Enzo felt his consciousness jerk, as a corporeal version of his body was sent out into deep space. Just like when weaving, he saw clouds of dust and luminary stars floating in the darkness.
However, there was a slight difference this time. It didn't just feel like he was moving through space—it felt like he was seeing the universe become younger before his very eyes… planets devolved, disappeared, and turned into flaming giants.
It felt like he was moving through not just space, but also time. And after spinning through the void for what felt like ages, his mind disoriented, he heard an announcement:
[Welcome to the Third Epoch of the Universe]
[Location: Galafray Prison World]
In a dark, secluded enclosure, the sound of an AI chip resounded in the head of a young man as his body seemingly fell from within a shadow on the wall.
"Shit," Enzo cursed and grunted as his body slammed into the ground. The room was dark, without a trace of light. The walls were moist, as if they'd been submerged in water for a long time.
As he struggled to get up, Enzo began noticing these small details, and a strange calm washed over him.
'Where am I?' was the first thought that crossed his mind. It looked like the corridor of a stone temple—like the ruined ones scattered across Earth. But at the same time… it wasn't.
It felt much more ancient.
"What's that?" After a few seconds of trying to find clues, his eyes fell upon the walls of the corridor. It was dark—extremely dark—but for some reason, he could see the wall clearly. There were words and hieroglyphics written on it.
However, it wasn't any language he had ever seen before.
Standing up, he reached forward and tried to feel the materials on the stony wall, the handwriting and its crudeness. Just as he did, a screen followed by a strange, ancient voice resounded in his head:
"Before the dawn of time, before the first spark of creation, there was only The Void. And in that void, there were monsters."
Enzo immediately felt a chill run down his spine when he heard this, forcing him to instinctively pull his hand back.
But the words didn't stop.
"And from those monsters came the harbingers of existence. This is the tomb of one of their descendants."
[Ding: You have received an objective. Release Victoria Drakenhart, the Vampire Queen, from her captivity.]
Enzo frowned.
He didn't know what the words meant—nor the notification—but he knew what he had to do to get out of this place.
Before that, of course, he pulled up his status screen.
⸻
[Name: Enzo Malvaran]
[Physique: Great-Warrior]
[Essence Core: Divine]
[Skill: Shadow Manipulation, Night Vision]
[Bloodline: The Blood of the Night]
[Class: Night Creature]
[Lifespan: ???]
⸻
It was routine for Weavers to check their stats whenever they arrived on a new planet or space. One had to know the equipment they were working with, right?
"That's strange…" Enzo looked at the stats in front of him and frowned. There was a fundamental difference between normal Weavers and those infected by Star Dust—and that was the tendency of the infected to inherit the physical attributes of their weave, and vice versa.
The first voyage would typically improve their original bodies and grant them attributes only after completing it. But it seemed like he had already received all of this from the very beginning.
"Skill…" Enzo contemplated for a while but eventually threw the thought to the back of his mind as his eyes lit up at the screen in front of him.
All throughout his short career as a Weaver, he had never been blessed with a skill. But here he was—seeing two?? He'd be lying if he said he didn't want to check them out.
"Hmm, how does it work again?" Enzo wondered aloud, a blank expression on his face.
He didn't know how to use a skill—especially these unknown ones from god-knows-where.
"Activate!!" he shouted, but to no avail.
"Go!!"
"Weave!!"
"Attack!!"
He called out several phrases over and over, but none seemed to work.
"Annoying," Enzo sneered after a while, shaking his head lightly. It didn't work.
At least one of them didn't. It seemed like the Night Vision skill was somehow passive, as he could clearly see in the pitch-black corridor.
"I should get back to why I'm here," Enzo muttered, clenching his fists.
His first objective had been given, so wasting time was counterproductive. His father had at most two weeks to live before the time he had on him ran out.
He couldn't afford to linger.
So he looked around, walking past the corridor of the tomb-temple and into another. The entire place felt like a giant maze of small rooms and compartments, each connecting to the next.
If not for his sharp mind and sense of direction, Enzo would have thought he was walking in circles.
"Ehhh… wait a minute." He paused, looking over his shoulder. "I am moving in circles."
Then, in the next second, his head snapped forward as he proceeded to walk through the same door he had just exited. He did this about three times before stopping, brows squinting.
"Headache, huh?" Enzo muttered, glancing toward the corners of the room—and froze.
In the corner of his eye, there was a small black feline creature, with a third eye staring directly at him. That third eye radiated a strange, mystical light that seemed to pierce through his very being.