The room changed once again
Darkness flooded the large space, inducing a small claustrophobic reaction within Luca
Only a single light illuminated the two of them
Quickly, it too followed in the dark's footsteps, and expanded
The two clashed in an explosion
Soundless, yet melodic
Blinding, yet colorful
Luca and the old woman both appeared to be caught by the skies as they drifted
Below, a forest came into view
Before Luca had the chance to admire this portrait of serenity, he fell
Green, yellow, red, blue—it was no longer mixed but distinct sections quickly approaching
Panic started to build up within him but dissipated as he turned his back to the ground.
Choosing rather to look up at the sky
He had faith that he would be saved
The moment he turned, it felt as if he was standing still
His body felt weightless and unmoving—a calming emotion overcame him every time he drew his breath
The upper branches broke first
The trunk and thick branches took turns hitting his torso and limbs
The instantaneous deceleration first ruptured his internal organs, before shattering his bones
As he hit the ground, he was already unconscious
Luca died—but only for a moment
"Welcome to the tutorial course, Luca Veras, or should I perhaps call you Ascendence, the false god."
A sudden jolt of electricity went from Luca's heart to his head, forcing his eyes open
He was disoriented, trying to compose himself
"Where… what is this? What am I going to do here?"
Luca felt his pulse echoing inside of his ears, as a cold sweat began dripping down his forehead
"This is where you get your explanation for why you are here. I thought you'd be happy."
Luca's face hardened as he attempted to hold back the adrenaline that was starting to surge out of control
"Then tell me."
"I am not the one who is going to tell you."
"Then, who are?"
"A what, not a who."
"Stop with the cryptic shit!"
"Well, I'm not trying to be cryptic on purpose; you are just asking bad questions."
She then pointed her hand to a cave, the only place on the entire island where shade could be seen
"You are to go in there."
"But it's dark."
"Were you always this whiny?"
"I don't mean it like that; I mean, like… why is it dark? Why do I have to go to the one unsafe-looking place on this entire paradise island?"
"Why?" She stopped, staring directly at him. "Why…?" why indeed?"
Her eyes looked off into the distance before again meeting his gaze
"You do not have to worry." She then held up a staff, which she did not have before.
"The most unsafe thing on this island is you."
As she uttered those words, she raised her staff seemingly trying to punch a hole through the air
Circles appeared on the ground beneath where Luca stood.
Then disappeared, as did he
In the blink of an eye, he found himself standing outside the same cave he was looking up at earlier
The entrance was devoid of light, and he had the feeling that all light would eventually be consumed by it
He didn't step inside; rather, the cave enclosed itself around him
As it did, a voice spoke out to him—one he had heard many times before
This was once an island, devoid of dark, so pure that not even shadows could be formed
Luca had noticed this earlier, but hearing it said out loud made him react nonetheless
Then the dark came in the shape of a young man
This young man was once one of our greatest—
I guess you could call him a founding member
For the first time, her voice appeared to take on a warmer, more emotional tone
Afraid to interrupt and enact her wrath, Luca stayed quiet as she continued
Even though he was by all accounts great, he had one detrimental flaw
He wanted to be the greatest
In the quest to reach his objective, he had a dangerous thought
If light outcasts the dark, then should the dark not be able to outcast the light as well?
A darkness that not even the god who oversee this island could enlighten—only contain
The power of sin
As the words were spoken, Luca felt a surge of energy running through his veins
You have once again acquired the power of Ascendence.
Do not use it in corrupt ways ever again.
Then the darkness dissipated into Luca
It felt as if his soul was on fire before absorbing it all
The island, which had been corrupted, was finally pure again.
Wait does that mean that I—
Luca quickly shook his head, trying to dismiss the idea before thinking about it too deeply.
"What exactly is this power?"
The power to mimic God
You have the power of creation, but not absolute
Your creations depend on their faith
Hence the title, "False God."
