《Oblivion》 Chapter 1. Oblivion Chapter 1. Oblivion Darkness enshrouded me, I couldn''t sense anything, I felt like nothing. The darkness was more than the absence of light, it was like...the absence of anything and everything. The darkness suffocated all my senses, my thoughts were the only thing grounding me. I couldn''t remember how long I had been in this state, or if I always had been? My mind felt on the brink of breaking when I was suddenly standing. The transition somehow didn''t feel abrupt and It almost felt like waking up from a dream, the experience surreal and quickly leaving my memory. A monotone and almost robotic voice rang out and startled me. "You have been deleted off the face of the earth." My heart raced and adrenaline pumped through me at the sudden invasion of noise. I caught my breath and faced the source of the voice. The entity wore a suit but that was the extent of anything "normal" about the thing. Its face, it was morphing and changing constantly, the mere sight hurt to look at. It had continued talking but the words didn''t register. "Wh-What are you? Where am I? Am I...dead?" I asked the creature, entity, I don''t know. My confusion, however, only grew as the entity suddenly stopped and seemed to stare at me. A chill ran down my spine and it started over. "You have been deleted off the face of the earth. All mentions of your existence have been erased. You have exited your plane of reality and entered Oblivion. You may ask any questions you have now." "So, I''m dead?" "You have been deleted off the face of the earth." "Right, how helpful..." I looked around for a moment at the landscape. The sky was grey, dead trees and rocks were littering the space, and the whole place gave me this constant feeling of Deja Vu that I couldn''t quite grasp. "...so where exactly are we?" "Oblivian." "Ah right, of course, Oblivian. and what say is Oblivion." "All that is and isn''t, that is not anymore. All that was and wasn''t, that is not anymore. All that will ever and won''t ever, that is not anymore. All that is not anymore." "Okay, that helps?" I roll my eyes and sigh. "Alright, so who are you then? "Oblivian." "Uhhh, right, alright, okay, alright, sure, right, uhuh, okay," I responded, starting to go a bit insane. "What now then?" As if initiating the next dialogue sequence, Oblivion spoke. "You shall receive a Title." "A title huh-" Getting cut off a screen appeared in front of me, but it felt like it was also inside my mind at the same time. In a box in the top left corner of the screen, letters and symbols started flashing down like a slot machine. It slowly started forming a name as the letter S seemed to be selected. After S was an H, then A, Then D, Then an O, and a W. When all was said and done, it spelled out Shadow. For the first time, Oblivian seemed to show something akin to emotion as it spoke. "Shadow.." "Is that...good?" I ask, confused as ever. "You have gained, Title: Shadow. You will now be referred to as, Shadow." "Initiation commencing in 336 hours. Time remaining until initiation is complete: 335 hours 59 minutes, and 55 seconds." "Initiation? Initiation into what? Aren''t I already here, wherever here is, doing whatever it is one does here?" "Current Main Quest: Initiation. Main Quest Information: Survive until Initiation. Main Quest Status: In progress. Time remaining until Initiation: 335 hours, 59 minutes, and 33 seconds. Quest Reward: Initiation." As soon as Oblivion finished speaking the "Main Quest" information appeared on the screen in the top right corner. The text was a bit bigger than the "Title" but similarly bolded. "Main Quest? What is this, a game? Also, what do you mean survive? Survive what? Aren''t I like dead, or non-existing or whatever, so what does survive even mean? I don''t know why I''m even asking." I rambled, rattling off questions but ultimately giving up trying to understand what was even going on. "Quest: Unlock System. Quest Information: Gather 5 Oblivion Cores. Quest Status: 0/5 Oblivion Cores Gathered. Quest Reward: Unlock System." Once again, after Oblivion spoke the Quest appeared to the right but below the Main Quest, and it was a bit smaller and not bolded. However, something else appeared on the screen. Below and beside my Title was now a whole assortment of fun words and information. Directly below my Title was "Level ?" and under that were two rows of stats. It read, "Strength: ?, Vitality: ?, Endurance: ?, Will: ?, Soul: ?, ???. Strength, Vitality, and Endurance were in a row with Will, Soul, and ??? being in another row below it. Beside my Title were Health, and Mana, both having a question mark next to them and then two ??? all in a column. "Unlock system and Oblivion Cores huh? Alright, sure, what the heck. How do I get these mysterious Oblivion Cores then?" I asked pacing around and looking over the the screen that persisted in front of me. "Oblivion Cores are concentrated cores of Oblivion. They can be found within Oblivion." "That basically told me nothing, and really only gave me the blessing of more questions and less clarity. Has anyone ever told you that you''re a bit vague, and not very helpful at all? I''m sure that sentiment would ring true if anyone else has had the privilege of being in the situation I''m in. Which is actually an interesting thought, am I unique in whatever the Oblivion is going on? Woah, did you just censor me? With the word Oblivion? That''s so not okay, you can''t just take away my free speech like that! Anyways...so if these Oblivion Cores are made of Oblivion does that mean that Oblivion is you, and this place and like a substance or energy or whatever?"A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. "Oblivan Cores are concentrated cores of Oblivion. They can be found within Obivlion." "Okay, sorry for asking, my bad honestly." Staring at the screen I mulled over everything that had happened up until this point. Everything seemed to make less and less sense the more I knew, and the longer I sat in thought the higher the chance I would probably have a mental breakdown. I decided searching around a bit would take my mind off of the utter insanity that was my new life. What better motivation was there? As I started walking I turned my head slightly to notice Oblivion slowly following along after me. But instead of like walking, or something normal, it just