His darkvision started to kick in as his head finally descended below the outside surface level of the cliff. The crevasse was about 3 feet wide and he used his legs to slowly walk himself down it, one side at a time. It continued into the side of the hill in a roughly diagonal way, not too steep to attempt but scary all the same.

After about 15 minutes of this descent, the crevasse came to an abrupt end, only darkness below. Even his racial darkvision seemed to not be able to penetrate the complete blackness of the abyss beneath him. If he hadn’t already climbed down this crevasse two years ago, and discovered the small ledge that led to his left and another tunnel, he would have believed that only destruction waited at its termination.

He carefully moved his body so first his left, and then right feet were standing on the lip of the tunnel, his arms still pressed against the sides. He rotated his weight and spun around the left side so both his feet were on a small, half-foot ledge and he was facing the rocky wall and then inched his way to the right holding on to the wall at every available rough spot. He was constantly fighting the sensation that he was going to topple back into that yawning chasm, tumbling end over end for eternity. Compared to the last time he did this, back in the Alpha period, this was pants-shittingly scarier, because he wasn’t just wearing a VR helmet anymore. He was Kalamedra now, this was his life.

And if I go… what a way to go! Probably have a fucking heart attack in the pod! I can tell I have really come to buy into this world, because it feels like I have been Kalamedra for a long time, and it has not even been 5 hours in the real world. How deeply entrenched will I be in a real world year? I’ll have been Kalamedra so long, will I even remember what it is like to be Mike Nelson? Fuck it! My existential crisis can wait until I get into the Temple.

He continued to inch his body along the ledge, feeling ahead of himself with his right foot and hand, and only when having secure footing and handhold would he move the bulk of his torso over. This was not a place that would be casually entered or departed, and was likely an easter egg of some kind, put in by some bored developer. The chances of anyone discovering it were pretty infinitesimal, he had only accomplished it as he had been bored of the killing by the end of Alpha, with nothing to lose exploring dangerous geography.

Eventually, his right hand found the end of the wall as he reached around a corner into what was clearly another tunnel. He moved his right foot around the corner as well, finding the dressed stone hallway that he remembered from the last time he was here. He moved around the corner, finally able to see ahead of him as he escaped the edge of whatever darkness effect pervaded the area around the chasm.

The tunnel curved to the right, heading deeper back into the hill. Unlike the crevasse, it was smooth, and had hewn walls and a ceiling. There were niches in the walls where unlit oil lamps sat, covered in dust and cobwebs. As he walked, Kalamedra could feel the energy and anticipation rising in him. He didn’t have everything planned out about this game, but the one thing he did know was that even before logging in for the first time as Kalamedra he knew he was going to return to this spot.

This spot, this hidden cave Temple. The place that he had found and made him realize that this world held depths to discover. That there would be adventures to be had, that he could do something with what was left of his life beyond sitting around waiting to die. He had decided that he had to see this place once more, maybe even make it his base or a hideaway. And once he saw the instructions on the Shard of the Void, to activate it in private, he could not think of a more fitting spot.

The hall continued looping for a little ways, and then it start slightly rising up, and the ceiling was getting farther from the floor until he rounded a last corner and there was a massive archway at the end of the hall, beyond which he could see a large open space. The archway was finely fitted stones, carved with stylistic shapes and whorls, figures of men and beasts and monsters.

The larger room was about 20 feet wide, and 50 feet long. The walls were finely carved stone to about 7 feet high, and then above that was natural stone with a cave ceiling. The walls and ceiling were covered in a light blue-green moss that was providing a diffuse glow, illuminating the space. The floor was finely fitted stone paving stones, moss growing in the small spaces between them. At the end of the room there was a black stone altar, roughly hewn into a rectangular shape. Behind it were the remains of a large stone statue, shattered and in many pieces. All around the walls there were torch holders, holding the crispy remains of ancient light-sources.

To the right of the entrance, just past the archway was a large pool of water, surrounded by a mosaic boundary with images of frog-headed men and snake-headed women. The pool of water itself was dark, black almost, and impossible to see into. Kalamedra moved to the pool and shoved his whole head in, taking a deep draught.

If I had never been here before, I would not likely just drink this water with the way it looks. Luckily I tried it last time, and not only is it excellent water, it has some sort of restorative affect. I am going to get hydrated, take a nap and then deal with this Plot item.

