So, that's, finally, all of it.
[Yes]
Sigh, alright, anything else, any other kind of introduction that you need to do.
I waited for a moment until another transparent window appeared before.
____________________
Name: Michael Afton
Strength: 25
Dexterity: 27
Constitution: 20
Remnant: 50
Efficiency: 31x
____________________
__/Abilities\_________
- Active (0/2) -
[Elite - Level Up!]
[Rare - Soul Spear]
[Elite - Density Manipulation]
[Rare - Ukaku]
[Legendary - Profaned Guardian Transformation]
[Elite - Branding]
____________________
__/Items\_________
[Elite - Covetous Gold Serpent Ring]
____________________
__/Traits\_________
[Rare - Cupid's Blessing]
____________________
__/Skills\_________
[Rare - Taekwondo]
____________________
__/Familiars\_________
-
____________________
Huh. Alright.
I've got an status window now.
What does the stat of efficiency mean or work like?
[The efficiency stat works by allowing the use of little energy to produce a greater effect of any kind of abilities]
Ok, if I get what you're saying, that means that I can use abilities for a longer period of time without spending so much energy to utilize it.
[Correct]
Okay, and the section of the abilities? Does it mean I can only use two abilities at the same time?
[Correct yet not]
...
Elaborate.
[As of now, you're only capable of using two abilities at the same time. At the start you were only capable of using one ability at a time, but by getting five abilities you unlocked another slot for use]
So, each five abilities I get, I unlock another slot.
[Basically]
Alright. That sounds easy enough.
Let's try this.
Slotting in both [Elite - Density Manipulation] and [Rare - Ukaku] I felt for a moment heat spread through my shoulder-blade zone.
That must be [Rare - Ukaku] modifying my body so that I could utilize it.
It felt like another appendage had appeared in my body. An appendage that I could control as if it were the same as breathing.
Giving a long exhale I motioned for the [Ukaku] to come out.
And come out it did.
The shirt that I was wearing teared and out came two nebulous-like wing-constructs that panned out behind me. The were like triangles that ended in blades.
They were of a deep purple mixed with crimson veins all throughout and a dark yellow at the base of the [Ukaku] were it connected with my back, where it then spread out a little through the wings.
The [Ukaku] was in it's normal state right now. So, if I read the description of this ability right...
The nebulous wings suddenly hardened into crystal. Moving them around felt so easy.
Trying something else I made them become bigger, then I thinned them until they resembled crystalline cilinders ending into an spear-like tip.
The surprising thing was that if my status window was correct (which it was), remnant was the energy that I was using to power the ability, and yet, I didn't feel any kind of drain at all.
Looking at my status window my remnant stat had reduced but not by points, but by decimals.
And in the time I looked away for a moment the remnant had already regenerated to full.
Incredible.
Letting the RC Cells of the [Ukaku] go soft once more I dismissed the ability.
Let's try the other one.
Feeling the other ability I tried increasing the density of my right hand.
And I felt it.
I felt the density of my hand increase. Not only that, but the more I increased the hands density the more strength I had to use to maintain it on the air so that it wouldn't fall to the ground and drag me along with it.
Deactivating the ability my hand returned to normal.
This is real.
It really isn't some kind of elaborate prank, or nightmare, or selfinposed hell.
All of it is real.
Taking a deep breath in I maintained it for a few seconds then let go of it.
Time to face my demons.
♤♡◇♧■●...●■♧◇♡♤
[3rd Person P.O.V]
In a medium sized rectangular living room were four people. Sitting on the sofa that was looking towards the TV were two adults, and on the ground were two children, a boy and a girl, the former of eight years old and the latter of five years old. Behind the sofa was a large window, and in the sides of the living room were the doors that led towards the rest of the house and outside of it.
A tall, thin, sickly-skin looking man, with short shoulder-length brown hair that was tied up into a small low ponytail, silver, empty-looking eyes. Wearing a light purple buttoned up shirt, with a dark purple vest over it, all ending with a black tie over the shirt as well. Complimenting that with a pair of black pants and a pair of black shoes.
The man sat on the sofa looking towards the two children play with toys.
The boy had short brown hair with pale looking skin and green murky eyes. The boy was wearing a black and white striped shirt with blue shorts along socks and little black shoes and holding a golden bear plushie in his hands.
Next to the boy was the girl, just like the boy she had pale skin but instead bright green eyes, with long orange hair at the mid-back tied up with a little red bowtie. The girl was wearing a pink t-shirt with a white collar and white ends in the arm parts, along with it a knee-length blue skirt. On her feet long sock along with little black shoes.
Looking at the children, his children, the man felt his dead heart constrict with sadness and anger. But neither his face nor eyes gave anything away.
Looking towards his right he looked at the other adult in the room, his wife, or... whatever she was after death.
Just like his daughter, his wife had pale skin with bright green eyes and orange hair, hers was totally free letting it hang at hip-length. She was wearing a white blouse with a dark blue ankle-length skirt and dark blue high-heels.
There was a smile in her face while looking at the children, but that was her face, her eyes held only sadness and grief.
Letting out a small sigh the man looked once more towards the children.
Step, step, step, step, step...
Suddenly, the sound of footsteps sounded from the door to the right of the sofa.
