《Eclipsing Dark Star》 The Call - pt 1 Heavy rain poured down from the heavens steadily like that of sand in an hourglass. It''s accompanied by loud thundering and harsh winds, creating a cacophony of noises. Bearing witness of this chaos was a young girl huddled underneath a blanket on a bed in a small, dimmed room. A sense of urgency nestles itself into her mind as she glances around the room that was both unfamiliar, yet dreadfully familiar. She woke up a couple of hours ago in this strange room and at first, still groggy from sleep, she assumed that she was just dreaming. But, as the hours went by, she was still here in this room. Her mind became more frenzied at the realization that this room was a place she knew. But that wasn''t right, she had no recollection of such a thing, and so now here she was trying to wrestle with this dissonance. An overwhelming feeling of nausea made her head throb as she licked her chapped lips, trying to distract herself from the ache. Her throat felt parched like she swallowed a ton of sweets. Every sensation threatens to send her back into unconsciousness. But she clings onto wakefulness, eyes staring intensely at a bright screen of a phone she found in the room. Her ears ring like flies'' buzzing and watches on in disbelief at scenes incredulously unbelievable to the average person. She sees humans fly or jump across the screen at impossible speeds, showing off what seem to be CGI-like powers. Bright, colorful and immense in force, evident from how they swept away everything in their path. Those that should only exist in fantastical stories, that rip apart what were grotesque-looking monsters into piles of flesh and liquid. She hears piercing screams of horror and gleeful cheering meld into an unpleasant symphony. In another video, she spots tall, dark towers that stretched unimaginably high into the sky, gleaming like obsidian in the background of destroyed cityscapes. Again, in another video, she even sees a round and small feathered creature floating and giggling, showing off its rows of sharp teeth. It then pauses and proceeds to speak in an alien language to a crowd of terrified humans. With eyes dilated, it points to a random human with one of its fluffy paws. A second pass before that human''s head explodes, splattering the surrounding humans in gore. In an instant, the crowd scatters in panic, desperately trying to make sense of what is going on. This one video was the oldest of the many that she watched and a rough translation of what happened was in the description, explaining that this creature was an Administrator of a power that no one could even fathom or understand. The explanation was pulled from the website of the Association for Humanity''s Protection and Liberation, often shortened to the AHPL. They were sent down to Earth to watch over the humans and ''help'' humans combat the monsters coming in through the so-called gates. Terms and information that she had no idea of and knowing how to interpret slowly made her lose herself to the macabre and fantastical nature of these videos. She blinks as she sees a human get crushed under a monster''s foot and decisively clicks off the phone before haphazardly throwing the phone back onto the bed. The blanket that she was huddled under falls off her shoulders as her lips begin to tremble in unexpected laughter. She covers her mouth with the back of her hand, trying to no avail to stop her laughter. Her laughter escaped her in short, wheezing staccato before descending into a full-blown laughter attack that squeezed her heart painfully. She couldn''t stop laughing until she was out of breath and hiccupping. A hint of desperation in her demeanor and coupled with wet eyes made her look like a madwoman. She curls into herself a little, body tense and head bowed as she reorganizes her mind. Silence in the room became her friend, helping her ground herself back into stability. She lifts her head then, wet eyes glazed over and unfocused. Gritting her teeth, she shakes herself out of her stupor and takes a few stuttering breaths. She felt lost, incredibly so, legs shifting uncomfortably on the bed. Unable to sit still, she swings her legs over the bed before staring down at them in shock. They were burned up from her toes and all the way up to mid-thigh, red blotches of skin peeled back and melted into a waxy sheen. She gags slightly and shut her eyes tightly, breath haggard. After a minute, her eyes twitched open. She stares at her legs again, feeling more prepared. Shelving her questions of the burns, she began to try and piece out what was going on. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. In order to understand what she has just seen so far, she needs to be calm, as calm as one can be in this kind of absurd scenario. First, was all of this real? She slows down her breathing, feeling the soft fabric of the bed underneath her. She then turns her head to the window watching the dark clouds brighten every once and awhile from the strikes of lightning. The incessant rain continues to pour down, not stopping anytime soon. It obscures the outside world and she could see nothing but gray. She takes a breath, suddenly smelling a lingering, milky scent in the room. She looks around for the source and located piles of mini milk-cartons next to a messy desk. Piles of books and papers were scattered on the desk. Black ink spilled from an open container as it pools underneath the desk. She wrinkled her nose at the unkemptness of it all. She signed, shoulders loosening up from tension. She can confirm that this was real. That hit her like a ton of bricks as the implications of that made her afraid of what was to come next. Furrowing her brows, she moved onto her next question. Were