| World of the Discorder — Chasm of the Abyss | Noire Saints
"The insignia is the soul of all things, and chasm is where the abyss appears.
Predicaments come and go as the winter blooms at sight.
Night-black hair, echoes that sing, and the sun that flames—all roads lead to eternal sight.
The moon swallowed the raging sun— as the path for the unworldly birth as one."
"Dost thou know how this world endeth?"
Noire muttered, his voice aloof as if he were overlooking peasants on the ground. "If thy selves are here to offer thy life, then thou shalt die as one."
Blood alone flowed in a river where chasm trailed.
Insignia is the soul of all things, but Noire defied sense by leasing the souls of the peasants for himself. Standing in reverence until his eyes had gone detached along the bits of his consciousness slipping from his grasp, travelling in a long river of clustering clock—where everything except his consciousness clashed along the tide, wrecking everything in a reckless abandon.
Until not so long, he found himself in a familiar room.
"This is…" he muttered. "Orion village?"
The last thing he remembered was being surrounded by his devout believers. He had climbed his way in order to conduct such a ritual, but never had he thought it would actually bring him back in time.
The ritual that needed the life of the hundreds of his believers would reveal a power unknown to man, at least that was what he thought, but it turned out to be a runabout with the river of time.
Such was the discovery of Noire, a fortuitous encounter he rightfully earned, or so he thought to himself.
No one could discover, or perhaps, was powerful enough to determine the cause about the sudden occurrence of powers in the world. But as if fate intervene, it has become the truth the the world overlapped to chasm.
"Thankfully it still worked, the unexpected regression or else-" Noire was about to say, when something interrupted his vision.
It was not correct to say that he 'saw' it with his vision, rather that he saw it with his mind's eye.
***The insignia is the soul of all things, and chasm is where the abyss appears.
Predicaments come and go as the winter blooms at sight.
Night-black hair, echoes that sing, and the sun that flames—all roads lead to eternal sight.
The moon swallowed the raging sun— as the path for the unworldly birth as one.***
The very same thing he recited over his devout believers has been retold to him like the death's whisper.
[Noire Saints path has been realized.]
[A point of singularity shall now be redirected.]
[The chasm of the abyss is now granted permission.]
[Man is given life, thus they seek truth.]
[Noire Saints [Discorder], awaken.]
Awaken…..
Awaken…
Awak-
…
…
"This…" he muttered. "Orion village…?"
"Wait. Something's strange." Noire muttered. "Have I…regressed two times? If so, then how…?" The current situation baffled him more than anything he'd encountered before. What he can remember was the ritual in itself, and the sudden 'vision' he'd got after the regression…and then, nothing.
He felt as though times had repeated itself two times, or more than so. In any case, he knew he was not in his right mind to think. However, one thing was for certain. He regressed back in time—hundreds of years.
He couldn't remember other than the fact that he had regressed, though his memories prior to his regression remained ingrained in the depth of his mind, there seemed to be an emptiness of which he could barely explain.
In his hundred years of living, encountering numerous opportunities and dangers, never had it occurred to him that he would come back in time just as he thought he would be given new powers. Just as he was about to lament, a strange noise echoed—or, was transmitted directly on his head.
Noire Saints.
Your path has been realized.
A point of singularity has been redirected.
The chasm is now free.
Awaken, Noire.
[YOU HAVE AWAKENED]
Noire was calm as he analysed this. Was this the side effect of the ritual? Though it wasn't that he could just ask anything regarding this.
[AWAKENED ONE, YOU ARE WHO WRITE YOUR PATH. THE POWER GRANTED TO YOU, IS ONE THAT EVEN THE ANCIENT ONES DESIRES SO. HOWEVER, THIS COMES AT A PRICE. A PRICE UNKNOWN EVEN TO YOU, THAT ONLY YOURSELF CAN POSSIBLY COME THROUGH. SO, AWAKENED ONE, AS A PARTING GIFT FOR THE ONE DEEMED 'WORTHY', I SHALL GIVE YOU BUT A CLUE: CHASM IS NEITHER AN ENEMY NOR A FRIEND.]
A silence.
True that, Noire was very baffled by such a revelation, but the statements, now etched in the depth of his skull, has somehow confused him more than anything else. On one hand, the information that whatever strange thing gave him was valuable without a doubt. On the other hand, he had just regressed thus his mental state wasn't even stable as he listened to it, meaning to say, he hadn't understood a single bit.
Darkness has engulfed the very village by now, it was night. Night-black hair turned winter under the moonlight's, yet his body remained still as he slowly absorbed the very information he'd got as well as the power that he'd apparently got.
[As an introduction, this power grants you the ability to do quests in exchange for rewards. This system-like power, desired even by the ancient ones, will be your guide to attaining your true path.]
[For starters.,]
Daily Quest: Complete 10 push-ups.
