A Universe of Bloody Evolution

"There is no more dangerous Voidling than a Cursed Juggernaut in the very beginning stages of an Outbreak. Those massive beasts are almost unstoppable, trouncing their way through any obstacle they come upon. Only the pioneers can stand a chance against them, and even then, those encounters usually end up in the survivor's death.

It is highly advised to stay out of their way and only approach after amassing enough power and support. As for the Apex variant? Run, those things aren't worth the trouble to kill them."

~Creatures of the Void, 42nd Edition

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The truest part of your soul... Those words rang loud inside Leo's head as he watched the shadows beneath follow the motions of his unnatural limb. He was like a conductor directing the most beautiful symphony.

No matter what command Leo gave the Essence below, no matter what motion his hand performed, the entire pond of shadows always obeyed. There was no delay, no fighting for control, just pure partnership between a person and the Essence deep inside their soul.

How? Leo mused simply as he released his grasp over the shadows. At once, they jumpstarted their dance, swaying to inaudible music like waves during the storm.

Glancing back at Nikra, who was watching him with a light grin, Leo voiced his question.

"Why is it obeying me so easily? I mean, my control isn't too bad, but this? This is far beyond anything I'm capable of..."

"It is quite simple, young one," Nikra answered with a chuckle before sitting down at the edge of the cliff, her bare feet dangling above the pit of shadows. "Come sit with me. I will explain."

I have been humoring her for this long. Why stop now? Leo shrugged and plopped down a fair distance away from the Old One.

"As much as I applaud your wariness, I don't bite, Leo. You can sit closer," Nikra raised an eyebrow at him, but Leo stood his ground. And so, with a sigh, the ancient woman continued. "Very well... Now to explain."

Nikra extended her arm towards the pit, and ever so slowly, a single tendril of shadows approached the limb. Leo observed warily, only to gasp when the shadow touched Nikra's hand.

He had felt that.

"As I already mentioned, and now you see for yourself," she began once more. "This is the truest part of your soul, the place where Essence is produced and stored. When you are in the real world, you must enforce your mind to control and bring it outside your body. Here this process is made much simpler."

Leo frowned. "How so? While I might not have a normal body here, I'm still using my mind to control Essence. There should still be some form of resistance."

Nikra shook her head. "Not exactly. You see, soulscape is a truly wonderful thing. Here the barriers between the three pillars fade away and are made into one existence. That's why your Essence won't fight you. It just doesn't have the necessary time to build up any resistance, as there is no buffer for your power to go through. Here your command is absolute."

"Soul, mind, and body. Three pillars. Nice concept... " Leo hummed. "I can see the value of a place where I have total control. Would make practice much easier."

Nikra nodded, "To some degree, yes. That was one of the purposes of a soulscape, to assist a being in honing their abilities so that they can slowly recreate them in the outside world with the experience they didn't possess before."

Useful. Very useful... A place to finally practice without worries was something Leo would need sooner or later. Besides, he could bet that the loss of Essence wasn't as bad here as in the outside world. And even if it wasn't true, soulscape apparently had mode uses.

"One of the purposes?" Leo inquired.

"There are two other major uses... Do you remember the Traveler's advice?" Nikra grimaced as the man's title left her lips. Nodding, Leo noted this particular reaction for later. "He was right that you can store things here. There is little limit to what cannot go into your soulscape, and one day you will probably learn how to even push past those boundaries."

Huh. Good to know that he wasn't just spewing bullcrap. Getting rid of my backpack would be godsent. Though I doubt that anything inside it is usable after my fall... Fuck.

"And the last one?" Leo prodded. He could leave the thoughts about his destroyed belongings for later.

"It somewhat relates to the question you asked after we just met," Nikra smiled before nodding toward the pit of shadows. "Please, Leo, tell me, do you now understand why you appear here as you do?"

Glancing at the core of his soul and then back at his shadow body, Leo furrowed his brow, or at least he tried.

Considering everything Nikra had already explained and the sight before him, Leo had a good guess on what had happened to his body. Yet, his theory made a few other things much more confusing, so he couldn't really be sure. Also, the System had never mentioned anything about changing his soul at its core.

Which isn't something I should be surprised about in hindsight. Leo sighed and readied his answer. "My affinity, or rather its True property."

Nikra smiled wide, her eyes glinting like two crimson stars. "Indeed. Every true affinity affects the soul in its purest form. Once you gained shadow as your aspect, your Essence adapted to it. And that's where your current form comes from."

Leo frowned. "You mean that my Essence is now always shadow afflicted? That doesn't seem right. I'm pretty sure I would notice if my normal skills utilized shadow Essence, and I'm definitely not doing anything to filter it."

Nikra shook her head lightly, "You misunderstood, Leo. Yes, shadows might be the main theme of your soulscape, but that's only because your Essence and soul want to represent its connection to your true affinity. Look beyond the surface, and you will find that they remain untainted and utterly pure."

Do they really? Leo mused as he closed his eyes and dived into the connection to his Essence.

At first glance, the feeling of his shadow affinity was truly overwhelming, but once Leo delved deeper, he saw the truth of Nikra's words. His Essence, completely unchanged and untouched, was still there, waiting for his command. And if that was the case, then the same must have applied to his soul.

