As Aurora floated in the Void in utter darkness, her first thoughts were “Really? That’s all it took?” Rather than a grand journey through many different worlds, over the course of months, or even years before she found a solution to her mysterious affinity, likely at the hands of some mysterious, ancient scholar. But that was it?

A moment later, though, she realized that the only thing protecting her from the Void was the energy barrier provided by the ring, which was already damaged and breaking apart. Hands fumbling, she grasped the spatial necklace from her mother, hastily forcing some of her illusory mana through it, activating its enchantments.

A rectangle with wavering edges slowly sprung into existence over the course of a couple seconds, slightly illuminating the bubble Aurora was trapped in. There was a thin gray tendril protruding from the back of the gateway, stretching on through the green protective bubble further than Aurora could see, even though it emitted some illumination. Unfortunately for Aurora, her mother’s necklace utilized the Void as its method of crossing reality; not to be used while in the Void.

As the gateway finished forming, Aurora heard her mother and father shout her name, but by the time they were partway through, their voices muted to a whisper as the rectangle immediately bent in half like a piece of molten glass and began fracturing, accompanied by the sound of knees hitting the floor. As the tunnel began falling apart, so did any light left in Aurora’s eyes.

 “Why…” Aurora heard Iris quietly sob, as the small window in space distorted and fractured again with that slight transmission of sound.

“Void affinity.” Aurora choked out, tugging off the straps of her backpack and taking out the cube her father gave her, only to see it dull and lifeless, even after channeling mana through it. Tears ran down her face as the spatial gateway fractured even further. “I always loved y—”

“FOX FO—” Ignis screamed at the top of his lungs as the gateway finally made a shattering sound, like a pane of glass, and winked out of existence. There was no trace of it ever having existed other than the necklace Aurora clutched in her palm, which was in the process of disintegrating.

As the light from the gateway winked out, the gray tendril behind it rapidly vanished as well, Aurora saw the cracks spreading further across the green bubble shielding her. As soon as her panic-stricken brain processed what my father said, she willed for her Status to appear, tripping over the first syllable in her mind. The white screen showed up clearly even in the abyss of the Void, even though it emitted no light.

Name: Aurora Dreamfire

Class: - Unavailable -

Class 2: - Locked -

Level: Level 1, F Rank

Species: Nine Tailed Kitsune

Sex: Female

Age: 16

Affinities: Illusion, Void

Soul: Nine Tailed Kitsune (Unattuned)

Forms: Nine Tailed Kitsune; Nine Tailed Fox (Unformed)

Skills (0/10)

As the green bubble fractured further, small motes of energy began to seep through; Aurora’s skin ceased to exist where those specks made contact. Then, as the ring she desperately clutched began to fracture, she willed for her fox form to be created. As she did so, another screen flashed into existence.

Form: Nine Tailed Fox

This is a secondary form available to the Kitsune race, which will be formed attuned to the energies used to form it. The formation is irreversible, and unsynchronized energies may lead to indefinite incompatibility. Warning: Illusion Mana Pool 92%, Void Mana Pool 2%. There is sufficient energy to complete the transformation, but the imbalance may result in permanent compatibility issues. Continue?

As soon as Aurora thought Yes, she fell unconscious and her body, from head to tails, vanished, as though she was turned to a different, blank side of a coin. Only her soul lay floating in the Void, accompanied only by the green barrier, ring, and backpack floating behind her soul.

The system manipulated Aurora’s illusion mana, flowing out of her soul to form the outer shell of a transparent, glimmering silver fox… and then the ring and energy barrier shattered. The Void immediately swallowed the shards of matter left behind, and Aurora’s backpack instantly dissolved as the silver runic cube began distorting. Aurora’s soul began almost spasming, looking as though it had a seizure as Void energies slammed into the silver fox, which simply ceased to exist.

Task failed. Retrying… The system message that flashed across the front of unconscious Aurora’s face said, as her mana pool dropped from 67% to 42%. Mana flowed out of her soul like ribbons, but it was gone before it could even begin reconstructing the glimmering silver fox.

Task failed. Retrying… Aurora’s illusion mana pool plummeted to 17% capacity as the surrounding Void energies surged towards Aurora. After destroying the strands of mana her soul emitted again, the Void was unimpeded by any barriers. The energies rapidly began distorting Aurora’s very essence and her eternal soul, like a child twisting a bunch of play-doh.

Meanwhile, system messages continued flashing in front of the soul currently being molded like putty.

Task failed, Retrying… 

Insufficient energy detected. Processing…

No further synergies found. Processing…

Terminating process… Termination failed. Processing…

Error. New synergy detected. Processing…

Potential Unique scenario detected. Contacting main system…

Error. Connection to main system terminated. Restoring… 

Error. Restoration failed. Retrying…

Retrying…

Retrying…

— — — — —

As the Void energies filled Aurora’s soul to the brim, the energies ran rampant throughout her being not present in existence, resonating with her Void mana pool and flowing into her illusion pool. These energies continued unhindered, until every other state of malleable existence was removed, from fur to flesh, even her clothes and sword. With Aurora’s original body held in shape like a mold by her soul, while it was completely supplemented for Void energy along with her very essence, it was not fully consumed.

— — — — —

Retrying…

Restoration failed 2,590,781 instances consecutively.

System user considered terminated. Processing…

Commencing initiation of Protocol €72J7!O$@A6.