glided along the ground staying a consistent distance behind me. I tested this by picking up my speed and slowing down and it followed suit, matching my pace. At one point I abruptly stopped and sprang backward at it attempting to catch it off guard. It did not work. Making my way to a withering tree I stopped short of it and hid behind a rock. I noticed some movement and it honestly started me, it looked like some sort of wolf, but no wolf I''d ever seen. As if reading my mind Oblivion interjected with some mildly insightful information. "You have discovered, Oblivion Wolf. Oblivion Wolves are ferocious creatures that usually hunt in packs. Oblivion Wolves are hostile when in groups, less so on their own." "An Oblivion Wolf huh, looks absolutely terrifying." From what I could see from behind the rock the wolf was almost twice as big as an ordinary wolf and covered in flesh. That''s right, flesh, it had no fur and seemingly no skin, and on top of all that looked like it had eyes, mouths, and random appendages covering it. The Oblivion Wolf was an abomination and I think I would enjoy continuing without ever looking at it again. "That thing has an Oblivion core inside of it, doesn''t it..." I sighed exasperatingly My eternal guide didn''t say anything but I felt as if I got a mental nod from the entity, which was disturbing, to say the least. There''s no way I could kill that thing, maybe there was something less violent and disgusting I could kill instead? Looking off to the horizon I could barely make out what looked like a moving figure. I squinted around and noticed a lot more movement than I had first realized, far off in the distance but still. Those couldn''t be creatures, right? "You have discovered, Oblivion Eldritch Giant. Oblivion Eldrich Giants are ancient creatures that roam Oblivion. Oblivion Eldritch Giants are usually passive and are the size of mountains." "Of course." Learning they were passive was a plus but if they were truly as massive as mountains they could easily crush anything below them. I was surprised I could even see them with the weird fog hanging in the air, but I was beyond questioning this place seriously. Eyeing the Oblivion Wolf I wondered if I could maybe grab a stick or a rock and sneak up on the creature? I looked at the ground, which wasn''t really ground, it was hard to explain. Touching it, the ground was cold and tingly to the touch, and the longer I looked at it the more and more nervous I felt. Most things in this place made you feel weird if you looked at it for too long, bad vibes for sure. Anyway, surveying the ground I noticed a random stick that seemed pointy enough to potentially be a weapon. Good stick. I held it up and swung it around testing it out, the stick itself didn''t look all that bad but I half expected the thing to snap in half from me just holding it. "Calculating compatibility percentage...87% compatible. Decaying Stick of Nitherith has been successfully bound to you." The stick glowed a soft white for a second and heat pooled in my chest, it felt unusually good and my grip on the stick felt natural, right. "Stick of Nitherith? Is that like some sort of ancient tree in this place? "Nitherith was once a formidable tree that held many mysteries; its bark was so durable that not even an Oblivion Eldritch Giant could leave a mark." "Alright, nice, but I am suspicious that I found this lying next to me right as I am about to fight an Oblivion Wolf. And the fact that the information about this stick, and the tree it came from, came with context I just learned about from the Oblivion Giant. But I won''t look a gift horse in the mouth, this is fine by me." I reached out my other hand and felt the wood of the stick, appreciating the simple texture before stepping out from behind the rock. I slowly, and stealthily, made my way behind the tree to set up a sneak attack and ambush the wolf. The Oblivion Wolf seemed to be lying down and taking a nap which did not look cute in the slightest. Deciding it was now or never I shot out from behind the tree and slammed the stick onto the disgusting creature''s head. The stick sunk through like butter and the Oblivion Wolf whimpered in pain and then growled. The monster moved, my stick still lodged in its head, and clamped its viciously sharp fangs into my arm. I grunted in pain but quickly removed the stick and stabbed it into its jaw to get it to release my arm. Thankfully, the move worked as it released me, and stammered back, acting disoriented. "I guess I''m not going to question how the thing is still alive after I stabbed it in the head." I muttered aloud, more to calm myself down than anything. Backing off a bit I held my arm and winced in pain. "Mother-Oblivion." Seeing the creature up close and personal I knew this thing would be a mainstay in my nightmares. The Oblivion Wolf indeed had random eyes and mouths all over its body, but not only that there were in fact tufts of fur in its body, protruding out from the flesh like it had been stuffed into it. Not only this, of course, but it also had lumpy growths and teeth in its fleshy body as well. If I hadn''t already been on the brink of puking at the sight of it, the smell emanating from it was horrid. It smelled of rancid meat soaked in sulfur that had been sitting in a hot car for far too long. The smell was there as I was sneaking up on it, but with my attack and it''s retaliation, the smell felt like it was inside my nostrils. I hunched over and puked up bile, heaving and coughing as it ejected from me and stung my throat. The wolf was still staggering about, pawing at its head, which was slowly healing from what I could tell. When I had stabbed into it no blood had poured out of the monster as I might have expected, and it more felt like I just made an indentation into it instead of doing any lasting damage. It seemed affected by the attack regardless so I wiped the bile from my lips and got ready to stab it again. This time I avoided the retaliatory bite and stabbed into the side of its head. I made sure to pay more attention to the feeling of the stick sinking into its head and it felt like it was sliding in between the flesh and just wedging inside. it was stunned nonetheless so I assumed it was jumbling its brain, If the brain was actually there and important that is. Also, if stabbing at it didn''t work...maybe removing