I: The Fractured (1)

Limbo, also known as the void. A dimension mysterious to those that inhabit the land of Akuyo. It is said that its realms are like echelons of Hell. Many mysterious and dangerous creatures reside in the realms of Limbo, just like the echelons of Hell. Its realms yet to be explored by those brave enough to do so, can only be discovered by the strongest and daring. However, this is not about the surface dwellers of the beautiful world of Akuyo, but the unfortunate ones that have been casted down in this unknown world.

The very first realm of limbo, home to the broken and recently born, the Fractured.

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[Awaken, Kalron. O'Shattered One]

A figure rose from the ground, covered in what felt like pieces of glass. He opened his eyes, looking at nothing but the dull gray and two moons.

"W-where… am I?" Kalron asked himself, noticing his voice was rather rasp and echoed around him.

[O'Shattered One, you have been reborn and selected to walk the path of a denizen of Limbo.]

"R-reborn?"

A memory flew in Kalron's mind. Though it was blurry, he remembered the events of his death. He was in a vehicle before the vehicle blew up. That was all he could remember.

Kalron raised his hands to his face. He noticed how dark and slender his arms were and the cracks on his skin glowed amber.

[Do not be frightened by your appearance Shattered One, for this is the image your lineage is first born with.]

"Why… Why are you calling me that?" Kalron asked, confused and frustrated.

[Those born in the Fractured are either reincarnated as a Shattered One, or become what hunts and roams this realm.]

"And what is that?"

[The Blighted Ones]

Suddenly Kalron heard a rusty groan from behind. As he turned, a blackened, humanoid figure approached him, wielding a sickle in his hand. Even with the moonlight shining down from above, the figure could not even be seen.

Kalron slowly backed up as the Blighted One continued to approach him. It raised its sickle before rushing towards him.

[Run Shattered One, for you do not have the strength to-]

Though a sense of fear filled Kalron, his body moved on its own. He rushed forward and evaded the Blighted One's sickle, landing a punch to the Blighted One's head. However, what Kalron thought was damage to his foe, was only damage to his own body.

His hands shattered into glass-like material. Kalron stared at his missing hand before managing to evade another one of the Blighted One's attacks.

"Strange… I lost an arm, but I do not feel pain."

[Shattered One, your kind is fragile but in return, you are given the inability to feel pain. Though you cannot be harmed physically, you can still lose your life.]

Kalron inspected his arms and then down at the rest of his body. His figure was that of a malnourished man made of glass-like material. He lacked the sense of taste and smell, but still possessed the other three.

[Shattered One, you have been given this chance to live again but by your previous life's standards, you have already been gravely injured. What will you do?]

The voice in his head asked him curiously and Kalron wasted no time to answer. He picked up a shattered piece of his arm before turning around towards the Blighted One who had just picked itself up.

"I'm going to survive." He said calmly.

The Blighted One approached him again, swinging its sickle. Kalron dodged its attack again and shanked the Blighted One's arm that wielded the sickle. It cried in pain and dropped its sickle. As it struggled to take the shard out of its arm, Kalron picked up the sickle. In his hand it felt like he was trying to pick up a 25kg dumbbell.

Kalron approached the Blighted One and with all his might, he swung the sickle at the Blighted One's neck, decapitating the shadowy figure. Its head fell to the floor and flaked.

Kalron fell to the floor, letting out a sigh of relief. The sickle in his hand began to glow and when it shined at its brightest, it seemed to absorb into Kalron's arm. Instantly, Kalron's missing arm regenerated.

"Interesting…" Kalron said when suddenly, a loud noise filled his head.

[Alert!]

[You have Ranked up]

A weird window containing words appeared in front of Kalron. He looked at the messages and questioned.

"What is this?"

[In your previous life, your kind seemed to fancy these kinds of systems where you track your progress in these tiny windows that displayed paintings which can move.]

"That would be called a video game…"

[With this, you will track progress of your… stats. To see your stats, all you need to do is-]

"Say System?"

[...no. You just need to tap your temple.]

Kalron tapped his temple and another window appeared in front of him.

[Kalron]

[Rank: 2/5]

[Rank Progression: 2%]

[Lineage: Shattered One]

[Vitality: 11]

[Strength: 11]

[Agility: 11]

[Judgment: 11]

[Esoteric: 11]

[Mastery Points: 3]

[Blessings: None]

[Curses: None]

[Skills: Assimilation]

"It's just like the games I've played…"

[Each stat boosts a certain physical or mental component that is dire to your survival. The Vitality stat contributes to Health, Defense and Stamina. The Strength stat contributes to Power and Stamina. Agility contributes to Speed and Perception. Judgment contributes to Perception and Magic. Finally, Esoteric contributes to Magic and Elemental Resistance.]

"And what do blessings and curses do?"

[It's quite simple. Blessings are statuses that give a positive buff and/or stat with no downside. Curses on the other hand are statuses that give a negative buff and/or stat and an extremely positive buff and/or stat in return. These can only be obtained through certain scenarios. However, this will be the least of your worries and should not appear until further stages of your life.]

Kalron moved his arms as he tried to get a feel of any changes. To his disappointment, he did not feel any physical changes.

"I assume I will not feel any changes to my body until my stats reach a certain number?"

[That, or you evolve.]

Hearing this caught Kalron's attention.

"Evolve? How do you intend for me to do that?"

[By continuing to Rank Up. I assume you know what you need to do next?]

A smile appeared on Kalron's face, or that's what he thinks is on his face right now. Kalron's attention returned to his stats and stared at his Mastery Points. Immediately, he knew Mastery Points had something to do with his stats and quickly deposited them all into Strength.

While looking over his stats, he noticed a key component missing in his stats.

"If I may question, where is my HP?"

[I was wondering when you were going to ask, just like those before you. My master concluded that the need for HP is unnecessary and that it is up to you to watch over your health. This is the same for MP which you will have in the future.]

"Those before me? So I am not the only one?"

[Correct. Those before have already managed to leave this realm and ascend to the next realm.]

"There are more realms than this?"

[13 Realms of Limbo. You are currently in the lowest one. Once you have reached your maximum rank, you may proceed to the next realm. The gate to the next realm will be shown to you once you have reached your maximum rank.]

Kalron thought for a second before he noticed another figure in the distance, wielding what looked like a rusted sword in its hand. Kalron nodded his head to himself before walking towards the figure.

"So all I need to do is to kill more Blighted Ones to get out of this place?"

[Precisely so.]

Kalron picked up a shard off the floor as he approached the Blighted One which noticed his presence. Once Kalron got closer, the Blighted One charged forward. It swung its sword but Kalron stepped to the side, shanking the Blighted One's neck. It stumbled back and Kalron grabbed its sword before plunging it into the Blighted One's head.

[Progression: 69%]

As Kalron watched the body slowly turn into ashes, he remembered that he had some sort of skill. He quickly looked back upon it to confirm.

[Skill: Assimilation]

"What does this skill do?" Kalron asked.

[Assimilation: By absorbing a deceased lifeform or inanimate object possessing energy, you have a chance to obtain power from the target lifeform or object and you will recover from all damages caused in battle. If all else fails, you obtained a fraction of Progression that you were rewarded when slaying the enemy (Enemies Only)(Current chances: 2%)]

Kalron looked at his chances before staring at the pile of ash.

"Guess I'm too late. I'll have to find another."

After he asked all the questions he wanted to ask. He knew everything he needed to know. Armed with this knowledge, Kalron continued forward, marching through the dull land of the Fractured.