[LUCAMIR ELARIC OF THE 47TH COSMOS HAS BEEN REGISTERED IN THE ARCHIVES OF THE ABYSS] …
[INITIATING TRIAL SEQUENCE] …
[FAILURE TO IMPLEMENT!]
[CONFIRMATION OF THE INFLUENCE OF A THIRD PARTY!]
[REQUEST DENIED]
[RETRIAL OF INITIATION SEQUENCE]
[FAILURE] …
[RETRIAL] …
[FAILURE] …
[RETRIAL] …
….
[THE ABYSS SEES YOU]
[THE TWENTY-FIRST GOD SEES YOU]
[INFLUENCE OF A THIRD PARTY… ACCEPTED]
At that moment, something stirred within Luca.
A grasp. A primal pull that reached deeper than bones, and thicker than blood.
It awakened something that slumbered. A raging tide against the mountain peaks.
And his brain snapped open.
'Wha– What's going on?!' His thoughts churned. Yet, nothing functioned. It was simply there, and then he heard it.
[INITIATING TRIAL SEQUENCE] …
A long moment passed, and then.
[SUCCESS]
Immediately, the world turned.
Where there had been nothing, there was now the twisted information that the boy's eyes could register.
He heard a loud munch. His boots sank deeply into a sheet of crystalline white.
His clothes had been swapped for fur coats and reinforced boots. At least the Trance had the decency to dress its victims for the part.
[SURVIVE FOR THE GIVEN TIME ALLOCATED]
'Given time?' Luca arched his brow. 'Oh… so it's a survival trial.'
[GOOD LUCK]
Immediately, Luca felt like a bright light washed over him. A tingling sensation that crawled its way throughout his body. It lingered in his head like hot steam simmering from the blacksmith workshop.
He groaned and reached for it. Rubbing his temples softly while the pain slowly faded away.
"Oh, what was this called again?"
The trial usually started with an imprint of the Stigma of the Abyss.
A link to the power that awaited Trancers at the end of the road.
So when he looked up from the ground as he slowly regained his bearings, he wasn't surprised at all by what he saw.
"Hah, yes. The Stigma of the Abyss." He muttered as a biting cold crept on his skin.
Around him was a world that was eerie and dark.
Snow stretched on for kilometres ahead, and a range of jagged mountains hung far behind his eyes that he could muster.
From above, heavy clouds formed canopies, while darkness stretched out from thin fissures. The wind was an endless torrent. It rose and fell, causing the snowflakes to dance at its mercy.
It slammed its face in a seamless barrage and bellowed in his ears. A hollow cry that sounded too much like a mournful screech
Yet, the boy seemed more focused on what stood in front of him. Or rather, what was now engraved in his skull– an engraving of written inscriptions in blood red.
'So this is it…' He read it slowly.
Name; Lucamir Elaric.
Archetype; Undefined.
Ego Rank; Unranked.
Ego Core; Dust White. (0%)
Ego Synchrony; 10%.
Ego Manifestation; 5%.
Null Resistance; 100%.
Titles; None.
Bloodline; None.
Traits; None.
Talents; Identification Talent[D- Mastery(0%)].
Ego weapons; Longsword[D- Mastery(0%)].
Ego Accessories; None.
Bonds; None.
Luca tilted his head when a new series of runes rolled over his retina.
[TIME ALLOCATED; 1 HOUR]
[CURRENT TIME; 59:59]
"Oh.."Luca muttered. "The countdown has begun?" He looked around with caution.
"What am I surviving from? The cold?"
As if in response, the ground beneath him trembled.
The snow quaked, the air hummed and the wind blew as if stirred into life.
Luca glanced down. His expression was calm despite himself.
He took a step back, and then another, and soon, he hadn't realised when he had begun to run.
The snowy plains cracked like Cement. Crooked lines spread in a spider-web, blistering like an open sore.
Luca didn't need to look down to know he couldn't escape what was to come.
So, he did what he knew best. Adapt.
The ground tore open in a chasm.
Snow rose in twin pillars as a dark creature, large in magnitude and aura jolted out of the ground with a tidal wave.
The snowy field rose with it, and Luca was dragged into the chaos.
He ran down the chunks of falling snow with cautious steps and snapped his head back.
His eyes widened as it took the sight of the creature in all its glory.
It was huge. But only a portion of it had extended out of the snow. It had a large snout like that of a sperm whale, and jolts of flesh that looked like barnacles on its skin. The rest of it was black, and then its eyes were pale white.
Luca gulped hard, when he felt his skull crackle. Something stirred and his body was pumped with an alien energy he couldn't define. He streaked down the falling snow, his right hand stretched as his sword formed in his grasp.
