“Loss? Hah, we all know and live with it. It is painful, I know, but never let it consume you. Use it, embrace it, make it your strength. After all, pain and loss are everything this world has left for us. To reject it means throwing your potential away. Remember this and one day you might free us all from this shithole.”

~ Conversation between a Student and a Master, 24th Outbreak

Time passed as Leo just sat there, staring blankly at the table, his mind racing as it tried to process what the doppelganger just said. He couldn’t believe it, he mustn’t.

Lily, Nick, Adam, Mom, Dad, Edward. Hell, even Ava…

Like a rocket, Leo suddenly shot to his feet and glared at the clone, “You’re lying! They are fine. My f-family is fine.”

To Leo’s shock, the doppelganger bowed his head in the first show of emotion, “I’m truly sorry for any loss you may experience once you leave this place. There is nothing I can do and no, I don’t know the status of your family. All I can say is that they might be alive, it happened before... Now please, calm down. We need to continue.”

Might. Might be alive, Leo repeated like a mantra. The word ‘might’ definitely wasn’t enough to calm his raging emotions that threatened to burst like a waking volcano, but it at least gave him a semblance of hope. For now, he could only listen and learn as much as possible. Shouting or crying wouldn’t help anyone. Besides maybe, just maybe all of this was just a very realistic lucid dream.

“As I said before, the system is here to guide the survivors. It takes care of unlocking the Essence resting inside your soul and awakening the full potential of your mind and body. Lastly, each survivor is given access to the Interface which connects you with the System. Which I will take care of now.” The clone explained as he waved his hands in a mysterious pattern.

His fingers lit up with a myriad of colors that soon scattered all around the room, connecting to each other like a spider’s web. Leo stared, completely flummoxed and speechless as the strings bathed the small chamber in lights even brighter than when he woke up.

Leo wanted to close his eyes, to shield himself from the light show, without success. His entire body refused to move and so he endured the prickling in his eyes and just watched.

He watched as the crimson of the walls slowly consumed the strings. He watched as the last colorful string gave up and surrendered itself to the superior color. And he watched as the entire spider web faded away like a ghost, like it was never there. Even the crimson of the entire room dimmed a bit.

“And the process is done. Now onto the Interface.”

Wait, what? Just like that?!

“Hold on!” Leo called out, his body falling on the chair once again, “If the process is done, shouldn’t I feel different?”

“You will,” The doppelganger said slowly, “Once you leave your soulscape.”

I guess that makes sense? To Leo, it truly didn’t, but at this point, he understood that he probably wouldn’t get much out of the weird being. Though there was one important thing he would really love to understand.

“What is this Essence you keep talking about?”

“In a moment, User,” The clone answered, “First please bring out your Interface,” at Leo’s blank look it elaborated, “Just focus on bringing it out.”

Hopeful to move this entire process along as quickly as he could, Leo did just that.

“What the he...” Leo trailed off as a wall of text appeared in front of his vision.

Name: Leonardo Hale (Brown)

Title: N/A

Evolution Stage: I - Tainted Human

Class: N/A | LVL. 1

Job: N/A

Rank: N/A

Health: 100%

Essence: 100%

Strength: 4

Dexterity: 7

Constitution: 5

Perception: 5

Mind: 5

Soul: 6

Ether: 0

Traits: Tainted (Uncommon)

Racial Skills: Universal Linguist (Unique), Identify (Unique), Essence Manipulation (Common), Drain (Uncommon)

General Skills: N/A

Brown… Been a while since anyone called me that, Leo mused as he read the wall of text. It definitely resembled some of the RPG games he played in the past, though he was in no way a specialist on games to understand everything the status provided.

Most of the attributes were probably pretty self-explanatory, but Mind? Soul? Yeah, Leo had no clue what those did. Name, title, class, health Leo could understand too, the rest? Not so much. For some reason, he doubted that the clone would elaborate on any of them. How surprising...

“So Essence?” Leo asked, giving the clone a pointed look. He wanted at least some information on the term that appeared everywhere.

The doppelganger nodded, “Essence had many names before and after the system. Mana, Chi, Ki, Chakra are just a few among them. It’s the energy of the whole Multiverse. Everything has it, be it inanimate or animate, though those with a soul, store Essence inside it. The thing is that non-awakened beings cannot regenerate their Essence, and when it ends, so does their life.”

As lights again swirled above the table, they slowly formed an image of a human body. The clone made a few more movements with his hand and instantly a crimson light — The same as my soul — entered the image.

