1 Prologue

The smell of blood permeates through the air. The sounds of chains and the cries of animals ring out into the darkness. Moments later, a young teen lands on his feet before flopping onto the ground in front of a rather tall lady. His eyes and hair were abnormally black. Though he wasn't that tall and was relatively slim, anyone who'd look at him would feel a sense of wariness.

"You're good at this trial, Ryn. Good at failing to take a hint and speed up" The tall figure states, blowing out a puff of filthy cigar smoke. The peculiar color of green and gray mixed to make a nauseating smell.

Ryn stares at her, trying to catch his breath. He barely stands up from the ground and speaks in an unamused but breathless tone "Does every trial have to be this damn annoying, Karn? Honestly, I can't feel any improvement, even when I try my damned hardest."

Karn looks at Ryn with obvious annoyance and groans in response "Yeah, yeah, you kids should just shut up and do what you're told. How old are you, 17? Act your age and listen to us."

Ryn rolls his eyes and snaps back "If you think changing your hair pink and being an asshole would bring your husband back, then you can-"

Just before he could finish his sentence, the ground beneath them cracks, leaving deep crevices all around them. Karn stares into Ryn's eyes and slowly opens her mouth "Don't. Test. My. Patience."

Ryn scrunches his eyebrows before turning around and leaving the room.

Minutes later, Karn took her phone out and put it to her ear. "So is he ready to take the higher concentration serum?"

Moments later, a deep, ghost-like voice spoke from the other side "Give it to him. At his current rate of improvement, it'll take 3 years otherwise. 5 if we're unlucky."

After hearing this, Karn gave a sigh of relief before responding "As you desire, Vile Oni."

...

Walking down a gray hall, Ryn eventually stops at a door numbered '55.' Taking out a pair of keys, he opens the door slowly, looking left and right confirming this is his team's cafeteria before running into the room at a fast pace.

However, he was a moment too slow as water splashed over his head, and laughter resonated in the room.

"You've gotten slower Ryn, you know you can't skip your training!" a light, joyous voice resounded.

Just as Ryn was about to retort, a man comes out from beneath a table. His blonde hair swayed as he stood up, towering over the girl who spoke earlier. "Ah shit, why did no one wake me up..?" He complained.

Ryn sighs "Your eyes got worse, Sol. You couldn't even tell the lights were turned on. Also, why were you sleeping under the tabl-"

"DON'T! It was because I failed a bet!" The large man, Sol, whose eyes appeared pure white, then patted the girl's shoulder "Jil here is feeling very 'pranky' as of recent. I lost a bet she made over something that she had lots of control over! I never had a chance at winning! I bet it's because she became a Tier 4!"

Jil suspiciously states in a low voice "...no, it's because..." before dwelling into incomprehensible murmurs that only she could decode.

Look around, Ryn calls out to the two of them "Where's Yeren? Isn't he meant to be here for rollcall?"

Jil's eyes brighten up as she shouts out "He became a Tier 6! Isn't that cool for someone with his ability!? Oh, right, uhm, he's recovering right now to deal with the backlash."

"I'll be in my room, then, Karn made me do the 'Ignorance Trial' as fast as I could." Ryn states with evident tire in his voice.

Jil looks towards Ryn and shyly speaks "Uhm, if you want Ryn, I could hel-" and then her worst nightmare came true "HAVE A GOOD REST RYN! WE WON'T DISTURB YAH FOR THE REST OF TH' NIGHT!"

Jil stares at Sol with her mouth agape. Sol smiles victoriously knowing he had ruined her attempt. Before anyone could realise what was going on, they enter a vocal war so horrendous that any man or woman who overhears such things would enter a midlife crisis over all the unique insults that they never even thought of, making them feel inferior physically, mentally, and imaginatively. War is hell, and there are no exceptions. Even this harmless conversation, is indeed a horror to behold on the psychological level.

...