Then, the Void energies which had twisted every fiber of Aurora’s being at least three times over… stopped, and began flowing into the shape of a nine tailed fox.

Processing… incorporating second affinity.

Then, Aurora’s illusion mana pool, now 34% full after the ministrations of the Void, flowed like water into every nook and cranny of her being as it dropped down to 9% capacity.

After the birth of Aurora’s fox form from the Void concluded, if there was a spectator who could see in the Void, they might observe a black, nine tailed fox, floating unconscious. And if said observer were to approach the black, nine tailed fox, drifting through the Void, they might see her mouth moving, soundlessly mumbling “mom, dad… I got my second affinity, look!” 

— — — — — — —

Whoever knows how long after Aurora fell unconscious, she eventually woke up. “Where am— oh yeah,” she thought. “Wait, I’m alive?!” Absolutely flabbergasted, no noise came out of her mouth, or rather, her energy-composed fox snout, as it was eaten by the Void before even reaching her ears. Aurora opened her vivid purple eyes, expecting to see endless darkness, but instead saw a box floating in her face.

Error. Connection to main system terminated for 7 months, 12 days, 0 hours and 57 minutes. Reestablishing…

Connection Reestablished!

“I was out for almost a year?!? What even happened after I passed out— what about mom and dad?” With her tails slowly lowering, Aurora checked her Status.

Status sealed while processing Protocol €72J7!O$@A6.

Unprecedented Mutation detected!

Searching for similar incidents… Error. No results. Please stand by…

“Uhhhh,” Aurora thought, foxy snout agape. “This hasn’t ever happened before? And my status is sealed?” 

As a result of Protocol €72J7!O$@A6 having been successfully enacted, enacting Protocol €72J7!O$@A7…

Assistance requested from Five Transcendental Entities in closest proximity; Fenrir, Devourer of Worlds; Amaterasu, Goddess of The Sun; Jormungandr, The World Serpent; Nyx, Goddess of the Night; Gertrude, The Holy Pebble Wielder. Processing…

“Nononono, a measly F grade like me needs absolutely no assistance from whatever Transcendental Entities are. Please  don’t have them show up and wipe me from existence. I just want to go back to my mo—.” Aurora’s entire being froze as the gazes of those five entities shifted to her, incapable of even twitching a muscle under their scrutiny.

Processing input from nearby Transcendental entities…

Jormungandr, The World Serpent, requests that the user be terminated in favor of maintaining the balance. Processing…

Gertrude, The Holy Pebble Wielder, requests that the user persist. Processing…

Amaterasu, Goddess of the Sun, requests that the user persist. Processing…

Fenrir, Devourer of Worlds, requests that the user be terminated in favor of maintaining the balance. Processing… 

Nyx, Goddess of the Night, requests that the user persist. Processing…

Awaiting approval of Protocol €72J7!O$@A7 by [Redacted]…

[Redacted] approves. Processing…

Aurora gasps as the gazes of those entities depart, inhaling Void into her lungs that are… also made of Void? “Fuck, I would’ve died if just one more of those beings, or likely whoever [Redacted] is wanted to ‘maintain the balance’, however they think a level one can upset it.” With that thought, a faint chuckle emanated from the Void; so faint that Aurora dismissed it as her imagination, pinning it on the stress from the absurdness of her current situation. After she finished shaking her head back and forth, denying what almost just happened, she read through the absurd amount of white screens that had appeared in front of her.

Congratulations! Mutation success! Protocol  €72J7!O$@A7 concluded! Status Unsealed! 

[*ding!* Affinity Change! Illusion Affinity -> I*?u$i•n Affinity.]

[*ding!* Form Gained! Void Horror - Nine Tailed Fox (Void, I*?u$i•n).]

[*ding!* Form Change! Nine Tailed Kitsune -> Void Horror - Nine Tailed Kitsune.]

[*ding!* Form Attunement Success! Void Horror - Nine Tailed Kitsune -> Void Horror - Nine Tailed Kitsune (Void, I*?u$i•n).]

[*ding!* Species updated! Nine Tailed Kitsune -> Void Horror - Nine Tailed Kitsune (Void, I*?u$i•n).]

[*ding!* Soul Attunement Success! Nine Tailed Kitsune Soul (Unattuned) -> Void Horror Soul (Void, I*?u$i•n).]

“Am… am I even a Kitsune anymore?” Aurora thought, dreading what she knew her subconscious would tell her. The only response that followed outside of her head was the endless silence in the infinite expanse of the Void, as she opened her Status.

Name: Aurora Dreamfire

Class: - Unavailable -

Subclass: - Locked -

Level: Level 1, F Rank

Species: Void Horror - Nine Tailed Kitsune (Void, I*?u$i•n)

Sex: Female

Age: 16

Affinities: Void, I*?u$i•n

Soul: Void Horror (Void, I*?u$i•n).

Forms: Void Horror - Nine Tailed Kitsune (Void, I*?u$i•n); Void Horror - Nine Tailed Fox (Void, I*?u$i•n) 

Skills (0/10)

After a long moment, Aurora broke down sobbing, with no tears flowing from her eyes now composed entirely of energy. She was completely cut off from her parents, everyone and everything she had ever known and loved with no way to return home, and had even lost what made her a Kitsune. Aurora drifted through the Void, the endless Abyss, with her tails limp, her violet eyes glazed over, void of all hope.