Is this what death feels like?
What a strange feeling.
His eyes peered into an eternal abyss — a jet-black canvas flecked with white spots, all staring back. It gently tugged at his being, guiding him towards a serene cradle.
"Is that what my mother's arms would feel like?" He whispered, his voice swallowed whole.
The pain, the agony, the envy. All of it was stripped away.
So warm and cruel. Why couldn't I feel this before?
Vergil couldn't describe what this was. He had lost everything he never wanted and was now left with a single desire.
Freedom.
Is it right for me to feel this way after...
He couldn't remember what happened to him. His body felt like a vast ocean, drifting towards a predesignated shore. An uneasy sensation remained, a cold reminder that this feeling wasn't meant for him.
"Hey Vergil, what are you studying?"
A face resurfaced, familiar yet unknown. He shivered, his body screamed at him to flee, but he couldn't run.
What... no, who are you?
The warmth pressed closer, two hands moved with precision, grasping his formless neck, strangling him. "How dare you forget what you did... to me."
I don't know....
The face carved itself, beginning to reveal—
Then it faded. The urgency collapsed. The face dissipated from both Vergil's memory and the space around him.
Not forgotten.
Taken.
Vergil looked down, his body was translucent. Liquid that rushed towards a point of no return. He could feel it.
"Dost thou have any regrets?" A voice echoed from a place unknown, gentle and familiar.
The question echoed in his mind. He couldn't give a straight answer. The regrets he carried were no longer a part of him.
"I don't know," he tried to speak, but his voice scattered like dust in the vastness around him.
"Thou who hast forgotten it." The presence stirred again, closer this time. Its tone was soft, making him want to answer.
Vergil couldn't tell what the voice wanted from him. Yet everything was slipping away.
"Remember."
And then — realisation hit him.
A longing. Something he desperately begged for.
"I... wanted another chance," he whispered, the need in his voice startled even him. "To be more than average."
"If another is granted unto thee, wouldst thou make the most of it?"
The answer tasted bittersweet, yet his pulse quickened. He had wasted his previous life.
Struggling to only die miserably, yet his desire to live overtook him.
"Yes… Give it to me," he whispered.
The void around him shuddered as it spoke once more. The stars of light erupted, colliding with the darkness, creating a swirl of both that descended towards him.
"Give it to me!" He shouted. The liquid beneath him trembled, rippling with his will. He watched the swirl fall. "Become."
His words gave form. His sea-like body squelched, forming black arms of liquid grasping the swirl as it sank into his chest.
"As thou wishest." The voice grew vast–almost tender.
And everything shattered.
Silence.
Cold.
Vergil's back pressed against solid ground, neither metal nor wood. His eyes slowly opened, gazing at a sky that stretched endlessly without wind or clouds to disturb it. A sight he barely noticed, nor cared for. But now that he looked at it closely, only one word came to mind.
Beautiful.
A shadow loomed over him, he didn't notice at first until his eyes settled on a pair of legs.
He looked up, only to see the figure looming even higher. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't see his face.
"I've been expecting you... Tyrant." A voice spoke, distinct from the one that spoke in the abyss.
Though he couldn't see his eyes, his form shifting — the idea of a face stopped making sense a long time ago.
What was that?
The lingering sensation that pressed on him had vanished.
His head, the main source of his agony, sent a sharp pang of pain with every thought.
Whoosh!
The figure's hand moved before the space registered it. Vergil's pain vanished yet his fingers betrayed him, twitching against the colourless floor as a cold surge of adrenaline flooded his hammering heart.
"It is as you think," the voice echoed throughout the space, answering what he wanted to ask. "Weaver."
Before Vergil could realise, a hoarse, hollow laugh had slipped out. "What kind of business would a God have with me?" Vergil spoke, pressing his forehead to the ground.
Thud.
The pain shot through his body, reminding him of a crucial detail.
This was real. He was alive.
"Business?" The space decided that Weaver was in front of the boy's gaze. "This is nothing more than a deal between me and 'him.'"
The space around him twitched. Behind him became Weaver.
"Get out," Vergil whispered.
"Get out of that face." Vergil lunged, his body phasing through. It was as if Weaver had never existed in the first place.
The space around him changed, bridges of light formed and vanished, strange phenomena came and went. His eyes focused on Weaver — his concept of looks failed to remain consistent.
Vergil froze — startled, shivering.
"Scared?" The voice peered into the boy's soul.
Vergil wanted to speak. Then—
What was I going to ask?
His mind turned blank, his mouth moving on its own. "... The land beyond heaven and earth." Vergil whispered, yet it wasn't his own words, but rather Weaver speaking through him.
