CHAPTER 2: THE FADE SYSTEM
1757 Words
A c***k opened in the air tearing through the very fabric of reality. It slowly widened, revealing a deep black Fade.
What emerged from the blackness was A man in his early twenties. He wore ragged pants and a worn black robe that hung loosely on his body.
A glowing purple text box appeared in front of him.
[Congratulations, You Have Unlocked A New Power - Prana]
Prana is a rare power only obtainable through reaching a certain level of understanding and enlightenment towards a particular concept granting the user the abilities to shape and manifest said concepts.
[Through Enlightenment, Your Prana has Manifested The Fade System.]
'What’s this?' the man tilted his head and read the message.
[STATUS]
Name: Klaus
Race: Unknown
Age: Unknown
[TITLES]
Returner of the Fade: You are one of the few who escaped the Fade.You did it through your deep understanding of the laws and conceptsof the universe.
[POWERS]
[Prana]
Type: Conceptual.
Mastery: Level 1.
Concepts: The Fade System - You can summon and manipulate theFade.
[Ether]
Type: Energy.
Mastery: Level 1.
Forms: Chi (Internal Ether).
[SKILLS]
[PASSIVE]
[Fade Eyes]
Mastery: Level 1.
Base: Prana.
Info: The Fade is nothingness. As such, nothing can escape the eyes of the Fade which could pierce every layer of conceptually to reveal the truth. You can see the flow of Ether and other forms of energy. You can see spirits, ghosts and other spectral beings. You can view the status of others revealing their strengths and weaknesses. The amount of information shown is limited to the level of mastery.
[Blackness]
Type: Passive
Mastery: Level 1
Base: Prana
Info: You can create rifts that lead into the Fade. You can also store items inside the Fade like a personal inventory. These rifts are invisible to most beings and can only be sensed by creatures attuned to the Fade. The deeper your connection, the more stable and larger the rifts become.
---
[ACTIVE SKILLS]
[Fade Walking]
Mastery: Level 1
Base: Prana
Info: You can step through rifts created by Blackness to travel across great distances instantly. Requires Ether to open and maintain a stable path. Overuse may lead to temporary disorientation or loss of direction if your mind isn’t properly anchored.
[Fade Ritual]
Mastery: Level 1
Base: Prana
Info: You can devour a target completely using Blackness. Their essence becomes bound to your will and is reshaped into an Fade Soldier—an undead shade that obeys your commands. The more powerful the soul, the more Ether consumed.
[Black Drain]
Mastery: Level 1
Base: Prana
Info: Absorb energy-based attacks directly into the Fade, nullifying them entirely. Each absorption increases the tension within your core. Too many absorptions without release may cause internal backlash.
[Black Retribution]
Mastery: Level 1
Base: Prana
Info: You can unleash the stored attacks absorbed through "Black Drain" and infuse them with the Fade. These counterattacks are darker, heavier, and often more destructive than the originals. Can only be used after a successful "Black Drain."
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[Warning: You Have Entered A State Of Confusion!]
Klaus staggered, his legs shaking under him. The sudden rush of information and sensation overwhelmed him. It was like being reborn inside a storm.
His vision blurred. His heart raced.
‘Is it because I spent so long in the Fade?’
The world tilted violently. He felt like the ground was moving even though he knew it wasn’t. He collapsed to one knee and dry-heaved.
But even as pain rolled through him, he smiled.
‘So this is what it feels like… to be alive?’
He had spent an eternity wondering whether he was alive, dead, or something in between. The Fade had no answers. It never gave anything. It only took.
Time. Emotion. Identity.
But now, he felt the sun. The wind. The scent of earth and water.
He pulled himself up. Slowly. Each step felt new. Like walking for the first time. The trees swayed. The sky stretched endlessly above. A bird flew past.
"Beautiful..."
He spoke without thinking. Then froze.
‘I don’t even know what my voice sounds like.’
He cleared his throat and tried again.
“More...”
His voice was deep, calm, and quiet. It rumbled through his chest like a distant thunder.
Everything around him pulsed with life. The colors were too vivid. The sounds too sharp. But he didn’t want to look away.
He followed a trail until he reached a clear lake nestled between hills. The surface shimmered like liquid glass. He knelt beside it and scooped up the water.
It felt cool. Refreshing.
He drank.
“It’s sweet…”
He saw his reflection—violet eyes, slim face, ashen hair falling past his shoulders.
“I look human,” he whispered. “But I know I’m not.”
His Status Screen still listed him as [Unknown].
“No human could survive the Fade. There was no food… no air… no light. And yet… I did.”
