Descriptions of blindness

Luke awoke in a prison cell, more specifically it was what appeared to be a medieval prison cell. Immediately he realized that he was chained to a wall, held in place by two manacles attached to a long-rusted chain that had been hammered into the wall via similarly rusted loops. Immediately he had tried to tug on the chain only to find it held firm, his effort only causing a thick red dust of rust to spread from the aged metal.

Old metal bars barred his exit, through them Luke could see an old hallway made of similar bricks. The whole thing reminded him of an old horror movie he had seen, where the main cast had got trapped in the ruins of an old castle.

The cell was small enough to where Luke was only about four steps from the gate, though with the chains around his wrists be could only manage two. Still, it was something, and being trapped gave him the chance to think about his situation.

As he stood with the chains around his wrist, he forced himself to think about what had occurred just prior to his arrival. The first thing he noted was that he was certain he wasn't dreaming, at least based on the way he felt fully conscious and how the rusted chains seemed to be cutting into his wrists. Moreover, he was certain that wherever he was, he was not in a safe position. Because of that he made no moves or efforts to alert anyone to his presence.

Partly because of the warning the weird screen had given him, a warning regarding danger and the need to get stronger to survive. Yet it was also in part because of the strange feeling of the walls around him. The whole environment seemed far too eerie for him to go about making noise, it almost felt as if he were being watched.

Shivering at the idea, Luke forced his mind to other matters, namely the question that had been burning on his mind.

'Shouldn't I have some sort of awakening?', he wondered silently.

Yet nothing seemed to happen, he didn't feel any pain as the screen had warned. It was possible the awakening had already happened in his sleep, though he didn't feel any different.

'I wish I could look at the screen again', he thought silently.

Just like that an image appeared to him, this time rather than something he could see the image seemed to appear directly in his mind.

Once again, he saw his plain brown eyes and a sharp but too-slim face, as well as messy brown hair that hung around his shoulders. The only difference was that this time his image was full length showing his entire height of 1.8 meters (5'11 feet). Like he was currently wearing the image showed him wearing his old gym clothes, his shirt bearing the logo of Monty's gym. His build was slim, though there was some muscularity from working in the gym for so long. Although his build was closer to a casual jogger rather than a professional athlete. Below the image showed a similar list of words from before.

Lucian Kell

Race: Human

Rank: Unawakened.

Soul tempering until next rank: [1/1]

 (Evolution imminent)

Bloodline: Dormant.

Affinity: Unknown

Eyes: Brown

Abilities:

Dormant ability

Bloodline powers:

Dormant power

Dormant curse

Master: None

The only change in the words was the evolution imminent part, and the change in his soul tempering. Luke frowned at that, and wondered whether the evolution was what the three voices had referred to as awakening. Assuming so, Luke began to wonder how long it would take and when it would start.

'I just hope its not painful', Luke thought, just as another message appeared over the screen.

"Congratulations, you have ranked up. Beginning awakening process now."

Luke barely had time to read the message before his body began to seize violently.

***

Pain enveloped Luke's entire world; every inch of his body seemed to burn with unimaginable pain. It felt as though his limbs were rearranging themselves, he felt as if his very bones seemed to stretch, shake and break. His muscle fibers felt as though they were melting, while skin felt as though it was being pulled apart. Opening his mouth, he let out a scream, though it seemed to come out as a squeak. Then his hearing went out as his ears spasmed, and the sound of thunder filled his mind.

Though perhaps the worst of the pain came from his eyes, which felt as if they were being pulled out with a spoon. The sockets felt as if they were being stabbed with a rusted knife repeatedly, while a strange warmth seemed to emanate from the back of his skull. Eventually his sight went out as well, leaving him in a world of darkness. Without remembering he had fallen to the ground at some point, his body parts slamming against the wall and floor as he shook.

Pain continued until it was all he knew, and it persisted for what might have been hours. Eventually Luke's mind seemed to fade out, as if his very consciousness had been pushed out of his body. Even then he felt the agony of his "evolution", though it was as though he was feeling it through a curtain, as if the pain were happening to someone else.

Eventually the pain began to fade, and then minutes later it vanished completely. Leaving Luke laying in a pile of sweat and something warm and sticky that he guessed to be blood. His hearing returned with a pop, as well as the other senses he had lost without realizing it. Smells hit him like a brick house, the smell of stone permeated the air along with something strangely sweet in a near sickening way.

Taste came around the same time, though all he could taste was a pool of blood that had welled in his mouth. With a spit he felt as a glob of blood left moth and splattered on the old stone floor. For moments he waited, his body filled with numbing shock at what he had just experienced. Then slowly that shock turned to fear, and then to terror as he realized what sense had failed to come back. His sight.

Spitting out more blood, Luke waited for five minutes before he forced himself to sit in an upright position. It was harder to do without his sight, but he managed to get his back against the wall, while his feet lay strewn out in front of him. Then with a shuttered breath, he forced himself to focus on something other than panic attack building in his chest.

Without his sight, finding something to focus on was nearly impossible. Scrambling in his mind, his body shaking with anxiety, he began to grasp straws. Finally, he forced his mind on the screen that had disappeared when he began feeling the pain. After a moment or two the screen appeared in his mind, and while he still could not see he had a clear mental image of said screen. What he saw, however, only added to his confusion.