He rose from his rest refreshed, energized and ready to face whatever the developers were about to throw at him. He had backed for the Plot item because it seemed like the biggest risk, with the biggest potential upside. The crowdfunding page had described it as “A chance to usher a new thing into the world of Koral.” And you would think that with great risk – is the new thing a new disease or plague? – would come greater rewards. Others had gone for the skill gains or gear or whatever, but he had decided on a path of going with unknown variables – luck and a plot item – plus time in game to make the most of his start. Now he was going to see what came of this pig in a poke he had purchased.

He withdrew the Shard from his spatial ring, for the first time ever. It looked like a three dimensional piece of a broken mirror, except that it seemed to be sucking in all the light around it. It wasn’t black, it wasn’t an absence of color either, it was just absent. Like a hole in reality. Just holding it in his hand, he could feel it leeching the warmth from his body. He figured that if he was in for a penny, he was in for a pound so he slashed his left palm – lightly! – and placed the bloody shard on the altar.

He sat down in front of the altar in a half lotus, closed his eyes and began to wait. In the silence of the space, and blackness of his consciousness he began to feel what was happening within himself and around him. In his core he could feel his personal energy cycling, moving around his body and exiting him. He didn’t know how he knew, but he knew that his body was feeding energy through his blood connection to the shard. At the same time he could feel the temperature, and energy, of the room around him ebbing and swelling, each time growing greater as it cycled.

How long he stayed like this, he did not know, but it was for quite a bit of time. When he opened his eyes, he could see that he had notifications waiting for him, but he had no desire to spoil the immersion of this event with the rude mundanities of the actual game side. The Shard was now hovering over the altar, pulsing with the energy it had absorbed and as he watched, a tiny crack formed in it and then it blasted apart in a shower of minute pieces.

*BOOM*

The shockwave bowled him over backwards through a few backwards somersaults. The ground shook and there was a shower of stone and dust from the ceiling. His face stung where tiny fragments of the shard bit into his flesh, and every bit of air in his body was expelled. After a moment, with a groan, he sat up and took a look up the room towards the altar.

Instead of the Shard floating in mid-air, there was now a crack in the world. There was a rip in reality, a tear in the fabric of space and time. The sanctity of Koral was now torn asunder.

Oh shit. I didn’t know this was going to…

WELL DONE MY GOOD AND FAITHFUL SERVANT! YOU HAVE BEEN FAITHFUL WITH THIS THING; I WILL PUT YOU IN CHARGE OF MANY THINGS.

It wasn’t a sound, or a voice, it was just filling his head. The crack or tear seemed to pull in time with the communication but nothing audible was happening, it was just overwhelming every thought in his head. Kalamedra felt himself being forced into a prostrate position just by the intensity of the telepathic communication. He started crawling towards the altar, dragging himself painfully over the stone floor.

“Please, the way you are speaking to me, it’s too much! I feel like my head will crack! If you want me to server you, I need to survive, right?”

For once he felt the power of this entity, there was no idea in his mind that he might ever escape it’s grasp. He was aware that he had essentially summoned this thing, he was tied to it now.

Better make the best of this, because I doubt this is going to go away on its own. I may be up Shit Creek, but they are fucking going to give me a paddle!

VERY WELL, I SHALL MODULATE MY VOICE. I FORGET THAT YOU ARE ALL SUCH LIMITED BEINGS. YOU MAY CALL ME THE VOID, AND I AM GLAD TO HAVE FINALLY RETURNED TO KORAL.

“Wait, you have been to Koral before? I didn’t read anything about you in the Lore?”

THE ONE YOU CALL LAW CONVINCED THE CREATORS TO LOCK ME AWAY ONCE THEY CREATED THIS PLANE. A SHARD OF MY ESSENCE WAS LEFT HERE, BECAUSE THE RULES OF THIS UNIVERSE ALWAYS ALLOW A CHANCE FOR SOMETHING TO HAPPEN, EVEN IF IT IS INFINITESIMAL. IF YOU HAD NOT RELEASED ME, I WOULD CONTINUE TO BE WALLED AWAY FROM THIS PLANE.

Kalamedra closed his eyes for a moment in resignation. Yes, he could have not used the Shard, he knew that it was likely not going to produce rainbows and unicorns, but to waste something he had spent real money on… Yeah right.

Eventually it will come out that I am involved in this. Especially in a world with gods and divination magic. Keep your head straight. You’re in this now.

“I am gratified to know that I could serve you in this, Lord Void. Perhaps you could enlighten me as to what your appearance means for me, and Koral? So that I might better serve you, of course…”

I AM ENTROPY, AND CHAOS. I AM THE PIECES OF CREATION THAT LAW DESPISED AND OPPOSED. WITHIN ME ARE MULTITUDES. YOU ARE MY FIRST DISCIPLE, AND YOU WILL BE REWARDED. TO KORAL I BRING THE CHANCE FOR CHAOS TO OVERTHROW ORDER, FOR THE BUTTERFLY TO BRING A TORNADO. LAW WOULD KEEP THIS PLACE STATIC, RUNNING ACCORDING TO HIS PRECIOUS RULES. EVEN THE GODS OF THIS PLANE HAVE BEEN COWED BY HIM, BUT ORDER IS DEATH.

