V1.C4 The deal with Entity
Leo opened his eyes after rewatching his entire life, a silver haired woman greeted him. Her face covered in a mask, it had a circular blood-red marble fixed where her forehead should be.
"Who... are you?"
He couldn't speak correctly with a dry throat. He coughed hard and tried to whisper some words.
"I am the Entity who governs over Souls," she said, her voice cold and apathetic.
"Was it... You?"
His face morphed into a crazy expression. Pitch-black aura flowed from him, even his eyes sclera turned black.
He rushed at her but something stopped him, he saw pure white chains binding both his hands.
Something cold pressed on his cheeks. "Calm down, Child."
Her voice still sounded so unemotional, yet it brought him enough comfort to calm him down.
"I did all this to make your soul stronger," she said. "Your soul couldn't get through the cycle of reincarnation because of high karma. It might have dissipated if I didn't do this."
He lowered his head. "I have high karma, I never did anything good..."
She thought for a moment. "You saved many people from Robert's Organization, but most importantly, you burned the 'Grimoire of Death', a cursed evil artifact."
"The book.. was 'Grimoire of Death'?"
"Yes, giving control over 'Laws of death', it takes away rationality. You did good not opening it, or you would have gone berserk and ended everything."
Her words made him shudder in fear.
"The book was that powerful? How come my parents had it with them?"
She shook her head. "I can't answer that question."
"Why?"
"I can't answer that question as well."
He gritted his teeth. "Then tell me why Robert knew about that book?"
"The Grimoire has a consciousness, which tends to attract people with high negative karma and corrupt their soul."
"What am I gonna do now?" He said, gazing at the ground.
She raised his chin up. "Do you want to pass over or do you want to become stronger?"
He thought for a moment and showed a bloodthirsty smile. "I want to become stronger to slaughter people like you."
"Then, I have a deal for you," she said without hesitation.
Her words were tempting him somehow.
"Nakamura Eri, your childhood friend. She, who mysteriously disappeared with her classmates."
His eyes opened wide in shock. "E-Eri? W-Where is she?"
"She was summoned to another world, to fight a hopeless war against the Demons. She will be killed if you don't do anything."
"Why are you telling me this?"
"I want to give you something," she snapped her fingers and a rainbow-colored Orb appeared floating there. "It can fulfill any desires of yours. I call it 'The Creed'. Blurring the line between Reality and Beliefs, it can give you unimaginable powers."
"What do you get from this?" he asked cautiously.
He was tempted but he would be damned if he had to become a slave of hers.
"You see, this is something I made with my powers. I need a strong soul with high karma to activate it. I need your consent to fuse it with your soul, there is still a price to pay."
Her words sounded too good to be true, he stared at her masked face. "What price?"
She continued, "You won't ever be able to reincarnate if you die. Your soul will be consumed by Void and roam endlessly there feeling nothing."
He was stunned for a moment before his face cracked a fearless smile. "That is a very little price to pay if I can save Eri."
"Great," she brought the Orb near his chest and it vanished inside him.
He felt something connecting with him, giving him a warm feeling.
(Establishing connection with User... Connected... Fusing with User's Soul: 1%... 14%... 50%... 78.... 100%... Fusion Completed)
He heard an artificial voice speaking to him.
"I just heard a voice."
The Entity freed his hands from the chains, unable to react to sudden change, he fell to his knees.
She leaned and brought her face closer. "So it finally connected! What did it say? Tell me quickly!"
He stared at her with a blank face. "It says 'Fusion Completed'."
"Very well, then I will fulfill my part of the deal and send you to Tortus and remember this, you have 4 months to help Eri Nakamura."
She waved her hand and opened a portal. He was picked up and thrown inside.
After sending Leo, the Entity turned back to see a man with a twisted smile on his face.
"What do you want now?" she said in a cold voice.
His smile didn't falter. "Nothing, nothing, I just wanted to confirm something."
