"How did things come to this?" In a strange void, the lonely and resigned voice of a young man who appeared to be in his 20s echoed.
The color of the sky or space covering the space in which it is located is light red. Originally, this place was quite large, but now it had been reduced to a very small area.
It literally looked like some parts had been completely erased. It seemed like an irreversible reset, but in fact these areas were sealed away for an indefinite period of time, preventing him from accessing them.
"Are you asking, Master?" The speaker was a pure white ball of light that shined in front of the man as if it was the only source of light in this entire area and did not seem to be affected at all by the sealing in the area.
Its voice was devoid of any emotion or distinctive gender characteristics. Simply put, it was like a robot with the ability to talk.
The man turned his focus to it and spoke. "No Oasis, I can understand why this happened, how things came to this, but I can't accept it. This is very difficult for me."
The boy sighed again. He felt powerless as he looked at what was in front of him.
After all, what was unfolding before his eyes was his own death.
He was considered too young even for his race. How could he easily accept his own death and more.
He remained silent as the ball of light in front of him continued to glow the same way and waves of light appeared to swirl within it.
The younger frowned as time continued to slowly pass and almost all of the area was sealed off.
'Why did you come?' He looked at the orb of light in front of him with anger and frustration.
"Aiden." A voice echoed from the ball of light again, and even though it still did not show any emotion, the aura around the ball of light had become more oppressive.
'What is it? Everything's happening because of you. Why are you even here? Do you really think I want to talk to you!?' Aiden remained silent as he tried to keep his own emotions from running rampant.
"All this is necessary. I know you can understand. You are someone who is mature beyond your years." The ball of light continued speaking with its oppressive air.
'Whether I understand or not doesn't matter. This doesn't change the fact that you separated me, a young person, from his family because of your own ambitions. You killed me just because you wanted to.' Aiden closed his eyes and remained silent, refusing to talk to it.
"Aiden, don't you want to honor your family? Haven't you always wished for this?" The ball of light spoke again, but the atmosphere around it became a little softer.
Aiden opened his eyes and glared at the ball of light, but remained silent.
"Your end is near, Aiden. There can't be a new beginning without an end. But your family, they will always remember you, they will not forget their only son and only little brother." The ball of light continued as if it were trying to soothe a child in its own way.
"You won't be gone forever either. And they won't intend to wait for you forever. One day you will meet again and then, you will be much stronger and far more influential than you are now.."
'As always, you only talk about information. How could 'something' like you can understand emotions? Of course I want to have power, but I don't know how long I will be away from my family. Not to mention, I will... them.…' Aiden sighed and closed his eyes again.
"Yes, Aiden, you will forget about them. You know that the reason you can remember them even now is because I allowed it." The owner of the voice coming from the ball of light seemed to be able to read Aiden's thoughts.
Aiden, however, was not surprised. It was very difficult to hide anything from what was in front of him. Especially in this situation.
"But as you grow stronger and strengthen your soul, you'll be able to remember them again. You're not losing them forever."
After a few seconds of silence, Aiden sighed again. 'Why? Why do my memories need to be sealed? I can understand all this ending and beginning business, but what do you want from my memory!?'
Aiden got angry towards the end but took a deep breath to calm himself down again.
"Because if we don't do this, your new self will know things he shouldn't be able to know. The fact that you know this information now and can easily meet most of the people you know is entirely thanks to your family. That you will no longer be a part of them..."
"I will always be their child! Even you cannot change this fact." Aiden shouted fiercely as he opened his eyes and glared at the ball of light.
The ball of light did not seem affected by this. "You will lose these powers because you will not be born from them in your new life. If your new self were to know any of what your current self knows, he would be punished."
"Haha... by whom? Is it not by you? The one who decided this...damn it!" Aiden shouted in anger again, but tried to calm down by closing his eyes and breathing heavily.
It was all too much for him. Just being able to stand here so calmly was quite an achievement.
The 'thing' controlling the orb of light gave no answer to his question. "Are you angry at me?" Instead it asked with soft air.
"Am I angry!?" Aiden asked and started laughing. "Am I angry? Hahahaha. Are you seriously asking that? Of course I'm very angry. I'm angry and I want to punch you if I could."
No matter what supreme beings he had encountered or what he had gained from them, none of them had ever done something this terrible to him.
Only it, the thing in front of him, came and told him and his entire family that 'Aiden had to die.' Of course, everyone opposed this, and they could have tried to resist.
But no one did it when they learned the reasons behind it. Even Aiden and his family could reluctantly accept this while spewing out curses and hatred.