the videos real? That was somewhat easy to answer as well. Yes, it was real. In fact, it had to be real. Throughout all the numerous videos that she watched, they all had something in common. It was a large, jagged crack in the sky, iridescent and mysterious in nature, with unknown particles sprinkling down onto Earth. Although the obsidian-like towers were also eye-catching, it was only featured in some of the videos that she watched, so she couldn''t confirm that part. But this crack was consistently everywhere, global networks and internet users from all over the world reporting seeing this crack. There''s no rhyme or reason for hundreds of videos to show that crack in the sky, unless it was real. She knows that she''s not really in the right state to be judging what might be real or fake, but nobody was crazy enough to pull this kind of prank over the world. The magnitude, the time, and the resources to do this and coordinate with hundreds of people was too inconvenient and unrealistic as well. And to prove her point, as she turns to look at the window again, there it was. Standing out completely against the darkened sky was the glowing iridescent crack. In fact, it seems brighter than it was in the videos she saw. Its appearance made her feel uneasy and somehow, she seemed to be hearing a humming from the crack. It would be impossible as it was at such a distance from her in the sky, but it wasn''t. It was real as can be. Her face sours as she turns away from the window, balling up her hands in her lap. This was not her world anymore, point blank. A weird ache in her chest distracts her from feeling too hysterical and she quietly mourns in her mind. She continues with another question. What does she last remember before waking up here? She closes her eyes, thinking carefully. But nothing turns up, like she was pulling at cobwebs instead of much needed memories. She opens her eyes with a frown. She couldn''t remember. That felt all too planned. Why were there no personal memories at all? She could remember a world different from this one, where she can form a picture of, but when she got to herself, there was nothing. Anything that made her who she was and all that should belong to her was gone now. An abrupt feeling of anger sweeps through her mind making it hard for her to focus. She clumsily smothers that anger until it was nothing but an ember in the emptiness of her mind. So, she had no memories of anything, of how she came to be here and nothing pertaining to her identity. What was most overwhelming to her was the fact that she felt a sense of permanence in this world that she knew was not her own. It''s as if she is living in this world and that doesn''t make any sense. Unless she was a different person now. Stumbling out of the bed, she hesitantly walked over to the mirror across from the bed. The milky scent coupled with suddenly standing up made her feel disoriented. It also didn''t help that she felt like a tall bean sprout that was going to keel over and die. She steps closer to the mirror, watching as a stranger appears before her. In the dim yellow lights, stood a tall and slightly chubby girl with messy black hair. Her fringes fall just slightly over her eyes, hiding them. Her nose was crooked, swelling slightly with a bandage stuck over the bridge. She had a yellow pallor to her tan skin, which made her look sickly. She was wearing simply a sweater and shorts, gray in tones. The mirror reflected back the extent of the burns up her bare legs, looking even worse than she thought. Leaning her head closer and gripping the edges of the mirror, she gasps as her fringe swings and reveals her eyes more clearly. Wide silver eyes in the pattern of a kaleidoscope stare back at her. The Call - pt 2 Unable to resist, she reaches up to softly pull the skin below her eye. She was surprised at how intense the silver color was. It was in fact many different shades of silver, which were constantly reflecting and fracturing, just like a kaleidoscope. It caused her eyes to twinkle, literally. It was such an unusual phenomenon as it was fascinating. She blinks and lets go of her under eye, pulling away from the mirror. Her fringe falls back into place, once again, hiding such a peculiar set of eyes. Now that she has seen them though, she couldn''t ignore the silver eyes that were faintly glowing behind her fringe. Loosening her grip on the mirror, she steps back with a sigh and hugs her arms to chest. Who was this mysterious young girl? She turns her head to the messy desk, hoping to find some answers. Walking over, she surveyed the desk and absentmindedly organized the piles of books and scattered papers. Titles such as ''Anatomies of Monsters'' and ''How to Hunt for Dummies'' caught her attention, connected to the videos she saw earlier, but not as much as the paper covered in spilled ink. It was quite in ominous, black streaks harshly painted over what looks to be a drawing of some kind of monster. No, not even a monster. It was a black and white drawing of a shadowed figure with a long white veil, cupping its hands around black sphere. It had a halo as well, lines drawn outward like rays of light. It looked like a God and too much put together to be considered a mere monster. It felt wrong to even claim that this thing was a monster. Regardless of what it may be, she knew that just by looking at it for a while now was enough for an overpowering sense of apprehension to engulf her. Cold sweats and chills travel down her body and it was not just because of the heavy weather outside affecting the room. She hesitantly picks it up and places it somewhere off to the side before picking up something else. This time it was an application of sorts for a place called the