He let out a quiet laugh and ran a hand through his damp hair.
“I didn’t even feel anger… or sadness down there. I just existed.”
But now? Now he felt. And it was overwhelming.
Frustration twisted his face.
“Not knowing what I am… even after all that time… it makes me angry.”
Maybe, if he knew what he was, the rest would come back. Maybe the name ‘Klaus’ was only part of the puzzle.
“I don’t even remember feeling anything in the Fade,” he muttered. “No life. No time. No gravity. Not even emotions.”
His fists trembled as he stared into the lake.
“How did I survive a place like that?”
He exhaled slowly.
“It doesn’t matter.”
He had asked himself a thousand questions. And he had received no answers.
“I’ll take it one step at a time.”
He was free now. That was enough.
“First, I need to look fo—”
Something snapped in his mind.
He froze.
A sharp, cold sensation washed over him.
“What is this…?”
The words left his lips in a low whisper, barely louder than the wind curling through the trees. Klaus took a cautious step back from the lake’s edge, his eyes narrowing as he stared into the still water. There was something wrong. The surface, once glassy and silent, had begun to tremble. Not with wind. Not with rain. But with something far more ancient. Far more alive. Beneath the surface, something stirred—massive, slow, and deliberate. It wasn’t the kind of ripple caused by a fish or drifting debris. It was the kind of shift that made the air tighten. That made the world hold its breath.
“Something’s there,” he muttered, his voice firmer now. “And it’s waking up.”
Then, without warning—
SWOOSH!
The lake exploded.
A massive pillar of water shot skyward, crashing through the calm like a cannon blast from the earth itself. Klaus instinctively raised an arm to shield his face as icy droplets rained down in a relentless shower. They struck like needles, sharp and cold, slicing through the momentary silence with violent precision. The roar of the water filled his ears as steam curled around the rising spray.
And then—he saw it.
From the very heart of the lake, a monstrous form began to rise. Slow at first, but unstoppable, like the sea itself had grown a spine and decided to stand. Water rolled off its gleaming body in sheets. A beast larger than anything he had ever seen, serpentine in form and ancient in presence, uncoiled itself from the depths. Its body twisted and turned, slipping in and out of the lake like a serpent made from the ocean. Its sapphire-blue scales caught the sunlight, refracting it like blades of stained glass. Each movement sent waves crashing against the shore. Its head alone could have swallowed a wagon whole.
RAWWWR!
The creature unleashed a deafening roar that split the skies in half. The ground trembled beneath Klaus’ feet. Trees quivered as if bowing to the force of its presence. Birds fled in wild patterns, their cries swallowed by the thunderous growl. Foam dripped from the beast’s jagged fangs. Its crimson eyes locked onto Klaus—not with curiosity or confusion, but with hunger. Ancient. Primal. Certain.
Klaus didn’t flinch.
He didn’t move.
He didn’t even blink.
Instead, his breath slowed. His muscles relaxed. His thoughts sharpened.
“Fade Eyes,” he said calmly.
His irises began to darken, a black sheen spreading outward until his eyes turned completely obsidian. The change came not with pain but with clarity. The moment his gaze shifted, so did the world. The forest, the lake, even the serpent—it all transformed before him. Color bled away, replaced by outlines of pure energy. The threads of Ether—normally hidden from mortal sight—glowed and twisted around everything. They pulsed in every leaf, every breeze, every ripple in the lake. Power wasn’t just felt now—it was seen.
He turned his attention to the creature.
There, stretching from its chest deep into the bottomless lake, was a thick line of violet aura. It coiled downward like an anchor, connecting it to something far older than the beast itself. A core. A memory. A curse.
And then, glowing words hovered before him. Not written in ink, not carved in stone—etched in magic, alive in the air.
[Mystical Sea Serpent of the Lake]
A spawn of the Great Leviathan. One of the Mystical Keepers of the world of Varethos. It can unleash breaths of condensed Mana to reduce its enemies to dust.
Klaus lowered his hand slowly, studying the beast’s movements as it hissed and reared back, readying itself. He didn’t panic. He didn’t reach for a blade or call for aid. Instead, he spoke quietly, almost to himself.
“A Sea Serpent…”
He let the words settle. Then he lifted his arm once more—higher this time, palm open to the air behind him. The space responded immediately.
The air began to twist and shudder. A low hum trembled across the clearing as shadows bent unnaturally. The very fabric of reality rippled like water disturbed by a single drop. Dark energy pooled behind him in coiling patterns, familiar and cold.
His voice came low and steady.
“Let’s see if the Fade is still hungry.”
And the Fade stirred.
- Writer
