Time passed, though Raviel couldn't tell how much time had truly passed.
Minutes...
Hours.. it all blurred into a single moment.
Snow had began to fall now, softer at first then heavier, like pieces of white feathers covered in the gentle glow of the golden parking-lot lights.
His father.
Was already half buried in the pile of pure white snow.
Those white flakes covered his brown jacket and trapped half of his face in its cold embrace. The snow at his chest turned bright red, where the bullet had hit.
Raviel could do nothing.
Just watch.
Soon, people rushed in, shouting and murmuring. Paramedics pushed through the crowds of people and lifted his father's body on a stretcher.
One of the medic wiped the the faint streak of blood and snow from his hair, to identify the face.
And Raviel just watched.
His steps making no sound, his shadow didn't exist here.
The ambulance doors shut tight, with a loud piercing siren sound, the ambulance hurried off. Raviel saw, as the police scattered the civillians and restricted the area.
Two of the black uniformed officer's switched on their static walkie-talkie and muttered.
"Civillian reported to be shot in the chest, close to the heart....I repeat civillian reported to be dead, Requesting the arrangements for post-mortem and forensic tests."
While the other officer was busy deploying a small team to find Lucas and the escaped masked man.
And Raviel was left alone.
He turned back to the spot where his father had collapsed. Most of it was now covered in patches of red.
Then....something glinted.
A small shine beneath the patches of the red snow.
Raviel blinked and knelt down.
He reached out for the snow, expecting his hand to pass through it like just everything else.
But it didn't.
His finger touched the thing.
Cold, metallic and worned out.
He brushed the red snow aside and lifted it.
A book.
No cover.
No title.
But still it felt heavier in his hands. Like it had its own consciousness.
The moment he held it, his status screen flickered violently before his vision.
[ INTEGRATION PROCESS INITIATED ]
A sharp pain stabbed into his brain.
He grabbed his head, falling down into the snowy ground.
But even through the blinding pain.
Raviel let out a weak, trembling breath as his eyes followed the fresh snow falling down lazily from the lamps.
Soft.
And beautiful
"The....snow is..beautiful"
His eyes closed.
While another set of them watched his falling figure from the darkness with a glowing intensity.
The status screen blurred before Raviel, then one final line appeared faintly in front of him:
[ INTEGRATION COMPLETED ]
.
.
.
[ SKILL SHATTERED DUE TO OVERLOAD ]
.
.
.
[ INITIALIZING CALL-BACK ]
A pulling sensation wrapped itself around his body.
And then.
He vanished from the place.
❖❖❖❖❖
Raviel's eyes fluttered open.
For a moment he just stared at the chandelier hanging on the ceiling.
It was all familiar to him by now.
The bed, the room, the tiles and the tv.
It was just the way it was before he gulped down the seemingly harmless potion.
The dim morning light slipped through the half closed curtains.
He shot upright with a audible gasp and immediately gagged.
A heavy, rotting smell hit him like a punch.
"What the —?"
He looked down.
His white shirt… was no longer white.
It was soaked in some kind of black muck, sticky and tar-thick, clinging to his skin in strings when space formed.
The sheets were ruined.
The floor had splatters and puddles of the same dark filth, like something had been squeezed out of him.
It dripped from his armspits. It slid down his chest.
It smelled awful.
Raviel stared at himself for a long second.
Then he let out a tired, smile.
"…The hell… I should probably clean this up," he muttered, rubbing his forehead.
He took a deep breath, trying not to puke from the smell.
Then as if remembering his primary objective, he muttered.
"Status."
The screen flashed into existence.
=============================
〔STATUS〕
「NAME」: Raviel Thanarion
「AGE」: 16
「POTENTIAL」: Limitless
「TIER」: D+
「CLASS」: Oddity {Anomalous}
「STRENGTH」: D+
「VITALITY」: D-
「ENDURANCE」: D
「AGILITY」: D+
「INTELLIGENCE」: A+
「MANA SYNC」: C-
「CHARM」: A+
_________________
[SKILLS]
MINDLOCK: Induces extreme-hyperfocus for limited amount of time. Neutralizes emotions and irrational thoughts to have a singular focus.
________________
[AFFINITY]
LIGHTNING: ADEPT ( cannot be further progressed due to erosion of lightning affinity since forceful manifestation of Gravity. Can now only be used to coat the affinity on parts of body).
GRAVITY: (AQUIRED) :APPRENTICE
Subtle manipulation of gravity which can used to increase and decrease your weight by 20% and create distortions by compression and expansion.
_________________
[SOUL–BOUND]
〔KUROTSUME-NOCTIFER〕
STATUS: UNBREAKABLE
PHASE:
¤ Kurotsume: Transforms into katana. Natural phase. Uses gravity to shift through phases to maintain weight balance. Due to which this affinity has been forcefully engraved to your body.
(Signature: Ryusei Yamamoto)
¤ Noctifero: To be unlocked.
(Signature: Renè Noctifer)
_______________
[MARTIAL MODULE]
Everscent Severance [ ★★★★★ ]
Mastery— (____8%)
Stance: To be unlocked at 10% mastery.
==============================
He looked at it for ten whole seconds.
As he could not believe his own eyes
and burst out laughing.
"Hah… ha… fucking hell… hahahahah…"