2 2: Resurrected

Niva's eyes shot open, her heart racing as she tried to make sense of her surroundings. She was lying on the ground, surrounded by a desolate wasteland that stretched out as far as she could see. Above her, the sky was a deep shade of crimson, the sun casting an eerie red glow over everything.

As she tried to sit up, pain shot through her body, and she gasped. As she lay there, gasping for breath, Niva could feel the dirt and gravel of the ground digging into her skin, embedding themselves into her wounds. It was then that she realized she had fallen into the abyss of tormented souls, a place where souls were trapped in an eternal cycle of suffering and she was somehow still alive.

She took a moment to look around and saw smoke rising in the distance, mingling with the stench of death. She could see dark figures writhing on the ground, their anguished cries piercing the air.

Niva tried to move, but the pain was too much. The figures hovering over her looked almost human, but they recoiled at the sight of her. It was as if they sensed something in her that frightened them.

Desperate to alleviate her pain, Niva reached out to one of the figures, and to her surprise, it was absorbed into her body, granting her a small amount of power. She realized that she could absorb the souls of those around her to numb her pain and gain strength.

As she absorbed more souls, she felt her strength returning, and she was finally able to move her body. She looked around and saw that there were countless souls trapped in the abyss, unable to escape.

Her attention was drawn to a cave ahead, where haunting cries echoed out from within. A steaming heat emanated from the mouth of the cave, giving it a menacing appearance. Niva felt fear grip her heart as she gazed at it.

However, she knew what she had to do. If she wanted to survive, she had to keep absorbing souls. The more she absorbed, the stronger she would become; the stronger she became, the sooner she could take revenge on those who had wronged her.

She tried to stand up and winced in pain, wondering how long she had been lying on the ground. She limped towards the cave, absorbing any souls that came her way. The closer she got, the more she healed and felt stronger.

Once inside the cave, she was surprised to see a man's figure in the corner. "Did Wanu send you?" Niva asked, showing great distrust towards him.

"Wanu? Hm...never met a Wanu before, weird name...I've been here for too long to remember anyone's name," the man answered.

"If Wanu didn't send you, how'd you come down here?" Niva asked, curious.

"I've been here for as long as I can remember, and I remember it's been a millennium since I've been here...I've talked too much but you must be hungry, right, after all, you've been lying there for months." The man finally looked towards her, his piercing gaze making Niva uneasy.

"MONTHS? What?!" Niva was shocked to hear how long she had been in the abyss.

The man walked around the cave and came back with a glazed, steaming hot roast of meat, making her salivate. "You eat well," he said, content watching her eat.

"What is this?" she finally asked.

"Do you want to know before or after you finish eating?" he asked amused.

Niva knew his answer would make her lose her appetite, so she kept eating.

"About two months ago, while I was taking my afternoon nap, a loud commotion startled me awake. A young person had fallen down here, screaming and cursing. It was too loud and I couldn't fall back asleep. However, that's beside the point, people fall down here all the time. Most who fall here are vengeful and their souls will try to climb back up, but not you, and not your soul. You died, and your soul never left your body. Instead, your body, well that indistinguishable mass of blood slowly healed every day, which I found very curious. And now, to think you've absorbed all these tormented souls. It's impressive."

Niva now understood what happened to her, but she was still confused about why she was different and how she was alive after dying for two months. The man across from her didn't seem to want her life, so she tried to look at him differently.

"What is your name?" she asked him.

"Hm? Hmmm, my name. I'll tell you on one condition," he replied, a smile in his eyes.

"What condition?" Niva asked, wanting only to know his name.

"You must become my one and only disciple. If you learn everything I teach you, who knows, you might be able to leave this forsaken place and take the revenge you vowed to take."