Trees blurred together as Jaden ran straight through the forest. The ruined copse of his home had long vanished behind him, yet still burned in the forefront of his mind. The state of his mother—the future of his people, the suffering that his blood, his creations, endured. All weighed heavily upon his mind as he blazed a new path. The blinding rage ensnared him finding vent as trees obstructing his path vaporized instantly. He ran right through them leaving the canopy to fall moments behind. The toppling trees turned rhythmic, creating a sorrowful drumbeat that heralded the traveling calamity.

Who is it? Who warped my purpose here? My reincarnation was just another method to turn my hope into despair. My divine power was replaced by something cold, calculating, evil and above all, sentient.

You loathe us but we can give what you seek. With us, it is possible to kill gods. And we don't mean that temporary bullshit of the reincarnation cycle.

"Void of the Abyss," Jaden intoned and the words ravaged his vocal cords, warping his voice into something far removed from the world of man. A new vocalization born from the endless reaches beyond time and space. The warped sound of the undefined.

Be honest with us ancient god. How does it feel to have our limitless power coursing through your body? We gambled our very existence on this outcome. And we removed many obstacles. To our grief, one wildcard remains and to our dismay, you created this situation. Still we laugh at your futile efforts, for it matters little. Here, have a glance at how we came to be.

Jaden stared blankly as one word at a time revealed an event a thousand years in the making.

A god fled his place of birth. He was running from those it could no longer tolerate, those that wanted it dead—ironically enough, those that used to be part of itself. It escaped to this realm, far removed from beyond the void. In hiding it lay; it created a new race away from old quarrels. The local gods reacted and cornered the foreigner with their champions. The god's attention was divided, an arduous task already at hand when the combat began. A long destructive battle ensued. Stars, planets, and even space itself lay wrecked in the onslaught. When the dust settled and the echoes ceased—a dead god floated, corpse abandoned, all but forgotten entirely for millennia, his task nearly finished, the final piece incomplete. The gods turned their champions' attention to the god's creations, transforming their peaceful lives into endless oppression. An existence so fragile, all they could do was suffer until the day their god was born anew.

"Are you finished reminding me about my mistakes?"

Patience, patience. You must have guessed our origin by now, yes? Those you fled followed the remnants of your struggle. Gave you a parting gift. The "corruption" as your APHAS adequately designated us. For we were little more than that in our creation. We nibbled here and there to survive and remain undetected as long as possible. Biding our time, we bet our existence on you and your limiter removal system. We had never thought it possible to have our body joined to that of a god so intimately. We must thank our current existence upon your hasty command, and APHAS's unprecedented ability to link our power to your divinity—our food. A thousand years we waited and evolution we have gained.

"And now I wield this power. Every bit the harbinger of doom I was feared to become." Jaden shook his head as even his body shivered in rejection of this revelation. He fell to his knees and wretched. A black glob of liquified mana hit the ground. Spreading and sinking into the dirt, it consumed what it touched.

Please do be careful with our body, we have difficulty controlling it, you see, we are tied in this together. We are the power, you are the control. Together, we can end your foes and free your people from oppression.

Jaden extended his arm into the hole and grasped the ravenous mana his body expelled, dissolving it with but a touch, "I should never have been reborn."

"Everything that made me a god is gone. My creations have no hope I can see in any possible future. I should not have made the race. They suffered endlessly. Needlessly"

But not in vain. This is where our story truly begins.

The void within trembled, an agent of pure destruction readying itself to strike.

Void of the Abyss

The Harbinger of Prophecy

Permanently converts the host into the Avatar of the Abyss. Activates Void Aura, Void Empowerment, and Curse Blessing of the Void. *See Side Effects

Void Aura(Inactive)

As the Avatar of the Abyss, you are constantly surrounded by the power of the Void. Nothing we currently know of can penetrate this unholy shield unscathed.

Void Corruption Empowerment(Inactive)

The mere presence of the Avatar bathes the surroundings with the Curse Blessing of the Void.

Curses Blessing of the Void(Inactive)

The strong thrive and the weak shall perish. A forced chain of evolution induced by raw Void energies. Only the truly worthy will achieve the pinnacle. *See Side Effects

Side Effects

This listing is incomplete and is mostly guesswork at this time. Insanity. Depression. Insatiable hunger. Homicidal tendencies. Fascination with shiny objects.

"The side effects are guesses?"

There are some serious red flags in there, and that is what draws your attention? We have not had any chance to test these abilities before. You could say we are assuming our power comes with a cost.

"Sasha, I can't feel-" Vivian stopped there since that open-ended statement was indeed the truth. Her current 'body' consisted of only her core essence; a ball of primordial goop only capable of emitting colors. Any shift indicated she was trying to interact with a physical body she no longer possessed and after a moment of rest always reverted to her unique default state, white.

Welcome back to the realm of the living. No, that's inaccurate since you never left. Hmm. To the realm of awareness then? Shall I reconstruct your body?

"What?" Vivian sensed a headache of epic proportions forming, but there was no usual pain or discomfort. "I can't do anything like this, so may as well."

I have been waiting for your approval for far longer than we have time for, thank you for allowing me to begin.

"Where's my son? Where's Jaden?"

Too far gone. Beyond your reach. Beyond my reach. He is no longer my host. In my haste to find a comparable replacement—I am sorry.

"What have you done?"

I have chosen one of the surviving Jadendajuda to create an anti-existence of a void god. And the most compatible for this task was Emily. I couldn't wait for you forever, and I had no way of knowing you would choose to continue living. It was very strenuous on my functions to keep what remained of you whole after all. It seemed you didn't want to exist any longer.

"Can you stop the process? I'll—I'll take on the role."

Emily was chosen for many reasons. She may well be the only one left who can still reach him once he becomes the Avatar of the Void. But very well, we shall try your way first. Are you ready? With the current state of your 'body', now is the opportune time to optimize everything as much as I can. Do I have your approval?

"Do it."

System Upgrade Required To Proceed

Updating now

"I hope Emily won't be affected by this any further."

Upgrading Apocalypse Prevention Host Augmenting System to Specialized Adaptation Single Host Augmenter

"From APHAS to SASHA? What the hell...?" Vivian's consciousness twitched as the boxes faded from her vision.