Right after Kael entered the rift, he braced himself for impact, expecting a hard ground to meet him. In reality, there was nothing. No ground, no anything. Just a black space without gravity, light or anything else. He turned his head and looked around, in the distance he could see a human-like figure staring at him from the distance. As it came closer, it snapped and the entire box turned into a white box.
Kael dropped to the ground with a soft thud, at that moment, the being stopped before him, it had no face, nor any other features that resemble a human apart from the silhouette. It was pure white, almost blending in with the box.
At that moment, the previous events at his house came back to him. Kael stirred a bit and started crying, his cool composure cracking entirely. After all, he had just seen his dead mother and left his brother to die as well.
The white figure moved what could resemble an arm and put it on his shoulder, then, a voice that could be female or male spoke in his head, loud and clear.
[Let it out, child. There is nothing wrong with fleeing from a battle you cannot win. If you had tried to protect them, you would've lost your life too.]
Kael stared up at the figure, his face was still contorted in pain. 'I don't care what this figure says... I left him to die, I broke my promise.'
[No. You did not yet. Kael, your brother is still very much alive. Inside this rift, time outside passes much, much slower. A month in here is around a minute outside.]
He stared at the figure before him once again, how could it have heard his thoughts? What is this place even? After a short moment, Kael sighed.
'Whatever it is, it's much better than getting killed by that man outside.'
[Kael. Do you want to continue crying like a little child? Or will you challenge the rift and conquer all trials inside it? Make your choice now.]
The entity stretched out a hand towards him, as if to help him up. Kael bit his lips for a moment, then frowned, his own hand itching closer to the being.
"Who even are you? What is this place where I am? Don't you normally get put into a trial immediately?"
[Ah, yes. Yes, that is certainly true for normal people, you however, are not normal. You are one that they call Universe's chosen. I am the universe, or rather the personification of it. Where we are, well, that is hard to explain. So, Kael. Will you become my champion? Will you attain great power to avenge your mother? Will you stop being a coward and step up? If so, take my hand and I will explain it all for you.]
Kael hesitated a moment, then eagerly grabbed the person's hand, pulling himself to a standing position.
[Good.]
In the same moment, a burning sensation spread through Kael's entire body, emanating from the back of his hand. A circle slowly burned into it, almost forcing him to fall back to his knees. After a few moments, the pain subsided. Kael felt that his body was slightly stronger, more agile, more durable.
'What is this.. is this a brand?'
[Precisely. It is a premature brand that holds no real power yet, tell me, Kael, are you familiar with the depth system?]
Staring at his new mark, he slowly shook his head.
[I already knew that.]
Kael frowned. 'Why the hell would you ask me then, bastard?'
[Watch your thoughts, after all, I know everything, even the words in the back of your mind. Well, to put it simply, the depth system just dictates how fledged out your brand is. With each trial, you grow stronger and your brand gains a new power. These powers stretch from direct combat abilities, to utility boons or even healing powers. After you beat this rift, your brand will rise in rank and be depth 1. It will form its own element and unique power. Yours right now is merely depth 0. I granted it to you so you could access things like a storage system.]
Processing all the new information, Kael just looked at the endless white ground, then back at his brand. He never imagined he would end up here one day. "So, tell me, how do I access it? The storage thingy."
He could make out somewhat of a smile on the creatures face, even he didn't know how that was possible.
[It's quite easy, you close your eyes and focus your attention on your brand on your hand.]
Kael followed the instructions, closing his eyes and then focusing on the newly ingrained brand on his right hand. Then, he heard the universe's soft voice speaking to him and before his eyes, letters formed.
Name: Kael
Age: 18
Brand: -
Curse: -
Hunger: -
Brand abilities: -
Titles: -
[Inventory]
He focused his mind onto the inventory option, the letters faded and new ones were made.
[Inventory]:
Armor: [Scrapper's Hide]
Weapons: [Scrap Iron Blade]
With that, he opened his eyes again. "Hey, why do I already have items? I mean.. how even?"
The being turned away from him and stared at the endless distance. It looked quite strange, he couldn't tell what part of it was front and what back, so all he could do was guess.
[That is simple too, it's a little gift from my side. I can't send someone with no experience into a harrowing trial after all. Besides, those two items are not really all that strong, after you kill a couple monsters you'll get way better things.]
Kael nodded, he was determined to beat the trials and then never be a coward again. The being was about to part ways with him, hesitating a bit he suddenly took a step forward.
"Hey, is there anything you can tell me about the trials? Like, what are they like?"
The being stopped once again, it moved its head upward to stare at the white sky. A harrowing laugh that sounded like iron was being grinded against each other suddenly shot from the being.
[You're asking an awfully lot of questions, young child. If I were to tell you what the trials are about, that would defeat the whole point of them, would it not? Get of your high horse, Kael. You might be special but you're not that special.. at least not yet.]
With these hurting words, the entity departed through a rift, behind himself, one opened too. Standing in the silence of the now completely empty white space, he took a minute then slowly stepped through the rift.
On the other side, he suddenly stepped out into a beautiful grass field overlooking a distant town. In the sky, some birds were circling a nearby tree. A sweet scent of flowers pierced his nose. Kael just took all of this in for a moment, then looked around.
'I guess my first mission is to get to that town..'