After entering his room, trying his damnest to ignore the extremely creative insults outside, Ryn notices a bottle next to his bed labeled "T4 - DRINK THIS ASAP"

Sighing, he picks up the bottle and thinks back to his teammates, and quietly tells himself "Remember yourself, remember your team, remember yourself, remember your team..."

As Ryn was thinking this, he took it upon himself to refresh his memory to ensure he could take the liquid and remain sane at the end of it.

Ryn - I am a Blessed that is 5'10 that holds peculiar powers over some sort of illusionary tentacles that grow from a black aura that can appear around me. My hair and eyes are pitch black, to the point they stand out, like excess ink. I am currently Tier 5 and will go Tier 4. I am 17, I am Ryn. I am me. I am a human. I am blessed.

Sol - A blind 6'8 giant that holds the ability to manipulate flesh. So far he can only enhance himself. That includes strength, speed, and regeneration. He has blonde hair and white eyes, for he is blind. He is currently Tier 6. He is 22. He is a friend. He is not me. I am me. He is human. He is blessed.

Jil - A young girl that is 5'8 that holds the ability to manipulate Gravitational Cores. She can affect gravity in many ways, enough to technically be telekinetic, except far more powerful. Sol believes she might be able to create miniature genuine black holes in the future. Her hair is red and her eyes are pink. She is currently Tier 4. She is 16. She is a friend. She is not me. I am me. She is human. She is blessed.

Yeren - A young man that is 5'9 that holds the ability called 'Light Runner.' He can run extremely fast and perform any mobile/agile action with far greater efficiency and speed than anyone else alive. He also learns martial arts at an alarming rate. He has black hair and brown eyes. He is currently progressing to Tier 6. He is 17. He is a friend. He is not me. I am me. He is human. He is blessed.

All sorts of thoughts ran through his mind, remembering all sorts of problematic things. Scrunching his eyebrows, he had a thought at that moment 'I'm forgetting something? None of this feels correct.' Shrugging off those thoughts, Ryn picks up the bottle filled with a thick, opaque orange liquid and downs it.

At that very moment, Ryn's eyes shake, no literally, they are move all over the place, with the veins bulging out, popping out fresh blood. It pours all over his face, ripping apart his skin. Slowly, but surely, it spread around his body, everywhere veins pop out as if trying to rip out of his skin, popping like zits and spilling fresh blood. A minute didn't even pass by the time he was soaked in his own lifeline.

Minutes, nay, hours passed until Ryn regained his senses. In his own consciousness, the sounds of tearing steel resounded, as many, many memories resurfaced. He remembers. He remembers it all.

"W... What is... What is this...?" Ryn's blood slowly seeps back into their wounds before sealing shut. His eyes and hair gained further darkness as a sound tore through his mind:

"R̸̜̱͕͓̩̭̋Ę̸̰̹̞̘̙͍̤̯̇̉̾̎̏̈̚M̷̨̱͖͎͉̒̄̕ͅĔ̸͇̔͛M̴̨͓̦̬͈̥̗̰̭̍̌̓̒͂͌̊B̵̮̣͖̰̩͉̞̓̒̆́͊͠È̸̛͈̳̭͔̩͙͍̥̤̗̺̊̀̀̔̈́͌̈́͒̽̔̚͝R̶͓̙̝̪̆̒͌̄̐.̸̝̞͈̥̔̂̉"

Whether he desired to or not, he no longer had the luxury of free will. All his memories that had been somehow silenced within this facility, everything. Fear tore through his heart as a single thought dominated his essence:

'Get out! Get out while I still remember!'

Just as these thoughts raced through his mind, an ethereal, deep voice came from behind him.

"Deal with Ryn, Vile Karn. He looks like he'll go mad any second." Another lighter but more cracked voice that made one want to tell them to clear their throat resounded "Yes, Vile Oni."

Before Ryn could process any of this, he felt his bones crack, tearing throughout his entire body. He let out a shrill scream. The last thing he heard before he passed out was "How... dark..."

- End of Prologue -