its head would. I quickly took advantage of its stunned state and brought the stick down onto its neck, I half expected the stick to break but it made its way halfway through before stopping. I watched as the indent into the wolf''s neck started reverting to its original state so I brought the stick down repeatedly. The action became harder and harder as the flesh compressed but after a few more strikes the head of the wolf was barely hanging on. It dangled limply and with one final concise strike, the Oblivion Wolf''s head was separated from the rest of its body. It had begun struggling more and more but the struggling was relatively harmless as it thrashed around wildly. If I thought the smell before was vile, the new smell that attacked my senses was repugnantly repulsive to put it very mildly. The Oblivion Wolf was in the middle of melting and evaporating off into nothingness. I stumbled away from the scene, tears streaming down my face, the stench making me gag all the while. It was only until there was nothing left of the wolf when Oblivion spoke. "You have defeated an Oblivion Wolf. Reward: Oblivon Core, 1." "Great, the Oblivion core, I almost forgot.." After a minute or so I made my way back over to where I had slain the Oblivion Wolf, where a strange sight befell my eyes. There was a 15-centimeter orb that, to try and describe, looked like I was looking into the complete absence of anything. At the sight, I was suddenly reminded of the darkness. The empty formless infinite nothingness. I had to look away as I felt like I was being dragged back to it. Heaving my breath I placed a hand on my chest and turned away, gathering myself. I slowly reached out toward it, and as my fingers made contact with it the core was gone. I looked forward once more and noticed it was gone. "Absorption of Oblivion Core 15%...27%...46%..58%...72%...88%...91%...99%...100%. Absorption of Oblivion Core complete." Current Main Quest: Initiation. Main Quest Information: Survive until Initiation. Main Quest Status: In progress. Time remaining until Initiation: 335 hours, 49 minutes, and 27 seconds. Chapter 2. Tempering Will Chapter 2. Tempering Will Right as Oblivion started speaking in its monotone tone a searing pain radiated from my chest. I fell to the ground and writhed in the pain, noise not even being able to escape my throat. I didn''t remember much from my previous life but I knew this pain was far beyond anything I had ever experienced before. It felt like hours as Oblivion rattled out percentages until it finally said 100%. When it did, the pain abruptly stopped and I sobbed in delight. I gripped my shirt and pressed my fist into my chest, it was all I could do to try and regain my breath. Gritting my teeth I groaned and spat out with righteous indignation. "You failed to mention about the excruciating pain, and that the core would fuse into me?!" "Quest: Unlock System. Quest Information: Gather 5 Oblivion Cores. Quest Status: 1/5 Oblivion Cores Gathered. Quest Reward: Unlocks System." I screamed and laughed as insanity crept into my mind. "I''m in Hell, there''s simply no other explanation, hahaha!" "You have exited your plane of reality and entered Oblivion." Rolling my eyes I picked up my stick of Nitherith or whatever and assessed it, it was in perfect condition. Good stick. I sighed, held the stick tightly, and resigned to myself that I would not let this place get to me. For whatever reason, even after being through what I just had, my conviction only grew stronger. I may have been outwardly upset and exhausted but deep down a part of me wouldn''t let this place best me so easily. Well, I was mentally exhausted to be specific. After absorbing the Oblivion Core I felt in better condition than I did before so I was just tired of the insanity going on around me. It was definitely overwhelming and the moment I started to become accustomed to this bizarro world I may as well be too far gone. I noticed that the screen had disappeared, so with a thought, it reappeared, and I looked over everything it displayed. It reminded me of games and stories, but if I tried to think about specific memories, there was just a fog. All I had were vague concepts and ideas of knowledge, it gave me a deep sense of imposter syndrome. It was like my previous life was just a dream and everything that made up me, was gone. I was unsettled by this the more the feeling cropped up. Placing my hands on my face I rubbed it, sighed, and decided to stop procrastinating the inevitable. This place put a challenge before me and I''d be damned if I didn''t complete it. I didn''t have anything else to do so why not put everything I had into surviving this place and not letting it get the better of me? From now on I''ll face every weird and horrific situation head-on, and try to ask Oblivion better questions to get more out of the thing. I "Hey Oblivion, what''s your favorite food?" "Oblivion does not possess a ''favorite food''" Oblivion responded, my voice coming out of the thing when referring to "favorite food". "Creepy...alright, how about this, how long have you been around, and before you tell me you aren''t alive or don''t exist we are both standing here talking." "Calculating...Calculating..." Oblivion started, his face displaying numbers all over it. "Iteration 53,432,578: 3,467,234,987 Aeons, 798,658,230 years, 6 months, 1 week, 4 days, 15 hours, 20 minutes, and 45 seconds since the start of this Iteration of Oblivion." "Woah..ok, ok, what is an Iteration?" I asked as I continued walking and scouting for potential threats or prey." "An Iteration is the repetition of a process or occurrence." "Right." I thought of how to phrase what I wanted to know but just decided to not put all that much thought into it "So, you said Iteration 53 million something, what did you mean by that?" "The current Iteration of reality is 53,432,578." "Wait, so there have been 53,432,577 previous versions of reality?" "That is correct." "Hold on, does that mean that everything that has happened has happened millions of times before, like a loop?" "Until this Iteration, withstanding minor details, that is correct."Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. "Until this Iteration...does that mean this Iteration is different somehow?" "That is correct" "Wait, so...have I been here before, in other Iterations?" "You have not entered Oblivion before this Iteration." "Well this conversation had been very insightful and given me much to think about, but I''m going to go kill whatever that is now." "You have discovered, Oblivion Jackrabbit. Oblivion Jackrabbits are solitary creatures that have a ferocious bite and kick. Oblivion Jackrabbits hunt smaller creatures and rifts but don''t shy away from fighting off bigger creatures if threatened." Similar to the wolf it was much larger than a normal Jackrabbit, if my vague recollection of Jackrabbits is correct that is. However, unlike the Oblivion Wolf, this Oblivion Jackrabbit seemed normal enough, but I wouldn''t let that fool me. They are probably harder to deal with than Oblivion Wolves, I can see them being very fast and dangerous. Thinking back on the fight with the Oblivion Wolf, I remembered the painful bite it inflicted on me and instinctually grabbed my arm. I noticed that it was completely fine interestingly, I hadn''t even thought about it as the pain from the core fusing with me completely overpowered the pain in my arm. But it was now fully healed, which must mean the core not only made me a bit stronger but restored me as well. A devious grin flashed over my face at the realization. I think it''s a good time to mention my resolve is still strong and that I''m not suicidal. The rabbit was hopping around and sniffing the ground as if it were searching for something. Not long after a slight pressure washed over me and an ear piercing ringing noise reverberated out. Accompanying this was a swirling disturbance in the air, it was like a heat wave the way it warped the background and surroundings. As soon as this phenomenon started the jackrabbit stopped and stared at it. Then, it''s mouth opened. Did I really have to fight this thing? I''m sure I could find something else...maybe another wolf, or two. I think I would actually rather fight three wolves at the same time than this thing. As I said, its mouth opened...and opened, and opened some more for good measure. It then went up to the swirling disturbance and seemed to lock onto it with Its mouth opened to an impossible degree, a whole 180 degrees. The disturbance reacted as the ear-piercing noise turned into a resounding roar, shaking the area. It felt like time itself shook as I was disoriented. When I came back to the rabbit was done and staring directly at me. Surprised I had been spotted the hair on my body stood, instinctual fear coursing through me. There was no running away now so it was time to put my plan into action. It may have been exceedingly risky but embracing the insanity felt like the only sane thing to do in this place. Now...what I was about to do would normally be seen as foolhardy and the epitome of stupidity, which was accurate. As the creature rushed toward me I reciprocated this gesture by running toward it in kind. This in itself wasn''t that foolish of an idea but the next idea I put into action sure was. Meeting the bunny head on I let the creature grapple onto my arm as it jumped at me. I gritted my teeth in anticipation as the creature opened its mouth wide, wider than seemed possible, and clamped down. Using my stick, I plunged it into the thing''s head but before it died, it left a small present for me. My right arm was completely bitten off! Its ginormous mouth had wrapped all the way around my arm and had tugged it clean off right as I had stabbed it. The stick went through its fur, skin, muscle, and bone then finally into the brain with almost no resistance. Groaning in pain I saw its body melt into a thick sludge that quickly started disputing into smoke. I gagged as the obtrusive smell once again hit my senses with tears also streaming down my face. However this time it wasn''t quite as bad, but more in the way being shot once wasn''t as bad as being shot twice. If there was anything left in my stomach it would have most certainly been emptied from of me. "You have defeated an Oblivion Jackrabbit. Reward: Oblivion Core 1." Not wanting to wait much longer, as I was bleeding out, I quickly went for the core. But before I was able to touch it I heard what sounded like...something moving toward me quickly. Looking behind me I spotted two Oblivion wolves belining it for me. I could quickly absorb the core and heal before they got to me but I would be in too much pain to fight if I did that. Gritting my teeth I was starting to regret my brazen strategy. If I had to guess the strong smell that was emitted from the rabbit as it died must have attracted these unwanted guests. Now that I knew the wolf''s weakness I could easily take advantage of it and deal with one, but two? This could easily get out of hand and I wasn''t looking forward to the battle but it was my only option. I glared at the wolves approaching and stood my ground. They reached me and attacked in tandem, one biting onto my left leg and the other into my right side. There was nothing else I could do but let them attack me and try to prevent any life-threatening attacks like a bite to the head or something. As fast as I could manage, I sunk my stick into their heads one after another. Luckily, I got both of them before they got away. They were still attached to me and had even bit down more so I got to work at separating the first wolf''s head. Slamming the stick into the wolf biting my leg, each attack only sunk its teeth deeper into my flesh and bone. Through the blood loss, excruciating pain, and nauseating smell the wolves gave off, I was feeling myself start to lose consciousness. I worked feverishly putting all my effort and focus into decapitating the first wolf and finally accomplished the monumental task right as the second wolf was starting to come back to. The monster was still somewhat aware through its disoriented state but only enough to keep itself firmly latched to me. I stabbed my stick back into its head a few times making sure it was good and out of it before starting on it next. I had gotten down onto a knee when decapitating the first wolf as it was hanging off me adding extra weight and hurting a good deal. Now that I was onto the second one I would need to get it off me as I had no good angle. I stabbed the stick into its jaw like I did with the first-ever wolf I faced and it thankfully detached from my side. I coughed up blood in pain and fell to the ground but now was not the