He looked around, only to see the figure wherever he looked.
"Tyrant. Certainly it's time you fulfilled your wish."
My wish?
Vergil stepped forward, inhaling deeply. "I want what that voice promised."
"That 'deal' will be done, but I shall give you an incentive. One thing you want."
Vergil exhaled. "Why would I need this?"
"Mortals imagine themselves possessing it all the time, this world is full of those with power." A voice echoed from the vast space behind him. "The limits are yours to imagine."
Vergil stilled, scratching his head. He had never thought that he would obtain such a chance. He was already processing the fact that he was going to be reborn.
Yet one question filled his mind.
What power would be most useful? Teleportation, maybe something related to space?
Starting out with an ability, unrelated to fighting would be a death sentence. Vergil cursed himself on the inside. Vergil admitted deep down that he lacked ingenuity and creativity that others hand.
All he could do now was try to come up with something that could work.
His head rang, gently. A pang that resembled pain but wasn't. A whisper that forced itself into his mind, but whispered into his soul.
And it only spoke one word.
Predation.
The word surfaced, engraving itself into him, and he felt it smile back at him.
... Is this the right choice? Vergil had a feeling that not picking it would make him come to regret it one day.
"Are you sure about this?" a voice whispered, unrecognisable yet loving.
Vergil smiled.
If I'm going to regret something, then it will be choosing this ability. Mother.
The silence shifted.
It didn't speak, it didn't have a voice, nor did it show hostility towards Vergil.
And in the stillness. They came to understand — Predation hadn't found him, but he had found it.
"Weaver, I've made my choice," he spoke to the air around him. "But I assume you already knew."
"Whatever you seek, you will find." The voice rang. "I've also prepared something else. Not one but two. Just for you... Tyrant."
"Why do you call me Tyrant?"
Light surged instead of an answer, swallowing Vergil's body. Vergil glanced back, only to see Weaver once more with an indifferent face. Am I really getting a second chance? The thought came and his body began dissipating with the light, turning into particles — and as the light consumed his mouth, Weaver's lips moved for the first time, yet didn't reach him.
Then Weaver turned away, already done with him.
The pull dragged him from the light — and back into darkness.
****
Vergil dreamt of a sky.
Vast and wider than anything he ever imagined. Untainted by impurities as it stretched across the horizon, as clouds slowly drifted along. A blinding sun bathed the vast land beneath it, radiating along a small, remote village.
Wooden buildings surrounded the land, worn yet still standing, their design more medieval than modern. Shouts and calls echoed into his ears. Merchants presenting their goods, kids playing on the street. A gust of wind tugged at the village — then at his features. And in that moment, he knew.
That he was alive.
His heart thumped softly, staring at his hands, then at the unknown land around him that beckoned him to explore this vast new world.
His eyes squinted softly from the rays of the blinding sun, his fingers rubbed his eyelids, closing multiple times until they finally adjusted to the light.
His eyes flickered, before a blue panel appeared before his eyes.
Name: Vergil
Spouses: None
Race: Human
Tier: 0
Level: 1
Title: Commoner
Lifespan: 65 years
Equipment: Basic Clothing (+2 Defence)
Active Skill: Authority of Predation (???)
Confidants: None
[Welcome, Vergil, I am the system meant to guide you.]
The voice echoed with an almost mocking tone.
Vergil blinked. Is this your gift to me?
His stats were shown on a different panel in white. Strength 6, Constitution 8, Dexterity 7, Intuition 6, Magic Power 3.
Vergil understood why his physical stats were so low. Malnutrition — it was common for orphans like him. He would often be mistaken for a little girl due to his pale skin and long hair. As time went by, he shortened his hair, his muscles grew — albeit a little. Yet his height never changed much — and that saddened him.
At least I have a starting point.
[You have one active skill and no passives.]
[Skills are ranked from F to EX. Additionally your Authority exceeds normal standards. It can evolve under special conditions.]
Conditions? I don't suppose you'll hand them over to me willingly.
[You will be notified when you're eligible.]
[Your Authority, can consume other lifeforms. However, the absorbed state depends on the target's strength.]
'Survival of the fittest. When will anything ever change,' Vergil thought. 'Then what about Skills?'
[I'll leave it to your imagination.]
Vergil stilled, his hand covering his mouth as a twisted smile formed on his face. I really hit the jackpot with this.
[To analyse others, say "Analysis."]
[Good luck. May the blessing of Eternia, the most loved world, be with you.]
"The most loved world, huh. I wonder about that."