Prologue
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- [ PROLOGUE ] -

~ ♚ ~

 This world has no beginning nor end.

Its more like an open prison that has no definite walls or boundaries and the only warden is this infinite expanse of emptiness that keeps sprawling endlessly further beyond the horizon.

On and on I could see nothing but this pure empty blackness for which entirely engulfs my whole being. Nothing is corporeal here and for as long as I could remember, I've been tethered into this abyss for which perpetually shackles me and I could never escape from it no matter how hard I desperately try to contend. 

For unmeasurable number of years, I've wandered far and wide into this barren wasteland as I keep on drifting aimlessly hoping to find any means of escape...yet sometimes, I feel as if I haven't even moved an inch from my starting point.

My only indication of progress is through meeting these rather bizarre floating orbs that sometimes shift into a humanoid form but these incorporeal entities really aren't capable of cognitive thinking and will only appear for a flickering moment before disappearing entirely as if it had never existed at all in the first place. 

I tried several times to connect with these translucent beings hoping to find some answer but alas, I'm always besotted by a slew of raw negative emotions whenever I tried interlinking my mind to them.

It was painful.

Its like these beings are the embodiment of madness itself.

I could feel their mindless rage and bottomless despair whenever I drew close to one and their mouth would usually twist and utter this litany of words that's akin to a ravings of a madman.

I have approached these orbs countless of times, in hopes of learning anything about them or this realm but it was a fool's errand. Henceforth in the end, I could do nothing but merely watch these bizarre entities fade in and out of existence as questions keeps piling up to no end from within my innermost subconsciousness.

I wonder...what are these creatures?

Where did these specters come from?

...Where did I come from? 

How did I get trapped in this place?

How am I going to get out of this place? 

Is there even an exit in the first place?

What is this place!?

All these unanswered questions keeps festering deep within me and I fear that the chaos raging inside my innermost self would finally break loose and spew out if I remain in the dark for any much longer.

I let out a long sigh.

Des..roy Ever..hing...

Ah, here it comes again.

Its a mental voice and an insatiable compulsion that's urging me to let it loose and unleash that growing insanity that keeps gnawing on the precipice of my rational mind.

It kept telling me that it is my bound duty...no, my absolute right to destroy this damned oblivion for which I had known for ever since my inception.

Destroy...all.

This mental voice once began as a whisper, spoken in a barely audible tone like a broken mantra, that I should succumb to the temptation.

To accept the chaos and finally let loose all the primal madness that's raging deep within me. I tried to resist it but the voice then grew louder and louder as what was once a mere whisper now became a thunderous hysteria and I realized that the owner of this ghastly voice...is none other than me itself.

This voice is my inherent desire.

The primordial yearning of my soul to consume anything and everything as I ascend into a singularity.

How foolish of me.

I should had followed my own desires much more sooner. Perhaps I would've already escaped this place if I let the madness overtake my whole being much more earlier.

But it still wasn't too late. 

I could still do it.

I drowned in my anxiety as I began disregarding all my primal inhibitions. I slowly let the madness take over me whilst basking unto the enticement of senseless indulgence.

Soon I began acting wantonly, dismissing practically everything as I yield to my primal instincts. All my Dreams, Hopes, Sadness and Fear...Nothing matters to me anymore. 

Only one thing now solely occupies my mind and that is to simply—

Devour Everything.

I rushed in to the specter nearest to me and directly pierced its chest, pulling out a second later a palm-sized glowing orb for which seems to be the essence or perhaps even the soul of this entity.

I then observed this shiny orb for a moment with the curiosity of a child before...opening my mouth wide open and—

Snap!

Ahh, how marvelous~

I never knew absorbing souls could felt this delightful. A surge of unbridled power instantly flooded into my essence as I let myself get swept away by the sheer bliss of intoxication.

Its the first time I've felt luscious emotions of this kind.

Soon I was laughing manically as I hunted more and more specters in order to devour their souls. It was as if a stopper imbued deep within me had finally break loose and once it was gone, then there's finally no stopping me as I drown myself unto an intoxication of carnal decadence.

My strength rapidly grew by leaps and bounds just as my appetite for souls became more and more insatiable. I could feel within me an overwhelming power as it sent ripples from my core through all the way towards my outer vicinity.

I felt as if I could now understand and perform things I wasn't able to beforehand and as my comprehension arises, a seed of self-awareness finally sprouted along within me.

I felt more in tune with myself as I am now realizing that I neither actually possessed a vocal outlet nor any auditory organs to make any sort of noise yet I have a feeling that I'm still capable of breaking this everlasting silence once I use this newfound powers of mine.

...Should I try it?