time to pass out. Making sure to reapply the disorientation on the Oblvion Wolf I stabbed it in the head. Bringing my stick up in one hand and bringing it down, it took all I had to keep up this assault blow after blow. The wolf was starting to get up as its head was almost fully separated from its body so I decided to take an unorthodox approach. Using my foot to keep the wolf on the ground I used my hand to pull the rest of the head off. I plunged my hand into its flesh and gripped its horrifically disgusting insides and pulled. With a wet squelch, its head was finally free from the rest of its body. I heaved heavy breaths and then fell onto the quickly liquidizing corpse of the Oblivion Wolf. Face first in the disintegrating mess of a creature the last thing I heard before the darkness claimed me was the ever-present voice of Oblvion. "You have defeated 2 Oblivion Wolves. Reward: Oblivion core, 2. Current Main Quest: Initiation. Main Quest Information: Survive until Initiation. Main Quest Status: In progress. Time remaining until Initiation: 335 hours, 17 minutes, and 57 seconds. Chapter 3. The System Chapter 3. The System My eyes shot open and adrenaline coursed through me, my body still in a fight or flight mode. It felt as If I had only blinked, but from the lack of pain or exhaustion, I knew that wasn''t quite what had happened. I got up and looked around to see the unusual surroundings and Oblivion. But what I didn''t see were any Oblivion Cores on the ground. In a panic, I quickly checked the quest. Quest: Unlock System. Quest Information: Gather 5 Oblivion Cores. Quest Status: 4/5 Oblivion Cores Gathered. Quest Reward: Unlocks System. Now that I had taken a second to wake up, I did notice a bit of a change. Checking my body there wasn''t a prominent physical change but I could feel it on a deep level. Not only did I feel stronger but it was like a fog had lifted from my brain. This, along with a few other small improvements like my breathing and my senses. With 4 of the 5 Oblivion cores "gathered" all I needed was 1 more Oblivion Core to unlock this so-called "system" which would hopefully make surviving this place a little more manageable. Remembering the main quest and its two-week timer I checked it to see how long I had been out. Current Main Quest: Initiation. Main Quest Information: Survive until Initiation. Main Quest Status: In progress. Time remaining until Initiation: 329 hours, 4 minutes, and 19 seconds. It seems I slept about six hours or so, meaning I''ve lost so much precious time! At this rate, I''ll never achieve the ultimate goal of speedrunning this place! Six hours down the drain, truly unfortunate. Jokes aside, I definitely needed the rest but I''m lucky that nothing had attacked me while I was out. I was worried about how I was going to sleep in this place as there hadn''t been any real cover that I had noticed. I reasoned I would figure it out when the time came but seeing as I passed out I didn''t really have any choice but to lay out in the open. Considering how unusual the whole experience was though I''ll have to try and ask Oblivion about it at some point. I focused on the screen in my mind, which seemed to be everpresent, patiently waiting for me to look at it. It was hard to explain but it was like how your eyes naturally filter out your nose but you could look at it if you cross your eyes. Maybe it was a bad analogy but the screen was always at the back of my mind until I focused on it. When I did, it appeared in front of me as a physical monitor, well maybe not actually physical. Strange new normalcies beside, looking at the screen I quickly noticed a little flashing light In the bottom left corner. As I mentally interacted with it, multiple messages sprawled down in a new menu. The first two were notifications detailing my successful slaying of the first Oblivion Wolf and attaining the Oblivion Core. The next 6 were about my recent exploits, although I wasn''t sure how I absorbed the other two cores. Mentally scrolling down to make sure that was the last of the notifications, two more appeared. They seemed important as they were bolded and accentuated in the menu. -Common Achievement Unlocked: Solo Survivor 1. Prerequisite: Successfully survive an encounter with 2 deadly threats by yourself. Reward: + ? Stregnth&Endurance.- ~Rare Achievement Unlocked: Tis but a Scratch. Prerequisite: Successfully survive a deadly encounter with only 1 health remaining. Reward +% ? Vitality.~ "Alright, so I get achievements for completing certain feats, wait, did that say survive with only 1 health remaining!? Hold on, does that mean I...almost died? I mean, I can''t even see how much health I have, I wasn''t even sure those stats were affecting me yet. I guess they are just invisible until I unlock this system thing?" I mused aloud, concern heavy in my tone. "You are mostly correct." Oblivion interjected. I turned to stare at the entity, my expression nonplussed at his casual tone. "Thanks oh wise one, you are as useful as ever," I replied coldly, and sarcastically. It would take some time to wrap my head around almost dying but hey, at least I got a rare achievement from it. Now, time to gather this last core so I can finally see all these hidden stats and start making some real progress. I would be lying if I said I wasn''t shaken by how close I got to dying potentially a second time? I still wasn''t sure If I had even died to get here, and what would happen if my health hit 0 here. I assume I would cease existing entirely, but it was bold to assume anything about this place. I picked up my stick, which was safely positioned on the ground, and started scouting around. I was hoping I could find something all alone and finish it off concisely without unwanted interruptions this time, but I had to expect the worst. It was clear I shouldn''t have survived my last encounter, and that I only did from dumb luck, so I would need to be a lot more careful from now on. Walking around I made some more casual small talk with my eternal partner, but as expected, most of its replies were silence or dejections. "So, why do you have a suit on?" "This attire was deemed best suited to appear calming and familiar." It said, finally giving me an interesting answer. "Haha, nice pun, but if that was your goal why is your face painful to look at and constantly shifting?" I