Steren Academy and it was filled in with the information she needed. Name, Aster Klein. A name that tugs at her empty mind, making her brows furrow. Next, her age, 16 years. She was now a 16-year-old girl when she had previously been...older for sure, she had to be. Swallowing back a lump in her throat, she continues to scan the application paper. Powers, unregistered. What does that mean if not what she saw the humans did in the videos? It seems that she was not a normal human being in this world. And unregistered, did that mean she had powers that were not confirmed yet? How did she go about doing that? Deciding to worry about that later, she notes the capitalized letter in the big box in the corner. It was a D. She assumes it was an evaluation of her application or something related and frowns at the letter grade. She felt somewhat offended on the behalf of the young girl, whose body she had taken over. She sighs, setting the application paper down, feeling burdened by those implications. If she was here now, where was the girl? Was her soul or whatever somewhere far from reach or in the worst-case scenario, was the girl dead? Regardless of all those negative thoughts, it was reasonable enough to assume that whoever Aster Klein was, the girl was looking to enter this so-called Steren Academy. And considering everything so far, it must be similar to a police academy, where students with powers train to be hunters, eliminating monsters that are invading the Earth. And the fact that these students were possibly around her age, children being sent out to confront these arguably terrifying monsters like it''s a regular occurrence say a lot about rules of the world regarding ethics and morals. It was a really unfair situation for the both of them and she felt obligated to figure out what had transpired. At least to send off Aster Klein in peace. And to do so, she needed to integrate into this world and become Aster Klein. So that means finishing what the girl intended to do and where she left off. She, no, she was Aster now. She was going to enter the Steren Academy and fulfill the girl''s wishes. Aster solemnly stood by the girl''s desk in silence, letting the long-winding tension dispel from her shoulders and mind. She then neatly put away the rest of the books and shuffled the papers together, tapping the bottom of the paper-stack on the desk. She grabs a tissue from a tissue box and gently wipes away the spilled ink. Bending down she did the same for the ink pool underneath the desk. Once Aster was done, she threw away the stained tissue into a nearby trash can. Speaking of trash, she glances over at mini-milk cartons hastily dropped next to the desk and sighs again. Grabbing them and balancing them in her arms, she begins to head to the door of the room. She stopped a few inches away and raised her arm, intending to grab the doorknob. She was hesitating. Afterall, this was a strange place and the moment she opened the door, there was no going back. Steeling her nerves, Aster grabs the doorknob and turns it with a click. If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Pulling the door back revealed a dark hallway. At the end of the hallway, harsh blue light was pouring in from another room to the right. Curious, Aster steadily walks down the hallway and when she turns the corner, she hastily covers her nose at the sudden smell of rotten meat. The mini milk-cartons landed dully by her feet. Her silver eyes dilated behind her fringe at the sight that greeted her. It was a slumped, blobby corpse on a kitchen table that she almost mistaken as a human, if not for the dark purple scales covering it. It was covered in black viscous blood which reflected the blue light of an open, but empty refrigerator. The dripping of the blood coupled with the buzzing of the refrigerator was eerie. To make matters worse, the corpse had a humanoid-looking face that was upside down, hanging off from the kitchen table with yellow eyes and mouth open, possibly in a silent scream. Aster could only stand to stare at the sight for a moment before rushing over to slam open the lights with trembling hands. A softer, warmer set of lights flooded the room and revealed more of the corpse making her cringe away even more. This time, she could see multiple stab wounds all over the corpse that made her ribs itch and stomach flips uneasily. Swallowing down her shock, she slowly approaches the corpse to take a closer look. It was a monster corpse, that was obvious from the scales and the fact that it was bleeding black blood. But it was the dull and small red stone nestled in the squished brain of the corpse that convinced her more. Unable to resist and trying not to gag, Aster reaches in and with a few strain pulls, the red stone flies right into her bloody hand. She brings the red stone up to the light as it glints subtly. What was this red stone doing in this corpse? And more importantly, why was there a corpse here in the first place? Did the previous Aster kill this monster? Or did she just drag a random corpse into her place? But why? Sure, the previous Aster had all those books about monsters, but she didn''t look like a girl who could kill a monster in such a frenetic manner. Besides, she had no powers confirmed as yet, so it''s unlikely that the previous Aster would be dumb enough to fight a monster. And it was dangerous on its own to go searching for a monster corpse assuming that she did so alone. Right? All these questions and more continue to grow in her mind with no answers in sight. She wipes the blood off the red stone with her hands, smearing blood onto her palms and fingers. She frowns in distaste at all the blood and the heavy metallic scent, already missing the milky scent of