"You are right," Leo muttered, eyes opening. "However, this doesn't really explain the last use of soulscapes."

Nikra nodded, her brow scrunching just a bit. "Yes, I can see that. It has been a while since I had to explain the inner workings of a soul to anyone. Forgive me if I sometimes lose the topic or confuse you."

"Wasn't your fault. I was the one who misunderstood," Leo quickly denied, still not one hundred percent sure why he was so welcoming towards a person that was pretty much responsible for the collapse of the Multiverse. It was just so hard to associate the woman sitting next to him with the monster from his dreams.

Shit... Leo shook his head just when Nikra began to speak.

"Your confusion was born only due to my incompetence, young one," the Old One smiled softly at him. "But let's put that behind us. You asked for an explanation, and I shall provide it."

"The last major purpose of a soulscape is also the hardest one to utilize," Nikra continued without a pause. "Affinities, or aspects as I prefer to call them, are almost as important as Essence that runs through our bodies. They offer us the power to utilize the concepts from the entire Multiverse, and so people had to find a way to develop and train them."

"And that's where the soulscape comes in," Leo whispered absently.

Nikra beamed, "Training an aspect without any initial connection is almost impossible from a soulscape; you need some kind of an outside source to establish the first link... But once the sky shifts to represent even the tiniest bit of potential, it becomes the most consistent path to develop and strengthen your connection to that aspect."

"How?"

Nikra nodded to the core below. "You must dive into the truest part of your soul and completely embrace it. From there, you can either develop your true affinity or try to reach out toward the potential aspects scattered across the sky. It is a very advanced and time-consuming process, but once you master it, the rewards speak for themselves."

Leo turned away, his gaze wandering towards the violet and red specks in the sky. This was the aspect of the Void, the same aspect that plunged the entire Multiverse into an endless cycle of death. And if Geron's musings gleaned from his dreams were any indication, a power so immense that it seemingly consumed the entity seated beside him.

So powerful and even more dangerous... Or rather terrifying would be a better word.

When he received the Minor Takeover technique, Leo didn't care if it came from the Void. After all, other Voidlings apparently could also control some of their kin, but now he knew better. It wasn't just another ability, but something that one day could lead to complete disaster.

His soulscape and Nikra's explanation made it perfectly clear that he could develop some kind of an affinity towards the Void. Hell, with the Old One's shard inside him, it might not be some aspect, but the aspect of the Void. And wasn't that a terrifying thought?

Is this what caused Nikra's reaction in the beginning? I need more information... But first. Leo turned to Nikra again. "Did you ever master it?"

The Old One's face instantly fell, her eyes losing their brightness. "No," she whispered. "I didn't want to. My control over darkness was always absolute, only getting stronger as time passed. And Void..."

Nikra's voice trailed off, and the hollowness in her gaze managed to send shivers coursing even through Leo's shadow form. Not a glimmer of warmth remained within those eyes.

I really need the whole story. Leo grimaced, looking away once more. While a small, vindictive part of him reveled in the knowledge that the person indirectly responsible for the deaths in his family was hurting, the larger part of him simply couldn't find it in himself to care, at least not yet.

Nikra was a shadow of her former self. Hell, considering her current appearance, she was far from fine even in his dreams. As such, no matter how much Leo wanted someone he could blame, someone he could take revenge on, the full story had to come first.

But not yet. Leo sighed. She possesses way too much information for me just to throw this chance away. Although, it makes me wonder how much she knows about the System and its inner workings.

"Right..." Leo muttered under his breath, and Nikra almost instantly snapped out of her haze. "I've been meaning to ask. Is it normal for everyone to go into their soulscape during evolution?"

Some light immediately came back to Nikra's eyes as she gave him, what Leo understood as, a grateful smile. "No. Unless you previously mastered the ability to enter it, you would be left in the infinite darkness, experiencing some of the pain that comes with evolution."

Leo nodded. That much he expected, even if he didn't fancy going through any more pain for now. "So it was you who dragged me here," he stated more than asked.

"It was the obvious choice. Even with the weak time dilation inside of a soulscape, we still won't have enough time to talk about everything important, and speaking to you when you are awake is quite tiring."

Leo quirked an eyebrow, "Time dilation?" Now that was interesting and definitely took them away from the elephant in the room.

Nikra shrugged, a light chuckle escaping her lips. "It isn't anything special, young one, so don't get too excited. Most souls can barely extend one second from the outside world to two here. I think only one of my brothers could strengthen the dilation, but his aspect pretty much did all the work..."

"Brother?" Definitely not Geron.

Nikra flinched, "A tale for a different day when time isn't chasing us."

Alright then, but you just gave me the perfect opening to ask about something I have to know.

As casually as he could, Leo spoke up, "Speaking of tales for a different day. I think I will take the explanation about Voidlings and Void aspects right now."

Spotting the widening of Nikra's eyes, Leo couldn't help but think that maybe he should on his ability to subtly change subjects.

Oh, well, my contact with other people over the last week was quite limited... At least I didn't ask about the first Outbreak yet. Bet that conversation is gonna be interesting...