Reward: 5 silver shards
[Such quests appear each day. In addition to quests, your power also grants you an inventory of your own where everything can be stored, so long as they come from your power itself.]
Noire frowned. The explanation of his power was brief, containing all his foundational needs. However, he was skeptical. Ten push-ups rewards me with 5 silver shards, that's impossible! He encountered treasures and trouble before regression, and a gimmick such as the one in his current situation is by far, something he hadn't come about yet.
On one hand he thought he was being played by a superior being. On the other, he held on to the hope that everything that's occurring is real.
Do ten push ups? That's simple enough.
As it was, the worst that could happen if he was wrong was to look silly. At the very least, it would not concern his death.
"Arlz…" as Noire was in the middle of his workout session, a man covered in wrinkles entered the room. His uncle- Rue Sever.
Ah, Noire thought as memories poured back in. During this time, his uncle has been treating him like his own son. Although they had no blood ties, Noire parents had entrusted him to his uncle along with their fortune. He was treated with love and care.
Still, there comes a time where one's amplitude is tested. In his world, amplitude is tested by how long you last when exposed to chasm. In special places, where the test is to be conducted, they are to walk a field where chasm trails. The field is 50 metres long, with mild fogs hovering in the air.
Talents are valued more than anything in this world. So, when he was determined to be a fool in a world of holders, he was positioned as a human lower than a pig, with a talent of that of a monkey. This caused his life to spiral in ways he could never imagine.
When others reached rank 2 in a year, he needed ten years to catch up. Because he had the talent that was not worth nurturing, the support he received was so minimal that he could only grow to be a fodder. When the time came that everything became unbearable to him, he reached his uncle only to find the same cold gaze. Only then had he realized that everything has been superficial.
Rue Sever, his uncle, naturally knew nothing of this, and still showed the same care he'd always given.
"Is something wrong? Shouldn't you be sleeping?" His uncle asked. It was an odd sight to see anyone working out at the peak of night. Was he having trouble sleeping?
Once done, he got up, and simply said, "Nothing. I'm fine, uncle. You should go to sleep too."
The cold reply stunned his uncle, but he thought that Noire might be having trouble as of late given that the amplitude exam was nearing. He simply nodded and retreated in shadow.
Noire saw a notification pop up.
[Quest has been completed and will be updated tomorrow. Rewards are now sorted in your inventory.]
Noire became somewhat aware that something had been added to his inventory. Although he was somewhat dejected, even in a verge of disbelief, it didn't take him long to regain his composure.
The inventory which the system has mentioned earlier lay deep in his consciousness. The rewards had not been given directly to him, but on it.
Thinking about it, did he really have the five silver shards promised to him, or was it just messing with him? Five silver shards is enough to feed a whole family for two weeks. That's how valuable it is.
But, the moment he thought about pulling a single piece of shard, a strange message popped up.
Withdraw from inventory?
What was this 'inventory'? He knew of many magical items, techniques even, that are unique and are hard to obtain even in his hundred years of experience, though this seemed to have an inventory of its own.
Come to think about it, this 'system' is able to do far too much than just provide quests in exchange for reward. It is very capable of adapting to Noire's own pace, satisfying his curiosity with a proper answer. Though he wouldn't have asked its origin nor anything that pry the system itself, as when he tried, not only had he experienced a mind-wrenching throbbing on the sides of his head, he felt incredibly numb though for a moment.
He only withdrew a single piece of shard, and his pupils dilated as he felt one precisely on his hand. In addition, upon checking within his consciousness, the number of shards has dropped from five to four, but this was real, bearded mama!
Shards were used as currency to buy goods and services. Silver is the currency higher than bronze. However, the one that he has, being referred to as 'shard' is lower valued than silver itself. It will only be of equal value upon collecting hundreds of shards.
He frowned. While it gives him a start-up advantage unlike his prior life, having such an amount is equivalent to being a candle attracting moths to its fire—though his fire would quickly be swallowed as the moths were actually salamanders.
After all, if people asked, where could he say that it came from?
His uncle, though is showering him with love and care, is basically a vile villain causing predicament. If the five shard could feed a family for two weeks, then uncle would have to be insane to give him such an amount.
There was a point in his life that he did not have even a single penny in his pocket, causing him to basically lose even his most basic rights to eat. He had done odd jobs during those periods to get by.
As he contemplated those things, with a firm resolution, he took away the stones deep under his pockets. The silver basked in sorrow as it accompanied not a penny beneath the blanket of his clothes.
Although he considered hiding it somewhere in his room, his sly uncle is sure to quickly discover it and assume it was his. And besides, the amplitude testing is now approaching. Once his uncle found out that his talents were actually trash, he would undoubtedly treat him differently.
Although he wanted to explore the system further, he knew he had to sleep for tomorrow's event.