno] and [subordination] would be just as good if he ever found humans as loyal subordinates are best in human-filled settings.
Wanting to try his abilities quickly, Adam outstretched his hand and focused, with some effort, he created a blob made of fog. Heh... I wanted to make it a ball, guess I won't be able to do anything crazy like I wanted. Sigh... practice makes perfect.