Chapter 1. Oblivion

  Darkness enshrouded me, I couldn't sense anything, I felt like nothing. The darkness was more than the absence of light, it was like...the absence of anything and everything. The darkness suffocated all my senses, my thoughts were the only thing grounding me. I couldn't remember how long I had been in this state, or if I always had been? My mind felt on the brink of breaking when I was suddenly standing. The transition somehow didn't feel abrupt and It almost felt like waking up from a dream, the experience surreal and quickly leaving my memory.

  A monotone and almost robotic voice rang out and startled me. "You have been deleted off the face of the earth."

  My heart raced and adrenaline pumped through me at the sudden invasion of noise. I caught my breath and faced the source of the voice. The entity wore a suit but that was the extent of anything "normal" about the thing. Its face, it was morphing and changing constantly, the mere sight hurt to look at. It had continued talking but the words didn't register.

  "Wh-What are you? Where am I? Am I...dead?" I asked the creature, entity, I don't know. My confusion, however, only grew as the entity suddenly stopped and seemed to stare at me. A chill ran down my spine and it started over.

  "You have been deleted off the face of the earth. All mentions of your existence have been erased. You have exited your plane of reality and entered Oblivion. You may ask any questions you have now."

  "So, I'm dead?"

  "You have been deleted off the face of the earth."

  "Right, how helpful..." I looked around for a moment at the landscape. The sky was grey, dead trees and rocks were littering the space, and the whole place gave me this constant feeling of Deja Vu that I couldn't quite grasp. "...so where exactly are we?"

  "Oblivian."

  "Ah right, of course, Oblivian. and what say is Oblivion."

  "All that is and isn't, that is not anymore. All that was and wasn't, that is not anymore. All that will ever and won't ever, that is not anymore. All that is not anymore."

  "Okay, that helps?" I roll my eyes and sigh. "Alright, so who are you then?

  "Oblivian."

  "Uhhh, right, alright, okay, alright, sure, right, uhuh, okay," I responded, starting to go a bit insane. "What now then?"

  As if initiating the next dialogue sequence, Oblivion spoke. "You shall receive a Title."

  "A title huh-" Getting cut off a screen appeared in front of me, but it felt like it was also inside my mind at the same time. In a box in the top left corner of the screen, letters and symbols started flashing down like a slot machine. It slowly started forming a name as the letter S seemed to be selected. After S was an H, then A, Then D, Then an O, and a W. When all was said and done, it spelled out Shadow.

  For the first time, Oblivian seemed to show something akin to emotion as it spoke. "Shadow.."

  "Is that...good?" I ask, confused as ever.

  "You have gained, Title: Shadow. You will now be referred to as, Shadow."

  "Initiation commencing in 336 hours. Time remaining until initiation is complete: 335 hours 59 minutes, and 55 seconds."

  "Initiation? Initiation into what? Aren't I already here, wherever here is, doing whatever it is one does here?"

  "Current Main Quest: Initiation. Main Quest Information: Survive until Initiation. Main Quest Status: In progress. Time remaining until Initiation: 335 hours, 59 minutes, and 33 seconds. Quest Reward: Initiation." As soon as Oblivion finished speaking the "Main Quest" information appeared on the screen in the top right corner. The text was a bit bigger than the "Title" but similarly bolded.

  "Main Quest? What is this, a game? Also, what do you mean survive? Survive what? Aren't I like dead, or non-existing or whatever, so what does survive even mean? I don't know why I'm even asking." I rambled, rattling off questions but ultimately giving up trying to understand what was even going on.

  "Quest: Unlock System. Quest Information: Gather 5 Oblivion Cores. Quest Status: 0/5 Oblivion Cores Gathered. Quest Reward: Unlock System." Once again, after Oblivion spoke the Quest appeared to the right but below the Main Quest, and it was a bit smaller and not bolded. However, something else appeared on the screen. Below and beside my Title was now a whole assortment of fun words and information. Directly below my Title was "Level ?" and under that were two rows of stats. It read, "Strength: ?, Vitality: ?, Endurance: ?, Intelligence: ?, Will: ?, Soul: ?, ???. Strength, Vitality, Endurance, and intelligence were in a row with Will, Soul, and ??? being in another row below it. Beside my Title were Health, and Mana, both having a question mark next to them and then two ??? all in a column.

