Against The True Gods

Up, down, left, right—it all stopped having meaning.

Caine found himself spiraling through a void of endless colors, his body battered and torn by countless chaotic streams of qi.

The wounds accumulated on his body faster than he could heal, forcing his Blood Qi to go into overdrive.

'Where the hell am I…?'

All he could see was a blurry fresque of colors reflected by streams of qi that intertwined in chaotic yet beautiful dances.

His body sped through this blurry space with terrifying speed, accelerating over time as if pulled by an invisible spectral force.

'…Blurry? My senses are—'

Before he could complete his thought, his already blurry vision began to darken as he felt his very Blood Qi twist and churn, mutating into something grotesque.

His normally sharp senses began to shut down, one by one.

His sight left first, plunging him into an eternal abyss of darkness. Then his sense of touch tore away, leaving him a motionless, numb puppet of flesh. His sense of smell overloaded his brain with countless otherworldly odors before vanishing entirely.

A loud ringing echoed in his mind just as his tongue began to ripple and darken.

His entire body trembled, rippling violently as dark runes surfaced across his skin. His mind flickered between consciousness and unconsciousness.

'What the…?'

The thought barely formed before it all went blank. His body continued to be pulled further into the grand and strange abyss of colors.

***

In an endless white room, a body suddenly appeared, crashing heavily onto the ground.

Caine's body convulsed violently, his lungs expanding as he gasped for air. His blind eyes widened as he regained consciousness.

Though stripped of his senses, his mind remained intact, allowing him to adapt almost instantly.

From his Bond Space, countless strings of Neural Qi shot out, binding his body and turning it into a puppet controlled by his Will.

His affinity to qi flared, and he began to survey his surroundings through the intent and Will contained in the air.

His mind sharpened, and his blood cooled as he primed himself for the worst.

WHOOOOSH!

'Good.'

He released a breath of relief. Though he didn't know where he was, at least he was alone.

But his relief was short-lived. 'What the hell has happened to me?' His face twisted into a frown.

He cycled his Blood Qi through his body, targeting his nerves, but nothing changed. His body wasn't healing.

However, this wasn't what worried him most. In his past life, he'd spent his first twelve years blind and stripped of his senses. It was why his eyes had once been silver—he used to be blind. Find adventures at My Virtual Library Empire

Through arcane arts, he had partially healed his body and regained his senses. Later, after forming his rings, he had fully recovered.

But this felt entirely different. His body felt fine, yet he was blind. Something was deeply wrong.

'Something passed through my Blood Qi to corrupt my Life Qi. It wounded all my aspects and caused this state I'm in.'

His thoughts grew sharper. 'And because of my recent breakthroughs and their effects on my body, this change runs even deeper.'

In other words, while his situation wasn't hopeless, it was dire. His wounded aspects had stripped him of his senses, the bodily fatigue he'd spent a year recovering from had returned, and, worst of all, he didn't yet know how to heal himself.

Having only just entered the Spark Realm, he had never interacted with his aspects. For now, there was nothing he could do except rely on his affinity to qi and his True Will.

He exhaled, calming himself as his Dao Heart plunged him into a state of serenity. But just as this happened, the white space around him began to tremble. Through the darkness that blinded his vision, a set of runes assembled, forming a screen directly projected into his mind.

~~~

[Fractured Reality: City of God.]

• Description: The Gods have fallen, their bones used to forge the pillars of humanity and their blood to nurture the lands from which ascendants shall rise. But amidst this coming golden age, a dark shadow grows, casting a net of sin over the world.

• Clear Conditions (Individual): Kill The Man Bathed in Golden Blood. Save The Ten Sovereign Stars. Join the [?]. Discover the [?].

• Clear Conditions (Collective): Survive the Last Calamity of Man.

>Time Ribbon: For every day passed in the True World, ten years will pass in the Fractured World.

>Time Frame: 30 Days (300 Fractured Years).

• Difficulty: Origin Grade (Lower Grade).

~~~

The moment the screen imprinted itself into his mind, the white space began to twist and shift once more. Before Caine could react, he was thrown and teleported away.

***

Fractured realities were strange and complex, both in their structure and essence. There were many types, and even among them, variations existed.

Some fractured realities could be conquered and used as training grounds for the youth. Others could be exploited for resources. Still, others could hide treasures and knowledge—lost in the mazes of time and space.

But some were traps.

Unfortunately for Caine, his luck had run out.

This fractured reality was the very same one where he'd taken his coming-of-age ceremony.

And that wasn't all.

Everyone who had attended the auction was also sucked into the fractured reality, but their screens were… different.

~~~

[Fractured Reality: City of God.]

• Description: The Gods have fallen, their bones used to forge the pillars of humanity and their blood to nurture the lands from which ascendants shall rise. But amidst this coming golden age, a dark shadow grows, casting a net of sin over the world.

• Clear Conditions (Individual): Kill Caine Lerouge Velios. Kill the Ten Sovereign Stars. Follow the Orders of the Man Bathed in Golden Blood.

• Clear Conditions (Collective): Kill Caine Lerouge Velios.

>Time Ribbon: For every day passed in the True World, ten years will pass in the Fractured World.

>Time Frame: 30 Days (300 Fractured Years).

• Difficulty: Origin Grade (Lower Grade).

~~~

Caine's enemies had underestimated him once, but they wouldn't make the same mistake twice.