"INTERESTING!"
The creature responded. A slit formed from its tip and spread down across its features. It formed a large mouth with scattered extended short, canine teeth. Then a reverberating, guttural screech blasted the air.
The molecules trembled with Luca's teeth chattering. Time seemed to flow in slow motion for him, but the young boy couldn't care less.
He crashed into the snow below. A small explosion occurred.
Landing on his feet as the alien energy surged with unrestrained fury.
"This power. This energy!"
He cried out in bewilderment as he ran across the plains. Circling the monstrous creature with predator-like eyes.
"Is this what it feels like to have one?! An Ego Core?!"
An Ego Core was everything for an Egoist. And for Trancers, it was their lifeline. The very thing that saved them in all Trances.
Trancers were thrown into all sorts of dangers within their trance, and it was up to them to adapt to the changes immediately and stand a chance of survival… or gawk and die in that very moment.
Their panel made things easier. Strength was increased through their core, and Ego Manifestation determined how much power they could grasp.
But the Core was the source of it.
The air buckled as Luca charged at the Beast. His sword was low and his lips were wild from excitement.
One look at the creature, and his identification talent snapped into function.
[BULLICE TITAN– MILD RANK]
'Mild?!' Luca couldn't help but narrow his gaze at the information.
He had already come to identify this creature as a Null Bud– an animal variant of the Null Creatures.
And these creatures were ranked according to the severity of damage they caused to humanity.
Starting with Mild, Moderate, Severe, Ravage, Catastrophe, Devastation, Apocalypse and Calamity.
'Isn't this too large to be a mere Mild?'
It was said that the Trance created monsters through the trials. Perhaps Luca was on that journey.
He flexed his muscles and felt the feedback that returned to his brain in an instant.
'Then I shouldn't fall short of its expectations.'
He intended to leave this place alive, anyway.
Luca blasted through the falling snow, straight at the black creature. Firstly, he needed to test the waters.
He crashed straight into its side with a bellowing blow. The wind dispersed in a frenzy. Snow flickered off and on with it.
The creature snarled and the ground quaked as snow blasted up. It formed a fog. Thick and heavy that clouded the air.
Immediately, Luca jumped out of it, when the sound of rushing water caught his ears.
"Wha–"
He jumped to the side as a thick, black icky tentacle shot out at him. Smashing into his former position.
Luca bit hard as his gaze traced the source. He dragged his feet back as he did so. "The skin is too tough! How do they expect me to use a Dormant weapon for something as bizarre as this?!"
The fog of snow cleared and what Luca witnessed sent a shiver down his spine.
That black tentacle from before recoiled like a living serpent before retreating to its wielder.
And with its wielder, at least, a hundred more had jumped out of the snowy plains.
"Ho– how did that whole thing even fit under the snow?"
He didn't have time to think.
The air zipped as sound detonated. The tentacles shot out like missiles, colliding against the floor with tethering forces that caused the white desert to implode on itself.
And Luca, unfortunately, was in the middle of it.
What he did find useful was how the situation enabled him to adapt quickly to the changes in his body.
Most Trancers never did. Sometimes, they were granted powers that were too vast for their vessels. It was one of the reasons why countryside folks from the lower districts like him were the first to die.
Luca was different, though. Not because he was special or something, but because the boy liked consistency and efficiency.
His body and mind… were results of working for hours on end on his farmland.
Just then, after jumping over another barrage of tentacles, Luca was suddenly caught mid-air, his expression firm and his body even firmer.
The tentacle grabbed his feet tightly before tossing him into the air like a rag doll.
Immediately, it shot out more tentacles, its screech sending vibrations throughout the land.
Luca crashed into the snow with a muted force. He rose back up immediately, grabbing his sword as he slammed it against the incoming tide of black tendril.
He groaned. Blood flowed down his forehead down his face and he clenched his teeth so hard that he was afraid they would break.
"Dammit! Dammit!" He cursed as he pushed back with whatever strength he could muster.
His brain clicked. His pupils constricted as it moved erratically within his golden irises.
He slammed the tentacles to the side, then blasted in the opposite direction. His gaze was fixed on the massive beast.
'A way…' He glared at it. 'There must be a way.'
Luca hadn't realised when he had found his way to the back of the creature, when his gaze locked onto something. His eyes flared in understanding.
Then something clicked.
Immediately, he kicked off the air with a powerful burst. His form nearly turned into a blur as he zoomed towards it.
Around him was the closing tide. Hundreds of icky-tendrils, clawing their way like a cage in massive bursts.
Luca didn't look away from his target.
In fact, he leaned into it. His golden eyes locked on it as if it were his prey.
If he was going to die, he would die with his teeth to its neck.