asked genuinely. "My appearance is solely based on you, any complaints can be directed to the aforementioned individual." "Based on me? Well, I can assure you that all of this." Gesturing at Oblivion''s face. "Is not my preference. If what you speak is true though, I guess I''ll try and manifest a face for you or something." Attempting to imagine a face my mind came up blank, I couldn''t even remember what I looked like. The harder I tried, the more my head hurt at the effort. Perhaps my memory issue was worse than I initially thought. There was no use dreading on it so I put my thoughts to something else. My previous experiments to figure out how Oblivion worked sprang into my head and a new idea came to mind. If I couldn''t get close enough to touch Oblivion maybe throwing something at it would do something interesting. Anytime there was an obstacle and Oblivion was about to come into contact with it, it would simply faze right through. Picking up a rock I threw it up and down in my hand before turning around suddenly and throwing at the entity. Expecting the rock to simply phase through Oblivion I was slightly confused as it was absorbed by it and disappeared. It hadn''t landed on the other side of it, and after a few seconds, I heard a thud to my right. Leaning down I inspected the rock and it was indeed the very same rock I had thrown. Curious, I threw the rock at it once more and looked up to notice a small area in the sky that was warped. It was similar to the heat wave like disturbance the Oblivion Jackrabbit had feasted upon. The disturbance in the sky subsided and the rock once again thudded to the ground. Very interesting indeed, I wasn''t very sure of the implications but it was definitely something. After mindlessly walking and talking for what felt like hours I finally found something interesting. There appeared to be a deer grazing in a field of grass with a forest behind it, the scene felt a bit too normal. Going in a random direction and only seeing dead trees or bland rocks the view of grass and lively trees was a welcome change. The obvious implication of something alive in this place was the potential existence of water. I hadn''t experienced thirst or hunger yet, but it was entirely possible it just took place at a much slower pace. There was also the possibility water and food in general weren''t something I or any other creature needed, better safe than sorry though. "Unknown entity detected, further information needed for detailed analyses." "Oh, I was expecting an Oblivion deer or elk, something along those lines, but nothing..?" I mused aloud questioningly. I hadn''t anticipated Oblivion to not know something, I figured it was an omniscient all-knowing knowledge keeper, the way it was so encyclopedic. I expected the deer creature to have some nightmarish quality as thinking otherwise would be considered unwise I had discovered. But trying to anticipate all the kinds of horror the creature could express was more disconcerting than helpful. Simply staying vigilant and on guard was what I needed to practice in this bizarre world. I thought to myself, taking in a gulp of air to calm myself. Gripping my stick of Nitherith I got low and crouched, the action only slightly straining my body. I could really feel the difference now, not only did my movements feel more natural, but less physically taxing. Adjusting my stance I hid behind one of the trees surrounding the serene field. I eyed the deer quizzically and noted it truly did look like a normal deer, at least from what I could see of its upper body. Its antlers weren''t that developed and it wasn''t all that big but I wasn''t going to make the mistake of underestimating the creature. Waiting for a good moment to strike, the deer finally got close enough to where I felt comfortable attacking it. As soon as it''s head dipped down to take a bite of the grass I leaped into action. I had no real plan in mind but to stab it in the head, that seemed like a good enough plan. Unfortunately, the plan did not go off without incident. Right as I was about to plunge my handy and loyal stick into its soft skin, and hard skull, it dashed away from me. Now on the surface, this would seem like an ordinary thing for a startled creature to do, but oh ho ho no, the deer was unquestionably far from ordinary. Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. The deer, if that was its true nature, was now standing on two legs. It eyed me with a concerning amount of intelligence as it seemed to be assessing me. The thing had moved scarily fast, and a sinking feeling in my gut began to warn me about the evident dangers such a revelation, well, revealed. Without the low intelligence animals normally had, this agile deer monster didn''t bode well for my survival. Speed was a scary threat already, but could be handled if the monster, animal, whatever, just ran straight at you and attacked. However, the way the deer stood its ground and was waiting, it sent chills down my spine. I made sure to keep my eyes on it but I made an understandable mistake, blinking. In the fraction of a second it took for my eyelids to close, and then reopen, it moved. Reacting more on instinct than vision my arm came up to block the creature. This only barely worked as it''s leg crashed into the block. I stumbled back but stood my ground, watching as the deer dashed away, seeming to only be testing my ability. The very fact I was even able to block it''s attack was a surprise to me. It moved at ridiculous speeds and packed quite the kick. A good few hours ago and that kick would have broken my arm and potentially a rib. Not to say the attack didn''t hurt but it could have been a lot worse. At this point I knew I was in over my head though, considering it still seemed to be testing me and not outright trying its hardest to kill me. It''s intelligence was freighting, the way it stood there and watched me, all while still monitoring it''s surroundings. As I stared, I prepared myself as I couldn''t hold my eyes open much longer. It wasn''t like when I blinked it was suddenly upon me, I could still react. The first time it had just taken me by surprise by timing its movement with the very momentarily lapse in my vision. This time, I would be ready. Assuming it would deploy the same strategy, as soon as I blinked I moved. It came in with the same kick but