Chapter 1 (1/2)

In the darkness of the corridor, muted footsteps can be heard.

A youth dressed in thin pajamas walks in the cold, quiet hallway, his eyes listless. Though the chill from the night frost and dew invades his skin, it’s not enough to stop the youth in his tracks. He pa.s.ses through the silent gloom of the hallway, the utterly ruined stairs, and enters into a deserted grand hall. But, the youth doesn’t slow in his pace; the ground in front of him, neat and flat only a moment prior, suddenly cracks open, exposing a bottomless abyss.

A blue-green firelight appears, casting aside the darkness, illuminating a mysterious path.

For any normal person, the scene would have elicited a reaction, but the youth is almost mechanical in his indifference to the supernatural happening before his eyes. His footsteps do not cease; he walks directly into the subterranean pa.s.sageway. Behind him, the cracked ground snaps shut, like a demon swallowing its sacrifice, smothering the youth’s silhouette.

Droplets of cool dew fall upon the youth’s face, giving him involuntary pause. Suddenly, the listless eyes recover their spirit.

“This place is …”

The youth widens his eyes in amazement and disbelief, looking at the scenery before him.

In the vast underground temple, the jump and flicker of viridian flames serve as the only sources of light. Intricate patterns are traced from the walls into the ground, stone statues encircling the surroundings, giving the s.p.a.ce an air of peculiarity and mystique.

“What happened to me, exactly?”

The youth shakes his head in an effort to comprehend the sight before his eyes, but he quickly discovers that his body is entirely immobile.

Like being captured by an invisible force, he cannot move even a single finger; though his senses are all clear and present still, his body itself is like a frozen statue, completely unresponsive.

“This, this is …!”

Faced with a situation beyond his wildest imaginations, the youth seems fearful and disquieted. He emphatically grits his teeth, instinctively wis.h.i.+ng to break free of his bonds – a bootless endeavor. Nevertheless, the youth doesn’t give up, focusing his mental energies in an effort to regain control of his own body. Because of this, the youth is oblivious to the slowly lengthening shadows under the firelight; like a penumbral cobra, it creeps slowly, silently, to the youth’s side, wrapping itself tightly around his body.

The youth’s body is immersed in a bone-chilling cold, its frigidity instilling itself into his marrow. The intense pain destroys any of the youth’s inhibitions, and he opens his mouth in an attempt to scream. But almost instantly, the coiled shadows flare up, consuming the youth’s entire figure within. In the darkness of the abyss, both he and his unformed scream are wholly crushed.

The shadows dissipate.

The youth stands quietly in place as before, but the terror and unease have completely disappeared from his visage. Similarly, his dark eyes exude a previously unseen leisure and placidity. If one were to subject him to closer scrutiny, other differences would be found: compared to the lanky youth prior, the him at present is clearly a bit more well-built, and the mane of dark-brown hair has deepened to a midnight black. His thin face no longer discloses its possessor’s weakness, but rather self-a.s.surance and pride.

The new body isn’t bad.

You Lian rehea.r.s.es his fingers, looking with satisfaction towards the last speck of anima in his hand – the previous master of this body, now under his control, was merely a feeble soul-flame. Even though he struggles and wails in an attempt to regain control, it is, tragically, not something which can be tolerated

“Then, this is the end. I appreciate your a.s.sistance.”