Her face under the mask twisted in disgust every time she saw his smile, she would rather not do his bidding. But she had no choice.
Maybe sensing her distaste, he turned to her and started laughing crazily.
His madness echoed through the place…
***
In an unknown forest…
A young man fell in the forest hitting his head on the ground. Dazzling sunlight blinded his deep blue eyes. The chirping of birds reached his ears and a refreshing breeze brushed his dark brown hair. It was a beautiful sight. But the youth…
"Damned Entity, I'll have my revenge once I get stronger."
[Converting Host's experience into basic skills...]
['Marksmanship' skill acquired]
['Martial Arts' skill acquired]
['Weapon Mastery' skill acquired]
['Pain tolerance' skill acquired]
['Swift steps' skill acquired]
['Mental Fortitude' skill acquired]
These weird texts appeared in front of him.
"What's this?" He tried to touch them but his hand just passed through them.
(These are the skills you learned in your previous life.)
He heard a gentle voice in his mind. "Who?"
(I am the consciousness of 'The Creed'. I have adjusted my voice to your preference.)
He scratched his cheeks awkwardly when she called out his preference. She chuckled in his mind.
(I can hear your thoughts and respond to them telepathically. Just say 'Menu' in your mind to access the system.)
'Just call me Leo. I'll call you 'Jen' which is short for 'Jenica'.'
(Okay, Leo.)
Leaning against a tree comfortably he thought, 'Menu'
A wall of text appeared in front of him, he tilted his head and the texts also changed their angle in sync.
[Status]
[Inventory]
[Shop]
[Locked]
[Locked]
[Locked]
([Status] show your current parameters, skills, and abilities. You can store anything in [Inventory]. The [Shop] is useful for buying some items in this world, but you need Shop Points or SP to buy them. Other functions will unlock by completing various quests.)
He touched status and another menu popped up.
[Status]
Name: Leo Evans
Title: –
Race: Human
Age: 17
Level: 1
Job: Berserker
Strength: 70
Vitality: 80
Defense: 80
Agility: 60
Magic: 300 (Sealed)
Magic Defense: 300
'Why is my magic so high compared to other stats? I haven't even used magic yet.'
(Magic stat is directly related to Soul. As your Soul is tempered by The Entity, it has evolved nearly to the limit of a mortal and your body is still not strong enough to match your soul. Raise your base stats and level to remove the seal.)
'Does that mean I have the potential to become a 'God'?'
(Yes.)
Her nonchalant words dumbfounded him. They were talking about Gods for Christ's sake.
Her melodic laughter chimed inside his mind.
(Gods are not that omnipotent as you think.)
He reluctantly nodded his head, he needed every bit of power to help Eri so it was a good thing. Just thinking about the clingy black haired girl brought a smile to his face.
'You are strong for acting normal after all that,' thought Jen.
[Skills]
[Martial Arts (Passive skill)]
Increases physical strength of the user
[Marksmanship (Passive skill)]
Improves skill with ranged weapons
[Melee Weapon Mastery (Passive skill)]
Improves skill with Melee weapons
[Swift steps (Passive skill)]
Improves movement speed of the user
[Pain Tolerance (Passive skill)]
Increases resistance to pain
[Mental Fortitude (Passive skill)]
Increased resistance to any mental status
'These skills… are OP.'
(You got [Martial Arts], [Marksmanship], [Melee Weapon Mastery] and [Swift steps] from your time on Earth. The last two were achieved with your time in the Entity's domain.)
He nodded his head in approval. He was confident when it comes to shooting guns and taking lives. It was all he did on Earth, he survived the most gruesome state thanks to his unknown supernatural abilities. He even charged into a storm of bullets only relying on the ability of his healing to survive.
(Your time in [Kaleidoscope of Memories] tempered your mind but your trauma is still being suppressed by [Mental Fortitude]. So try not to be too emotional.)
He flinched hearing it before nodding his head seriously.
[Innate Abilities]
...