In an odd mixture of exuberance and uncertainty, I changed the form of my body into a perfect circular shape as I gradually condensed myself more and more as all my power gets concentrated at my very core.

I slowly began to bend the space around my vicinity and when the density of my core had finally reached a critical mass, I uttered—

"—Let there be light."

Boom!

All at once, I unleashed the compressed energy at my core as it sent shockwaves across the abyss with an intensity akin to a rippling crescendo. A ripples of interwoven energies began expanding rapidly starting from my proximity for which generated these illuminating clouds of dust and smoke on its wake.

An unequivocal mirth washed all over me at the realization that the void which had pervades all throughout my existence has finally been broken by my sheer powers alone! The very fact that I managed to shed some light unto this realm wherein darkness reigned supreme showed how much I grew in such a short amount of time.

Likened to a child finding a new toy, I tried vocalizing my delight and a myriad of lesser explosions from the residue of my expanding energy began occurring all over the abyss as spiraling clusters of energies formed one after the another due to my beckoning. 

A curt snicker escaped my lips and soon those snickers turned into an incontrollable hysteria as I let loose a bunch of nonsensical words whilst my voice bellows discordantly all throughout this damnable oblivion.

Disappear!

Begone from my sight! 

This is my realm now!

I impetuously cursed the darkness as I became more and more pleased with myself. At last, I had finally found the meaning behind my existence.

I was not a prisoner but the warden itself!

This abyss is not my prison, but my own realm bestowed upon me!

 I am the beginning—

and the end of it all.

Through these newfound powers I would change this world of death into one teeming with life for which I will then reign supreme with unquestioned authority as everything will bow to my mandate! 

This is how it should be, for I have decided that it would be so! 

I grinned as I gathered all the souls I have devoured and conjugated them all into one mass of disjointed coalesce. All my desires, hopes and ambitions mixed into one tumultuous deafening bellow, the roar that would declare me as the Supreme Ruler of the eternal void!

Now then, darkness my eternal companion, this is where we will finally part ways as I will now set forth upon my quest to eradicate you once and for all and fill this world with my light.

I recalled all the energies I've expended earlier to make an even more stronger explosion this time. I once again formed into a circle but ten times more larger than my initial one as I once again compressed myself until I've reached the densest my core could reach.

I then finally released all the accumulated energy stored within me once again as I ignited my surroundings in a myriad of luminance as my will radiates far and wide into this hollowed realm.

A scorching shimmer blasted all throughout the cardinal directions as I watched the oblivion fades into whiteness.

Yes!

This is my genesis and the birth of it all. 

Through my brilliance, all new forms of existence will rise anew. However as I expend all my powers, I've noticed that over time my radiance once again slowly began to fade. 

The expanding light I had initially created though incredibly blinding at first, eventually fades back into darkness, showing no impact at all onto this damned oblivion. 

...No!!

How could this be!?

What had happened?

Was all my effort yielded absolutely nothing in the end?

Over and over I bellowed, shouting angrily for which eventually devolved into cries of fear and despair at the realization that I cannot change anything no matter how much power I have accumulated.

I screamed and I screamed until I could not scream anymore, yet despite the uproar I had created, no one still appeared before me.

...No one still answered my plea.

At this point all my resolve finally broke and I couldn't do anything but to weakly weep as I succumbed to the hopelessness of my situation.

...It was not fair...It was not fair! IT IS NOT FAIR!

What did I do to deserve this suffering....why am I imprisoned here and who would be so capable of such cruelty of entrapping me in this maddening nothingness for all eternity?! 

Just as I began to accept the futility of my actions, a woman suddenly stood before me.

"Heh, how amusing~ The void is eternal and no matter how hard you try to eradicate it, in the end everything will be back to nothingness."

I can't believe it. 

A real life corporeal being with flesh and substance!

What's even more weird is that I could fully perceived her visually. She's emitting a faint glowing aura of blue and her raven colored hair sways even though there's no air around here. 

I examined her for a moment and the closest term I could describe this woman is that she looked absolutely like a celestial being. The feeling I got from her is rather sinister with a taint of malevolence but I could still strongly sense her boundless divinity.

Perhaps she's the Goddess of this realm or something related to it?

"Ara, what a discovery, I never knew this could happen~" The celestial woman finally talked in a tone laced in amusement. Her gaze somehow made me recoiled back for it felt as if she's been eyeing me as some sort of delectable dish. 

"Haha, you're a funny one. Don't worry I'm not planning to eat you..." She then dramatically paused before her lips curved into a cheshire smirk and added, "...or will I?"

Silence.

...Perhaps she can read my mind?