Aster''s room. She pockets the red stone into her shorts and pulls up the sleeves of her sweater. For now, she needed to take care of this corpse and clean this mess up. She steps closer to the kitchen table, trying to figure how she was going to lift this bloody corpse off without slipping on the pools of blood when a ringing made her flinch. She whips her head to another room, the dark living space as the ringing continues. The ringing got intense before it switched over to loud banging at the front door. With bated breath, she scrambles over to the door to grab the doorknob just as it was clicked open and slam into her. A grunt left her lips as her body braced itself against the door as a pair of leather gloved hands grips the frame, pushing it open wider. "Fuck- Let me in, you little rat!" Aster stiffens at the gruff, raspy voice above her and swings her head up, staring at what was a tall man in a dirty trench coat, angrily gritting his all-too white teeth at her. "Well? You''re gonna let me in or do I have to hurt you again?" The Call - pt 3 Aster grunts as she stumbles back from the door, which was slammed open with such force that it shakes the walls of the doorway. Her apprehension increases tenfold when the suspicious man in the trench coat languidly enters the place, his bulging size barely fitting through the tiny door. The man slowly walks up to her, trekking mud and dripping puddles onto the floor. The weather outside surges as lightning flashes, briefly exposing his face. It was covered in multiple healed scars, zigzagging across his face. The raised skin of his scars looked like worms crawling underneath his skin, making him look uncanny. He looms over her, staring down at her with dark, pupilless eyes, creating shadows that stretch around him menacingly. He smiles with his all-too-white teeth, pleased at her skittishness. The man leans closer to her, sniffing at her hair and smacking his lips like a rabid dog looking for scraps. Aster stiffens when he chuckles, blowing warm air into her ear, and just as quickly as he violates her personal space, he pulls back from her and proceeds to walk past her. He even had the audacity to walk into the kitchen, smirking at the bloody mess on the kitchen table like it wasn''t a shocker. He waves a hand at her, beckoning her to come over like he was the owner of this place. He may as well be since she wasn''t even the real Aster. She tentatively returns to the kitchen anyway. "Such a mess you made of this guy," the man casually reaches over, poking around the squashed head of the monster corpse before wiping his bloody fingers on his pants that were, oddly enough, already stained with some kind of dark liquid. The man hums and grabs a chair, the slide of it making a harsh noise as he sits down. He turns and gives her a once-over, taking in the blood smeared over her hands and feet before laughing lowly. His laughter was jarring in the somewhat quiet kitchen as she frowned even more, moving closer to the sink. Her bare feet glide across and kick up blood, splattering them over the man''s shoes. "Well, we don''t care what you do with it anyway. You could fuck the thing, and nobody would bat an eye! So long as you follow the rules of the guild. Anyways, Klein. Same old, same old; the guild has a little task for you. It''s not too hard, and you''ll be doing me a favor, yeah? I''ll even forgive you for last time. Cleaning up your blood was annoying as hell." Aster was undoubtedly confused by the influx of information spewing from the man''s mouth. Everything that was said made her disgusted, but also uncomfortable and off-kiltered. Aside from the implications of physical abuse, the mention of a guild caught her attention. It would explain the monster and explain how the previous Aster obtained it. But Aster was not a registered hunter at all, according to that application paper. This guild, or whatever it really was, was illegally employing an unregistered, unpowered child to do their bidding and clearly exploiting her. Whatever the previous Aster received in compensation for doing this was not worth it. And to top it off, this man was disturbingly chummy to the previous Aster. "Who¡­are you?" Aster asks with a hint of incredulousness. The longer she was in the presence of the man, the stronger the feeling of death hung over her head. It wasn''t just the nonchalant demeanor and sinister look that set off the warning bells in her mind. It was the fact that he admitted to hurting Aster before. That begs the question: why was Aster hanging around a shady man like this? What was their history? Who knows, if this time he hurts her again, she might cease to breathe. The massive axe strapped to his belt also made her hair stand on end. It was not a normal axe at all, having a misty aura to it. It had sigils of some kind engraved into the blade as well. As soon as the question left her lips, the air was still and the temperature plummeted dramatically. In fact, like something out of a fairytale, frost began to overtake the kitchen itself. It covers the walls, the counters, and even the table with the monster corpse. Aster saw the pool of blood begin to freeze, patterns of crystallization spreading like it was sentient and had a mind of its own. The man''s blank face told him that he didn''t like her question. He soon rises from the chair, and without any time for her to react, he yanks her by the throat and drags her face close. Aster chokes when he tightens his grip, crushing her windpipe and, no doubt, bruising it. