Through the red haze that had become his vision, Mark was able to make out something in the Aether…. It looked like it had a chain wrapped around it, dragging it towards him…. A similar chain extended from his own neck, however both seemed to be incorporeal….

Psychic: (Tier III) Uncommon

The pool of the mind. Originally based upon the art of enhancement, it has over time evolved into a hybrid of Enhancement and Manipulation.

Active Ability: Split Mind- Current Max (5)

Passive Ability: Base Perception is boosted by 40%

Ever killed someone with a thought? Well I have.

The creature’s body was an amorphous mass, nearly eight feet tall, with protrusions constantly in motion. A majority of these were grasping at the ethereal chains in vain while the remaining seemed to grasp the very air to pull itself away from Mark.

The original spot the Aether had been accessed, had been widened to a point that the formless mass could easily fit. Said spot resembled a crack in reality, bolts of invisible energy continually pouring out to ravage the nearby area…. Looking into this window into another world, sane men would crack as their minds struggled to process what it was, but luckily Mark had no problems with his sanity. Somehow, this alternate dimension managed to be everything as well as nothing all at once. There were interconnecting lines of constantly shifting energies between everything, while at the same time these energies never existed. If one focused closer, souls drifting along could be seen, reliving their entire lives, while other creatures that belonged more in science fiction than in this reality, roamed the impossible phenomenon.

PULL!

This was the entirety of Mark’s thought process at the moment, completely ignoring the impossible sight he was seeing. He merely focused on who he deemed his enemy, wanting to end it's miserable existence.

As the unidentifiable mass began to cross the fracture in reality, a piercing wail rippled through the air. Whatever could make it to the other side of the portal seemed to finally take on a shape, that being of blood and bone and flesh. As more and more was pulled across, the grotesque nature of the creature was revealed, as the horror continued to grow, contrary to its supposed size in the Aether filled world. If one were to describe the thing, the first word to come to their mind would be ‘Wrong’.

Looking at it would hurt your eyes, while talking about it would make you shudder in fear, checking the shadows for childhood monsters that kept you up at night. Every second near such an abnormality would increase that same feeling of wrongness and unnaturalness, only exasperated once it began to move.

Its guts, strained to find a way to escape the patchwork of bone and flesh that composed a seemingly weak shell around the creature, while every pulse sent blood in all directions. The creature looked like it was dying from simply being in the wrong world, its hastily formed shell only barely able to slow this.

None of these horrors could compare to the sound of it though. The piercing wail which had previously forced its way through every living creatures’ brain, now spoke. Its words were those that even the air shivered and attempted to get away from. The already dying surroundings suddenly found themselves completely dissipating as the area was cleansed of everything. The words were incomprehensible, even as Mark listened, he could feel himself dying. Every letter made his insides quake, every syllable enunciated made his vision fade further, every new verse of death started only added onto the agonizing pain rushing through him.

E̵̼̙̗̟̗͚͔͓͆̐͂̃́̚͜͝t̸̛̬̝̥͈̙̫͔̫̣̗́͑́̋͒͌̓̚ ̴̫̂̿̀̽̾̆͋r̸̨͉͉̗̜͖̠͌̽̄͐̒͛͆̓e̷͕̠͗̎̎̽ḏ̵̯̠̄̈́̔̎͆̃͆̀̆d̵̝̖̗̦̙͉̞̯̗̈́̋ę̵̼͇͕͚̭͈͌͊͗̎̇̆͒̚͜ ̵͈̝͔̿̔͒̾a̷̟̘̟̍̆̽n̶̢͔̲͙̯̗̔̊̓̃͆͝i̶̡̬͇͙̱̹̰̔̿̉̅̈́̕͘͘͠͠ṃ̷̤̰̬͌̅̋̓̑̓a̶̝͙̫̙̝͆̾͐͊̈́͘͝ ̴͖̖͇̹͍͖͎͕̭̏̓̑̆̏̔t̸̢̠͇̥̞̯̹͖͑̔͗u̴̢͖̥̜̖̎̎̏̽͜ả̸̫̗̬̏̕

