My existence almost collapsed just from saying the last syllable of his name—"Leviathan"—as if uttering it were a grand taboo.
This insurmountable being standing before me was insanity incarnate. I gazed upon his presence once more, and a sense of euphoria erupted within me. He whispered, yet it was almost akin to a speaker shouting, reverberating his name across the inky-dark domain that was the Void.
"You are now my son. Soon you will herald a world of… iàiup71;jah89ahj—"
A piercing sound struck my frontal lobe, excruciating pain and euphoria coalescing into one.
I begged him to stop speaking as I crawled. "Please… no more," I choked out.
Leviathan transformed once again, this time into a form I could hear and perceive without pain or confusion. He took my form.
"Is this better, my son? You do not have much time. You need to understand this: you aren't human. You are not human. Remember this, or you will never reach your throne. You will ascend and mantle my power and my concept," Leviathan finished.
"How are you able to take my form?" I cried out.
Leviathan furrowed his brows and replied, "You are not asking the right questions, Nekeili. What does a single image of a person like you matter to a god like me? Ask again—and do not waste it—because it will be your last."
Nekeili spoke once more. "How do I mantle your power, Levi—"
A migraine tore through me, a warning to stop speaking his name.
Leviathan looked into my eyes and spoke one last time. "Find a soul core and use it as a template into which you must pour your madness. Remember your name always. Never forget it. As you ascend, you will understand. As you climb the world into which you will be transferred, you must steep yourself in madness. Not all madness is created equal, my son."
"How do I find a soul core? How do I pour my madness into it? How do I control it or use it?" Nekeili spoke frantically.
Leviathan's intent gaze was the only answer I received.
Leviathan spoke once more as his arm extended outward. His slim fingers pierced the Void itself. A rupture appeared, and colors along with a multitude of sounds poured into our dark domain. Air rushed in, and with a simple tilt of his head, I was lifted into the air and hurled forward. His final message reached my ears.
"Your life is yours, my son, but make no mistake—you will follow the madness or die trying. There is no in-between and no escape. You will have all the time in the world, yet feel as though it is too little. Fight and live with my power. This is all I can give you. Goodbye…"
Nekeili's eyes widened, unable to move or speak, as he was forced into the rupture.
"Leviathan!" I screamed his name as I exited the Void.
Sound and light assaulted my being, and on verge of losing consciousness, my soul connected to the world I was forced into, its name etched itself into my memory—
"Adramadeus."
Nekeili screamed in agony. In an instant, his body was obliterated, the force of the wormhole far too powerful. It destroyed him down to nothing but his soul.
The runes and symbols etched upon his body and soul from before were now the only things protecting him.
With his body gone, the symbols remained, glowing fiercely and sustaining Nekeili's soul as it was forced into an alternate universe—the one Leviathan had sent him to. Everything happened in an instant.
Then he was in Adramadeus.