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. "You know, it''s really fucking fitting! A dirty rat like you has no manners. You tried to lock me out, and now you''re asking who I am. Don''t fucking play games with me, Klein. You remember the last time you refused me?" The man lifts her off her feet harshly and sneers at her sudden, dangling weight. She instinctively struggles and wraps her hands around his wrist. She blinks her eyes rapidly at the pain and pressure of his grip, coughing and wheezing. Black dots were already invading her vision, and to make matters worse, she felt a sudden cold from his grip. It was unbearably icy, and the sensation felt like her throat was being stabbed by needles. She couldn''t even scream, and she helplessly watched in horror as frost began to spread across her neck. "Oh, it''s real fun seeing you like this, Klein. Look at that dumb, lost look of yours. How''s that nose of yours?" With his free hand, he rips off the bandage quickly and pinches her crooked nose. Aster made an ugly, strangled noise and renewed her struggles, trying to escape his grip as he watched on in anger and sick delight. The cold remains the same throughout. "Klein, nobody cares about an orphan bastard like you, unlike me." The man softly begins, his eyes manic. "I saw you wandering around like a fool on the streets and took you in. I gave you this fucking apartment! Is this how you pay me back by ignoring me? You know I''m so much more lenient than the guild. I take care of what''s mine! So, what''s mine should listen and do as I say. This is merely discipline." Tears slipped down her cheek, but she froze midway through the intense coldness as chaos took over her mind. She really was going to die when she barely arrived here. Still, she musters the energy to glare at the man''s murder. A sweeping anger compels her to sink her nails harshly into the man''s hand. It barely hurts the man who continues to stare down at her unflinchingly. Despite it all, Aster couldn''t help feeling outrage on behalf of the previous Aster. It was abominable, the way the man insulted her and treated her like she was a thing to play with instead of an actual person. The fact that the pain that was inflicted on her was meant for the previous Aster and ''merely discipline'' pisses her off. She was suddenly very glad that the previous Aster was gone now, saved from this madness. But even as this anger floods her mind, she can''t help but despair as well. If only she knew how to awaken a power. Anything; it doesn''t even matter if it was a dud. Aster only wants to save herself and the memories of a dead person. As if something heard her desperate pleas, her chest tightens and heats up, causing her to break out into sweats. The heat swiftly travels throughout her body, and as soon as it comes into contact with the cold, steam pours out of her body. But the heat didn''t stop there; it continued to rise in temperature, much to the detriment of her weakening body. She grits her teeth, feeling like her heart is about to burst from all kinds of sensations. She needed to expel this heat, or she''d die sooner than she expected. She glanced at the man''s face one last time, observing how his face soured in bafflement and mockingly smiled. She clenches her hand even more and really digs her nails into his skin. The world seems to slow down and become smaller before quickly resuming and expanding with a loud sonic boom. She felt her eardrums burst, blood gushing out, and distantly heard the man scream. The heat in the center of her chest abruptly combusted into bright white flames, unfurling instantaneously like a blossom. It licked down her whole body as well as the man''s arms, making him drop her. She lands on her knees harshly and is engulfed in flames. Strangely enough, the fire surrounding her and burning her was very beautiful. She watches the man flail around, trying to put out the white fire like a silent film. Everything is so quiet now. Like it was second nature, Aster shakily lifts her hand and palm up to the sky. She opened her mouth and stuttered out a single word. [Singularity] 1/0 = ∞ No sooner than the word left her mouth, the space above Aster''s palm distorts, opening up a small rip in reality. It quickly grows in size, however, expanding and swirling with such gravitational force that it is generating hot winds that fan the flames licking at her body, all the while pulling things into it like the blood covering the kitchen table and floor. The apartment walls shake unsteadily as things fall from their place, shattering into pieces. What was but a small rip in reality morphs¡ªa black mass not perfectly spherical that makes the blood it absorbed act like ferrofluid, spiking and ebbing in a magnetic rhythm. It was screeching so loudly that she could still faintly hear it with her burst eardrums. It rapidly grows out of her expectations, causing her palms to tremble from the growing density of such an incredible phenomenon. She struggles to lift her head from the oppressive atmosphere and glance up at the man in front of her, who is yelling something unheard. His bloodshot eyes fill with an increasing dread and terror. His scarred face was haggard and pale as he helplessly slid down the kitchen wall. He collapses onto his knees, gripping at his hair with shaky hands. He was glowing, and his whole body was slowly disintegrating in front of her, particles consumed by the black mass. It''s eating up the space around it. Aster''s gray, kaleidoscope eyes twinkle brighter, unbeknownst to her, as distracted as she was by her hysteria. The black hole curves inward, sucking into itself and blocking her view. She grunts, dropping into a kowtow while her arms just barely resist falling to her side. Lacerations from the sharp winds slice in the direction up her burning arms, blood rupturing like petals. Once the black mass grows enough to loom over her, she feels a sudden shift in the air, and before