E̵̼̙̗̟̗͚͔͓͆̐͂̃́̚͜͝ţ̴̣̱͉͙̞̟̣̰̓̈́̃͊́͝ ̷̡̪̥̹̻͓͉̺̂͋̎̅́͘̕c̶̢̢͇̳̼̭̀̎̑̇̅̾̋̈ó̴̗̺̒͂̎͠m̶̨̙̲̺̀́͋̿͗̉̈́̀̈̕ė̸͈͎̤̼͚͋̒̔̊́d̵̡̛̠̱̓̈́͐̒̌͝e̸̛͍̯̻̎͗̓̔̿̽͐̂̋t̵͉̬͍̔͑̋ͅ ̵̦̪̻̋̓̍̈́ṡ̶̨̯̭̳̝̭̘̣̍͒̾̈́̓͒͝ḙ̴̥̯͔͎̠̎̀̈́̄̂̉ͅg̷͖̰̙̈́̈́̉̂̊͝͠ë̴̝̱͂̐̏͆́̐͗͝t̸̡̜͑͆͂͆̿͝ẻ̶̹̝̬̣͈̈́͒̉̆̕ŝ̷̥͍́̽̀͋̀̑̚̕ ̸̢͙̳̞̟̝̮̫̭̓̓t̷͓͇̺̔ú̵̢͙͇̝̱̙̌̏ą̵̩̤̳͚͛̑̒͑̕͝s̴̡̡̘̭̞̜̜͉̿̃̐͆̓͝ ̶̫̤͎̫̤̈́̒̋̌ẽ̶̛͙̗̜̪̌t̶̨͍̫̘͇̻͒̊͊͂́̏̇̈́̽ ̵̣̫̖̍ĉ̶̝̯̗̃̓̃̐̒͜ỏ̶͔̖̱̤̠͇͔̻̖̻͂͂͌́̽̑̃̈r̸̹͓̲̲̦͇̤̘̮̿̌̊̈͘ͅp̸͎͕̦̻̻̺̺̣̐́u̸̜̙̫̰̥̯͈͙̪̍̌̍̈́̈̀̍̕̕s̷̛̳͖͎̽̏̀̂̈́̒

N̴̢̟̞͉̰̽͘̚o̷͙͓͎͌͊̍̔̊͑s̴̩͇̞͇͙̼͑̀̓̀̊ ̴̡̢̙̹̗͉͕̗̲̓̽̃q̸̨̢̰̮̪͙͙̿̉́͌̀̂̿̏̆̈́u̸̙̬̙̰̠̞̥͛̔͋̆̚͘͠ͅȉ̶̡͕̬͉̈́͠ḑ̸̩͇͓͇̘̖͔͈̟̾͋̎͘p̴̧͈͕̱̺̹̦̅̿̿i̶̙̾̑̉͆ͅā̴̙̪̼̗̳̤̥̏̾̐̕m̷̱͙̊̏͗͒̑̏̇̓ ̷̡̝̪̫̌̀ͅd̴̘́̂̈́̓̓͆̈́͘̕ė̶̡͓̺̥̜͚͔͓̾̂́͌̌͒̋͝t̷̨̗̻͔͕̭̓̓̾̈́r̴̺͎̱̮̿͊a̵͕̲͚͂̆̈́̎̃͑̔͠ḣ̵͓͖͉̔̂͑͊̚͠͠͝a̷̩̼͐̆̽́̎̌̔͝t̵̨̘̣̗̬̙̪̲͖͗͂̕ ̸̢̣͍̠̓͐d̴̨̛̼̘̦͕͉̈́̍͊̄̀̄͊͜ị̴͕̭̝̻̹̦͂͛̈́̒͠ş̷̢̨̛͉̪͎̽̉͒͒̕͠ ̸̨̠̻͕͍̥̤̣̂̀͆̔́͆͘͝d̷̢̻̬̠̪̮̖̓̾͊̈́̏̕ͅi̷̥̝̙͒̂̎́͌é̶̬͎͕͈̱͉͗́͊͝ͅs̶̢̙̺͖̫̪̲̹̻̃͗͌͒̌̉̒͘,̴̨̯̝̜̮͔͖̝͚͇̉͗̕ ̵̡̜̮͍̂̽̌̚͝ę̵̠̹̯͉̞̔̌̌̋͗̀ţ̸̥́̌̈́̀͛̈̐͑͘͝ͅ ̷̡͎̫͙́͗̎̔p̷͇̪̠͙̦̟̥͓͓͑́e̵͓͕̦͚̪̓͌̓̉̅͗̀͘͝ŕ̶͉̺̣̪̝̞͚̜̭͒͒̓͑́͜į̵̛̪̞̣̖̭̔͝b̴̢̫̣̬͈̝̦͊̅̌́̒̔̇ȋ̵ͅt̶̢̥̗̯̥̤̙̙̗̼͒̆̍̾̂͝͝