“After the awakening, the power of your Soul can grow,” The doppelganger pointed to the image head, “Your mind stimulates it and jumpstarts the regeneration of Essence,” Gesturing to the rest of the image, he continued, “While the rest of your body, with Essence coursing through all of it, will let you use this energy to do incredible things. The System just calls it Essence Manipulation, but throughout the Multiverse, many call it Magic, Sorcery, or the Arts of Soul. The secrets of Essence know no limits and I could spend years explaining only a small part of them. You will need to discover them on your own as our time here is slowly running out.”

It made sense, in some twisted sort of way. The point of the attribute of Mind and Soul also made a bit more sense now. Regeneration and power, Leo mused processing the new information. And as he did, on important fact just refused to fit into the clone's explanation.

“Those creatures, Voidlings. You said that they consume Essence, but if everything has it then why would they be the main threats once I go back?”

The Clone nodded, “Good observation, one I’m willing to quickly explain… You see Voidlings normally just passively absorb the Essence emanating in the air. Sometimes they gain Essence from fighting for territories between each other and killing the other side. Unfortunately for the survivors, and a few others, Voidlings find something special in your Essence, something that draws them in. And while most of those monsters won’t actively seek it, once they see you or feel your unique Essence, you can bet that they won’t give up unless you’re lying dead at their feet.”

Gulping, Leo almost wished he didn’t ask the question. Especially when his already troubled mind created pictures of his family running from those monsters or worse… becoming them.

Although, he would be stupid to not notice that the doppelganger omitted explaining what was “special” about a survivor’s Essence. Some food for thought.

“Now,” The part of the System spoke up and Leo’s eyebrows raised slightly when he noticed the small grimace at the doppelganger’s face, “We have two last matters to discuss before my time runs out. Your race and class selection.”

Eyes narrowing, Leo scowled, “Great. And with them, even more questions will come. After all, it is not like you just dropped so much information on me that I don't understand half of it.”

The clone once again bowed his head, “I apologize, but we just don’t have time. Though no need to fear. If you look deep enough, you will find out that the System left you with all the tools required to discover all you need to know about this new world. Now, for your race.”

“You’re a part of a small percent of the remaining survivors that were unlucky to absorb too much Void Essence before the System could reach them and jumpstart the Awakening process. Thus instead of your race being an ‘Awakened’ variant, it’s a ‘Tainted’ one,” The doppelganger explained, his head remaining bowed.

If it wasn’t Leo’s soul space, his heart probably would have stopped, “W-what does that mean? Am I going to die? Just like that?” No, he couldn’t. Not now, he still had so much to achieve.

“No, you won’t. At least not if you play your cards right. Think of your race and then bring out the description of your ‘Tainted’ trait. Those two things should explain almost everything.”

Taking a deep breath Leo did just that.

Tainted Human (Stage: I)

A sub-variant of Awakened Human cursed by the power of the Void. Due to absorbing too much of Void Essence before your awakening, the corrupted power couldn’t be fully cleansed from your being. It will fight and consume you if you don’t satiate its hunger.

Effects:

Causes some physical changes. Grants Tainted trait. +5% to Soul. +2 Free Attribute points per class level. Mutations: Locked.

Your time is limited.

Because that doesn’t sound ominous at all, and physical changes? What does that even mean? Leo grimaced as a shiver ran down his spine. It was bad news after bad news. Slowly he was starting to feel just like after that night ten years ago.

Trying to repress those thoughts, Leo's scowl deepened as he pulled up his trait’s description.

Tainted (Uncommon):

Blessing within a curse. You are the Tainted One. Fight and consume or be consumed. In the Void, only the strong survive… Can you adapt?

Effects:

Requires a constant supply of Pure Void Essence to stop the taint from spreading. Grants +1 Soul, Constitution, and Strength per two levels when satiated. Various negative effects applied if the taint begins to spread. Grants Drain skill.

Somehow this doesn’t make me feel any better, Leo thought as his fists clenched under the table. The tainted trait only confirmed how fucked Leo really was.

“How do I survive?” Leo snarled.

“Exactly like your trait explained. Adapt,” The clone said in a monotone, “Or in other words, consume and evolve. The system gave you the ability to extract Pure Void Essence from every Voidling you've killed. The rest is up to you. Use this ability or die.”

“Consume and evolve...” Leo murmured slowly, head hung low.

Just when life was finally looking up for him, something decided that once again he had to suffer. His world had changed, his family could as well be dead and now Leo would be forced to survive alone. Only if all of this is real, and I can’t discard the possibility that it is.

“No,” he whispered. Even if the world changed, Leo would go out there and survive. His situation might look quite bleak, but he had to use this chance and at least try. For his family. For his own life.