After a few seconds of silence, he clenched his fists and closed his eyes as he continued. "But do I hate you? No, I don't. I understand why this has to happen… but please don't expect me to accept it calmly."
"All this procedure is so you can use the powers you've gained at their full potential, Aiden. Although your current body allows you to use everything freely, the vessel you will acquire will grant full access to them. That's why Oasis is changing." The ball of light explained calmly. "And you have to die and be reborn to have a new vessel. I will not interfere with the birth; everything must proceed normally. If there is any deviation, you will be perceived as an anomaly."
Aiden remained silent as the thing in front of him didn't normally give such long explanations. "So you mean I need to be like a completely new soul… or else there'll be problems. Am I getting that right?"
"It can also be understood this way. You are not allowed to roam freely in this universe with this much power and authority. But if you were born with them and they were bestowed upon you in this way, there would be no punishment before you."
Aiden glared at the ball of light. There was so much he wanted to say and get angry about it. But neither thought formed in his mind nor words came out of his mouth.
The ball of light continued, as if it could sense Aiden's silent rebuke. "Rules, Aiden. Without rules, everything would start to fall apart, and you are no exception. But you are still an exception, remember that." Then again, its aura softened a bit. "All in all we are really happy with your birth. That's why we make so many exceptions."
Aiden continued to stare at it, showing no emotion towards its words.
"Therefore, even though we will not interfere with the beginning of your new life, we will still ensure that you have a good birth. Do not rush and grow stronger slowly"
"I want something from you. I want you to make Oasis capable of evolving. I know that you are strengthening and changing it." Aiden spoke quietly.
"What do you mean by evolvable? Elaborate." The faint sound of the ball of light echoed as its aura became oppressive again.
"So, as I grow stronger, I want it to grow stronger with me and gain its own identity. I don't want something emotionless like you inside my soul. I want a being that will help me along the way."
"Your request is being evaluated." The response from the entity in the ball of light was instantaneous, followed by a few seconds of silence. "The matter that needs to be evaluated is that the 'Unique Skill' named 'Oastriousa' is obligated to act in the interests and for the well-being of the vampire called 'Aiden Crimson'."
"Due to this situation, under the condition that the 'Unique Skill' named 'Oastriousa' is always bound to the being called 'Aiden Crimson' and unconditionally fulfills his wishes and desires, we accept the transformation of the 'Unique Skill' named 'Oastriousa' into an evolving 'entity'."
Aiden listened silently and couldn't help but furrow his brow and clench his fist at certain points, especially because it referred to him first as a 'vampire' and then as a 'being'.
This was mainly due to his body changing and he couldn't do anything about it.
Aiden nodded slightly. "The purpose of Oasis is to assist me in my abilities and development, so its absolute loyalty to me is acceptable. But I want Oasis as a companion by my side, not a slave who accepts my every wish and desire without question. My final request is that, change 'the fact that it unconditionally accepts every wish of Aiden Crimson' to 'giving advice when necessary and trying to formulate a solution in line with its own desires'."
"The demand is being heard." The sound of the light ball was instantaneous again, and a few seconds later the answer came. "The request has been accepted. In line with the fulfillment of the wish, unlimited intelligence will be given to 'Oastriousa', which is now 'being'. As the 'being' called 'Aiden Crimson' evolves, the 'being' called 'Oastriousa' will also evolve and experience developments in mind and self."
Aiden nodded slightly. But deep down he was a little surprised. A slightly better result for Oasis than expected had taken. "Thank you." Even though he was angry at the being before him, he expressed his gratitude— Oasis will be a very important companion to him.
The aura around the ball of light softened again. "You are the one we chose. This much help is not a problem. Additionally…" the ball of light remained strangely silent and continued in a low voice. "Your wish actually made us happy. After all, 'Oastriousa', or 'Oasis' as you call it, can be considered a child born thanks to you and us."
Aiden didn't know how to react after hearing this. His mind went completely blank. "Can you even understand the concept of having children?" These were the words that managed to come out of his mouth.
"It is a being born from the union of beings. For creatures to have offspring, it's not strictly necessary for them to engage in sexual activity with the opposite sex. You, of all beings, should know this very well. Oasis will be an entity born from the merging of your energy and ours."
Aiden was about to nod slightly, but stopped himself. "No, I didn't mean that. Can you even understand what it is to have a child? Can you really understand the feeling of having a child, that is, having a child?"
"No, we don't truly understand what you mean. But it is a fact that 'Oasis' would not exist without you and us together. Therefore, it is not wrong to accept it as a child born between us." The soft voice from the ball of light said lightly.
Aiden tilted his head, wondering why this whole conversation was happening. "What about other creatures? Logically, aren't they your children too?
