The silence in the "White Cell" was more agonizing than screaming. In this place, time was not measured in hours, but by the drops of blood falling from Kayan's veins into cold glass tubes. The fluorescent light emitting from the ceiling pierced his weary eyelids, reminding him that he was still alive… unfortunately.
Kayan was eighteen years old, but his body looked like a human wreck left behind by a devastating war. His skin was pale to the point of transparency, revealing veins pumped with thousands of experimental chemicals. In a world ruled by genetic evolution, Kayan was the "Sacred Sin." His blood possessed an infinite regenerative capacity—a rare mutation that could cure cancer and rebuild severed limbs. But for him, this gift was his eternal cage.
"Subject 001, pressure is stable. Begin extracting the third liter." Doctor Volts' voice was as cold as the scalpel he held.
Kayan tried to move his fingers, but the magnetic chains pressed hard against his wrists. He thought of death. He thought of it often. He did not fear non-existence; he feared that this life would continue for even one more minute. Since he was sold to this organization at the age of five, he had seen the sun only in his fragmented dreams.
"Why..." Kayan muttered in a hoarse voice, as if his vocal cords had rusted from disuse.
Doctor Volts looked at him with mockery from behind his medical spectacles. "Why what? Why do we torture you? My boy, you are not a human in the eyes of the world. You are a 'resource.' You are the mine from which we extract the gold of immortality for the elite. Your death would be a loss of billions of dollars, so do not hope for it anytime soon."
Kayan closed his eyes, and in that moment, something strange happened. It wasn't pain that he felt, but a black void beginning to swallow his consciousness. He felt his heart—that exhausted engine—give one last, powerful throb... and then stop.
The soul had broken before the body could.
The Absolute Void: Where Ends Meet
There was no tunnel of light, and no angels waiting for him. Kayan found himself standing in an infinite void, yet he was not a body; he was a mass of glowing blue consciousness. Before his eyes, particles of light began to coalesce, forming a massive interface—one that looked like a cosmic operating system.
[Unique Entity Detected: A soul that has tasted absolute oppression]
[Biological Record Analysis: 13 years of forced giving]
[Activating Cosmic Compensation Protocol: Infinite Path]
The System's voice was not human; it was an echo vibrating through the corners of his existence. Kayan felt a strange calm. No pain, no chains, no smell of disinfectants.
"Am I dead?" his consciousness asked.
[You are in a state of 'Transit.' The previous world drained your essence; therefore, the 'System' grants you a chance to rewrite your destiny. In the new world, you will not be the resource... the world will be yours.]
[Selecting Innate Talent...]
[Based on your history of losing blood and essence: You have been granted the skill 'Origin Devourer']
[Description: You can absorb power, skills, and traits from any being you kill or touch with intent. There are no limits to growth. There are no fences for the soul.]
Kayan's consciousness shivered. "Devouring? After being devoured for years?"
An invisible smile formed within his essence. "Give me this path. Give me the world where I can be free."
[Transferring to World #404: The Labyrinth City – Orario]
[Warning: You will start at 'Zero.' No family, no money, and no identity. Do you accept?]
"I have started from below zero for years. To me, zero is the summit."
A New Beginning: The Sun of Orario
Kayan woke to a noise he had never known. It wasn't the sound of medical machinery, but the chirping of birds and a distant human bustle. He inhaled strange air... fresh air that carried the scent of spices, earth, and morning moisture.
He opened his eyes slowly. The sky was so blue it seemed surreal. He sat on the ground, discovering he was in a narrow, cobblestone alley. He looked at his hands; they were thin but healthy, white but pulsing with life. There were no needle marks, no chain scars.
He rose slowly, leaning against the cold wall. He wore a simple linen shirt and coarse trousers. He stepped out of the alley to be greeted by a majestic sight: a massive tower of white stone rising in the center of the city, nearly piercing the clouds.
"The Tower..." Kayan whispered. "The Dungeon."
The streets were teeming with beings; humans, demi-humans with cat ears, and burly dwarves wearing gleaming armor. This was Orario, the city of adventurers, where legends are made or buried in the depths of the labyrinth.
"Hey! Kid! Get out of the middle of the road!"
A gruff voice jolted him from his daze. It was a man pulling a cart full of monster hides. The man looked at Kayan with disgust. "Another piece of refugee 'trash'? If you're looking for food, go to the abandoned Hestia church or find a Level 3 Familia to take you as a pallbearer."
The word "trash" did not wound Kayan. Instead, it made his heart beat with a strange excitement. He had been "waste" in the labs of Earth, and he would be "trash" here—until he proved otherwise.
He closed his eyes and summoned the "System" in his mind.
[General Status]
Name: Kayan
Level: 0 (Unaffiliated)
Strength: 5 (Weak Human)
Endurance: 3 (Remnants of Malnutrition)
Talent: Origin Devourer (Level 1 - Locked)
Current Quest: Seek a 'Blessing' to unlock your path.
Kayan looked toward the great tower. He knew that power in this world came from the "Blood of the Gods," but he possessed something older and more dangerous.
"I will find a Familia," he said to himself, walking steadily through the crowd, his blue eyes shining with a cold brilliance no one had ever seen before. "But this time, no one will take a single drop of my blood without paying the price... in sudden death."
At that moment, as he passed the "Hostess of Fertility" pub, a girl with silver hair and gray eyes caught sight of the pale youth. She paused for a second, sensing a strange aura emanating from him—an aura that did not resemble a rookie adventurer, but a beast sleeping in the depths of a bottomless well.
But Kayan did not turn around. His eyes were fixed on the summit, where the Infinite Path begins.
N.A: The void is hungry for more. Support Kayan's journey by adding to your library and dropping a Power Stone or two. Every vote counts in the Infinite Ascension! — Aether_Void