Gritting his teeth, Leo nodded, “Alright then. What’s left?”

The doppelganger gave a nod of his own as his lips dipped into an almost unnoticeable smile, “Class selection. Probably one of your most important decisions. After all, a class will be the main tool in your journey. Just remember that classes are here to guide you, not limit your learning capabilities. Anything is possible as long as you try.”

With a flick of his wrist, letters began to form between Leo and the doppelganger, “Here, have a look and decide. We have barely any time left.”

The letters stopped moving, forming a straight list of classes and their very short descriptions.

Warrior

Way of the Sword. Show your enemies no fear and face them head-on. Be the unmovable shield and the deadliest blade for your foes.

Effects:

Grants necessary skills and knowledge to begin your path as a warrior. Offers Warrior’s Body trait. +2 CON, +1 STR and SOUL per level.

Fighter

Way of the Fist. Show your enemies your ferocity and fight until your last breath. Even legends have to start somewhere.

Effects:

Grants necessary skills and knowledge to begin your path as a fighter. Offers Fighter’s Blood trait. +2 STR, +1 DEX, +1 CON per level.

Mage

Way of the Essence. Show your enemies your control and decimate them with the power of your soul. Grind them all to dust.

Effects:

Grants necessary skills and knowledge to begin your path as a mage. Offers Enlightened trait. +2 MIND, +1 SOUL, +1 CON per level.

Assassin

Way of the Shadows. Show nothing and leave nothing behind. No one is safe from your blade. The shadows welcome you.

Effects:

Grants necessary skills and knowledge to begin your path as an assassin. Offers Assassin's Grace trait. +2 DEX, +1 PER, +1 MIND per level.

Ranger

Way of the Bow. Show your enemies your skill and blow them apart with your aim. Your eyes see everything. Well, almost.

Effects:

Grants necessary skills and knowledge to begin your path as a ranger. Offers Ranger’s Eyes trait. +2 PER, +1 DEX, +1 MIND per level.

To be honest, Leo expected more complicated choices, especially with everything that had been going on. Instead, he received a list of five pretty straightforward classes. Well, almost straightforward.

After all, the descriptions only gave him some basic information without really explaining what each class was capable of. Leo could make assumptions going by the names, though he still felt like it wasn’t enough to make such an important decision.

“I take you won’t tell me what the ‘necessary skills’ are, hmm?” Maybe just maybe the clone would be useful for once and explain something in detail.

As the doppelganger shook his head, Leo scoffed, “Why am I not surprised,” He murmured and went back to the list.

He had to make a decision. Leo just hoped that it would be the right one…

Warrior and fighter were instantly out in Leo’s opinion. Rushing head-on towards unknown enemies in an unknown situation went against the prime principle that the clone was constantly repeating.

Survival.

So yeah, no suicidal charges ahead for Leo. Or so he hoped...

With two options out, Leo’s mind traveled to the Mage class. It certainly would be interesting to become a Sorcerer, but again, how this class would help him survive. With no knowledge about Essence Manipulation he couldn't just go and predict what abilities he would gain.

No, too many unknowns, Leo thought with a shake of his head, Besides the clone just told me that a class didn’t limit my ability to learn other skills. Magic, or whatever it is, will still be within my grasp.

Nodding, Leo looked at his last two choices. Assassin and Ranger.

Both options were good when it came to helping with continued survival. One would grant Leo the ability to stealthily make his way around the world, while the other offered him the capabilities of long-range combat.

Unfortunately, as Leo read the description of Ranger class once again, he grimaced.

Way of the Bow. Yeah, no thanks.

A few years back, Lily tried to introduce Leo to some particular sports disciplines and archery was one of them. This special tryout didn’t really go well. Leo could remember how he completely failed every attempt at even coping the proper grasp of the bow, and the less said about arrows the better.

As such Leo hated anything that could shoot arrows with heated passion and his face always turned sour when anyone mentioned it. No amount of persuading could ever make him grab a bow again.

Even now Leo could still recall his sister’s laughter when they left the archery range…

As a nasty frown began to spread on Leo’s face, he quickly shook his head. Don’t go there, not yet. She’s fine, she must be.

Closing his eyes, Leo released a deep breath, “I choose Assassin.”

“Are you sure? There’s no going back.”

Leo nodded and opened his eyes, “I am. If the System has a similar definition of Assassin as my world then it is my best bet on survival.”

Besides, where the hell would I find a bow and arrows...

“So be it,” The clone responded and the list of classes disappeared only to be replaced by a few new lines of text.

Assassin class gained.

