“D-dad? I miss her, I miss her so much.”
“I do too, Leo, I do too. But we will get through this. Together.”
“You promise?”
“Of course kiddo, you’re all I have. I will never leave you.”
~ A broken promise, ten years ago.

---

“Fuck!” Leo hissed as the mild antiseptic slipped onto the bloody shoulder. The wound bubbled wherever the chemical touched and Leo had half a mind to just bandage it and throw the antiseptic away. He wasn’t even sure if the injury required disinfecting with the whole System. The pain coming from the wound wasn’t even half as bad as he expected and the cuts already showed signs of healing.

Better to be safe than sorry, Leo grunted, covering his shoulder with layers of blood-stained bandage. With only one normal hand, it had been a pain in the ass to dress the wound. The half-torn bandage — Fucking claws — proved the point more than anything else.

Not that the lack of any decent source of light helped. No lamps worked and Leo had to search for a first aid kit through his trashed bathroom with the help of his glowing arm and the dim rays of the red sun falling through a small window. Not an experience Leo wanted to repeat with a river of blood flowing down his shoulder.

Sighing, Leo leaned against the bathroom wall, his mind finally catching up to everything that happened in the last hour or so. The bloody introduction by the clone, Leo’s awakening on the kitchen floor, and the confrontation against the husk of his father.

A father that he killed and consumed according to the increased glow of his tainted arm and the notifications after the fight.

Leo grimaced. The shining veins just became an eternal reminder of what happened today...

“And that was only a few minutes. What else is waiting out there?” Leo was almost afraid to know. Nonetheless, he couldn’t think like that. He still had a purpose to fulfill, probably the last thing keeping him from breaking apart.

Get a grip.

Name: Leonardo Brown
Title: N/A
Evolution Stage: I - Tainted Human
Class: Assassin | LVL. 1
Job: N/A
Rank: F-

Might Tier I (5) | LB: 1
Grace: Tier I (8) | LB: 1
Vision: Tier I (6) | LB: 0
Mind: Tier I (7) | LB: 0
Soul: Tier I (4) | LB: 1

Ether: 1

Traits: Tainted (Uncommon), Assassin’s Grace (Common)

Racial Skills: Universal Linguist (Unique), Identify (Unique), Essence Manipulation (Common), Drain (Uncommon)

General Skills: Dagger Mastery (Common), Stealth (Common), Vital Strike (Common), Reinforcement (Uncommon)

A pity there is no health bar, Leo scowled, glancing at his bloodied shoulder. He experienced no dizziness or any other negative symptoms from all of the blood loss so that was a good sign, or so he hoped. The mess of bandages around the wound only proved his lack of medical knowledge.

Other than that, Identity finally decided to work to some degree when used on attributes. If Leo understood the rush of knowledge correctly, then Might was all about his body’s strength and durability, while Grace represented movement and dexterity. Sounds obvious now that I think of it. Well, except from Vision…

The third attribute apparently didn’t refer only to his ability to see. Or rather it did, just not in a way that Leo expected. Instead, it affected every single sense a User possessed, improving their ability to understand the Universe as a whole with everything their race had. Morbid, but sounds useful. Now, what can you tell me about this Limit Break?

Limit Break:
A feature unique to the System. It allows every User to reach strength beyond what they are capable of at the current moment. Passively Limit Break is always active at 50% without any penalty. At the price of Ether and additional strain on the Soul, Limit Break’s power can be increased to even 150%.
Current Price: 1.5 Ether per minute at 100% LB

Leo furrowed his brow. Even if it was only 50%, he didn’t feel any stronger after Limit Break activated, quite the opposite. Wait a second… Leo’s gaze dropped to the list of his skills, searching for the new addition.

Here.

Reinforcement (Uncommon):
An ancient technique used to strengthen your body. By controlling and reinforcing the flow of Essence you become stronger, faster, and tougher. A skill with infinitely high potential and even higher risk.
Effects:
Provides the ability to augment your physical attributes by a maximum of 50%. Be warned that overusing this skill might bring severe exhaustion or even death. The efficiency of this skill is dependent on your Might and Mind.

And that explains everything. Leo nodded as his mind went back to the sudden surge of power he felt during his struggle against Ed… the Voidling. He pretty much tossed the monster like a bag of potatoes at the same moment as his veins lit up like a bloody Christmas tree.

