Fading Existence

[Congratulations! You landed on (Pain).]

[Rewards are being distributed now.]

[Error! The situation does not permit you to scream. Temporary paralysis of the neck and mouth is induced.]

'I can't speak!?'

Samuel was very close to freaking out, as his ability to speak was his only stabilizing anchor, keeping him from insanity. Now that he had lost it, even if only temporarily, it was disastrous. Before he could embrace the dark thoughts, however, a pain so intense it was unimaginable embraced his entire body. The pain was so intense that, normally, his soul would disconnect from his body, effectively killing him. But not this time. This time, something was different. It was almost as if his soul was condoning the pain, finding it to be positive rather than negative.

This was naturally indicative of the boon he would receive after the pain settled, but that did nothing to stop the wish for suicide from rebounding throughout his head over and over and over. What were seconds felt like minutes, and what were minutes felt like hours. His perception of time was greatly distorted. 'Please make it stop! I was wrong. Please!'

Tears were streaming down his face continuously. It turns out he would not suffer in hell after death; he would find pleasure in its low intensity of pain. Nothing could compare to this. Not even the pain of his awakening on the Mountain of Transcendence back then. Not the torture he was subjected to by the Black Lotus. The only thing that could maybe compare was when he saw those... What did he see? His scrambled thoughts, wallowing in endless suffering, found an irregularity in his memories—a truly baffling one. His every instinct told him he was close to recovering something important, and as such, his entire mind focused on that irregularity. Lost in his pain, that was the only thing keeping him sane.

Ding! Ding! Ding!

[Danger! Target Samuel is close to remembering REDACTED.]

[Initiating safety precautions]

[Detecting pain as the cause of the recollection!]

[Shutting down pain receptors to stop his train of thought!]

[Infective! Initiating temporary mind-body separation!]

[Danger! His thoughts became more rapid at separation!]

[Initiating temporary mind-soul separation]

[Success! Thoughts successfully hindered]

[Analyzing situation. The pain distribution for the Wheel of Pain and Happiness will need changing. Tabulating…]

Darkness. Infinite darkness. That was all Samuel was experiencing at the moment. Well, it can't really be considered Samuel. This version of him was without memories, likes or dislikes, or other human functions; it just existed. It was the origin of all spirituality—the soul. Samuel's soul was floating in nothingness. There is no body, mind, or spirit connecting it to anything. It existed but was on the edge of not existing. This is what happens to the soul if it is not properly taken care of after separation from the body and mind. Normally, the laws of karma and reincarnation would take hold of the soul, making sure it did not dissipate before finding a suitable container for it. However, as Samuel was not dead, this did not apply.

What he was experiencing right now was similar to what he experienced when he transmigrated, just a thousand times worse. It was even comparable to the pain he was experiencing earlier, only existential in nature rather than physical. The feeling of nothingness, nay, non-existence, slowly consuming your very being, was indecipherable. As the runes glowing with starlight began to dim, his soul was forcefully yanked back into his body.

"Haa…"

Samuel, upon his return, let out a massive gasp, attempting to draw in as much air as he possibly could. Although his memories were not with him in the nothingness, his experience from it is with him now. Forever to be remembered.

Ding!

[Congratulations! You have received the Fading Existence achievement.]

[Fading Existence: Your soul has survived the REDACTED without an anchor to REDACTED. Making you one of thirty people in all of REDACTED to ever accomplish this feat]

[Perks: Peak Enlightenment stage required to activate]

[Current level: locked]

[Evolution to [Unknown]: Explore the REDACTED and become a REDACTED before becoming a REDACTED to, in turn, become something unimaginable]

Ding!

[The system is to blame for this entire ordeal and would like to apologize for this mistake. It will not happen again]

[As compensation, the intensity and time of the pain distributed by the Wheel of Pain and Happiness have both been halved. You will also have 10 locks removed from your talent.]