In this state of semi-consciousness, and near death…. Mark did something most would consider suicidal…..

He stepped forward.

By now, everything had ceased. The light that attempted to filter through was vanquished by the Aether as well as the eldritch words pouring forth from whatever part of the creature constituted as a mouth. No sound other than the horrid verse echoed through the empty space. All matter seemed to have lost its qualities, reverting to simple space. This same space retained its former shape only losing what made anything in the area identifiable. There was no dirt, no wood, and no air. Only a black void, so dark in fact that even a consciousness could be filled with the pure color of nothingness. It was so invasive, the spectators in the background shuddered as their thoughts were overtaken by the void.

And in all of this, Mark stepped forward.

The creature seemed spooked by this, and increased the volume and tempo at which its insidious words poured forth.

Â̵̡̛͎͉͈̩̼̗̗̞̖̏͆̉̇̓̚ǘ̴̢̘̮̖̻̩͎̞͛̋͐̆̆̀d̶͇̀̊͛̃ḙ̷̣͍̰̺̭͗̍̒͌̾̅̈͐͜s̵̱̤̤͇͖̖͚̀̈́̿ ̵̡͖͍͓̱̻̞͎̤͗͑̽̇ͅù̸̜̝͕͔̞̣̪̯l̸͚̘̤̓̇ẗ̵̡̜̳̖̻͔̣̫́́é̸̡̢̧̬͚͚͚͓͙͕̔̓̓͑r̶̡̺͓̟̀ì̷̧̲̙͙͚̤̹̹̝̗̃̎̓̃͗̍͘͠u̸̡̨͓̭̫̹̿̒́̀̓͜ş̸̻͇̩̩͈̖̥͐̿́̒̏̏̕͠ ̵̳̺̖̙͗̾̆͝v̵̝̬͑̍̊̉͗́͘̚͠é̷͓͉̽́̐͛͘n̵̜̬̠͉͖͖͎̮͉̉ỉ̷̛̱̙̦̊͑̃̉̕ŗ̵͙̹̌̔͜e̶̡͈̩͚͙̩͇̲͉͕͋̈́̆͐͘ ̶̢̛̛̟̠̥̫̝̲̣͈͇̅̅̿̉p̷̦͈̫͖̘̿͋̅̔̄̐̕͜ǫ̵͍̼̻͍̺͇̅͋̍̿s̸̡̡̤̤̤̣̹̦̜͔̅͊̀͆s̷̛͔̭͋̍̉̈́ư̸̠͎̼̥̮̞̅̊̀̑͘n̶͍͔͈̮̳̣̰͔̤̽̍̔́̓͠t̷̢͕͓̹͇͓̹̫́̈́̏͘ ̵̤͕̻̯̭̝͙͐͒͘P̴̨̲̙͙̜̗̲̽̿̍͘̚͠ͅL̸̫͓͋̀̉̉̂̈̈̕̕I̵̧̧͍͕̠̬͖̜͒͛͆̏̐N̵̆͌̓͑͜Y̴͈̋͘ ̴̡̬̝̠̮͚̯̊̇̈́̈p̴̹͔̍̃͋̇́͠é̶̥̞̥͍̟̄͊͘c̵̡̮͙͇̳͑͗̈́̚ċ̶̞̮̘͈͕̝̥̈̈́̈́͒̒́͘ą̶̡̥̫̦͚͂ẗ̷̖̭̖͕͖̤͔́u̶͈̩̩̰̫̤̘͍͛͋̍̊̓͜m̴̞̼͙̯͛͑̎͜͜ ̵̡͔̈́̈́̃͛̄̓m̷̨̮̟͇̪͈̫̺̿̎̐̉͛́̀̃õ̶̼̲͔̥͎̘͌̀̂̎̌̐͘r̷̛͚̗͚͌́͛̏͠t̵͎̪͙̘̜̓̑̇̈́͗͂͛̊ͅȃ̷̧͈͇̟̪̫̆ͅḻ̵̙̣͔̩̝̅̉̕e̶̥̬̥̫̽

