Lowly Ascent

Three figures stood outside the headquarters of the Sisterhood of Yore in the capital.

"Are you sure about this?" Davis was a little frightened, as an alchemist he never had to be in these situations. But as an awakened with combat-related abilities, he had no choice.

"Yep!" Collin smiled and looked at the other member of this adventure.

"What are you looking at little man? I was made ready!" With a bright green mohawk and a piercing through her eyebrow, Jane pumped her fist.

Ready as they'll ever be, the three went inside. There, they were greeted by a nun.

"Oh, hello there, are you here to donate?" She politely asked.

Davis awkwardly smiled, "Uh no...we were wondering if we could see the Abbess, I heard she might be able to help us.

The nun tilted her head, but with a quick sweep of her soul energy, she realized the two in front of her were no different than herself. They walked the Paths.

"Hmm, I can ask, but It won't be certain. Do you have a message that might interest her?"

Davis was reminded of a dream Collin had, he repeated the sentence that stood out most to him.

"Tell her: The Stars are Flickering and Dusk is just beyond the horizon. And beyond that horizon, I exist, in the land beyond."

The nun looked at him with oddity, "O...kay?" She left and the three waited.

"So...do you think the Abbess will help us?" Collin asked.

Jane laughed, "Depends, do we bring anything to the table?"

The nun returned, "The Abbess will see you, follow me."

The three were brought upstairs and led to the Abbess's office.

"You can go inside." After leading them, the nun promptly left.

"Well, here goes nothing."

Opening the door, the awakened were met with an old woman standing by a window, her hands behind her back.

"I suspected the awakened had something to do with that strange man I met a while ago. Honestly, I'm impressed he reached such a level, or perhaps he was hiding his power. A surprise indeed to learn he was behind all this."

The world hadn't fully recovered from the countless natural disasters that struck the planet's surface; it couldn't recover. The gods were beginning the end of days, regions lost could not be saved. Cities and towns had to be left in ruin. Peace was gone, and total war was coming.

"What did you say?! Who are you talking about, is it the person behind the awakenings?!" Jane was blunt in her worry, she was fearful of seeing the Abbess act so out of order from the rumors.

"Fret not, for he is no longer a person, and your suffering is not his care. If it was this whole world would burn. But I digress, you came for help, you will not find it here. Isn't that right? Monarch of Black?"

An inhuman voice echoed. 

(Of course. I'm here to kill you and your god, you were the closest in reach, apologizes. Though I thought you were stronger, I was mistaken. To lose to a new god is sad to see for a powerhouse.)

The Abbess laughed, "We are mere mortals, and the gods are acting now, the world will burn quickly enough. But can you win in that time I wonder? I picked my side, but you have no side. You are an outlier, Monarch."

Davis grabbed Collin's arm, "We have to leave, I don't know where that voice is coming from but this is bad. We have to go now!"

He tried to run with the boy, but Collin gripped Davis's hand back and stopped his retreat. Davis now understood where the voice came from when the young boy opened his mouth and the horrid voice escaped.

"I'm afraid the child is gone, I needed a secretive vessel for a time. You see, I still haven't been able to get used to my new body. Apologies, you must've gotten used to this human, but oh well, you can join him now. Be glad, you awakened were good pawns of mine."

The child's nail grew and pierced Davis's arm, in an instant, the young man felt his entire being change.

'What's happening? Why do I feel strange?' Before he could understand anything, black overtook his vision.

He was no longer Davis, but Nihil. His shell fell apart like a molting and a dark inky soul was left.

"At last! A proper soul body! Now I can ditch this child. What a good ability!" A flash of black moved from Collin to the soul body infected by Nihil's ability.

"Much better!" He turned and smirked at the Abbess.

All the while, Jane backed into a wall, her eyes bloodshot.

"T-This!? What have you done, who are you?! Why!?"

Nihil's attention was again pulled, he much enjoyed answering the questions of those surprised by him, a set point in his personality. It was another way for him to enjoy the world he explored.

"Why? Because any other way would've alerted the Abbess here. Possessing a useless child is the best way to get around. Though this soul body will dissipate soon, I still haven't perfected the use of my body, a pity that I have to hurry."

Jane felt like she was looking into the darkness, a pool, a haze of black. Even with the form of a human, Nihil radiated a presence that wiped out any guess that he was one.

Nihil was born from Cain, but he was not Cain, he was a soul entity, a being born to take everything the world offered and didn't. He was a being that humans couldn't understand, but he understood them well enough.

"Oh, you can leave, by the way, Go extend your time on this earth. Killing you means nothing, I already got my soul body. Survive, and maybe if you gather the awakened and help me I shall grant you a prize worth countless lives." He added.

Jane felt sick, she covered her mouth and immediately ran. Instincts were a fickle thing, and survival was utmost for any being. Everything was for survival.

"Well, she's smart. What blessing did I awaken her with? I should try and remember." Nihil looked over at the Abbess who was patiently waiting, "Time's ticking, are you prepared to die?"

It was the Abbess's turn to smirk. "Oh you weak fool, I know you are not a god yet. Although I can't kill you, destroying your soul body should do some damage. Once you're out of the picture, I can take control of the Bureau and begin weeding out the other gods. The Book of Infatuation will be the only winner of the Great Beings game! Now die!"

A second mouth opened on the old woman's face and the battle began.