1 The Void

The void, a dark and silent existence where time seems minuscule. Many stars can be seen within the void, at least that's what they appear to be when viewed from afar. In reality every single star is a soul, and the void which holds them is known as Limbo.

One particular day, a flash was suddenly seen within the void, when the light receded all that was visible was yet another soul, added to the seemingly infinite amount already in sight.

"Wh.. What? Everything is so dark, am I blind? I can't feel my body either *sigh*, I must be dead right? The last thing I remember was that curved dagger piercing into my heart."

*DING* "That is correct"

Hmm? What was that, I swear I heard something just then, "Hello? Can anyone hear me? Who is out there?!" I try with all my might to shout, forgetting for a moment that I don't even really have a mouth to speak.

*DING* "Affirmative, you can be heard simply by thinking, and I am the Demonic System, a gift granted by Lord ******* to his successor."

Lord who? I couldn't quite catch that, but what? A system?! How could such a cliche setting possibly exist, I don't even remember encountering Truck-Kun, this can't be real...

"Hey... system, if you are actually real and not a figment of my imagination, born from my distress at the situation that I'm in, then I guess you could do something like show me my status right?"

*DING* "Showing Status to Host"

- Name: Unknown

- Race: Unknown (Soul Form)

- Age: 109 Seconds

- Level 0

- Strength (STR): 0

- Endurance (END): 0 - Health (HP): 0

- Agility (AGI): 0

- Intelligence (INT): 10 - Mana (MP): 100

- Wisdom (WIS): 10 - MP Regen: 1

- System Points (SP): 0

Okay... First of all it's weird to see a floating screen in my head, if I even have a head, but secondly what the hell is with these figures? "System is there a mistake? How could I have no name or race, and what's with my age, I could've sworn I was... wait how old was I? System could you explain these stats to me?"

*DING* "Host currently is in a state of non existence, almost all souls go to Limbo before being wiped and broken down to create new souls for newborns, this explains the lack of name and race, as you technically do not exist, however you also exist thanks to interference from the System, hence the current situation. Your age is relative as if you check your status again you could be over 1000 years old, there is no concept of time within the void and hence it is impossible to calculate correctly, at least for now.

Concerning your physical traits, they are non existent as you are only a consciousness, but Strength affects your physical strength, for example how hard you can hit and how high you can jump. Endurance is your bodies capability to take a hit, as well as minor things such as weather resistance and disease immunity, your HP is calculated using ENDx10, however do note that being decapitated will kill you instantly no matter how much HP you have. Agility involves how well you can move your body, as well as reaction times and your dexterity, trained to high enough levels it also gives you a certain level of 'Instinct' to avoid unseen attacks or detect killing intent.

Intelligence includes your cognitive thinking skills, as well as memory, it also affects how well you can manipulate Mana, as well as determines your maximum MP using the formula INTx10. Wisdom shows your general knowledge as well your ability to think outside of the box and how quickly you can recover your MP using the formula WIS/10 every minute, currently you recover 1MP per minute. Finally the system points are granted by me depending on actions you take, and can be used in various situations."

Haaah, this is too much info to take in at the moment, I guess I'm gonna be here for a while... "Hey System, do you have a name? It gets tiring calling out System all the time."

*DING* "My previous host gave me the name Ezra, but host is free to choose another to his liking"

Ezra huh, it's a pretty nice name so I guess i'll keep it. "So Ezra, what functions do you have and what's your purpose? also I don't suppose you have a way to get us out of this situation do you?"

*DING* "My functions include Status, Shop, Inventory, Quest, more will become available as host becomes stronger, the purpose of the Demonic System is to create a being capable of succeeding the position of Lord *******, and I suggest host looks in the Inventory and checks out the current Quests."

Okay, so how do I access these? Hmm, "Inventory."

*DING* "Showing Inventory"

- Random points generator (basic - grants anywhere from 1-100 SP)

"And now Quests."

*DING* "Showing Quests"

Main Quests:

1. Escape the void. (Reward 1000 system points, +1 Level)

Sub Quests:

1. Use the shop. (Reward 100 system points)

2. Absorb some Mana. (Reward 100 system points, 1 Random spell)

*DING* "I suggest using the random points generator to begin getting out of this current situation"

Okay, let's do this, "Use the random points generator then access the shop"

*DING* Random Points Generator (Basic) + 45 SP

*DING* Side Quest complete, + 100 SP

*DING* Shop Opened, Categories available, ITEMS, SKILLS, MISC

"So I have 145 SP now, Ezra what's the best option to escape the void using what I have?"

*DING* "I suggest host to buy the MISC option of 'Random Teleport' for 100 SP, but before you do so, you must acquire a corporeal body, as when exiting the void you will cease to exist without a shell for your soul."

"Okay then, show me all bodies I can buy for 45 SP as well as their costs."

*DING*

- Minor Ghost (45 SP)

- Minor Wisp (30 SP)

- Poison Fly (15 SP)

- Fly (5 SP)

"I don't really want to be a fly and wisps I always thought were just balls of light... so I guess ghost it is, Ezra, purchase the 'Minor Ghost' body and the 'Random Teleport', it's time to get out of here.

*DING* "Confirmed, gathering nearby Death Energy and forming a shell to hold your soul... process complete, Minor Ghost body formed, initiating Random Teleport in 5..4..3..2....Teleport complete, scanning new environment... Data gathered."

"Welcome host, to the Nether Realm."