A Universe of Bloody Evolution

"You go to sleep every night praying that the next day will be better, that the nightmare will be gone. But then you always wake up to the same horrendous reality that only becomes worse with every passing night. With time, your dreams of peace become empty, but the hope remains deep inside you. Don't you ever dare give up on that hope, because one day you will find a new place to call home. Remember, the Void and Universe are full of secrets."

~ Lone Traveler to a lost survivor, 31st Outbreak

Leo ran straight to the ruined houses, not even thinking about going to another entrance to the block. While the other staircases maybe weren't infected by some night terrors, Leo just decided to go with the smart idea and stay the hell away from that place.

The sun slowly neared the horizon, and it became apparent that it was high time to find a suitable place to rest and maybe even sleep. Leo was determined to be at full strength before venturing deeper into the city.

He probably spent an hour rechecking practically every house in the neighborhood. Both to clear them of any lingering Voidlings and determine which building would make the wisest choice for the night. Only the residence of the deceased woman was excluded from the search since the Voidlings refused to leave their new territory.

The few monsters Leo killed in the meantime left him only two Ether away from unlocking the first evolution. For a moment, he was tempted to go and gather the required amount. Yet, when shadows began to fall over the empty farmlands, he stopped himself from committing that mistake.

Night is coming. You know what to do.

No, I really don't. Leo scowled, sprinting through the neighborhood. He flew over a fence and landed in the backyard of the same house he used a few hours back. The backdoor shut behind him, and Leo quickly dragged a broken table along, barricading one of the two entrances into the house.

The ancient wood of the stairs groaned as Leo sprinted into the attic. His muscles bulged, straining under the weight of the remnants of a wooden shelf. The piece of furniture collapsed against the small broken window, dragging the entire attic into almost complete darkness.

Part one, done. Next stop, the bathroom. Leo took a few deep breaths as he returned to the ground floor. Having more power in his body was nice, but the last few hours pushed him to new limits.

The door to the bathroom was pushed open, and Leo grimaced as his arm illuminated the small, windowless room. The odor formed by years of leaks and abandonment, was only one of the many surprises waiting inside. Shards of glass from the shower cabin scattered across the broken tiles, and the ceramic toilet and sink lying shattered on the ground were another two honorable mentions.

Did someone start a fucking tornado in here or what?

Either someone was very emotional when moving out, or some vandals decided to be nice and locked the door after trashing the entire house. Leo honestly didn't know which option was dumber, and he had seen some idiotic shit during his short life.

Whatever. Leo shrugged as he returned to the living room. He dragged every piece of broken furniture into the small bathroom, nodding at the pile inside the room. Ready for the night, Leo jumped inside and closed the door, already working on barricading the entrance.

Not the best of my creations. Leo grimaced, gazing at the makeshift barrier. It stood no chance against a Collector, but if he had to be honest, Leo didn't know what could stop a creature of that much power.

Sighing, Leo cleared one side of the bathroom of all of the glass and promptly collapsed against the wall. The backpack landed beside him, a lone hand already searching for another meal.

The crunching of cereal resounded through the room as Leo consumed yet another dry meal. Without a single liter of milk, he could only use one of the many water bottles as a drink; it definitely wasn't the best addition to cereal.

To think that I would ever miss fast food that was just a call away… Leo snorted. A good kebab or burger sounded quite lovely right about now.

Throwing the halfway-finished pack of cereal into the backpack, Leo leaned his head against the wall, eyes closing. He still had some time before the effects of the night came.

I should probably check what is going on with that item...

Install: Touch of Carnage (Rare):
An install-type item created as the result of the aftermath of an Essence explosion that intermingled with the souls and blood of multiple Voidlings. The ensuing carnage directed the overflow of Essence towards the formation of the first Install item on Earth.
Limit Break: +6 Might and Vision, +2 Grace.
Passive: First Circle - Blood is the answer (7%).

Well, at least it moved. Leo arched an eyebrow. Blood certainly is the answer, but really? Only seven percent when I mostly used my claws to kill the Voidlings? This will take a while if I don't want to take a dip in blood…

Sighing, Leo dismissed the description, unable to dig out any more information from the System. I still have two skills that I need to get down. Might as well do it now.

Essence stirred within Leo as he slowly guided it through his body. Just like during the fight against the Runner, he let it seep into every single part of his body. Muscles, bones, organs, and even blood. Nothing was forgotten as slowly every vein in Leo's body lit up with the same crimson glow of his soul.

His hand clenched as Reinforcement settled over his body, the skill providing only a weak boost of power. Grabbing even more Essence in a tight hold, Leo fed the skill more and more. Not even a minute later, his mind and body screamed a warning as the ability reached its current limit.

So that's fifty percent. Good to know. Leo noted as a weak aching spread through his body. A lot easier to control than during my fight. I wonder…

Leo held the ability for a few more minutes, gritting his teeth as the aching turned into a slowly spreading inferno. It felt like someone had dipped a bunch of needles into alcohol and stabbed them in every part of Leo's body.

Gasping, he finally released the skill, the stabbing pain fading away.