she can register anything, her body itself explodes. Flesh flies, her blood absorbs alongside everything, and her bone rattles, caught up in the now black hole''s path. She chokes on a scream; the pain is almost too much, but just as quickly as it appears, it disappears. She watches in delirium as her missing flesh grows back, only to be eviscerated off again. This chain reaction continues even as the black hole swallows her completely. The inside structure of the blackhole was just pure darkness. It is sweltering hot, making her break out in sweat. The flames that were consuming her body were put out, unable to burgeon within the black hole. Here, at the center of the black hole, space and time cease to exist. Aster''s body continues to destroy and repair itself, burning and shredding agonizingly slowly. There was no release from this wretchedness. Weighed down by profound exhaustion, her shoulders slump as she falls flat on her face. She tries to hold onto consciousness, but it''s getting harder to feel any kind of sensation except pain. Just as she closes her eyes and resigns to her death, an agitating ringing grows louder, overtaking the screeching of the blackhole. She gasps as a pointed pain latches onto her mind, her spine involuntarily curling inward. The ringing transforms into a melodiously clear voice as a fluorescent screen pops up in front of her face. ¨U¨U¨€¨U¨„ Do you want to live? ¨U¨U¨€©¦¨„ A sentence types out, warping like corrupted code and bearing an unsettling message. Yet, despite it all, the lull of that voice gave her a tentative hope. It took a few wheezing attempts before Aster could form a proper sentence. Her dimming eyes begin to fracture energetically, and a surge of strength travels through her rebuilding body. "Yes, I want to live." She pauses, swallowing back a lump in her throat as tears spring from her eyes. "What do I need to do?" A plea and demand simultaneously escape her. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. The fluorescent screen flickers as if it is contemplating her question before it brightens, illuminating her face. ¨U¨U¨€¨U¨„ Lift your spirits and accept this ring of mine. ¨U¨U¨€©¦¨„ The fluorescent screen grows brighter and brighter until all she sees is a white flash. Aster closes her eyes for a brief moment and opens them to the sight of a glowing ring made up of gas and dust that was the size of both her palms. Despite its small size, there was an intensity to the ring, and it had a distinct smell to it. Metallic and strangely sweet. Like a dying star. Her mind supplies. It gently hovers above her head and hums, a sound pleasing to her ears. "What is it?" She asks, drawn to the ring. A warm feeling, unlike the burning, swept through her body gently. The fluorescent screen takes a few seconds before replying back to her. ¨U¨U¨€¨U¨„ A limiter. It is called Event Horizon. It will contain Singularity. Use it well, Aster Klein. ¨U¨U¨€©¦¨„ The fluorescent screen fades, scattering away like reflective scales. "Wait! Who are you?" She calls out frantically, reaching for the screen, but her hand phases through. "When can I see you again?" ¨U¨U¨€¨U¨„I am the mover and the destroyer, ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö. ¨U¨U¨€©¦¨„It answers her and pauses once more at her last question. ¨U¨U¨€©¦¨„Find the seeds of Truth left behind if you wish to see me again. ¨U¨U¨€©¦¨„ The screen finally disappears, leaving Aster feeling vex. She shakes her head and delicately reaches for the ring. As soon as it is in her hands, the plane of darkness she was in trembles with a low groan, and she watches as the ring shoots up like a shining beacon as it pierces through the darkness. The black hole begins shrinking, screeching even louder. She is slowly leaving the center of the blackhole, and she catches glimpses of the kitchen outside. Renewing with a sense of vigor, she lifts herself up onto her feet, wobbling precariously. She cradles her body and watches in awe as the glowing ring latches onto the black hole, encircling it. The black hole and the ring lock in an intense skirmish, one trying to break free while the other steadfastly reigns it in. Finally, after what seems like hours, the blackhole is now but a small ball lazily spinning. It still had a red hue, possibly because the blood shed. Occasionally, the black hole tries to stretch out of the ring, and in response, the ring keeps it in check. It was a wild child, scolded by their parents. Aster chuckles tiredly and glances around the place, almost not believing everything that has transpired. The whole kitchen was even more of a mess, with glass scattered across the floor and bits of wood chips blown everywhere. The monster corpse was long gone¡ªnothing but a pile of ash on the scorched kitchen table. She then focuses her attention next to the man, or rather, the other corpse. Unlike the monster corpse, it was somewhat intact. It was hardly recognizable, though, with charred skin peeling back to reveal slimy, raw layers. The man died with his eyes open, almost translucent and gooey. She grimaces and turns away from the corpse. Even if the man was a bad guy, she''d never get used to the sight of death. Aster sighs and cradles the spinning black hole in her palms. It croons like a bird, causing her to giggle at the absurdity of it all. "Now, what should I do with you? I can''t have you floating around and exposing me, you know." The black hole spins a little faster, and the glowing ring brightens in response to her words. In front of her eyes, they melt into her palms. She raises an eyebrow at the tingling sensation but nods her head in satisfaction. Just as the little blob vanishes, not a second later, a screen appears into existence, surprising her. Her