instead of immediately backing off it came in with a second attack. It didn''t come as too much of a surprise but the way it attacked did. With its kick making me stumble back it used this opportunity to thrust it''s horns towards me. This action was slower than the kick, but still fast enough to where I couldn''t comfortably deal with it. That said, I dodged the deers horns by a hairs width and stood guarded with my stick. It once again backed off and continued to appraise me, slowly circling me. After it''s second attempt at attacking me, I felt like it might have had a better chance if it went all out from the beginning. Perhaps that was a flaw in its intelligence, overestimating my abilities. Whatever the case I wouldn''t make the mistake of underestimating it. I slowly backed up, creating as much distance as I could before it''s next assault. Which didn''t take long as it decided to come at me at a dead sprint, not waiting for me to put my guard down. One thing I had noticed is it always seemed to sprint straight forward. It seemed like however it was getting so much speed it''s straight trajectory had something to do with it. So thinking quick and moving quicker I sidestepped so hard I landed on the ground. It sprang past me and scrambled to put itself to a halt. I made my way over to the creature noticing it''s strange behavior. I hoped to capitalize on whatever was going on but the sight of the situation made me halt in place.The creature had one hoof touching the ground of Oblivion just outside of the grassy forester area. The hoof was rapidly pulsating and morphing grotesquely. After being stunned for a moment it pulled it''s hoof back and pulled itself away. I could see the expression on its deer face and it was eery. The emotion I could see on it gave me a sense of dread and uneasiness. There was an instinctual part of myself that knew what I was seeing was very wrong. From the way it moved and acted down to the minor details of its body language and facial expressions. It made me freeze in shock and hesitation for a moment letting it situate itself. Which consisted of it severing it''s own leg brutally and efficiently. The whole scene was just one more in a chain of disconcerting and horrible incidents I had so far seen. If there was any mercy it was that when I had slept, I didn''t remember dreaming. I could only imagine the possible nightmare fuel these past hours could easily induce. Although something told me that this was just the beginning and that whatever I could see next could be worse than my wildest imagination. Although you could never underestimate the limitless potential of the subconscious brain. After the deer started to scurry off it still stuck around close enough to be within the field of grass just before the thicker foliage and forest. I had assumed it would flee entirely but it''s missing limb seemed to be regrowing, and it was still fast with three of its limbs. I had a feeling it wouldn''t be able to do it''s little dash move since it no longer had two hind legs but I had to assume the worst. Just as I had thought this the deer seemed to bulge out ever so slightly, it''s leg also regrowing at a much faster pace. It''s horns started growing and muscles began to form on its previously relatively petite frame. Not to say it wasn''t muscular before, but in terms of deer it was obviously a young buck. Now having a very obvious and defensive weakness I devised a strategy I hoped would work. Peering over to Oblivion, his form moving with me, I realized that the deer had never once looked it''s way. It wasn''t something I had even thought to realize or look out for, but the knowledge was interesting. Focusing my mind on the current situation I locked in on my target, staring into the eyes of what was supposed to be a prey, but was instead a predator. It waited until it''s leg was fully reformed and then charged, it''s speed even more formidable than before. It''s distance from me had almost doubled from it''s earlier charges but it''s speed in this new form was even more imposing, making up for the distance and getting to me even faster than before. It almost seemed to easy, I was on the edge of the field and with a swift movement I could get out of the way and see the deer sail into the apparently deadly Oblivion ground. But as I sidestepped once again, instead of the projected outcome in my mind, the deer stopped on a dime and put all it''s momentum to an attack. I barely put up any guard against the attack and even then it was a half assed attempt as I was in shock at it''s quick stop. The full force of its attack hit me in the side and this time I felt the snapping of bone in not only my arm but other parts of my body. I assumed it cracked my ribs but I couldn''t be entirely sure. The one thing I knew for certain is that it hurt, bad. For better, or worse, instead of retreating to come at me again, it lunged at me with another attack. It seemed to opt for kicks instead of using it''s horns or front legs to attack. Taking this into consideration I dropped as fast as I could and narrowly avoided the blow. Immediately, I sweeper out to knock the deer down, hoping the force was enough. As it''s momentum carried it''s body and my kick hit it''s one leg planted to the ground, it''s whole body fell with a crash. It''s balance was completely off and with it''s miss it was already slightly off balance as it was. I could feel my body keeping up better than before by a not insignificant amount as I plunged my stick down towards it''s head. It, of course, dodged the attack but I quickly grappled it, using my improved strength to tussle it effectively. This wasn''t going exactly to plan but one always needed to improvise and adapt when dealing with Oblivion and it''s challenges, as anyone should know. I held strong to the creature as we tumbled about, I could feel the strength of the creature was substantial and more than my own but I kept strong. My aim was to obviously get it onto the Oblivion ground to hopefully take it out but it was putting up quite the struggle despite my best efforts. It thrashed and kicked at me but adrenaline pushed me to keep at it and push myself to defeat this creature. I had lost hold of my stick in the skirmish but found it once again in my hand as I thought of it, something I didn''t have time to think about. I hit the creature