Your word can create worlds, but only if you can convince the gods that it exists
She then paused, her tone deepening with severity
The others have powers, echo, that all originated from your original sin, but none with the potential that yours have
However, potential is all it is
As it stands right now, your echo is the weakest of the seven
Luca was taken aback. What other powers were there?
"Who are the others? … What can they do?"
You have already met the young woman who kept her composure as she was taken from her world and placed in this one, only for it to finally break when she came face-to-face with you
Kaia
Luca thought back to their meeting. How he could sense that she was a strong person, even as she cried over this world, and blamed him for it all
Kaia Solen, whose sin was one of endless consumption, referred to as gluttony by some and the void by others.
Their echo referenced their purpose for achieving them. This only increased the number of questions building up in Luca's mind
But... what purpose is there in consumption?
Kaia can absorb energy or vitality from anything she touches
"That… wait, that sounds like it's really strong."
It is the power of one of the greatest sins of man. But it is also limited. Her echo is referred to as endless, as she can continue to fight as long as she has enemies to take energy from. However, what is taken is immediately consumed—it may never be given back.
"Ah… well, I guess… but if she fights enemies then that is not really an issue then… you know… if… they…" Luca struggled to say the last part out loud
… die
Ah, well, it seems as if you are forgetting something.
It must be consumed immediately.
She can, of course, use it to strengthen herself for quite some time, but in a long battle against an enemy that she cannot touch, she will be at a severe disadvantage.
To compensate, she may need to use one of you for fuel.
Echo, you can replenish on your own.
Your life energy too—only much slower. If she were to take too much, you may not recover at all.
"Hah…" Luca let out an awkward laugh trying ease the tension within his head, but to no avail
"But aren't I immortal? She could just use me and th—"
You may not die from physical wounds, but if she were to absorb your life energy, there would be nothing left to reincarnate.
This revelation shook Luca
He knew nothing of this world or the people in it
Somehow living had become the most important thing to him
He felt as though he could never look at that young woman the same way again
The guide then continued her explanation in the same manner as before.
As for Elias, he is a young boy, a sinner, and a victim.
Luca felt his chest drop
Victim
Of course he is, that young boy who smiled at everyone with genuine happiness, as he believed it could be shared
The sin of Cessation
Where Oblivion consumes, Cessation merely waits
It cannot create or destroy—only halt
His power can freeze even the echo inside one's body, causing enemies to fight without it.
"So, he can nullify a power, then? That seems like it would make a huge difference."
The sin of Cessation is the rejection of motion—nothing moves, nothing changes, nothing becomes, and nothing ends.
It does not discriminate, it does not heal, and it does not hurt. It is merely apathy disguised as peace—stillness is a more fitting term for it
Once the stillness ends, oblivion must continue
"What are you saying? That if he uses his power, people must die afterwards?"
If the boy uses his powers to create his peace, the consequences will be disruption—such is the cost of apathy.
"Cost? Just tell me what will happen!?"
No-
Her voice regained the coldness it usually had, sending it down Luca's spine
You will meet with the others tomorrow; for now you will rest. This is still your first day in this world, after all, and it has come to an end.
Luca was forcefully transported back to the dungeon by the same circles as had appeared before.
This time the old woman was nowhere to be seen—instead, it was Elias who waited for him by the door
"Sooo, the jungle was cool, right? It was like, reeeeally big, and that cave too, scary."
Luca smiled as he looked at the boy, who was moving his hands frantically as he spoke
"Yeah, it was. Glad to be back."
"Yeah! Anyway, Thalare told me to show you to your room."
Elias then bowed as the knight had done when the old man instructed him told to escort Luca
"It is right next to mine! Or not right next to it, but... you know... on the same floor. Kaia and Zara have rooms there too; all the others are on the third floor."
The others, huh?
Luca thought that about who they might be, as he looked forward to meeting them—but not today
As they arrived at Luca's door, Elias bowed once again in a manner fit for a noble, then ran off, breaking the performance
As he stepped inside, he reminisced about everything that had happened that day and started to both fear and hope for the future.