heart races, thinking it was the voice from before, but she frowns, realizing the screen was different. It is a golden color, garish to the eyes, and much louder, pinging. >> Congratulations! You have awakened; would you like to register your designation into the Gienah System? . . . [YES] or [YES] Aster blinks, but quickly gets with the program and reaches out to click ''YES''. >> Excellent! Please input your desired designation: __________ She hums and decides on an alias, wanting to stay under radar for the time being. Until she knows more about this world, she''s not willing to risk her life again. >> Is this your desired name? . . . >> The Emitter? . . . >> Godspeed, The Emitter. May your days be many and your woes few. Video Game Reference >> Welcome, The Emitter! Would you like a tutorial of the user interface? [YES] or [YES] Aster smiles thinly and sensing a running theme, she clicks on ¡®YES¡¯ once more. >> Excellent! Please wait a moment. Soon a simple progress bar appears on the screen, replacing the message box. The progress bar is slowly inching closer to the right and Aster can¡¯t help shaking her head. Seems like even in this world, progress bars are still as bad as ever. >> 45%...68%...99%...100%! As soon as the progress bar reaches completion, the screen transitions, like blinds being open, into a whole ¡®nother scene. Like a menu screen of a videogame, there were little icons that were neatly organized on the left and right side of the screen. In the middle of the screen was what looked like a character card of a familiar being that has Aster furrowing her brows. It was the shadowed figure from the drawing she picked up earlier. Here, it was simplified into a sprite of sorts, only showing the upper half of its body. It had its palms open in front of its chest, holding what looked like the blackhole surrounded by the white ring that sunk into her own palms earlier. Under the image were bolded fluorescent words, triggering a hint of apprehension and interest in her. The Empyrean? Aster hums, contemplating what it could mean. If she remembers correctly, in her world, it was a term for the place highest in heaven. In other words, the dwelling space of a god. A shiver runs down her spine as she continues to stare at the shadowed being. It was no coincidence that it appeared twice now, first in that disturbing drawing and now on the garish, gold screen. She curiously hover her finger above the image and tap its head. She watches as animated stars burst from the tap and couldn¡¯t resist tapping it a few more times, laughing in amusement. Coughing and getting back on track, she glances over to the little icons before clicking on one that says ¡®Abilities¡¯. It takes her to another screen where it displays what she assumes was an explanation of her new-found abilities. [Singularity] D-rank (EX) // An undefined, astronomical object. Anything in its path is reduced from the value of x to zero. (It is a young existence that neither knows good nor bad; it only knows hunger and greedily fills the void left in it by its creator, ??????. ) Aster tilts her head at the ranking and the extra information in the parentheses. It was strange that the blackhole was ranked so low when it literally destroyed her whole kitchen and caused her body to literally combust into flames. It was even powerful enough to explode flesh and grow flesh back rapidly. Perhaps then, the letter next to its rank represents its real potential. What fascinates her is that idea that it was alive and hungry, and thinking back to how it acted before, it may as well be accurate. She looks at the other abilities. [Event Horizon] D-rank (EX) // A boundary around [Singularity] from which nothing can escape it, even light itself. A point of no return. (Born out of necessity, this existence is quite loyal to its creator and is entrusted to capture the creator¡¯s errors. It is also referred to as ??????¡¯s Ring; a promise between the Bright One and the Protector.) Again, that mysterious being¡¯s name was censored. While all its other titles were given freely¡ªand there was an abundance of titles¡ªthe fact that its real name was hidden must mean something was preventing her from knowing it. ¡®Why¡¯ was left unsaid. Connecting everything from the shadowed being, to the voice, and to her new-found abilities gave her a puzzle still missing its pieces. Another ability catches her silver eyes, ironically. [Eyes of ??????] D-rank (EX) // Allows the user to see quasar threads, traces left behind by Truth. These quasar threads are more commonly known as the seeds of Truth. (A mark of ??????¡¯s omniscience; with its eyes, the user can see pass lies and the illusions of the world. It can also sense the exact emotional state of others. But with knowledge comes greater pain, so take caution.) The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Aster narrows her eyes at the last part, feeling perturbed. Although she was no stranger to pain and having gone through the wringer earlier, it still isn¡¯t great to hear that the continuous usage of her ability would cause pain. Regardless, the voice said that Aster needs to uncover the seeds of Truth in order to see it again. Maybe by then, she would get a name and all the answers to her appearance in this world. Of course, she could demand to know now and see if the voice would respond, but assuming she¡¯s dealing with a powerful deity, she¡¯ll likely get killed for disrespect. Something tugs in the back of her mind that says the deity wouldn¡¯t kill her. She elect to click out of the ¡®Abilities¡¯ screen instead of addressing this delusion. She then clicks on the ¡®Profile'' icon and is greeted by an overwhelming amount of information. [Aster Klein] D-rank (???) | ¡°Little