"No." The presence in the ball of light's answer was definitive, and its aura became dominant again. Aiden had given up, thinking that would be the answer, but to his surprise, the presence continued. "Do you accept the insects in your garden as your children? Or your citizens in your kingdom. The microbes that occur in your body."
"No." Aiden answered slowly. Even if the questions are a bit strange and the answer is definitive, you don't know what they imply. could understand. But Aiden and 'Them' were different. But he still didn't want to discuss it.
"So what happens now?" Aiden replied slowly. The questions were a bit strange, and even though the answer was certain, he could understand what was being implied. But the situations of Aiden and 'Its' were different. Still, he didn't want to discuss it.
"Oasis' changes are still ongoing. You'll have to wait until that's over." The ball of light said lightly and continued. "In the meantime, let's review the half-sealed important places in your soul." Aiden nodded slightly as he sat down on the ground in space.
Then several screens appeared in front of him, showing different scenes. Each image had different things in it, but the background colors were the same in all of them. Light-reddish color adorned every image.
Aiden frowned slightly when he noticed this situation. After all, even though the areas shown represent different areas within his soul, they should not have the same color theme.
"Don't worry. They temporarily lost their properties due to partial restrictions. That's why the color of the environment has become the same as the color of your soul." The ball of light explained lightly.
Aiden thought for a few seconds before nodding in understanding. Aiden then remained silent as one of the screens approached.
Inside, there was a circular object with a diameter of 4 meters. While it had a shape similar to the orb of light in front of him, its color was completely the opposite. It was jet black and seemed to possess an emptiness and depth that drew you in.
"This, Aiden, is the most dangerous 'thing' I don't want you to carry around, as I'm sure you're aware of." A deep voice echoed from the ball of light.
"I won't take it away from you, no matter how much I want to. Especially since we reached an agreement. You know that normally you have to become this type. But that would be something you wouldn't be able to overcome, even with our help. That's why we decided on this 'thing'." The ball of light continued calmly.
"An egg." Aiden said lightly. This time there was a slight hint of emotion in his voice.
"Yes. The being that will hatch from this egg will be a sign of the agreement and unity made between you and 'them'."
"My death has come, but I actually carry my two children inside me. Hahaha." Aiden laughed, finding this situation funny and complicated.
Well, even if he didn't see Oasis as his own child but as his companion, he still couldn't help but think this way.
"This 'child' will not be able to join you at an early stage, which will be very dangerous for both you and everything around you. But one day it will join, and I still want to remove this danger from you, but I can't." A harsh voice echoed from the ball of light.
Aiden grinned slightly at 'it' and looked at the black ball. He didn't have the opportunity to talk to the being who gave him this for a very long time. But as the ball said, this egg was not their goal in the beginning. It was to make a change in Aiden.
The funny thing is, if someone were to experience this change, they would break, but thanks to Aiden's special situation, he could avoid this.
But now, because Aiden has to die, if he were to experience this change at his birth, he would actually break.
It's truly an ironic event, but there was nothing to be done.
That's why such an agreement was reached. Aiden would not change directly, but he would be able to have the powers and effects that came with that change thanks to the being that emerged from that egg.
When Aiden first heard about this, he really wanted to protest, but he was still powerless against the situation. Because it seemed wrong to him to create a being just for power.
What's done is done. Aiden silently carved his own will into his own soul, engraving that he should always look upon the being that hatched from that egg with love.
Even if such a small will came from the past, since it would not involve any negligence, it would not be erased from his soul.
Then, the screen Aiden was looking at was replaced by another screen. A fist-sized ball appeared inside.
Then, the screen Aiden was looking at was replaced by another one. On it appeared a ball about the size of a fist.
The ball seemed to be made of interlocking layers, resembling petals. It had an appearance similar to the stage of a flower before it blooms.
"There's really not much we can say about it. After all, this seed, or you, is what we are truly happy about at your birth. So since this is your foundation, it won't be limited for long. You'll probably be able to use it as soon as your physique can handle it."
Aiden nodded slightly. This situation was a first and strange even for the being in front of him. That's why he knew it said 'probably'.
"Well, I won't poke you too much about my birth, but it would be nice if there was at least a place where I could easily reach women." Aiden wanted this for his future.
He wasn't a sensual person, and even if he was, he really needed women. He needed them because of the little 'seed' that appeared before his eyes.
The ball of light didn't respond, but Aiden was sure his intent had been conveyed.
As Aiden continued to look at the seed displayed on the screen, a thought came to him. A slight, twisted expression appeared on his face as he asked, "Where is 'them'?"