P̷͙̥͈̘̯͔̗͎̱̯̾̆͐͛͊͘A̷͎̺̞̓̍͋̊̾̿̎̚͠T̴̡̛͕̼̯͔̻̙͕͖̆̔̅͌̒͊̉̃H̷͇̜̮̯̦̣̠̦̱́̔͋̎͗́̀͘̚͝Ȩ̸̛̻̜̹̲̬̱̠͂̽̌͠T̵̨̳̠̬͚̥̠̝͉̺̿̄̍̔͒̓̈̈́͐I̵̡̢̮̣̣͍̠̽̒͆̾̇͆͆C̶̨̛͎̰̬̺̖̠͇͉̤͒̓Ư̶̧̡̲̬̻͔͈͂̇̈͆̍̑̓̓̈́S̵͔͍͕̬͔̅̍̇͝͠ ̷̨̙̞̲͖̫̙͈̑͑͋̑͜͠ͅO̵̧̖͖̪̗͕͕̻̅̉͗͑̌͑̏̕͠M̵̧͎̻̦̠̬̠̣̹͇̾Ň̶̨̢̰͇̳̝͕̱̺̉͊͛̆̒̉̓̂͘I̶͍̫̼̟͙̱͈͗̉̋͜A̵̪̞̥͖͕̟̰̺͐̍͛̊̽̈̕ ̷͔̗̖̝̞̺̐͋́̈́̾͘Q̵̭̺̞̱̲͈̝̞͋̔ͅU̵̬͗͊̎̈́̄͂͘͠͠À̶̪̲͓̿͘E̵̤̦͖͌̾̀̔́͝ ̷̝͚̀D̸͇̦̝̩͖͙͒̈̍Ę̸̟̜̜͎̬̺̪̽̇͘͜ ̴̱̘͈̳̫͕̄͗́Ḧ̴̢͎́̑̀̿̈́͠Ö̸̡̢̡̢͙̥̼̞̙̪́̐̊̈́͂̔̀͒C̷̳͉̞̬̈́̌ ̷̨͚̻̪̼̻̤̽̓M̶̞͖͍͓̖̲̯̔̾͋̏̋̆U̴͖̳̗͍͇͓̪͇̔̑̕N̴̘̬͈̞̣̜͇̝̉͌͗͗̓̈́Ḑ̷̧̨̩̘̤͕̺̥͔̋͊͋͝Ȯ̶̤̬͇̹̜͔̻̌͌̐̃ ̸̜͕͕̙̟̋́̈́̽͜E̴̢̥̙͈͙͉͖͌́̎d̸̛̤̖͚̤̤̞̪̟̭̈͊͒́̈͊͑́̀͜a̷̡̺̤̱̘̤͉͈̣͖͂̊m̵̘̭͓͕̩̥̯͍̪̋̀̈́̌̓̈ ̴̨̬̹̳̭̙̱͚̝͐̐j̷̧̛͍͚̹͕̏͒̎͗͜á̷͙̖̤̲̫̜̎͋̎͆̍͝m̸̨̤͚͉̺̲̗͖̈ ̷̦͛R̵̖̙͆̂̃̊I̵̧͍̼̠͉̭̎́̿̽͠ͅD̷̡̘͖͙̘͙̖̬̞̀̐̂̀̂ͅ ̵̧̟̝̘̭͎͚̓̃̐͑̒̓̌̏p̶̫̠̰̜̳͕̗̉̋͐̾̉̆̉͠͝ͅr̶͚̝̩͈͇̱͚͈̻̞͆̎ŏ̷͔̍̈̋͗͒͒f̷̧͉͓͗̇͑ě̶̢̙͋c̴̡̟̘͙̪̙͍̜̳̳͑͘t̴̲̉̀̏͊̀̓̏ǔ̶̢̠̃̓̎̓͛̋͘͜͝s̷̬̫̯̠͔̓͛͒̀̕͝ ̵̘̦̟͈̳͔̎̾̈́́Ť̸̢̢̗̜̣̩̗͕̭̂̾͐̀̐͘