Star¡±, ¡°The Emitter¡±... - Status - EXP: 410/500 HP: 450 + {5} ATK: 300 + {5} DEF: 150 + {6} MP: 50 + {7 + 5 + XXX} - Attributes - Strength: 16 (D) Dexterity: 22 (C) Constitution: 20 (D) Intelligence: 42 (B) Charisma: 11 (D) Luck: XXX (?) AP: 0 Carefully, she takes it all in before reorganizing the information in her mind. The obvious is easy to navigate through such as her name and her titles, though she wonders why and how she received the first one. Much like an RPG, it showed her ¡®status¡¯ box and ¡®attributes¡¯ box, and reading through them was simple enough. What confused her was the numbers and allocations of them. Though, she at least was able to confirm that she was indeed a D-ranker. Knowing that it¡¯ll be useless to worry on her own, Aster clicks out of the ¡®profile¡¯ screen and clicks on something else, the ¡®forum¡¯ icon. A new screen pops up, neatly designed with a search engine, a few public chat-rooms with interesting names¡ªlike the Flame Emperor¡¯s Embers [NO TROLLS ALLOWED]¡ªand a side panel full of icons. There was also a post pinned to the main page as well, titled ¡®Beginner Guide for New Users, v.3¡¯, which seems promising. Once she clicks on the post it leads her to the full post, which is long and comprehensive. Scrolling down the table of contents, she finally finds what she was looking for. It was the link for an explanation for the ¡®profile¡¯ screen. Reading through it, a lightbulb went off in her mind. Basically, Aster¡¯s base stats¡ªlike HP and so on¡ª are according to her rank, which is also affected by her attributes. Her base stats will increase to the next rank each time she gains the required EXP or experience points to level up. Her attributes on the other hand are each rank differently depending on the amount of AP or attribute points allocated. The max points an attribute can have is 100. There are also seven ranks according to the guide, the highest being S and the lowest being F. Which didn¡¯t align with what she observed because where was rank EX? Was this rank not yet discovered? Anyways, based on the rank of your attributes, a certain amount of points are then added to your base stats. That still doesn¡¯t explain the redacted number and rank after ¡®Luck¡¯. Was that bad or good, she had no idea. Still, she has questions left to be answer, but first, she needs to clean her kitchen and the charred corpse. Logging off from the system, she turns her attention to the mess before her and sighs, pulling up her sleeves. Time to get to work. Aster then spent the next few hours cleaning her kitchen, scrubbing the ash and blood off her floors, the counters, the walls, and even the ceiling¡ªto the best of her abilities. She sweeps the dust and debris rhythmically, mind settling into a calm trance. Next, she hovers around the charred corpse, unsure on how to continue, but eventually grabs a black trash bag from her kitchen drawers and shoves the corpse into it. As for the axe, she tentatively grabs for it and the belt that was slightly charred, but still in good condition, before looping it around her waist. Securing it in place and tying off the bag in a neat little bow, Aster then proceeds to drag the heavy corpse to her front door. Unlocking the door and pushing it open, she was greeted with a heavy onslaught of rain. Seems like the rain is still not letting up still. Grunting, she steps outside of her place for the first time and frowns at the eeriness of the apartment building she was in. While it wasn¡¯t unusual for people to be inside during stormy weather, it was the fact that she could tell that nobody lives here except her. It was isolated and as quiet as it got, but she was thankful for not having to deal with occupants sending her noise complaints and what-not. Wanting to quickly dispose of the corpse, Aster practically skips down the steps¡ªthe corpse hitting each one on the way down¡ªand when she sees a dumpster, she couldn¡¯t help laughing in relief. Fingers scramble to open the lid, slippery from rain, and with one final shove, the corpse disappears from view. She takes a breather, cold air billowing around her and closes her eyes, soaking in the rain. It felt like being cleansed of all things evil and dirty. Like she was pure and good once more. Aster opens her eyes, the silver fracturing and glowing as she pulls out the red stone from her wet shorts. She inspected it once more before tucking the stone back into her pocket. As she walks back to her place, an idea starts to form in her mind. It was a risky gamble to let that idea fester, but really, what choice did she have? If she stays here, no doubt, other members related to the corpse would come snooping around and do something to her or worse. And as she promised to the real Aster previously, she would enter Steren Academy. If she makes it as a student, she¡¯ll be safe from immediate danger, so it was worth it. Swiftly, Aster enters her place and walks back into her room. Grabbing a duffle bag, she starts grabbing everything important and useful, like her phone, her documents, cash, and anything that made sense to take with her. She pokes around the room and eventually finds a heavy briefcase under her bed. Pulling it and clicking it open, she widens her eyes as her heart beats a little faster in surprise. In the briefcase was a pair of silver gauntlets whose luster was worn from continuous use and it was also stained with dried blood, both black and red. A lotus was also engraved on the back of the gauntlet. She carefully pulls it out of the box and puts them on with a sense of familiarity. Clenching her fists, she stands up and sling her duffle bag over her shoulders. Walking out of the front door, she heads towards her first destination, the black market.