"When you gaze into the abyss, don't be naive and believe you will be unchanged." ~ The Dark Truth

The sound of pages being flipped and the gurgling of a cauldron greeted her as Serena awoke in a strange place.

She was back in her young adult body, and had been resting on a black day bed of sorts. It was tucked away into a comfortable sitting area, filled with other furniture of similar dark colors and quality. The daybed was next to a window that revealed a dark, bewitching forest sprawling outside the massive library.

And it was an library. Only a glance around would prove that much. The endless floors of bookshelves bleed into a inky darkness high above her, and books flew around with flapping pages. Magical light mixed with candlelight and other fire sources, brightening areas that likely led to exhibits and wings with different purposes. The ground floor that she was on was a maze of bookshelves, sitting and crafting areas, and would be hard to navigate.

It was a paradise for her.

Serena stood up, taking note that she wore the pristine black uniform she had on during that ill-fated dinner, and began to investigate the maze. It soon became clear that it was not a labyrinth, as there were various exits and entrances, but that there was something that likely lied in wait in the center. Perhaps it was a relic? Or a interesting tome of lost knowledge?

With that in mind, Serena headed ever deeper into the maze. With each dead end of bookshelves or crafting areas, she only took note of the material and the categorized books nearby before continuing on. While the majority were identical to the books she read in the Imperial Library, the remaining hinted at more personal recollections.

Is this one of my mental worlds?

It wasn't a surprising thought as anyone of sufficient strength could create their own mental world to escape and mediate within. It was something that was expected to form.

Serena was pleased that one of her meditative mental landscapes remained with her. It would have been a shame to have lost all the information with in.

After an unknown amount of time, Serena found herself in the center of the maze.

Before her on a oaken bookstand was one of the most exotic and dangerous feeling books she ever encountered.

Bound in black leather, the book's cover had symbols and words from thousands of languages and with different meanings cross and appear on the binding. Thick chains ended in latches that bound the tome closed. The book radiated a dark and mesmerizing power. It called to her, drawing her in, and Serena reached out for it.

"Hello, beautiful," Serena said, greeting the book with fondness. She stared at it for a moment before the latches came undone and it opened up, revealing the blank page. Slowly, words began to spread on the pages that greeted her, and not even the statement of her acquiring the Inspect skill, could draw her out of her confusion. "What is the meaning of this?!"

What greeted her eyes was something unreal and even blasphemous to someone of her status. It was a list, a breakdown of her current and past lives, but there were no skills. No listing of her affinities or prowess.

Name: Serena

Her surname, the undeniable proof that she was of royal blood, had been taken from her leaving her with nothing.

Stage: Sah

Her former stage was something called Ba. There was no clue or explanation for what that meant, or what she was to expect from it. It was currently meaningless to her.

Rank: Alchemical Glass

That was something clearer. Serena figured that was the lowest rank and what one started at.

Level: Peak

Did that mean I am about to transcend and reach the next Rank? If so, does that mean that ranks are some kind of way to roughly estimate another person's potential?

Species: Corpseborn

Corpseborn is now considered a separate species? What nonsense is that!?

It was a medical and magical condition that through accident or purposeful manipulation, made the subject neither fully living or dead. One could say they were a mixture of flesh and magic. They could heal faster or even regenerate, had reduced body needs and functions, and tended to become stronger near sources of energy or death. Despite that, they were still the species they should have been.

As Serena focused in on the Corpseborn, the pages flipped forward. After a few page turns, it stopped on a blank page that began to be written.

Corpseborns are a very rare species that are born or created under very specific situations. While each situation was different, they all generally have the same innate affinities and potential. While they may take the species appearance of their biological parents, and siblings in the case of multiple births, they are not considered them by society. In recent years, there has been a growing fear and hesitation when it comes to these beings. At worst, they would be treated like a Lich, which isn't that inaccurate given the usual steps for the third situation.

Due to their unique condition, Corpseborns are blessed by default by the following Pantheons: Black, White, and Green. In particular, the God of Life and Light, the God of Death and Balance, and the God of Undeath and Darkness have created a tentative alliance when it comes to these individuals. They have the first claim to them by right of association.

Due to their unique condition, Corpseborns have access to anything that another person blessed by Black, White or Green Pantheons are. Their special connection to the listed above patrons, along with any others they might acquire, allows them access to the deeper mysteries of reality. Many of them have become mediators between the different races and factions, while others devoted their lives to research and exploration. Still more became expert warriors, mages, thieves, and craftsmen.

Any racial affinities, benefits or demerits they might have otherwise have the chance to be claimed with training, experimentation, quests, discoveries, and other encounters.

The first situation are infants who died. Whether they are stillbirths and miscarriages, or those who who die within the first year of life, there is a small chance that they would become a Corpseborn. In most cases, another soul takes the place of the recently departed one. Rarely, the soul of the original person reattaches itself to the body.

The second situation is from toddler life stage on. Usually, the one who becomes a corpseborn was terminally ill, gravely wounded, or killed in battle. Like the first, this can either be the same soul, or far more commonly, an entirely different soul. The transfer and the modification of the body is somewhat painful as it restarts and alters the body.

A far more brutal way to become a corpseborn is to voluntary go through the process which is rather complicated. It is often tied to the mass slaughter and suffering of other beings as such things are used to fuel the transformation. The end result tends to make the body a kind of phylactery or container as the soul is virtually indestructible or alterable by most common means. When the body is destroyed, it would eventually restore itself. They retain their mortal appearance, and often look a bit younger than they did prior to the transformation.

Finally, the fourth is the accident version of three. This poor soul survived a massive series of battlefields or other gruesome chain of events, forever altering them.

For further information regarding this unique species, continue your journey and discover more things.

Serena blinked repeatedly, her mind blank and devoid of any thought. When she finally spoke, it was a single word in a monotone voice. "What?"