The severe exhaustion and Leo’s lack of control over his ‘awakened’ body had to be the reason for his dismissal of Limit Break’s activation. Well that, and the fact that it is only half a point in three attributes. Although maybe I would have felt the addition to Soul if my grasp on Essence was any better…

Leo shook his head and climbed to his feet. He already wasted enough time and as much as his body wanted to recover from Reinforcement, he had a lot to do. Like discovering more about this System and finding out why there was no light in the house.

Stepping into the corridor, Leo pulled up another skill.

Drain (Uncommon):
Butchered skill of every normal Voidling that depends on pure brute force. For you, it’s the only way to keep on surviving after the taint infected your soul.
Effects:
Allows you to drain Voidlings of their Pure Void Essence. Requires the use of your taint. The efficiency of this skill is dependent on your Soul.

Of course, Leo scowled. Ability inherited from the very creatures that were supposed to hunt him. No other uses except from keeping him alive…

Waving away the information, Leo once again flicked the light switch in his living room. The clicks echoed through the room, but no signs of light appeared. A lump formed in Leo’s throat as a thought entered his mind.

No way. He stalked towards the same table he and Edward sat by just some time ago and grabbed his phone. He tried to unlock it and when the device’s screen remained dark, his finger flew to the next button, pressing it with all his might.

A second, ten more, even a minute, nothing happened. The phone refused to give any signs of life.

Cursing, Leo dropped the broken device and dashed to the corner of the living room where a small TV sat. Just like before, his fingers pressed every button they found, but the outcome was the same.

“No way,” Leo repeated, his voice not even a whisper. This damned outbreak took out everything that used electricity.

Just like that most of Leo’s plans flew out through the window. Crushed along with the TV that got introduced to his deformed fist.

“Shit,” Leo growled and dropped on the couch just a few feet away.

Now what? I can’t call or contact them. Nick, I might be able to reach. After all, he lives near the town square, but Lily? Mom and Dad? One over a hundred kilometers away and the other two are still in Poland…

Reaching them without any automated transport could take days, or weeks and that was without taking the new state of the world under consideration. The clone described the ninety percent of the population transformed into Voidlings as one of the threats of this new reality.

Who knew what other dangers lurked in the darkness.

Leo shook his head. As much as he never wanted to find out, he knew better. Once he left this house behind, he had no doubt in mind that sooner or later those threats would show their hand. The question was, how to prepare for the inevitable.

Supplies first. Food, medications, some clothes, with a backpack to carry it all, Leo listed, his mind going a hundred miles per hour. Also, eyes wandering to his tainted arm, I need weapons.

The claws might be able to cut through the flesh of those abominations, but Leo’s normal hand remained unarmed and pretty useless. Punching those things could only get him so far, as such getting some additional armament was a must. Dad should have his hunting rifle hidden somewhere in their house.

Now, Leo might have shot a gun only a few times in his life, but he would still take a firearm over a bow if offered. And while the sound of gunshots might become a problem, he didn’t plan to shoot unless a situation became too heated.

Anything else? He scratched his chin, going over the short list of items again. Not really, although a map for the future could be useful.

Some of those items could be easily found in Leo’s home, but others? Not so much. Weapons? He didn’t have any, apart from kitchen knives. Medicine? Besides the now bloodied first aid kit, Leo never bought anything else. Same with a physical map. Who needed those when the internet was a thing…

“Guess a trip to my neighbors, and mom and dad’s house, is in order,” He murmured, grimacing ever so slightly. More houses meant more possible Voidling encounters. While Leo knew very well that there was no way to avoid further confrontations with those monsters, he could barely stomach the thought of seeing more people he recognized turned into those creatures.

Unfortunately, there was no other way. Leo needed those supplies if he ever wanted to survive out there. One Voidling almost managed to end his life and Leo had watched enough zombie movies to know what awaited him inside the city.

Leo took a deep breath and stood up. He made a promise to find and protect his remaining family. Familiar faces or not, Leo had to push on.

---

In the end, Leo decided to first gather every useful item from his house and only then head out. It was the logical thing to do even if Leo knew better... As much as he wanted to find his family, the bone-chilling fear of the new reality stuck to him like glue. It screamed at him to hide and try to wait out this whole bullshit.

Not that Leo listened. Scared shitless he might be, he still had a goal. A goal that currently forced him to gather supplies…

Any type of food that could last longer than a few days. Clothes that offered ease of movement and a bit of protection — which they didn’t according to the System’s Identify. And any sort of miscellaneous items that just might provide higher chances of survival.

All of those items went straight to an old backpack Leo used during his years at University. It had enough space to carry the essentials, but not much more. Even then Leo didn’t want to overweight himself too much.