Space, which until now had remained calm even while being sealed, began to become slightly unstable and shake. A look of excitement slowly emerged on Aiden's face.
"Aiden, calm down, you can't put yourself in such a disordered state right now." Along with the dominant aura from the ball of light, a faint voice quickly tried to warn Aiden.
"No, no. Where is 'them'. You can't stop them from seeing me. I want to see them." Aiden became more excited as he thought about the 'being' he was talking about, and the space began to become more unstable.
"Aiden! Balance your thoughts immediately. Otherwise, you'll enter an irreversible stage and you'll never see your family again." The pressure from the ball of light gently pressed against Aiden and tried to calm him down.
Its words may have been a wake-up call for Aiden. After hearing its words, he closed his eyes and took deep breaths, while the imbalance in space began to stabilize.
After the imbalance was completely over, Aiden's expression calmed down completely, but neither side said any sentences or words.
"Aiden. You can't act like this. I know you understand why I don't let them see you." A faint sound echoed from the ball of light.
Aiden didn't answer as he closed his eyes and tried not to think about them. Because he knew that if he started thinking about them again, he wouldn't be able to control his emotions.
"Aiden, let's move past this topic and continue. We've checked all the important areas, and the rest are things you already know. Therefore, we will leave now and allow you to make the final adjustments with Oasis until your work is complete."
"I understand." Aiden nodded slightly.
After a slight silence, the ball of light continued. "No matter what you think of us, Aiden, we have always been and always will be there for you. We guarantee that your new life will not be too difficult and you will not have a bad new start. This is the least we can do." The presence in the ball of light continued before slowly fading away. "We'll always be watching you, Aiden. Live your new life the way you want."
There was no visible change in the ball of light, but Aiden could feel the ridiculous pressure he had been feeling leaving.
"Welcome, Oasis." Aiden said while smiling slightly.
"I'm back, master. And I really appreciate you making a wish for me." Oasis's old emotionless voice was heard, but this time there were slight fluctuations in the ball of light.
Aiden was slightly surprised but happy at the change. "I didn't expect there to be an immediately noticeable change. But I'm glad you showed even a little emotion."
"Yes, master." Even though such things were new to Oasis and something it had no experience with, it could feel its master's happiness. So it felt happy too. At least that's what it's thought of as a feeling.
There was a pleasant silence before Aiden continued. "Well, what do we do now?"
"We are almost ready for the master's death. If there are things the master wants to handle by then, we can do them."
"Things I want to take care of, huh?" Aiden looked at the screens in front of him and threw them away. He spoke afterwards. "Oasis, will you be allowed to keep the knowledge I have gained in this life?"
"The master need not worry. The aim of 'Oasis' is to make the master the strongest. Any action taken towards this end, whether it comes from the past or the present. It is not prohibited."
Aiden nodded in understanding but moved on to another topic. "Oasis, when talking about yourself, use the term 'I' instead of 'Oasis.' Don't refer to yourself in the third person anymore. You have a sense of self now, and you need to get used to acting accordingly."
"Oasis… I understand, master." Oasis answered again with its emotionless voice, but the fluctuations in the ball of light were evidence that it was feeling different emotions.
Aiden smiled slightly. "Well, I have nothing more to say about that. But what concerns me is that I wouldn't want to improve my mana, using a lower-tier method. Especially since I believed the mana training technique where I lived was of the highest quality."
"You don't need to worry about that, Master. I can't give you a definitive answer right now, but as I said, Oasis, I am here to make you the best. I will give you the best I have, as long as it is within my knowledge."
"I understand. I trust you, Oasis." Aiden smiled slightly.
"Master, let's move on to our other topic. As you know, you have an affinity with all the elements, and this actually comes from the fact that you are their children."
Thanks to the bloodline. Most of my abilities come simply from being their child, Oasis, you know that. My eyes, my powers, and my body." Aiden spoke with a slightly melancholic tone. Not because he would lose these powers, but because, despite them granting him these strengths and qualities, he had given nothing back in return.
And now he was leaving them.
"Don't worry, master. You won't lose any of them. You are someone with their bloodline, master. And you always will be." Oasis stated in an emotionless voice.
"Oasis?" Aiden bowed his head slightly. He was really confused. After all, he will be born from another flesh and blood and will have another flesh and blood. Having the bloodline of his current family was truly an absurd dream.
"Don't worry, Master. I don't have any information but you can trust me on this. They gave this information specifically to me."
"Haha~. My family did it, huh. Then you must be right." Aiden laughed lightly. In a way, this was his family's way of telling him that no matter what happens to you, he will be their child, and he appreciated it.