with the stick of nitherith and it''s the area around the where the stick made contact throbbed and visibly pulsed. The stick seemed to have the same effect on the creature as when it touching the ground, something else I didn''t have much time to think about other than it''s use in the moment. It''s struggling only grew but it was now erratic, making it easier to grapple the deer. I continued to roll with it, getting closer and closer to the toxic ground. I made sure the stick made as much contact with it as possible to take advantage of that weakness. I was not going to pull any punches with this creature, even if the methods I used to defeat it were cheap. In this place I did not feel bad about fighting dirty. The closer to the ground we got, the more it tried to get loose from our tussle. I needed to do something drastic or else it would definitely get away. I was starting to feel very worn down at this point but the opportunity to win was so close. Deciding it was now or never, I forced the deer to roll with me and used all my strength to throw it''s mass. The deer flew 5 meters or so to the ground and landed fully on the strange surface of the wastelands of Oblivion. It immediately tried to get up and get away but all of its limbs were pulsating, a long with most of its body. It screeched out with a horrific and torturous scream. The noise was almost defending but it was nothing in comparison to what the deer must have been feeling. It''s entire body was bulging out and making terrible noises, like something was trying to make it''s way out from under its skin. Almost right as that thought entered my mind its flesh began to burst. Grotesque fleshy appadages starting bursting out from all over its body, writhing around and tearing at the deers flesh. Blood gushed out from the various wounds and from the flesh appadages, the cries of the deer fading out as it slumped to the ground. Not long after, the deer exploded, sending pieces of it flying as the fleshy monstrosity birthed from it. It stopped flailing and just sat on the ground pulsing and growing. "You have defeated a Weredeer. Reward: information." "You have discovered, Oblivion Flesh Abomination. Oblivion Flesh Abominations are solitary creatures born from untainted. They are exceedingly rare and deadly, absorbing and feasting upon living flesh." Just as I had begun to grasp and process the words uttered from Oblivion the "Oblivion Flesh Abomination" shot one of its long tentacle like appendage towards me. The speed at which this occured putting the deer to shame. Not even being able to begin to understand the creature or react the tentacle of flesh reached me and trapped around me. Where I expected to feel pain or potentially instant death I was instead met with a rancid smell. The dark red bloody tentacle started melting and evaporating into a mist. It was exactly what had happened to the Oblivion Wolves and Jackrabbit. The liquidy flesh fell to the ground and hit the grass, Immediately killing it and the surrounding grass. It pulled back it''s appendage and made a ear splitting noise that sounded like it was emanating from inside my own skull. The speed of its attack may have been horrifying but the speed of the creature itself was that of a snail. It was hard to tell if it was trying to escape with urgency or if this was it''s default speed but it was indeed getting farther away from me. I stood up and tried to keep the creature within my periphery, as it''s mere visage of it was exceedingly painful. It sent a deep sense of dread to my core and a gave me a splitting headache. It gave the sense that I wasn''t supposed to look at this creature, a common feeling in this place. However with this Oblivion Flesh Abomination the feeling was overwhelming. I was hesitant to mess with this creature and gave heavy consideration into just leaving it alone and being happy I was still alive. On the other hand though, if this thing was damaged just from making contact with me I could easily kill it. Assuming that wasn''t some effect of the environment or some other anomaly. I slowly creeped up to it, its flesh actively morphing away from me. I brought my palm to the creatures body and pressed it against it. Bracing myself for the unexpected it once again started melting and turning into a mist, this time at a rapid pace. The smell was still abhorrent but even less so than the previous two times. The thought I may have been gaining a resistance to the smell both excited and concerned me. Deciding using my thoughts as an escape from the present moment was just distracting me, I refocused and cast my inner thoughts aside. Stepping even closer so that my body was almost touching it, I reached my arms forward and forced them inside the creature. I looked away and bit my lip, making it bleed. As it melted and evaporated I continued to walk forward, my arms outstretched and eyes closed. The smell began to be too much and I gagged but kept at it. Slowly, the creature that was once the size of a large boulder was now a small feeble mass of flesh. It held onto an object inside of it which was visible through the thin flesh. Grabbing the last of it in both my hands, it disintegrated and I was now holding a massive Oblivion core. "You have defeated an Oblivion Flesh Abomination." Reward: Oblivion core, 1."As I held the core in my hands it floated up and slammed into my chest, throwing me onto the ground. "Absorption of Oblivion core 28%...67%...95%...99%...100%. Absorption of Oblivion Core complete." The pain was brief but extreme, leaving me breathless and sweaty. " "Quest: Unlock System, is complete Quest Information: Gather 5 Oblivion Cores. Quest Status: 5/5 Oblivion Cores Gathered. Quest Reward: Unlock System, granted." As Oblivion completed it''s rambling, I looked at the screen and noticed the quest get greyed out and marked. The moment it did an intense pain grew in my chest. At first it was a slight discomfort, like gas pain, but the pain quickly got much worse. It felt as if something was forming in my sternum and pressing up against my heart and lungs. I fell to the ground seething, my hand on my chest. My vision started to go as the intense pain gripped my entire body. I faded into darkness once more, Oblivions voice ringing out. At this point this exact situation was becoming a bit too frequent. "Initiating system integration."