Only the matter of weapons remained.

Leo already scoured the entire house, going through boxes long forgotten or drawers that remained closed for years. Even then he found nothing apart from a few sharp kitchen knives and one item that definitely shouldn’t be in the building.

A dagger.

By Leo's estimation, the weapon was about a foot long, including the rotten handle. The curved blade had definitely seen better days. Chipped along the edges, with layers of coppery rust covering its entire length.

When Leo found it laying on the kitchen floor, he had to wonder if it was even worth it to take the weapon. What use was a dagger that looked like it could break at any moment.

That was what Leo thought when he pressed the tip of the blade to his skin. It only required a weak push to draw blood and a hiss from him.

“Alright, not as useless as I thought,” Leo grumbled, wiping the blood with his shirt. Now the question remained, where did the blade even come from?

“Let’s see…”

Rusty Dagger (Broken):
A gift from the System, awarded upon class selection. This blade might not last long, but it still can inflict some damage if you try hard enough. Ether Upgrades: Locked.

Should have done that from the start, Leo sighed, flipping the dagger in his hand. He didn’t rely on Identify too much as it refused to work on most items he collected. Seeing the description of the dagger, Leo reasoned that maybe there had to be something special about the item for skill to work. Definitely something to test along the way.

Looking towards the window on the other side of the living room, Leo narrowed his eyes. He had already wasted over an hour or so collecting items in his house and if he wanted to loot the neighborhood before it got dark, he had to go now.

Leo gripped the dagger and moved towards the front door. It was high time to use what the System gave him.

Stealth (Common):
Move with the shadows, hide from the light. Let the silence and Essence guide you through those dangerous lands.
Effects:
Simple ability capable of covering you in a faint layer of Essence to create a protective aura. When activated you become slightly less noticeable to everyone around you. The efficiency of this skill is dependent on your Mind and Grace.

Like with most parts of the System, the skill's activation and only activation came to him instinctively.

The moment his Essence moved, Leo had to grab it with every ounce of willpower he possessed to stop the energy from dispersing. Like a tug of war, two powers of one soul fought for control.

In the end, Leo won, sweat drenching his forehead as the ability activated. For a single second, every vein in his body lit up with a dim crimson glow as Essence settled against his skin, slowly enveloping his entire form in a thin layer of invisible barrier.

Leo shivered. While having Essence coursing through his body felt natural, the blanket of energy currently covering his body was the exact opposite. And the less said about the time it took to activate the skill, the better.

Don’t I have some sort of ability to help with that? Yeah, this one.

Essence Manipulation (Common):
For centuries beings all around the multiverse tried to utilize the mysterious energy slumbering deep inside their souls. Now, thanks to the System, your soul is fully awakened, opening the full potential of your body and mind.
Effects:
This skill slightly improves the control over your Essence already granted by the Mind attribute. Additionally, it provides you with basic instinctive knowledge on how to utilize Essence. The efficiency of this skill is dependent on your Mind and Soul.

Basic and ‘slightly’ indeed, Leo scowled. Dismissing the window, he grabbed the handle of the front door. No time to waste.

The hinges squeaked as he pushed the door ajar. Peaking through, Leo took his first glimpse of the new reality without the protection of a window.

The red sun still hung in the sky, though now it neared closer to the horizon with every second. The rest of the world also changed more than Leo initially noticed. While most of the neighborhood bathed in the sun’s rays, some — like small parts of grass, bushes, or trees — decided to absorb the light and change their coloring to a shade of scarlet.

Leo had to blink a few times to make sure that he wasn’t hallucinating. Hell, even the forest he used for runs was partially painted in blood thanks to this Void Outbreak. The sight alone sent chills down Leo’s spine.

Still crouched, he took a deep breath and trailed towards Gibson's house. He had to get used to images like this. This world had changed forever and it wouldn’t be the last time something impossible happened.

With that in mind, Leo crossed the distance between the houses, his eyes darting in every possible direction, searching for any signs of otherworldly creatures. He found none and not for the first time Leo thanked his biological family for buying a house so far away from the center of the city.

Even then, any peace provided by the lack of Voidlings was crushed by the screams and howls that echoed through the air every now and then. They were faint and distant, barely carried that far by the almost unnoticeable breeze.

Behind the walls of his house, those screams were only a distant thought, but now as Leo stood in front of the backdoor of Gibson’s house, it became a reality. What waited for him out there? Did he really want to know?

“Maybe I don’t, but I have to,” Leo murmured and twisted the handle.