Eli felt an emptiness fill him as the Pain vanished. The strength in his body left him as he fell to his knees before he collapsed face first into the ground. Notification after notification filled his vision as he dismissed them with a thought, lacking the mental strength to deal with them.

Eli closed his eyes as he took a deep breath, trying to focus. He felt an intense pressure in his mind that slowly started to ease. His entire body was wracked in pain, but it felt like a gentle caress compared to the Pain he experienced just seconds ago. After a few more moments of collecting himself he slowly started to move his arms into position to push himself off the ground, but he simply didn't have the strength to do so.

*ding*

ERROR! Host Essence Unstable!

-1 HP/Minute

Eli looked at the message, confused at what he was reading. He knew he was dying, but he didn't understand why he wasn't already dead. He willed his Status Menu back, instantly getting bombarded by the notifications.

*ding* *ding* *ding* *ding*

You Have Gained Pain Resistance Lv. 1

You have experienced Pain itself without Breaking.

Increases your Threshold before Breaking. You Have Gained Essence Drain Resistance Lv. 1.

You have survived irreparable damage to your Essence.

Allows the ability to Resist Essence Drain. Dark Affinity Lost Error! Insufficient Essence!

Unable to Maintain Essence Core

Error! Level Reduction! Name Insignificant Race Insignificant Level 0 Class None Titles Progenitor Age 0% Lifespan 2 Years Health 9/10 Mana 10/10 Attributes Unspent Points 0 Strength 1 Dexterity 1 Vitality 1 Wisdom 1 Charisma 1 Will 1 Affinities (New!) None Resistances (New!) Pain 1 Essence Drain 1 Active Skills (New!) Inspect 1 Passive Skills (New!) Dark Sight 3

Eli willed the windows away while he rolled himself onto his back. The first thing he noticed was a miniature Dark Deathshroom covering his body from his belly down. He panicked for a moment before realizing he had been moving his body this entire time. He brought his hand to his face and watched as it suddenly appeared from the Dark, revealing flesh.

His mind started to clear as he absorbed what was happening. He was just like the rock. It wasn't mana that let him interact with the Deathshroom, but the Dark affinity. His eyes narrowed as he noticed his skin had returned to normal as well. Perhaps he didn't truly assimilate with the creature's Essence.

Eli imagined it like an egg, his original Essence being the yolk and the creature's being the egg white. And maybe this “Core” was acting as the shell, protecting him from whatever was now killing him.

The Deathshroom had devoured the Dark tainted essence, but was unable to interact with his human Essence. However, with so little Essence left, it seemed it couldn't sustain itself. Which is probably why the System assimilated him with another being in the first place.

Eli took in a deep breath, before letting out a sigh. None of this changed the fact he was likely completely fucked.

*ding*

-1 HP

He looked around the cavern, it was filled with the small Dark Mushrooms he first saw, as well as an abundance of spores still drifting through the air. He could now see everything around him, not a single shadow seemed to exist.

*ding*

-1 HP

The room started to slowly dim somewhat as Eli noticed the Dark Deathshroom above him was slowly shrinking. He looked on in curiosity as the Dark was being ripped from it and absorbed by the surrounding Dark Mushrooms. It seemed they were fighting for the limited resources. It was probably why they weren’t more prevalent in the cavern before.

*ding*

-1 HP

Still unable to put strength in his body, Eli just stared into the empty cavern as the cold from the cavern floor slowly spread through his body... or maybe it was just him dying, he couldn't tell. The scene was beautiful in a way, and it was certainly a better death than having his Essence devoured, though that was quite a bit quicker.

A dark spore slowly descended near his face, and as he watched on he couldn't help but be reminded of his mother's hair. Dark. The new association calmed him, making his surroundings feel almost warm even. A tear started to fall down his face. He was never going to see her again. He knew it, and not just because he was going to die here. No one was going to survive a world like this, not for very long. They were just so weak.

*ding*

-1 HP

Eli started to chuckle weakly before it turned into a boisterous laugh. His body spasmed at the action. The sound filled the once mute cavern, the echoes started to surround him like an audience. They laughed and laughed at him, a weak, useless, Insignificant existence. He couldn’t accomplish anything with his life, he was simply a shackle for the only person who ever mattered to him… the only person who ever cared about him.

*THUMP*

A force silenced the laughing crowd. The spores that once drifted through the room were pushed into the nearby walls where they started to grow.

Eli looked up and saw a figure standing over him. It had long white hair and wore a tattered tunic that hung on its long skeletal frame. In fact, for a second he thought it was a skeleton before he noticed the blue tinted pale skin tightly stretched over its body, revealing the slight muscle underneath. A sense of fatigue overwhelmed him.

*ding*

??? – Lv. 1

The creature's face was expressionless, but its eyes suddenly flared with green light. "What sort of abomination are you?" a raspy voice echoed in his head.

Eli was startled by the words, “You can speak?” he asked as his voice cracked.

The man’s expression didn’t change, he just continued to stare at him as if it wasn't worth the effort to reply. His eyes flared once again. "A Fallen Realm perhaps?" Eli noticed the man wasn’t using his lips to talk but was speaking directly into his mind.

*ding*

-1 HP

*ding*

You Have Gained

+1 Vitality

ERROR! Host Essence Unstable!

-0.75 HP per minute

Eli could feel strength start to seep back into his body. The fatigue that had gripped him was being washed away. He turned and started to push himself upward. "Explain!" The sudden voice in his head screamed. Eli finally pulled himself up into a sitting position before looking up at the figure. “Explain what?”

The creatures eyes flared with intensity. "How did you Heal?"

Eli brought up his Status Menu again.

Name Insignificant Race Insignificant Level 0 Class None Titles Progenitor Age 0% Lifespan 4 Years Health 14/20 Mana 10/10 Attributes Unspent Points 0 Strength 1 Dexterity 1 Vitality 1 Wisdom 1 Charisma 1 Will 1 Affinities None Resistances Pain 1 Essence Drain 1 Active Skills Inspect 1 Passive Skills Dark Sight 1

Eli looked confused at what the window was showing him. "I gained a point in Vitality." he replied before thinking to himself. Why is my Vitality still at 1? The man moved for the first time, squatting on the ground as it brought its face in front of his.

"Lies! Speak the Truth!" His voice taking on a threatening tone.

"I only had 1 Vitality to start with, it doubled my total Health." Eli explained, realizing his stats were probably significantly lower than he thought was probably normal. The creature moved its face from his, resuming its original posture.

"How much Health?" It inquired.

Eli became even more confused as the math was obvious. Perhaps it's wondering about how much Health he had left? He briefly pondered. "I have 14/20 Health." He replied.

The creatures reaction was immediate. Its eyes grew wide, completely ablaze in green light. "FOUND IT!" The voice assaulted his mind right before he felt the creature grab his neck.