02 - A second chance

In the depths of an eternal abyss, where darkness stretched as far as mortal eyes could see, a pair of eyes opened and a purple light pierced the darkness, revealing an ancient beast with obsidian black scales.

Its colossal reptilian body bore a single pair of torn and twisted wings on its back.

Its face, which perhaps once in the distant past had carried the beauty, majesty, and elegance of its species, was now torn by terrible scars that ran from its scales to its flesh and bones.

In the beast's chest, a golden spear had pierced its heart and broken through its back. A purple liquid flowed from it, burning with a mana so powerful and intense that it seemed capable of shattering reality itself.

The beast raised its head, and the Abyss shuddered as it opened its mouth and let out a powerful, ancient voice: "A soul?"

The beast's eyes were fixed on a single form of abstract light, lost between gold and black, writhing painfully and unable to take any permanent, tangible form.

The beast lifted one of its claws and supported the soul with it, bringing it close to its face, as if holding a tiny ant.

"You are far from where you should be, unstable scourge. Too far from anything that could save you from your eternal doom," the beast proclaimed before closing its eyes again and letting the fragile existence float down the abyss beside it, waiting anxiously for it all to end.

Minutes turned into hours, and hours turned into days before the beast opened its eyes again. The soul was still writhing painfully in a cycle of endless suffering, slowly losing the strength to fight the advancing darkness.

"I know your pain." A faint thread of mana flowed from the beast's claws and fell into the form of light. For a brief second, it seemed to find peace. "Perhaps we are the same... corrupt beings, banished from existence and condemned to the abyss of eternal darkness." The beast used the thread of mana to draw the soul closer to its face, letting it rest on its snout.

"You hate them, don't you? Those who left you like this, those who deformed your body and condemned you to such a miserable existence..." The beast spoke, and although the soul was unable to answer, its clear agitation at the question was enough for the transcendental being to understand its feelings and thoughts.

"I hated them too." The beast lowered its colossal head, resting it on a faint veil of mana that seemed to emerge from the depths of the abyss. Its wounds had already drained much of its strength, and what little remained was barely enough to sustain itself.

"But no longer. I have existed in this abyss for eons and eons, so long that your mind could not even comprehend it. I was once a divine among those of my race, but today I'm just a long-forgotten echo among the deaths of countless stars and planets. A transcendent being lost and denied existence itself." The beast's gaze flickered with melancholy as he recalled memories of the distant past.

"Time has erased the hatred I felt for those who made me this way. I can barely remember their faces, and I'm sure they're all dead now." The beast shook its huge head before continuing: "Do you think that one day time will erase your hatred as well?" It asked with a hint of amusement in its usually cold and morbid voice.

It was good to have someone to talk to after so long, even if the only answer he got was a tremor in his distorted and unstable form of light.

Long seconds passed, and the answers the beast received were confusing and inconsistent, like a baby trying to explain complex feelings that even it couldn't understand.

"Ah..." the beast made a decision and sighed, the purple light emanating from its eyes intensifying into a powerful, blinding flash, as if a second sun had fallen over this abyss, illuminating even its most distant corners.

The small soul tried to move away but was soon engulfed by the light, which grabbed it as if it were taking on a physical form and tore it to pieces.

The beast's eyes didn't even blink as it brought one of its claws to its jaws and used its razor-sharp teeth to tear at the flesh, which, along with the blood, flowed towards the little soul, forming a humanoid figure.

"I cannot heal the wounds of your soul, but my flesh is enough to heal your lost body," a voice echoed in Ethan's mind, and the blinding light stopped.

For the first time in what seemed like ages, Ethan could look at his own hands, which now seemed different; the marks of his father's torture were gone, and his skin was as soft as a baby's.

The memories of his encounter with Alice still exploded in his mind, and the sensation of touching her soft breasts was still vivid. Although he denied it, he knew very well that he had a complicated relationship of hatred and desire for this woman.

One side of him wanted to kill her, let the hate take over, and let her suffer a miserable death, but the other side dreamed of dominating her, exploring that voluptuous body, sinking his hands into her flesh, and tasting all the sweet honey she could offer.

"Any other mortal in your situation would fall to his knees and beg for his life, but even in my presence, lustful thoughts are the first to cross your mind." The beast's gaze became steely, as if it could clearly see Ethan's every thought.

At that moment, the young man shuddered and his new body tensed under the beast's gaze, his heart almost jumping out of his throat, and for a brief moment he felt nothing but oppressive, absolute terror.

"Hahaha, don't worry, children. I like that," the beast's eyes softened, and its lips curled into an amused smile.

"W-what are you?" Ethan asked, his voice shaking. In his soul form, he hadn't felt particularly threatened, as his intellect was too primitive to understand the true nature of this creature's power. However, now that he had regained his human form, he was finally able to contemplate all the terror that this creature represented.

Hearing this question, the beast pondered for a few seconds before answering: "My kind have named me Seraphar, and I am the Primordial of Corruption."

A primordial? Ethan's mind nearly exploded when he heard that name. Though he wasn't a great scholar of the Primordials, he knew that they were beings that predated the creation of the universe and that it was their sacrifice that gave rise to mortal reality.

With his mind racing, Ethan searched his memories for information that might help him understand the situation. He knew of some primordials, such as those of light, love, hate, hope, and war, but he had never heard of a primordial of corruption.

"Don't bother looking for my name in your memories; you won't find anything. My kind erased my existence and my name from the outside world, claiming that my power was too profane, that my abilities did not harmonize with their divine creations, and that only my death could cleanse their names of my degrading and empty existence.

Though Seraphar claimed his hatred was already extinguished, the anger in his still voice made the Abyss tremble, and reality itself seemed to react to his rage, almost collapsing under itself.

Ethan was affected as well, and he was forced to throw himself over the creature's snout, clinging to its scales as the terror in his chest grew.

Realizing what was happening, the creature fell silent and avoided Ethan's terrified gaze. For the first time in countless ages, he felt vulnerable, and his mind felt like it was about to break.

Ethan regained his composure and stood up again. His mind was full of questions, but one stood out above the rest: "Why me? Why did you save me?"

Seraphar didn't answer for many minutes as he thought about what to say. His mind was much faster than the human mind, capable of processing billions of possibilities at once, and still, he just sighed.

"It doesn't matter; time is up." Seraphar looked deeply in Ethan's direction. "I have rebuilt your body with my flesh and blood, so there are remnants of my being in you. Now you are nothing more than a separate extension of me. What do you think about making a deal?"

Ethan returned the creature's deep gaze. It all seemed so absurd in his mind, which could barely process everything he had just been through. His hands trembled, and his gaze searched the creature's crimson eyes for a hint of what the deal would mean.

"I will give you a chance to start over," Seraphar said, using his mana to carry Ethan to the spear in his chest. "In return, one day you will return to this abyss and dominate the spirit that resides within this weapon."

Ethan hesitated as he looked at the golden spear. Just being near the weapon was enough to make his heart sink, and he had the feeling that if it weren't for Seraphar's protection, the spear would have torn him to pieces by now.

It was impossible not to be suspicious of such a proposal, but Ethan was dead. What choice did he have? Spending eternity in that abyss was not a life he wanted to live, and he very much doubted that Seraphar would help him without asking for anything in return.

Finally making up his mind, Ethan raised his head with determination in his eyes.

"I accept!" Ethan exclaimed, and the moment his voice fell, the abyss around him distorted, and his body was pulled by a mysterious force and swallowed by the darkness.

" Good... I hope to see you again soon," Seraphar smiled before closing his eyes and letting the darkness take over the abyss once more.