He had been suspended in the eternal void for eternity it felt. Reynolds soul was slowly losing control of what truly was, whether he would see his family or it was a lie he consoled himself just to keep on pushing. He had regrets and mistakes that he wished to correct but unable to.
'I don't know how long I've been here. Is this hell? No flames of torture, only intraspection and isolation?' He asked himself this question over and over again till the question lost meaning. He wasn't sure where he was or why but he knew that he couldn't escape his hell.
His mind had already fallen to numbness that started to claim his existence, wishing it t be over however he soon realized that he couldn't claim his life in this state. Immortality that felt like a cruel joke at best, divine punishment at worst. Lost all hope, he waited for something, anything to help him out or give him a sense of purpose.
Suddenly the pitch black expanse slowly began to lose it's blackness and turn white. Not out of divinity that felt welcoming but something more ominous, as if ready to be judged for his transgressions. "Reynolds!" A voice echoed making his entire existence shiver.
"You have unresolved work back in the mortal world and consider it a blessing to have me allow you to resolve them. However your past self simply won't do." The voice went on. 'Am I being given another chance to correct mistakes?' A smile flashed on his face.
"However there is a threat I wish of you to dispose. You know him as Solon but this time he has taken another identity. Jarren Velros of the Velros Family. Noble undergoing study at the Caelbridge Academy." His smile faltered upon hearing his name.
The name of the man who had taken everything away from him. 'I'll kill that son of a bitch!' He swore.
"However you can't kill him in your current state. He'd kill you in an instant thus I'll bestow you a gift. A gift enabling you to overcome your mortality and help you gain an edge with whoever you come across. The gods of this world will send their champions to purge the demons thus kill them first and mimick their skills. I hope that you don't fail me."
And without warning the white mind numbing expanse of white ceased to exist and his vision was flooded with all kinds of colors. "Cough-Cough!!" Looking around, he realized that he was back in his old body but now something felt different this time.
His senses felt elated, he could feel the light breeze brushing across his skin. Hear the chirping of crickets in the grass and other fauna scattering about. It was night time when he woke up and making his way to the stream he took a close look at his reflection. The maggots that swarmed his body were slowly withering away and his flesh began to sow itself together.
But what really drew his interest was what rested on his temples. Two dark obsidian horns jutting upwards, each of them felt like natural. The bite around his throat had long disappeared and a faint mark took it's place.
And then it hit him. Hunger not of the body but of soul that ached to be satiated. Looking around, he saw some carcasses of the deer that had been killed a few days prior and helped himself without restraint. Rather than swarmed with flies and maggots, the carcasses remained untouched.
'Is it because of the malcore that helps with preservation?' He couldn't help but think before forming a small fire. The fear that he had a couple of days prior was lacking as he roasted the carcasses. Of course he avoided the bits infested with the blisters of the demon out of fear of poisoning.
A new form of nourishment coursed through his body however it felt like a drop in the ocean. "Not fresh enough. I need fresh prey." His eyes darted around, trying to find any new game he could feast on. Finishing up with he res of his meal, he marched inwards without delay or fear of what was to come.
***
'It's always amusing to toy with them like this.' Solon chuckled as he saw Reynolds march through the forest. He was the one who played the otherworldly being and the reason as to why he was suspended in the dark abyss for so long. His body was resting back at the academy but his mind wandered the world.
'I'm sure with immortality and reflection as his skills he should be able to be of some use to me.' The skills he had granted Reynolds occured during his stay at the void without him knowing. His fear aspect ommitted as it would simple come of as a hinderance to not only his growth but also his entertainment.
'As for you, it's time you come out of your cage and play.' His eyes ethereal locked elsewhere and without warning his presence vanished. Not in any grand gesture but simply ceased to be.
***
"Madam Vlyaine, the procedure was successful." An assistant relayed the news as she made her way down the now lavish and confidential halls. All kinds of upgrades were issued to the place. The place reeked with sterility as the two came to a biometric scanner.