But Mark stepped forward.

Now, only a few inches separated the two beings. Mark, blood trailing as it seeped out of all of his orifices… and the creature, now silently trembling as it was unsure of how to proceed. Nothing had ever opposed it. Nothing was ever supposed to oppose it. Nothing could ever oppose it. It was at this moment a series of events unfolded to prove it wrong.

Congratulations! You have done the impossible and deciphered the Aether's language! You have integrated the Curse Authority trait! The System has been alerted.

Curse Authority : (Tier I) Legendary

Since the beginning, there has always been a soul. Eventually, this soul grew tired of the same monotonous nothing, and the same thoughts being repeated forever, as much as time had mattered before it had been created. So in order to rectify this emptiness, it destroyed itself.... and from the remnants of its body, the multiverse was born. Not much is known about how the original soul managed to destroy itself considering it embodied power, there was no equal as there was nothing else, but even to this day there is not a single being nor a collection of beings as powerful.

Although there are methods to use, abuse, and even change a soul... nothing can destroy them. They are seen as something completely immune to everything regardless of the differences of power between two beings. Curse Authority overcomes this and goes even further.

Curse authority is a pool of the soul. One of the few pools not dependent upon Aether as a medium of power.

Soul Attribute is forcefully awakened. Soul Essence is directly dependent on Soul Attribute.

Boosts Soul Attribute by 5%

Your soul is more malleable to your own touch, and now resists more from others.

Warning: Overuse can lead to self deletion.

A grey-whitish flame began to outline Mark’s normally green eyes. They flickered almost as if they were alive, a far cry from his normally dead expressions. This changed nothing however as the blob of flesh resumed its lines. It couldn’t believe it had been intimidated by a pathetic mortal. As an Aether Elemental it had reigned supreme over all others in its own dimension, seeing Mark had truly disrupted its thinking.

As it finished its first verse…. Mark began his….

The crawling horror’s song had been garbled and completely alien to everything of Earth. They still understood its meaning however, one of complete dominance. Something that felt so completely entitled to everything that nothing would remain after it finished. It would take everything and leave nothing, for that was what it deserved as an Aether Elemental.

Mark’s claimed nothing. Mark’s demanded nothing. Mark’s merely shared his feelings….. The same feelings that he had bottled up his entire life…. The same feelings that gave him an insanity debuff tiered at seven…. So it wasn’t really surprising when all life in the surroundings instantly had their consciousnesses shredded to pieces.

Not even the elemental’s curse’s destructive power compare to the ferocity with which Mark destroyed everything.