"And I can always count on you, Oasis. You will be my companion forever. If I don't trust you, who will I trust?
"I will not betray your trust, master." Oasis continued with its emotionless and cold voice. "As a result, master, you must choose certain elemental affinities to use in your new life. This way, I will suppress your other affinities in a way that your future self won't be aware of until you are ready. And I will make myself known about this so that there will be no problems."
Aiden nodded and the two began talking and discussing which elemental affinities they should keep and which they should seal. This discussion honestly took a long time because, while Aiden didn't have a close affinity with every conceivable elemental affinity, he was close enough to be considered as having an affinity with 'all' elements.
And so does his family.
After a long and logical discussion, they finally decided.
"Are you sure about the last one, Master? Thanks to that egg, you will be able to use this affinity when the time comes. Before that, isn't it bad to have this elemental affinity?" Oasis asked this question not because it was worried but because it was based on logic.
After all, it didn't have a feeling like 'worry' right now.
The logic was this. Aiden was not born with this elemental affinity. Yes, this elemental affinity was an elemental affinity that was outside of that 'all'.
He only had this elemental affinity after meeting 'that' being. Now that he had that egg after all the complications, his body might not have been ready to carry that elemental affinity.
"Your concerns, I understand Oasis. But that's why you're here, aren't you? On the day I awaken my elements, if you think it will be too much for my body, then seal that element as well." Aiden said with a smile. Previously, he could not give such an order to the constant yes and auspicious Oasis, but now things have changed.
"I understand, Master. You can trust me. I will definitely prevent anything from happening that could harm you." A clear and emotionless voice was heard as the lights of the Oasis fluctuated slightly.
After a few seconds of silence, Aiden spoke. "I guess that's it, huh?" He couldn't help but feel melancholy again.
Oasis's lights flickered, as if it had become emotional. 'Yes, master, this is the last.'
Aiden approached the Oasis, the ball of light, with light steps. Then he hugged her. He was literally swept off his feet and completely embraced the ball. "This is not the end, Oasis, this is a new beginning"
"Yes master." Oasis' slightly soulful voice echoed.
"Can you get emotional now, Oasis?"
"As your master wishes, my evolution will take place depending on the spirit of the master. And since the master's current soul is already considered strong beyond normal, my evolution is quickly trying to catch up with your soul power."
"Hmm. At the time, this was a bad request on my part. Out of all these feelings, you will have to experience the worst feeling with me. His death."
"Don't regret it, Master. I am one with you and I am happy to feel what you feel."
"But you will be like a robot again."
"It doesn't matter, besides, I would rather improve with the master than be too far ahead of the master."
"But what about…" Aiden's voice trailed off until the entire space fell silent, and finally the entire area fell silent.
"Sleep well Ma… Aiden. I will always be with you, so rest assured." Oasis spoke in a low voice.
Nothing happened after that. Everything seemed as it was. Aiden was still clinging tightly to Oasis, except there was no sign that he was conscious or still alive.
Aiden then began to glow and slowly dissolved into the space around him. With this, the light of the Oasis began to slowly fade away, but it continued to float in the air while still maintaining its circular shape.
And thus Aiden's death before the beginning.
…
And several 'beings' witnessed this.
One of them was a person whose shape and form could not be explained, scattered like dust in the galaxy.
"Hmm. The beginning you chose for him. I cannot accept this." They spoke with a lot of emotion and in a voice that seemed to convey no emotion at all. Then, an indescribably small energy particle emerged from them and touched something that could not be seen with the naked eye.
Nothing happened for a few seconds. But then the entire area and even everything around him began to tremble and shake.
"What have you done! Why are you interfering with his birth?! Do you realize what changes can happen thanks to your intervention?!" The same dominant aura and dominant voice echoed from all around the area.
But the dust cloud seemed unaffected. "You know, the birth you chose does not have a suitable beginning for the development of the 'seed'. And you know deep down that the seed will not accept such a birth. He will not be able to accept the beginning you chose, even if he does not have his old memories, and he will not be able to find a 'peaceful' moment in the peaceful life you have arranged. No matter how much you wanted to spoil him, you thought about it wrong."
There was silence between the two 'beings'. What followed like a cloud of smoke continued. "Don't worry, I was paying attention to him even before he was a 'seed'. So much before you. I wouldn't make a decision that would be bad for him."
There was silence between the two beings again, and before the pressure disappeared completely, the one with the dominant aura spoke. "You better know what you're doing. Otherwise, no matter what you represent, you will face a serious penalty."
Area around dust smoke after calming down then he muttered to himself. "I'll be expecting a thank you after all I've done for you, little Aiden."
…