Everyone in the living room went still for a moment at the sound coming from the other side of the door before the children stood up from the ground with unbelievable speed, getting near the door, waiting, until the door opened inwards.
The children didn't wait a moment longer before lunging towards the purple-skinned man on the other side of the doors frame.
Michael: Ufff!
Falling to the ground while holding the children, the children in turn were hugging Michael tightly.
[??? P.O.V]
Looking at my children hugging each other tightly made a few tears escape my eyes before I used the back of my hand and thumb to dry them.
My wife, Clara, was giving me a socked look, maybe she wasn't expecting me to be capable of feeling anything for anyone else, except myself.
Thirty years of being trapped in a room and being forced to look at the same walls for such a long period of time makes one start to think back to the past, and how one could have done things better.
Standing up from the couch I offered her my hand.
The look of shock was replaced by one of anger before she swatted aside my hand while standing up.
Clara: "I'm very much capable of walking, thank you for nothing, William."
Following those words she stood up and walked towards the three of our children.
Closing my extended hand I let it fall back down.
It's better this way.
With that thought in my head I walked towards Miachel, Evan and Elizabeth.
[Michaels P.O.V]
I felt two small human torpedoes smash against me full throwing me to the ground while holding them.
From standing to being on my back I looked down to see two small heads full of hair, one of brown hair and another of orange hair.
And under those heads full of hair were two pairs of eyes full of tears looking at me.
Moving myself into a sitting position I hugged my siblings tighter while letting my own tears run down my face.
Michael: "You're here, you're really here."
I couldn't stop my voice from quivering.
Since I was giving all my attention to my siblings I didn't notice the pair of slender arms wrapping around me in a warm embrace.
My breath hitched and the smell of lavender entered my nose.
Turning away from the little gremlings in my arms I looked towards the woman that would console me whenever something was bad or I was very sad.
Mom.
Letting myself go I felt sleep claiming bit by bit.
Maybe, this was actually heaven.
That was my last thought before I fell asleep.
♤♡◇♧■●...●■♧◇♡♤
Waking up I looked around a little bit disoriented before looking down unto the two little heads poking out of the blankets while using me as a pillow to sleep.
Moving my hands a little to try and pat Evan's and Elizabeth's heads I froze the moment I saw my hands.
Instead of being welcomed with the familiar purple color of rotting flesh that I had grown accustomed to throughout the years of being a walking corpse, I came face to face with the fact that my hands were looking like normal hands. No purple on sight, just that pale color of skin that doesn't see the light of day too much.
H-how?
I couldn't believe what I was seeing but, then again, I have my siblings using me as a pillow, siblings that I thought I would never see again.
Thinking of them I forgot of my hands for a moment to look at them again, then decided to look around myself.
And I confirmed it at last that this was, indeed, my house.
???: "Surprised, ain't ya?"
Hearing that voice again made my skin crawl.
Looking towards where the voice came from I saw someone that I didn't want to see, at all, not after the last time that we saw each other.
Michael: "Father."
William: "Yes Michael, everything's real, your siblings, the house, the fact that you don't look like a zombie anymore, every last of those things is pretty much real."
I couldn't help myself from trembling.
Michael: "H-h-how...?"
And with a very nonchalant face while leaning onto the door frame with his arms crossed my father gave me a look of amusement with his lips quirked up a little.
William: "Don't tell me that you've already forgotten the kind of genius that your old man is."
Michael: "... I'll admit that you are indeed a genius", my father opened his mouth to give, what I assumed, was either a mocking retort, or a self-praising full of arrogance, maybe both at the same time, but I didn't give him the opportunity, "but only when it came to robotics and engeneering."
William: "Really now. Don't tell me you've forgotten what I was researching when I made the thing that is making you look normal."
Michael: "... Remnant, and Illusion disks?"
William: "Yes, quite indeed."
Michael: "I myself have studied the blueprints of the thing itself while dismantling one to see how it worked. Don't you think that I would have already tried to find a way to make myself look less conspicuous?"
A look of surprise appeared on my fathers face, for as brief as it was, before he wiped it away to replace it for a more emotionless one.
William: "As I've already said, I'm a genius, so it only took me a moment to tweak the original design so that it would be capable of enterfering with the remnant within someone's soul or body to give them a more, "normal", look. And since it's bending an energy capable of giving life, of course it would be able of shaping and bending biology to its most optimal state."
That made my eyes open wide at the realization of what that meant.
Michael: "So, does that mean-"
William: "No, it isn't capable of giving you back your organs Michael, it is only capable of enforcing an illusion onto your body that through careful manipulation of the remnant coursing through your veins allows for the illusion to become real."
That did dash my hopes of even getting back what had made "hollow" in the first place.
William: "Of course, following the programming that has been put in the illusion disk, it will try and make you look as "normal" as possible. Which means, if you were to ever eat something, that food, the moment it started to go down your throat, it would be transformed into Remnant which would then add to the one you already have within you. It also entails that you'll be getting back your taste buds. And the typical smell that a corpse produces because of its rotting flesh will be eliminated as well."
Michael: "... An illusion capable of fooling anyone."
William: "Precisely. Once you're ready, come to the kitchen, your mother's waiting there."
After that my father pushed away from the doors frame, turned around and left the living room.