Honestly, this sounds like a pissing match between AIs over differing views of how the game should be run. Perhaps this will not be as bad as I thought at first. At the very least, the devs did give me the Shard, so it wasn’t completely unanticipated that this would happen. I wonder how much bad karma I have with Law now though.

WILL YOU TAKE UP YOUR BURDEN, MY DISCIPLE? I ONLY ASK THAT YOU NOT OPPOSE ME, AND THAT YOU DO NOT SERVE THE FORCES OF ORDER. FOR NOW. I CAN WORK MY OWN MIRACLES, IF YOU PLEASE, AND MY HAND IN THIS WORLD WILL GROW NOW THAT I CAN TOUCH IT AGAIN. IF YOU ACCEPT THIS, YOU SHALL RECEIVE MY BLESSING.

“And I don’t? Not that I want to refuse, but I like to know what I am agreeing to.”

THEN THE STORY OF KALAMEDRA ENDS HERE. I KNOW YOU ARE A TRAVELER SO YOU WILL BEGIN AGAIN, AND I WILL NOT HAUNT YOUR NEXT LIFE. I AM HERE NOW THOUGH, AND THIS IS A FACT.

“Yes, of course Lord Void, I completely understand your point of view. And, I must say, I am pleased to be your First Disciple. Indeed, I am glad to receive your blessing.”

As if I would just lay down and die. I said I was out for myself this time, in this game. I guess I can be the minion of one of the big bads. At the very least, it won’t be annoying.

System Notification Log Due to an ongoing event your notifications have been switched to real time until the completion of this PLOT event. New Skill: Meditation Discovered Skill Increase: Meditation is now Master 1 (+51)

FEEL THE POWER OF THE VOID, FEEL MY TOUCH.

He felt something alright, he felt the pieces of the shard heating up, and forcing their way deeper into his flesh. The pain was excruciating. In fact, he didn’t know anything in the game could even hurt like this. If he wasn’t used to the pain in his real, former life he would have emergency exited the game.

""""

System Notification Fragments of the Shard of the Void, bathed in the Chaotic Energies of the Void, have caused your body to evolve. At the end of this process you will have become the first member of a new sub-race of elf. Please review the choices below and select the option you prefer. Abyssal Elf Demons dwell in the Abyss, which floats in the Void. Long banished from the world of Koral, demons will be re-entering the plane and you can serve your elder kin as their vanguard. Abyssal Elves are a cross between your pre-existing Dark Elf sub-race and Demons, and as such have all the abilities and bonuses of that sub-race as well as the following. Strength +6 Dexterity +6 Constitution +6 Chaos Affinity – You wield the mighty power of Chaos as your magical source Living Weapon – You grow horns and blades all over your body, enabling your very form to become a living weapon Regeneration – Your body regenerates through consuming the souls of your slain foes Shadow Elf Elves are the children of Light originally, but the Void does not know its touch. The darkness affinity of Dark Elves evolves into Shadow Affinity as your very form becomes one with the element. Shadow Elves are an evolution of Dark Elves, and as such have all the abilities and bonuses of that sub-race as well as the following. Dexterity +6 Intelligence +6 Essence +10 Shadow Affinity – You use the Shadow element as your magical source Shadow Form – The shadow is you, you are the shadow. Ability to move within, and manipulate shadows. Grows with use Shadow Spell – Spells have their own shadows and you are able to use these. Able to learn any spell as a shadow version of itself

The pain continued to ravage his body, making thinking hard, especially the carefully considered kind of thinking he should be doing about such an important choice. That said, it didn’t seem like the pain was going to fade until he made a choice either, so it was something that had to be done.

The Abyssal Elf seems to fit the playstyle I have been using better, so far. At least on the surface, and would definitely be more useful in the short term. But, if I am really going to succeed as much as possible at this game, I have to think longterm. Yes, melee combat abilities and regeneration seem like really awesome things, but the potentials as a spellcasting Shadow Elf might pay off better down the line. Linear Warriors & Quadratic Wizards is a thing to remember, magic users mature later than physical fighters but their powerful potential is much, much higher. Also to be considered is that the potential heat I might be under for being a Shadow Elf is probably orders lower than being a little demon hybrid.