Trait: Assassin’s Grace received. Skills: Vital Strike, Stealth, Dagger Mastery received.

Leo expected more information or even some rush of knowledge like the class’ description said, but there was no such thing. He pretty much felt the same as a minute ago.

Furrowing his forehead, Leo addressed the clone, “Wasn’t I supposed to gain the ‘knowledge of how to begin my path?’”

The doppelganger nodded, “You will once you leave this place. Along with any other change you will be required to go through.”

Suddenly the clone stood up and the table separating them faded out into nothingness. Leo, still wary of this entire situation, jumped out of his chair and took a few steps back.

Raising his hands, the clone gave a small bow, “Do not fear, survivor. The time has come for me to leave. You made your choices and the System’s Interface is now merged with your soul. I wish you luck, Leonardo Hale.”

No, not yet! Leo shouted, “You can’t leave! I still don’t know what the hell is going on! What is the Void!? Voidlings, how do I defeat them?! Anything, please.”

Just as the doppelganger’s form began to shimmer, it stopped and the man looked Leo straight in the eyes.

“True, there is much you don’t know,” He said, voice hard as steel, “And unfortunately I can’t stay here to explain more… But, I will leave you with a piece of advice that saved many.”

“The world you know is dead,” The clone continued, “Voidlings will get stronger with every day and if you ever hesitate, you will be left behind, consumed by the never-ending Void. Only the strong survive and you better realize this quickly or you will die like many before you.”

Almost frozen in his place, Leo gulped and gave a slight nod. Never during their conversation did the clone use such an oppressive tone and as Leo listened to his advice, he felt his hope of this entire thing being fake, die even more.

“Good,” The clone nodded as his form began to shimmer once more, “Use the time you have left here wisely, survivor. Goodbye.”

Even brighter light filled the room as the doppelganger’s form cracked and exploded in millions of small shards. Leo quickly shielded his eyes and winced as a few of the shards impacted him before they fizzled out of existence.

Survival of the fittest huh, Leo mused as he slid down against the wall and closed his eyes.

Never in his life would he expect shit like this to happen. In movies, games yes, but real life? No, it just made everything Leo ever believed in, false. At least that was the case if this entire thing wasn’t a very realistic dream, vision, or whatever else.

I can’t think like that, Leo shook his head, The clone warned me against it and if there is even an ounce of chance that this is real then I need to be prepared.

Nodding, Leo opened his eyes and summoned his status once again. It was high time to find out what everything there meant.

Just like the clone instructed about class and traits, Leo thought about the other attributes and statistics, hoping to find out their full roles.

It didn’t work, well not really.

Leo only managed to find out what the rank meant — his roughly estimated power level, currently sitting at F- — and how the evolution stage and class worked. Apparently, he had to achieve some sort of milestones or complete tasks to evolve and reach a certain level with his class to advance it.

Interesting, but it didn’t explain much.

Leo also attempted to investigate the mysterious, half grayed-out Ether, but the System refused to give any information about it.

Just great, Leo groaned, Let’s just see what all the skills and traits do. No way, the System can keep this knowledge away from me.

Thankfully, it didn’t.

Universal Linguist (Unique):

With a vast Universe comes a wide array of languages. To help achieve communication between different civilizations, the System created this skill for each survivor.

Effects:

Grants the ability to understand almost every spoken language in the Universe. Be wary that any written form of a foreign language is still mostly beyond you.

Vast Universe? The ability to understand almost everything? Okay, it certainly could be useful, Leo admitted. Though he had to pity all those people that worked hard to learn multiple languages.

Shaking his head, Leo moved on to another skill.

Identify (Unique):

The most common tool of every system user. Created by the System to help the users with finding the way along their journey.

Effects:

Allows you to discover details about certain parts of this new world. The efficiency of this skill is dependent on your Perception and Level.

If Universal Linguist was useful, then Identify was priceless. Here was the tool that just might explain everything that Leo couldn’t understand for now.

Almost instantly he tried to figure out how to use this ability, though without success. Leo thought hard, trying to force the skill to manifest, but nothing worked.

Maybe I can’t use it yet, Leo mused and as to answer his question, the whole room shook.

Climbing to his feet, Leo’s eyes widened as the bright crimson light of his soul dimmed even more. In a matter of seconds, the crimson walls gave way to the darkness as Leo lost the ability to see. He just stood there unable to move, trying to force his body to obey. He wanted to scream and rage at his helplessness once again, but he just couldn’t.

Only when a force without measure slammed into him without pity did Leo let out a weak groan.

He had no strength to fight the next strike and just let the darkness claim what was left of his consciousness.