- Early Morning -
Death is pain. Death is both trauma and the great divider. It binds and destroys people indiscriminately. I thought I was immune to its clutches-that my experiences would make me an outlier.
I was wrong.
Heat was the first sensation I noticed upon my awakening-unbearable, blistering, heat. All encompassing and soul turning. My first instinct was to move, but I immediately forced my body into absolute stillness. I'm not sure which stopped me-fear or common sense, but I refuse to be burned alive due to irrational thoughts.
Gathering myself, I gained more and more consciousness, and what I experienced damn near melted my mind along with my sanity.
Flashes of memories long forgotten replayed in my mind-haunting and eye opening. The heat of the bullet as it entered my body, the horror on the face of my long time friend at the realization of what he'd just done. Another flash occurs, and I'm panting over his bloodied and still form while clutching my injured side, horrifyingly aware that my exertion is what's causing me to bleed out faster.
I hated it. The weakness, the despair, and even just the tension that filled the atmosphere. And with that hate came rage, blinding and brutal.
Another flash and you can see the body of a female, brutalized yet beautiful.
"It's unfortunate what happened to you, but life throws wrenches in the plans of us all, does it not, little lordling?" A voice called out to me, seemingly from all around me. It had an ancient and gravelly tone to it, as if I would never be able to understand what's speaking to me.
Startled, I finally opened my eyes, and what I saw would stick with me for a long, long time.
An endless sea of scarlet red flesh, expanding further and further the more I looked, and grafted within that flesh were large eyeballs the size of multiple people.
The iris and pupil of the eye were an indescribable deep black, and the sclera was a golden flame that burned my eyes as well as clouded my mind from just the simple thought of gazing upon it.
But that's not the end of it.
The flesh writhed and shifted constantly, and the eyes darted in such a way that no matter where I looked I was always having a staring contest. It's sickening and eerie, and I need to find a way out of here now.
Looking down, I noticed that I'm on a conveniently placed but incredibly small stone slab floating in the sea of ocular organs. I crouched down in an attempt to feel the stone and gain information on just what it is I'm standing on, but what happened next very nearly knocked me over the edge.
The voice called out again, and the words were firmer and filled with far more authority this time.
"You covet that which you do not understand, but no matter. You shall inherit these flames of mine, and set chaos upon this world and any other you gaze upon. Go forth and claim that which is your birthright, your destiny."
As soon as he finished his words, I could hear laughter ringing around me. It wasn't exactly taunting, but more so knowing-like I was left out of the best joke anyone could ever tell.
"Ahh, may chaos take the world…"
The beautiful golden flames in each sclera blazed more furiously than ever, to the point of engulfing me. I wanted to scream in agony, but for some reason the flames themselves kept me from doing so.
"May chaos take the world!"
Then I woke up.
- Later -
Waking up wasn't an issue, it was a relief. I never realized the vice grip that place held on my mind until I noticed just how clear everything was once I regained consciousness.
Unfortunately for me, I did not have the time to dwell on what I'd just witnessed. Today is the day that Max gets her powers, and that means that I have to do everything perfectly.
I started off by eating a balanced breakfast, favoring protein and health over taste. Not exactly what I'd prefer, but I'll have all the time in the world to indulge in my desires in the future. I've been living like this since I stepped up for my family back home, so I can deal with it for a few more years.
I'll just have to thug this out for the time being.
Although thoughts like these are what make me all the more eager for my inevitable godhood, I digress. My stats made a slight bit of progress-it's not much, but I still feel way better than I was just a day ago.
Vincent West
{Health: 100%}
{Stamina: 78%}
{Rank: Mortal}
{Class: Cultist - Level 2}
{Strength: D+}
{Constitution: C}
{Dexterity: C+}
{Intelligence: B}
{Wisdom: C-}
{Charisma: B+}
{Luck: A-}
Not only did my strength and constitution both go up by a single point, but even my cultist class leveled up after my stunt with that guy at the lighthouse. Before I continue though, let's take a moment to deliberate on my "stunt"..
Full transparency, I enjoyed what I did-I regret nothing. I'm pretty sure that I've made it clear so far that my mind isn't as normal as it can be, but I wouldn't have it any other way. In fact, I'd even go so far as to say that it's a part of my charm, but that's besides the point.
My stats aren't the only thing that has managed to grow. My skills even got bumped up a bit.
[Gentle Fist Taijutsu (Practitioner)] - Proficiency Skill
You have begun the path of the Hyuga, turning your body into a storm of precision and unrelenting force.
[Pyrokinesis (Beginner)] - Ability
You have somewhat of a grasp on the ability to generate and control fire at will. Stamina drain scales to the magnitude the ability is used.
After the situation with my dream, my [Pyrokinesis] leveled up randomly as well as gained that asterisk, but the Game refuses to answer me every time I question it about it.
I can't focus on that too much though.
It's time to go out and initiate my plans, and I can't wait to see how this turns out.