  "Unlock system and Oblivion Cores huh? Alright, sure, what the heck. How do I get these mysterious Oblivion Cores then?" I asked pacing around and looking over the the screen that persisted in front of me.

  "Oblivion Cores are concentrated cores of Oblivion. They can be found within Oblivion."

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  "That basically told me nothing, and really only gave me the blessing of more questions and less clarity. Has anyone ever told you that you're a bit vague, and not very helpful at all? I'm sure that sentiment would ring true if anyone else has had the privilege of being in the situation I'm in. Which is actually an interesting thought, am I unique in whatever the Oblivion is going on? Woah, did you just censor me? With the word Oblivion? That's so not okay, you can't just take away my free speech like that! Anyways...so if these Oblivion Cores are made of Oblivion does that mean that Oblivion is you, and this place and like a substance or energy or whatever?"

  "Oblivan Cores are concentrated cores of Oblivion. They can be found within Obivlion."

  "Okay, sorry for asking, my bad honestly."

  Staring at the screen I mulled over everything that had happened up until this point. Everything seemed to make less and less sense the more I knew, and the longer I sat in thought the higher the chance I would probably have a mental breakdown. I decided searching around a bit would take my mind off of the utter insanity that was my new life. What better motivation was there?

  As I started walking I turned my head slightly to notice Oblivion slowly following along after me. But instead of like walking, or something normal, it just glided along the ground staying a consistent distance behind me. I tested this by picking up my speed and slowing down and it followed suit, matching my pace. At one point I abruptly stopped and sprang backward at it attempting to catch it off guard. It did not work.

  Making my way to a withering tree I stopped short of it and hid behind a rock. I noticed some movement and it honestly started me, it looked like some sort of wolf, but no wolf I'd ever seen.

  As if reading my mind Oblivion interjected with some mildly insightful information. "You have discovered, Oblivion Wolf. Oblivion Wolves are ferocious creatures that usually hunt in packs. Oblivion Wolves are hostile when in groups, less so on their own."

  "An Oblivion Wolf huh, looks absolutely terrifying."

  From what I could see from behind the rock the wolf was almost twice as big as an ordinary wolf and covered in flesh. That's right, flesh, it had no fur and seemingly no skin, and on top of all that looked like it had eyes, mouths, and random appendages covering it. The Oblivion Wolf was an abomination and I think I would enjoy continuing without ever looking at it again.

  "That thing has an Oblivion core inside of it, doesn't it..." I sighed exasperatingly

  My eternal guide didn't say anything but I felt as if I got a mental nod from the entity, which was disturbing, to say the least. There's no way I could kill that thing, maybe there was something less violent and disgusting I could kill instead? Looking off to the horizon I could barely make out what looked like a moving figure. I squinted around and noticed a lot more movement than I had first realized, far off in the distance but still. Those couldn't be creatures, right?

  "You have discovered, Oblivion Eldritch Giant. Oblivion Eldrich Giants are ancient creatures that roam Oblivion. Oblivion Eldritch Giants are usually passive and are the size of mountains."

  "Of course."

  Learning they were passive was a plus but if they were truly as massive as mountains they could easily crush anything below them. I was surprised I could even see them with the weird fog hanging in the air, but I was beyond questioning this place seriously.

  Eyeing the Oblivion Wolf I wondered if I could maybe grab a stick or a rock and sneak up on the creature? I looked at the ground, which wasn't really ground, it was hard to explain. Touching it, the ground was cold and tingly to the touch, and the longer I looked at it the more and more nervous I felt. Most things in this place made you feel weird if you looked at it for too long, bad vibes for sure. Anyway, surveying the ground I noticed a random stick that seemed pointy enough to potentially be a weapon. Good stick.

  I held it up and swung it around testing it out, the stick itself didn't look all that bad but I half expected the thing to snap in half from me just holding it.

  "Calculating compatibility percentage...87% compatible. Decaying Stick of Nitherith has been successfully bound to you."

  The stick glowed a soft white for a second and heat pooled in my chest, it felt unusually good and my grip on the stick felt natural, right.

  "Stick of Nitherith? Is that like some sort of ancient tree in this place?

  "Nitherith was once a formidable tree that held many mysteries; its bark was so durable that not even an Oblivion Eldritch Giant could leave a mark."