Placing her finger, the door opened and to her and her assistant a flock of scientists now observed a crowd of people and livestock behind glass. "From the sample we extracted from Subject Crimson's brain, we were able to graph it onto other living organisms."
"First with basic livestock which proved successful then onto sentient life such as humans we imprisoned and that proved successful as well. A mass scale graph is already under way as we speak turning our soldiers into immortal sentries." The assistant concluded as she alongside Vlyaine looked at the guinea pigs.
Humans scurried about, some wishing to be freed, others still torn from the mentally jarring experiments conducted on them. "This is great news. Have this sent to the royal family at once." The assistant drew her tablet and typed away. "And also arrange a brain graph for me in the next couple of hours."
In a polite bow the assistant took her leave and Vlyaine made her way past a set of scanners before coming to the heart of it all. Crimson Sythe now completely drained and absent in mind as she stared blankly, her body suspended mid air akin to a trophy.
The sounds of lights hummed faintly in the background, Vlyaine with a smile as she looked at Isabella. "You really have been a great asset to us Isabella Boylston however it would seem that your use is slowly coming to an end. Given your immortality we can't kill you but we'll extract your brain matter onto other life and make an unkillable army. As a former assassin you should be proud."
By now they had already known who she was and her origins. What she did, her past and who she affiliated with. Given that information up for sale, the elven kingdom did not hesitate when it came to acquiring it. "It's a shame that you can't talk but do know that you were the sole reason for a great cause."
Just as she was about to leave, Crimson who hadn't spoken in months finally parted her lips, her throat sore. "It's a shame your little army won't endure my wrath for long. Maybe a torture toy? Or a doll that I'll enjoy breaking. You'll be whatever I wish to mold into." Vlyaine barely held her laughter.
"You? Please you wouldn't be able to make two steps out of your cage before diced to pieces. Thanks to your world we've been able to progress in terms of technology and surpassed what you could've used it with. Wasting such talent on warfare instead of research and godhood. But worry not it's in safe hands."
Her hand stretched out to the scanner, Crimson's voice echoed once more. "You still haven't found him? Solon? Do you know just what game you insects are playing or who is controlling the game?" Her raspy voice broke into dry cackles that echoed through the room.
Vlyaine grit her teeth, despite all the resources and networks she had even she had failed to trace Solon. A defeat that she hadn't expected to endure but there was more that she gained than lost. "So what? He's just another mutant like you and when we catch him you'll see him suffer the same way you did."
Crimson fell silent making Vlyaine think that she had the edge however the silence was torn through like paper by her laughs. "You?! Catch Solon?!! Don't make me die of laughter!! Hahaha!!!" Agitated Vlyaine pressed a button on her tablet that electrocuted the chains that suspended her frying her body.
She had long grown numb to the pain, she breathed it in like air. "Hahaha!!" As blood trickled down her lips, her cackles persisted making Vlyaine leave the cube. Back in her office, she scheduled for a full scale operation of the brain graft onto the soldiers of the elven kingdom.
'These pitiful elves, they don't know what they're agitating.' Suspended in darkness, Crimson mused as her laughs managed to squeak through. "Hello Crimson, I'm sure that it hasn't been great for you but you can now escape from that hole you're in. I'm sure you're competent enough to do it by yourself."
Solon's voice echoed through her head eliciting further deranged laughs from Crimson. 'What is she laughing at?' Vlyaine couldn't help but think as she saw the live footage of Crimson breaking into maddening laughter in her cage.
***
Jarren woke up as usual, his presence wearing Jarren's body like a suit he fancied before inspecting himself in the mirror. A faint hazy mist coated his body, his eyes sharp and darker as the air around him decayed. Cracking his neck and pulling his hair back into a bun, he made his way to class.
Most students barely sent any glances at him due to his mist however the moment Harven stepped in, he felt something off in the air that he had brushed off but as time went on it became more apparent the second his eyes landed on Jarren's figure who was casually seated in his seat, his eyes half open. 'Jarren, just what are you?'