And while it defended itself from Mark’s superior curse power….. Aiyla silently slid into its form until she had buried half her length into its body.

The blood that had been barely restrained until that moment gushed forward, painting the voided ground red. Air came rushing to fill the empty space as sound clashed with light to be the first back in their original places.

Congratulations! You have slain a Young Aether Elemental! You have been awarded the title Vanquisher!

Vanquisher: (Tier I) +2 to all attributes

You are now level 19!

WARNING! YOU HAVE TAKEN IN TOO MUCH AETHER! IMMEDIATELY EVOLVE OR YOU WILL DIE.

Highly Corrupted Human

Highly Corrupted Humans are known throughout history as people possessed and otherwise lost to the more nefarious parts of the supernatural. The reality is that their psychic abilities had taken control of their personalities corrupting them beyond repair. Those who managed to survive for a great length of time managed to suppress these self destructive desires, however, not even they are able to completely suppress their insanity.

Requirements: Insanity: (Tier I), Psychic: (Tier I), Be a Corrupted Human.

Grants: Finite Control: (Tier I), Call of the Banshee: (Tier I).

The Vetan

The Vetan are an extinct race of half-ling demons. Vetan are known for their excellent control over their wills leading many to develop Blood Lust early in their lives. Their downfall came when they forgot to control themselves, earning themselves the nickname 'Blood Berserkers'.

Requirements: BloodLust: (Tier III), Blood Dominion: (Tier I), Fear Inducer: (Tier II), Be a corrupted Human.

Grants: Demonic Vision: (Tier I), Bloody Strength: (Tier I).

The Zuksant

Dwellers of Aether, unable to live in the harsh environment outside of the realm of Aether. The Zuksant are considered as scholars of Aether, committing their whole lives to the study and manipulation of Aether. As a result of this arduous devotion to the power of Aether, they have been given powers not many can match as long as they are in their own domain. Never enter a Zuksant's domain.

Requirements: A form of Aether Control = Aether Kinesis, Curse Authority: (Tier I), A Rare crafting skill = Golemancy, Be a corrupted being.

Grants: Polymorph: (Tier I), Ardent: (Tier I), Establish Domain: (Tier I), Additional tool of choice.

Shuthye (Progenitor)

A new species, created upon selection. A halfling of demonic proportions, the Shuthye are thought to be descendents of the first Twelve Princes, however, their bloodline is severely diluted. They dabble in many pools, but are instinctively drawn towards the more heinous of those available. They can be known to embody spontaneous decisions and rash choices as well as their lack of respect for the lives of others.

Requirements: Psychic: (Tier I), BloodLust: (Tier I), Curse Authority: (Tier I), Fabled Modifier = Scourge, Be a corrupted being.

Grants: Progenitor: (Tier I), Weak Aether Resistance: (Tier I), Weapon Style of Choice, Mutation of Choice.

Unfortunately, Mark didn’t notice any of it. He had bathed in the curses of another, unprotected, for too long. His mind was completely shattered, only operating by his base instincts at this point…..

WARNING! YOU HAVE TAKEN IN TOO MUCH AETHER! IMMEDIATELY EVOLVE OR YOU WILL DIE.

So while Mark slowly died from the poisonous Aether…..

WARNING! YOU HAVE TAKEN IN TOO MUCH AETHER! IMMEDIATELY EVOLVE OR YOU WILL DIE.

He did nothing.

…

….

…….

“Damnit kid…. Fine, I’ll help you once more but not again. I am only doing it this time as you actually managed to one up that jackass.” The voice chuckled a deep baritone before resuming…

“They’ve been trying to recreate Curse powers for so long only for you to do it so early on in the trial. They must be furious, I can’t let you get dissected just yet however. I still need you.”

“System override. Mark Telod, select Shuthye….”

Admin Authority Confirmed... .... ....

Authorizing... .. ..

User is currently unavailable.. ... ...

Overriding Control.. ... ..

Beginning Evolution Tribulation... ...