He mentally selected the Shadow Elf option and immediately felt as if his bones were cracking. His back arched and he scream bloody murder as his body rewrote itself, as the pieces of the Shard shoved themselves into his very DNA. After what seemed years, but was probably minutes, it was over. He could definitely feel that his body was different, but didn’t have the energy to find out how yet. He just lay on the crowd trying to catch his breath.

SHADOW ELF? INTERESTING CHOICE. EVEN I DID NOT KNOW WHAT OPTIONS WOULD BE GIVEN TO YOU, BUT THIS SEEMS LIKE ONE THAT WILL AID US BOTH. GO OUT INTO THE WORLD, BECOME STRONGER. MY FIRST DISCIPLE MUST SURVIVE, MUST CONQUER. MUST RAISE A LITTLE HELL. ALL I ASK IS THAT YOU BRING ME SOME BLOOD AS A SACRIFICE SO THAT I MIGHT CONTINUE TO INCREASE MY PRESENCE IN THIS WORLD. AS MY POWER GROWS, SO SHALL YOUR’S.

Nothing else was said, but Kalamedra could tell that The Void’s attention was turned elsewhere simply because he felt his body sag into unconsciousness at the cessation of energy being drawn from it. He did not dream, as he never seemed to in Koral, but he awoke completely exhausted. He ignored the notification log and crawled to the pool of water, sticking his head in and drinking as much as he felt able to. He felt some of his energy restored, but was still as weak as a newborn kitten.

Alright, before I try to figure this all out, I need to see exactly what has changed.

System Notification Log Here is a summary of you System Notifications since you last acknowledged your notifications. You are currently set to digest mode. If you would like to receive notifications real time you may do so, otherwise they will simply accrue here until you acknowledge them. World Notification: The forces of Chaos have breached the gods protection of Koral! Abyssal creatures will soon once more roam the world! Your Faith has changed, you are now a worshipper of the Void Belief Increase: Your Belief in the Void is now 1 (+1) Your race has changed. You are the first Shadow Elf! You have gained the title Lord Void’s Disciple New Skill: Shadow Affinity Discovered Skill Increase: Shadow Affinity is now Grandmaster 100 (+200) New Skill: Shadow Form Discovered Skill Increase: Shadow Form is now Grandmaster 100 (+200) New Skill: Shadow Spell Discovered Skill Increase: Shadow Spell is now Beginner 1 (+1) Ability Increase: Your Dexterity is now 20 (+6) Ability Increase: Your Intelligence is now 20 (+6) Ability Increase: Your Essence is now 20 (+10)

Curious, he called up the interface to view his new title’s effects.

Lord Void’s Disciple You are the First Disciple of the Void, as well as the first member of the Shadow Elf sub-race. As such, the bonuses for following in the ways of the Void are increased. Shadow Affinity is maxed because portions of your form are literally made of Shadow. Shadow Form is maxed because portions of your form are literally made of Shadow.

Well, fuck me sideways. I seem to have come out of this okay, but we’ll see what effect all this has down the road. Definitely do not like that World Notification, and more grateful than ever that I didn’t go down the Abyssal path. No doubt players everywhere are champing at the bit to take on some demons once they get a few levels on. I think my goal should be to rest up a little and then go try out my new abilities, maybe get ahold of spell or two and try to learn them with the Shadow Spell ability. I note that that did not get maxed out, so some work to do there.

Since he was still by the pool, he decided to pull himself over to it and take a look at the new him in detail. He had caught a glance when he was getting his drink but had had other things on his mind at that moment. His long white hair was now an indeterminate shifting grey color, his skin had what looked like smoke swirls tattooed all over it, and his eyes were pitch black.

Yeah… that won’t stand out. Ok, I will have to work on some ways to disguise this up. For now, I need to rest more.

As he pulled some food out of his spatial ring, he brought up his status as he started munching on it. Checking out all the new additions and changes.

Kalamedra LEVEL 1 XP 500/2000 PLAYED 117:37 hrs AGE 12 RACE Shadow Elf LOG IN 14:20 03/19/43 SEX Male FAME/INFAMY 0 ALIGNMENT 0 * * * * * * * * HEALTH 15 MANA 112 STAMINA 64 STR 11 DEX 20 CON 8 INT 20 ESS 20 CHA 8 LCK 20 * * * * * * * * GOLD 57 SILVER 37 COPPER 103 BOOSTS 1 BELIEF 1 * * * * * * * * LANGUAGE Common GUILD None CITIZENSHIP None FAITH the Void LIEGE None PKILL 0 TITLES Dark Elf, Lord Void's Disciple