>[Congratulations, Host. You have unlocked the first phase of the Void of Creation System, crafted by Genesis the Holy and Null the Fallen. Removing the first seal.]
The words hung in the air, pulsing faintly. Alastor didn't move. His eyes scanned the message, jaw tight.
"Host," he muttered. "So that wasn't a dream."
He remembered the final moments before waking here—Genesis standing in light that bent reality, Null whispering from a void colder than death. Their voices hadn't faded. They'd burned into him.
He hadn't understood it then. He barely did now. But something inside him had shifted.
The screen shimmered once more.
> [System Update: Void of Creation – Phase One Unlocked]
> [Inventory Access: Infinite Storage Enabled]
> [Core Detected: Dormant. Initiating Awakening Protocol…]
Then came the pain.
It wasn't sharp. It was deep. Like his bones were being hollowed out and filled with something else. He dropped to his knees, gasping, clutching his ribs.
"What the hell is this?" he hissed.
His vision blurred. His skin felt too tight. The world tilted sideways.
> [Core Awakening: 3%]
> [Aether Signature Detected]
Aether. Something he had never heard of. He knew about mana cores, then what the hell was an aether core.
The pressure receded slowly, replaced by a strange warmth. Something moved inside him—like a second heartbeat. It was his. It belonged. And it was there.
He sat there for a long time, staring at the horizon. The sky was too still. The wind too quiet. The planet felt... wrong. Like it had been emptied out.
"I don't know where I am," he said aloud. "But I'm not dying here."
--------
Alastor wandered until his legs gave out. Eventually, he found shelter—a hollowed-out tree, blackened and twisted like it had been struck by lightning a hundred times. Its bark was hard as stone, and its roots curled like claws.
"This'll keep the wind off," he muttered. "Good enough."
He crawled inside and took stock. Torn clothes. Cracked boots. No food. No water. No weapons. Just the memory of that screen—and something else.
That warmth inside him. That second heartbeat.
He spent the next day scavenging. Sharp rocks. Dry moss. A broken piece of metal that looked like it might've been part of a blade. He stored everything in the "inventory" the system had mentioned. It worked—he just had to think about it, and the items vanished. Think again, and they reappeared.
"Not bad," he said, flipping the metal shard in his hand. "Better than nothing."
He attached the blade to stick and created an improvised spear.
---
He didn't know what the warmth inside him was. It wasn't hunger. It wasn't pain. It was something else.
He sat cross-legged in the tree, closed his eyes, and tried to feel it.
At first, nothing. Just silence. But slowly, he began to sense it—a flicker. Like a cold breeze inside his chest. He reached for it, and it slipped away.
"Come on," he muttered. "I know you're there."
Eventually, he felt it again. That flicker. He pulled it into his arm, and it tingled. He pushed it to his fingers, and they twitched.
He stood and tried channeling it into his legs. His muscles tightened. His steps grew lighter.
> [Void of Creation System – Status Screen]
> Name: Alastor
> Rank: Dormant (6.0%)
> Core Awakening: 3%
> Aether Control: Basic (5%)
> Combat Mastery: Improvised Weapons – Basic (9%)
> Inventory: Infinite (Non-living items only)
> Quests: None
Attributes:
Strength: 9
Agility: 13
Endurance: 10
Perception: 12
Intelligence: 13
Willpower: 14
Aether Capacity: 8
Aether Efficiency: 4
---
On the third day, he heard something outside the tree.
A low growl. Wet. Hungry.
Alastor grabbed his spear and crawled out slowly.
It was there—just beyond the roots. A creature, hunched and twitching. Its spine jutted out like broken glass, and its eyes glowed faint red.
It sniffed the air, then turned toward him.
Alastor froze.
His heart slammed against his ribs. His breath caught. His legs felt like they'd turned to stone.
"No," he whispered. "Not now."
The creature hissed, limbs twitching like it was barely holding itself together. It moved low to the ground, fast and erratic.
Alastor gripped the stick tighter. His palms were slick with sweat. His knees trembled.
It lunged.
He barely dodged, rolling to the side and scrambling to his feet. The creature's claws tore through the bark where he'd just been. Splinters flew.
"Too fast—"
He swung the spear, aiming for its head. It connected—but barely. The creature shrieked and twisted, lashing out with a back leg.
Alastor stumbled back, gasping.
Then—instinct.
He reached for the flicker inside him. That cold breeze. That second heartbeat.
He pulled it into his legs.
And he moved.
Faster. Sharper.
He ducked under a swipe, spun, and drove the spear into its side. The creature howled.
His body felt lighter. Stronger. Like he was wearing a second skin.
It turned, bleeding now. Its eyes locked onto his.
"I'm not dying here," he growled. "Not before I find out what you bastards did to me."
The creature lunged again.
He met it head-on.
He ducked low, drove the spear upward, and pushed with everything he had. The tip pierced its throat. It thrashed, claws raking his shoulder, but he held firm.
Then—silence.
The creature collapsed.
Alastor staggered back, breathing hard.
His shoulder was bleeding. His hands were shaking. His heart was still racing.
But he was alive.
> [Victory: Beast-class Spine Crawler slain]
> [Aether Core: Mana absorbed – refining…]
> [Experience gained: +0.1]
> [Progression: Dormant Rank – 6.0% → 6.1%]
He buried the creature beneath the tree.
----
That night, he sat beneath the stars.
They looked different here. Too close. Too bright. Like they were watching.
He thought about the creature. Its eyes. Its movements. Its hunger.
It hadn't been mindless. It had been desperate.
Just like him.
He remembered his sister's voice—soft, humming in the dark when they had no food.
"I'm still here," he whispered. "Still fighting."