  "Alright, nice, but I am suspicious that I found this lying next to me right as I am about to fight an Oblivion Wolf. And the fact that the information about this stick, and the tree it came from, came with context I just learned about from the Oblivion Giant. But I won't look a gift horse in the mouth, this is fine by me."

  I reached out my other hand and felt the wood of the stick, appreciating the simple texture before stepping out from behind the rock. I slowly, and stealthily, made my way behind the tree to set up a sneak attack and ambush the wolf. The Oblivion Wolf seemed to be lying down and taking a nap which did not look cute in the slightest. Deciding it was now or never I shot out from behind the tree and slammed the stick onto the disgusting creature's head. The stick sunk through like butter and the Oblivion Wolf whimpered in pain and then growled.

  The monster moved, my stick still lodged in its head, and clamped its viciously sharp fangs into my arm. I grunted in pain but quickly removed the stick and stabbed it into its jaw to get it to release my arm. Thankfully, the move worked as it released me, and stammered back, acting disoriented. "I guess I'm not going to question how the thing is still alive after I stabbed it in the head." I muttered aloud, more to calm myself down than anything.

  Backing off a bit I held my arm and winced in pain. "Mother-Oblivion." Seeing the creature up close and personal I knew this thing would be a mainstay in my nightmares. The Oblivion Wolf indeed had random eyes and mouths all over its body, but not only that there were in fact tufts of fur in its body, protruding out from the flesh like it had been stuffed into it. Not only this, of course, but it also had lumpy growths and teeth in its fleshy body as well. If I hadn't already been on the brink of puking at the sight of it, the smell emanating from it was horrid. It smelled of rancid meat soaked in sulfur that had been sitting in a hot car for far too long. The smell was there as I was sneaking up on it, but with my attack and it's retaliation, the smell felt like it was inside my nostrils.

  I hunched over and puked up bile, heaving and coughing as it ejected from me and stung my throat. The wolf was still staggering about, pawing at its head, which was slowly healing from what I could tell. When I had stabbed into it no blood had poured out of the monster as I might have expected, and it more felt like I just made an indentation into it instead of doing any lasting damage. It seemed affected by the attack regardless so I wiped the bile from my lips and got ready to stab it again.

  This time I avoided the retaliatory bite and stabbed into the side of its head. I made sure to pay more attention to the feeling of the stick sinking into its head and it felt like it was sliding in between the flesh and just wedging inside. it was stunned nonetheless so I assumed it was jumbling its brain, If the brain was actually there and important that is. Also, if stabbing at it didn't work...maybe removing its head would.

  I quickly took advantage of its stunned state and brought the stick down onto its neck, I half expected the stick to break but it made its way halfway through before stopping. I watched as the indent into the wolf's neck started reverting to its original state so I brought the stick down repeatedly. The action became harder and harder as the flesh compressed but after a few more strikes the head of the wolf was barely hanging on. It dangled limply and with one final concise strike, the Oblivion Wolf's head was separated from the rest of its body. It had begun struggling more and more but the struggling was relatively harmless as it thrashed around wildly.

  If I thought the smell before was vile, the new smell that attacked my senses was repugnantly repulsive to put it very mildly. The Oblivion Wolf was in the middle of melting and evaporating off into nothingness. I stumbled away from the scene, tears streaming down my face, the stench making me gag all the while. It was only until there was nothing left of the wolf when Oblivion spoke.

  "You have defeated an Oblivion Wolf. Reward: Oblivon Core, 1."

  "Great, the Oblivion core, I almost forgot.."

  After a minute or so I made my way back over to where I had slain the Oblivion Wolf, where a strange sight befell my eyes. There was a 15-centimeter orb that, to try and describe, looked like I was looking into the complete absence of anything. At the sight, I was suddenly reminded of the darkness. The empty formless infinite nothingness. I had to look away as I felt like I was being dragged back to it. Heaving my breath I placed a hand on my chest and turned away, gathering myself.

  I slowly reached out toward it, and as my fingers made contact with it the core was gone. I looked forward once more and noticed it was gone.

  "Absorption of Oblivion Core 15%...27%...46%..58%...72%...88%...91%...99%...100%. Absorption of Oblivion Core complete."

  Current Main Quest: Initiation. Main Quest Information: Survive until Initiation. Main Quest Status: In progress. Time remaining until Initiation: 335 hours, 49 minutes, and 27 seconds.