Normally Samuel would be ecstatic at these notifications, seeing as they were phenomenal, but not this time. Samuel was empty. The residual pain he was experiencing from the torture or his greatly improved body were not enough to fill the gaping void that now inhabited his soul.

[You have suffered severe trauma to your mental state. Initiating recovery mode.]

His originally still, cold, and quiet mind was suddenly engulfed by the warm embrace of light. A light so soothing and comfortable that it would be easy to lose oneself in it in normal situations—this was no normal situation, however. The light was barely enough to supplement the void in his soul, reaching a balance. It would take time for him to recover like this. But time was, ironically, the only thing not given to him.

"Kid, I found the perfect person to watch over you. Her name is Lady White, and she is a famous adventurer, runemaster, and alchemist of the Lokola Empire. She has a good heart and took pity on you when she saw my request for supervision. Aren't you happy? Kid? What is wrong? Hello? Medic! I need a medic here, now!"

The Interrogator almost immediately noticed something wrong with Samuel's situation. He was unresponsive and seemed empty. With no idea what happened, he attributed it to some residual effect of the mysterious enemy of their empire. 'He must have used a sinister method to control the kid, and it's now showing the aftereffects. Poor kid.' 

Two medics arrived shortly after the Interrogator called for support. They were both covered from head to toe in white, assassin-style robes, with the crest of a giant seed, brimming with life. One of the medics pressed his hands onto Samuel's head, while the other one did the same for his chest. A brilliant green glow soon embraced the entirety of his body.

"General Calching, there doesn't seem to be anything wrong with him mentally or physically. If there is an injury, it must be in his soul. This is above our skill level, and you would need a powerful healer or alchemist to have a chance of saving him."

The medics shared their professional opinion with General Calching, making him question whether it was worth it to save the kid. 'No! How can I have such thoughts? He is an innocent bystander, cast into the turmoil of the world unnecessarily. There is no way I will let him die.'

"Call for Lady White to arrive at her earliest convenience. Tell her the person she is supposed to watch over is heavily injured and needs her assistance! Do it now! What are you standing around like a couple sheep for? Go, go!"

Meanwhile, Samuel, who witnessed this entire spectacle but showed no response because of his situation, was made even more speechless. 'Why did the Interrogator go from calling me a cretin to showing such care for me? Did he find me to be too handsome?'

The effect of Being a Stupid Fucking Idiot started to show itself. He started to find the positives in even the most overtly negative situation one could imagine.

Ding!

[Congratulations! Being a Stupid Fucking Idiot has evolved to Being a Stupid Idiot.]

[Congratulations! Being a Stupid Idiot has evolved to Idiot.]

[Idiot: Your intelligence has reached a rather high level, but you keep overestimating yourself, not living a life of humbleness. You embody the aspect of knowing the truth but refusing to believe it at times.]

[Perks: Everyone will marvel at your intellect, while your ability to find happiness in everything is instantaneous, while simultaneously forming your own ideals and opinions on right and wrong. Karma finds you to be very likable, giving you a great boon that will reveal itself upon you reaching the Superior Mortal stage.]

[Current level: 1]

[Evolution to (Moron): level 10 required]

Light from his own mind, coupled with that of the system, brought warmth back to his soul. After all, darkness is not a concept that can exist without light, meaning he just had to find it to recover. And he did. Fast too. A little too fast. It was almost as if he was performing this spectacle to garner pity and sympathy from the Interrogator and the system… He did, didn't he?

Ding! 

[Congratulations! Most Pathetic has evolved to Pathetic]

[Pathetic: You are a pathetic being who everyone takes pity upon, sometimes to your advantage, sometimes not. You will never know until you try!]

[Perks: You are a pathetic being who deserves sympathy and garner what you deserve. People will treat you like their helpless siblings, whishing you your best in life. Both friends and foes alike will not take you seriously in any setting.]

[Current level: 1]

[Evolve to (Inspiration): Level 10 required]

'Great, it worked! Guess even the system can feel sympathetic, huh?'