One corner of her lips extend upwards. "To a certain extent I can. This is Purgatory after all...a realm wherein it cleanses the soul of their acquired knowledge before they can once again re-enter the cycle of Samsara."

...Purgatory?

Samsara?

Its a couple of words I have heard for the very first time.

"Aiya, the commotion you created had totally shocked me! One of my servants notified me that some sort of explosions were happening around here lately so I've gotten curious about it and search for the culprit but never in my wildest dreams would I think that I'll find a being like you~"

This mysterious goddess then looked at me with eyes that's glinting in shrewdness.

"Hmm...perhaps I could use you to ascertain the nature of that anomaly." She mumbled to herself before dropping an offer that greatly shook my inner being.

"...Hey do you want to reincarnate into life?"

Silence.

"I didn't know how you came into existence but luckily for you, the others still haven't notice your presence."

This black haired deity then skip a step forward and encircled me around in a playful manner before glancing at me with eyes that shines a predatory glint. 

"My my, you're really a miraculous and unique existence. The others still haven't seem to notice anything since they're preoccupied with that game so I may have a way to save you from eradication but we got to act fast or else they might become aware of my actions."

...I don't understand any of this.

These revelations are all too sudden.

I can reincarnate to life? 

Who wanted to eradicate me? 

A series of questions rapidly spun within my mind after it all finally sank into me but her next words took all my focus away on getting answers upon such inquires.

"Hey, you want to leave this place right~ I can help you out," She then paused for a second but I could discerned in her eyes a certain enigmatic glint as if she's plotting something. The silence lasted or ten seconds before this deity resumed by saying, "...However I don't do charities henceforth you need to do something for me in exchange."

Her offer instantly wipes the gloom that's starting to brew deep within me. That being said, I really want to accept her offer but a portion of me is still worried about the price this goddess will ask of me in exchange for her aid.

What if she ask for something I can't do or give?

What then?

However nothing ventured nothing gained and she's my only chance for a way out of this oblivion. I strengthen my resolve and faced this deity before me earnestly.

...Okay I accept but what should I do?

Her mysterious smile then turned into a wide grin.

"Great, I will contact you later on about the finer details but the main thing I want you to do after you reincarnated is to search  and gather all the otherworldly beings in the world you're about to enter," She then paused to look at a certain direction as her eyes narrowed before resuming, 

"Those rascals leave me out of it but what the mortals call to as 'Gods' are playing some sort of game in Valria you see, and the congregation of divinities all in one planet are inadvertently attracting some of the wayward souls to be summoned or reincarnated there instead without going through the process of cleansing within this Purgatory. As the overseer of the afterlife, its a real hassle for me so I want you to gather them all up into one place."

Huh..that seems doable but how can I find these reincarnated beings? 

She tilted her head in an impish manner and replied, "Judging by your collections, you can sense the nature of any souls right? These reincarnated beings didn't have a 'stigma' branded into their souls due to their illegal entry so anyone you stumble across without it are definitely a reincarnated being."

Well indeed I can discern it even at a distance so how are we going to do this whole reincarnation process?

She nonchalantly shrugged.

"Easy peasy~ I will smuggle you out of this place and then you will be reincarnated into the body of a certain Noblegirl but before we finalize the deal, let me tell you now that you have to first let go of all the souls you have collected," She then paused as her eyes roamed around and followed those glowing orbs encircling around me.

"Those rascals will definitely notice if that many souls enter Valria all at once so if you want to enter the cycle of life, you need to first let go of it all, otherwise you could forget this whole deal since I won't take no for an answer."

I made a conflicted look since these souls are what empowers me. I also turned and looked at all the colorful orbs dancing around me before deciding to try my luck and bargain to this Goddess.

Ehrm, I could let go of those complete unbroken souls but how about these little fragments from the souls that got broken by me? Will the other Gods still notice these when I make my entry?

The Goddess tried grabbing a fragment and scrutinized it close to her eyes. She released a toneless hum before responding, 

"Well these seemed to be just specters...a mere shadow of their former self so I guess you could carry it over since these things hardly got any presence at all."

I internally released a sigh of relief.

I get the feeling that I'm somehow making a deal with the devil and she will definitely would destroy me body and soul if I somehow fails to meet her expectations. I felt kind of regretful that I have to part with those powerful souls but alas, beggars can't be choosers. 

I finally agreed and released most of my soul collections feeling a slight gloom at their fading sight but then I ignored it as the goddess extended her arm before loudly snapping her fingers.

"I can't wait to see how that anomaly would react~" She whispered cryptically before I felt a strong pull from deep within my inner being as I gradually began to fade out of existence.

~ ♚ ~

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