Darkness... After closing his eyelids, there was nothingness. A void of desolation and futility. It reminded him of the moment when the black towers descended from the skies like heaven's retribution upon humanity. Since then, a New World was born from the cataclysm.
"Hah-!" Damien was jolted awake, his sable-tinted eyes widened while his body grasped for air. He felt his body sprawling on the rough and cracked surface of a wasteland. The skies were dull and grey, smoke and thunderclouds drifting with solitude.
His heart pounded as cold sweat dripped from his forehead. Chills echoed throughout his body, cautioning him of what was about to come.
As his body rose from what felt like an eternal slumber, an endless wasteland was unveiled to his perception. There was no horizon for him to see as the empty landscape stretched as far as the eye could see.
'Where am I?' Damien pondered as he recalled what happened before his awakening. After returning to the SIGIL Headquarters under the advice of his senior, he decided to take a short nap in his private quarters.
He didn't expect it would result in this peculiar circumstance.
'Is this a dream? Or don't tell me I was teleported somewhere else?' Although these were mere speculations, they were possible regardless. Nothing would even surprise him anymore.
After all, his senior did create a deep canyon with a single attack. A human was capable of ushering such utter destruction that resistance seemed pointless. There was nothing impossible in the New World.
Damien observed his surroundings with a scrutinizing gaze, and soon, his eyes lay onward. Before him was a black tower, reminiscent of the ones that descended from the heavens and brought about a new era for the world. It loomed with grandiose oppression.
"Is this even Earth?" He muttered under his breath, scratching his hair. After taking some time reflecting upon it, he shook his head and decided to utilize his system instead. But unexpectedly, no response came through.
His eyes furrowed as unease began to drown his heart. To him, the Monster Gacha System was his closest ally. Being unable to hear a reply was akin to being blindfolded. It didn't feel pleasant.
'Even the system is gone. So a dream, huh? Or perhaps a mentalscape.' He nodded to himself, concluding the most likely situation. In his mind, it was nothing short of impossible for the system to be taken from him.
It wasn't ignorant arrogance. In a world where nothing made sense, the system was the most nonsensical thing Damien had ever experienced. At least, the strength of powerhouses could be explained as the pinnacle of Aether and Brands.
But the system? On what basis does its power stand? Where do these monsters come from? Rarely did he question this. After all, for him, it was no less different than a fact, or the so-called laws of reality.
"Nonetheless, I didn't expect to be dragged into a dream after closing my eyes. Did someone ambush me in the private quarters, or is this related to Eclipse's evolution?" He glanced at the black tower and wondered what the correlation was.
As if answering his question, the earth rumbled as the heavens divided into two separate halves. The inscribed runes that were imprinted across the Stygian surface gleamed with radiance, ushering in a long-lost language of an ancient civilization.
It pulsed, resembling a biological array that was transmitting a signal to an unknown source. The state of affairs made him frown, but there wasn't much he could do about it. In his current state, he was no less different than a helpless sheep.
Observing the transformation of the black tower, he couldn't help but ponder the significance of such a sight. If he wanted confirmations, he needed to head towards the black tower in the Bronx and investigate for himself. His movements would no doubt attract attention.
But as he had resolved before, his dream was to search and discover the truth of Heaven's Fall. He wanted to understand why the modern world had changed and become a husk of its former self.
Disrupting his thoughts was an eclipse darkening the entirety of the heavens. The wasteland was shaded from the light of the sky, becoming a desolate black landscape. It was quite a sight, especially when the lone black tower gleamed with unrivalled radiance.
An eerie silence filled his ears as his mind rang. The breeze calmed into tranquility, resting in place in utter stillness. It was as though the world was frozen in place. Trapped in a perpetual solitude.
Then, the trumpets of the heavens bellowed as two stars emerged from the pitch-black that appeared to be the night sky. But Damien promptly realized his mistake. His sable-tinted gaze widened, dumbfounded to the core. Before him weren't two stars.
It was two giant glowing eyes.
A resounding crack reverberated throughout the world, and reality fractured into pieces. An unknown being descended from the fissure of dimensions. Its body was feminine in shape and completely black.
The unknown being loomed over the black tower that he himself considered tall. Compared to this humanoid abomination, it was no less different than a pencil pointed upright.
'W-What the hell-' Despite his calm facade, thoughts surged through Damien's mind, flooding him with countless worries and dread. He didn't expect this dream to introduce such a troublesome prospect.
Nevertheless, he contained his worries to himself and observed the looming dark goddess. Compared to it, he was smaller than an ant. Quite a humbling experience, but he had already learned his lesson about the New World.
He didn't need another lesson from destiny to understand what needed to be done. Although another conjecture also took root within his mind. It was much more illogical, yet it was also highly possible.
Wanting to test his thoughts, Damien gulped and stepped forward. Gathering the deepest resolves shackled within his heart, he gazed upon the horror incarnate and questioned. "Eclipse... Is this your true form?"
Finally, the immense unknowing being shifted, confirming his suspicions. His eyes brightened, but before he could utter another word, reality pulled him back from the mindscape. He felt his consciousness dragged away, the doors to this realm closing.
Damien could only watch helplessly as his eyelids opened, unveiling the familiar ceiling of his private quarters above him. He sighed to himself and found his body drenched in sweat. The results of the unknown dream were beyond his expectations.
He hadn't expected to see the actual form of his first summoned monster, Eclipse, within that mindscape. But it was without a doubt her. 'So, my first summoned monster was a female extraterrestrial horror...'
Damien didn't expect the gargantuan black hands that had been with him since the beginning to have such an identity. At any rate, it was good news. His potential wasn't as troublesome as he had previously expected.
'Once again, I underestimated the capabilities of the system. It is a Monster Gacha. While I could receive weak monsters, I might also be granted monsters capable of rivalling fictional gods.'
'The future is interesting. I look forward to how far I will go.' The edges of his lips curved into a smile as he stretched his body and prepared for a new day. It was time to continue his training with his gorgeous senior.