High risk, indeed. Leo groaned as his arm shakily rose from the ground. At least now I know to never use it at full power unless it is a life or death situation. I am pretty much crippled after I drop it, and the drain of Essence is just…

Leo felt around the pound of his Essence. If his calculations weren't wrong, he used over half of his reserves for two or three minutes of full-powered Reinforcement. Not a good sign if he ever got into a sketchy situation.

I wonder how it would work with active Limit Br… Fuck!

A wave of Essence suddenly crashed into the entire world. Pressure settled over Leo's shoulders as he barely stopped his body from kissing the ground. With all the new attributes, he should have been able to resist the pressure without fighting for this life. Still, the few seconds definitely weren't enough to recover from the aftermath of Reinforcement.

Night is here. Good Luck.

Screw you. Leo growled and collapsed to the ground, accepting his fate. A moment to rest wouldn't hurt anyone, and he wanted to listen to the happenings outside anyway.

The wind constantly crashed into the house, earning a groan of wood every once in a while. Nonetheless, it lacked the intensity of the previous night. Instead, the wind was joined by a familiar tapping against the roof that echoed throughout the structure.

Just as a small smile stretched over Leo's lips at the thought of typical weather, a thunderclap split the air, breaking the harmony created by the rain. Not even a second later, another roar joined the first, shaking the ground with the sound alone.

The entire house answered with its own shudder.

Alarmed, Leo used whatever strength he had left and scrambled to his feet, hands flying to the barricade as he removed it piece by piece. The night might be terrifying, but Leo wasn't planning on getting buried alive.

Better to have a quick way out, just in case.

With the exit freed, Leo again sat against a wall as another tremor traveled through the ground. Even though the thunder seemed powerful, the thunderstorm couldn't be too close as the shaking took far too long to travel to his location. Leo only hoped the storm wouldn't decide to switch directions and come to Wolford.

No way his half-assed shelter was surviving that.

Minutes passed as Leo listened to the unnerving tapping and the continuous roars of thunder. To give his mind some outlet, he focused on the Essence in his body and started moving it in every direction, hoping to get more used to bending this mythical energy.

When Leo's reserves were halfway replenished, he stopped his little exercise and unsheathed the common fighting knife. The night's pressure never left, but Leo still wanted to test out the most recent class skill. It just might come in handy if the current weather managed to kick him out of the house and into the darkness.

It wouldn't help against the Collectors — nothing could help there —, but against other, weaker beasts that lurked in the dark, it just might buy Leo enough time to escape. Not that he wanted to even think about taking a step outside, but currently, the choice didn't belong to him. Besides, forewarned is forearmed.

Like the skill instructed, Leo led his Essence toward the knife. At first, the common item refused to budge, so he pushed harder, transferring more and more energy until the dam broke. And when it did, Leo's Essence spread, creating a thick mass of crimson aura over the entire knife.

Now to fix you. Leo tightened his grip on the weapon as he strengthened the connection with the Essence covering the knife. Slowly. Just like he did while upgrading stealth, Leo extracted the overflow of energy to create a layer of Essence almost unnoticeable to the human eye.

To say that this task took time was putting it mildly. Leo's inexperience and constant tremors required him to stop every once in a while to ensure he didn't miss something or break the skill by accident.

Should be enough. Leo nodded, gazing at the faint yet unpolished layer of Essence. This will be fucking hard. He grimaced, once again strengthening the connection.

Moving his focus to the tip of the knife, Leo gently pushed the crimson energy against the blade, smoothing it along every edge. Slowly the entire layer became a perfect copy of the knife, pretty much creating a sheath of Essence.

Just one more thing. Please work. At once, Leo grabbed the entire layer and pushed it against the knife, forcing it to enter the weapon. There were a few close calls where the energy almost slipped between his phantom fingers, but in the end, Essence listened and did as commanded.

Leo gasped as his gaze traveled between the knife that now glowed with a faint black aura — the same color as its blade — and the notification that appeared out of nowhere.

Congratulations, your Essence Manipulation evolved.

Essence Control (Uncommon):
Hard work and determination pushed your understanding of Essence to another level. Your previous limits are gone, and now you are ready to embark on the true journey of the Soul Arts.
Effects:
This skill improves the control over your Essence already granted by the Mind attribute. The efficiency of this skill is dependent on your Mind.

There was no rush of knowledge, no pain shooting through his head. Instead, the flow of Essence in Leo's body and soul slowed to almost a crawl, before starting again, only this time it wasn't the same anymore.

Despite all the points in Mind, Leo's Essence always felt like an almost steady river. It flowed without direction and wanted to splash everything in its vicinity with its power. Yet now, it had changed. The flow gained proper order and became calmer than ever, the energy leaks becoming almost nonexistent.

Holy shit. Leo's eyes widened as he controlled his Essence and formed a small ball of crimson light that sat in his hand. He dismissed it a second later and grabbed the fighting knife again, canceling the Kiss of Death with one sharp tug at the energy inside the weapon.

Without closing his eyes, Leo repeated the skill step by step.

With no complaint, the Essence moved, rushing through every step required to form the ability like they didn't take Leo a few minutes on the first try.

Alright, now we're talking. Not even the constant tremors and roars could wipe the grin off Leo's face as he gazed at the black glow that activated in seconds.