Where his image had been, a new image had appeared of a man that looked eerily similar to himself. The man was covered in blood and dirt, while his skin was an almost unhealthy pale. Despite that there was a handsomeness about him, a slim but strong jaw with m shaped lips and a sharp nose. Where Luke's image had shown brown hair, this man's was black as night and far longer, reaching down past his back. The most notable of his features however were his bright crimson eyes that seemed far brighter than any eye should be. In fact they almost had a glow about them, though most bizarre of all were his pupils. Both were long like a cats, giving the eyes a predatory gleam about them.

Unlike Luke, the man had a far more muscular build, not broad in any sense but he had the appearance of a pro-athlete. His muscles were well defined with a full set of abs and a strong chest, much like Luke he had a slimness to him but by no means did he look frail. In fact the man looked almost inhuman in some ways, his features to sharp, too handsome, even his skin seemed without blemish besides the blood and dirt.

Then Luke realized what the man was wearing, gym shorts and a t-shirt that said Monty's gym. Frowning deeply a horrifying curiosity overtook him as he noticed something pressing lightly against his back side, smashed against his shit by the wall. Reaching back, his horrifying curiosity turned to pure horror as he realized his hair had seemed to grow in length. Moving a hand to his face he realized that his facial features were different as well, sharper like the man in the image.

'No way' he thought as he felt his seemingly new facial features.

There were other details that were different as well, his hair was thicker and smoother than before, while his skin glided smoothly under his fingertips.

While his mind struggled to believe it, he couldn't deny the fact that he was likely the man in the image. They looked similar enough to be twins, although one was admittedly far better looking.

'Could that really be me?', he wondered grimly.

Wondering if there was some way to prove whether he could prove the matter to himself, an idea occurred to him. Slowly, almost timidly he raised a hand to his face and wiped it down his mouth a couple times. He had already touched his face, but not made any movements that might disturb the grime that covered him.

A second after wiping as much grime off his face as possible the image changed, this time showing the image of the man with dirt and blood smears running down his face's length.

Luke froze as the reality of his situation occurred to him, somehow his appearance had changed dramatically throughout his pain. The word evolution appeared in his mind, forcing him to acknowledge that he really had undergone some sort of change.

Continuing to stare at his new image, Luke underwent a torrent of emotions. Curiosity, horror, confusion, and most of all a sense of wonder. By no means was his change a bad one, but at the same time it was still a change that he had not agreed too. In some ways it felt as if he had been forced to undergo cosmetic surgery. While it might have succeeded in making him look better, he had not consented to the procedure happening.

Unable to fully comprehend his own feelings, Luke turned his attention away from his own image and to the list of words, which he decided he would start to call his status.

Lucian Kell Infernus

Titles: Scion of the Infernus clan.

One who see all and nothing.

Race: Demon

Stage: lesser

Rank: Awakened

Soul tempering until next rank: [0/100]

Bloodline: Infernus

Affinity: Unknown

Eyes: Crimson

Abilities:

Unholy observation: Your eyes are the symbols of your bloodline, and your connection to those that have fallen. They are sightless, and yet they see more of the world than any regular eyes could.

Bloodline powers:

Noble Demon blood: As a high demon of one of the most powerful bloodlines, you now have the physical aspects to stand at the top of your lines. These aspects will only grow with your rank.

Flames of the Infernus clan: Hellfire is of the height of the true elements, and one of the most dangerous. As a scion of the Infernus clan the essence of these flames course through your very blood, no lesser heat may harm you.

Sightless: Your eyes are far more powerful than your body can withstand, for what they perceive you cannot. Until you reach the strength to withstand your eyesight, you will be cursed to see nothing in the way normal eyes might. Do not fear this sightlessness, for you have been gifted with the ability to truly see.

Master: None

Unknown affinity: your magic has no shape, no form and therefore no use. Until your soul shapes the magic that has bonded with it, you will not be able to use your magic. The magic is one with you and will find its form in your moment you need it most.

The sheer amount of information was almost too much to take in. First Luke started trying to understand how his name had seemed to change. It seemed the strange force behind the screen had mistaken him for one of the Infernus clan, whoever they were. More than that it seemed to believe him a demon, just the thought of that was more than a little confusing. To him demons were creatures with bright red skin, long black horns, wings and tails.

Yet the only part of him that had seemed to take on any sort of demonic change was his eyes. Which had taken on an inhuman appearance with their narrowed slit-like pupils and their bright red tinge. More than that, the description he had been given about the eyes had been outright confusing.

In one instance they call them sightless, and then the description directly said that they have the power to see more than normal eyes. The description made no sense, how could eyes be sightless and still able to see.

'This makes no sense', he thought bitterly, letting out a groan of annoyance.

Finally, after a moment of trying to rack his brain around what he was reading he continued down the list. The noble demon blood aspect said no fire besides something call hellfire could harm him. Though that description wasn't very helpful, especially as he had no idea what hellfire was. Apparently, it was powerful, and was part of a grouping of magic called true magic.

'I feel like reading this is only making me more confused', Luke thought angrily.

The description of sightless was of little help as well, other than to tell him that the strange change in his eyes was the cause of his blindness. Which he had already guessed, though it did seem to hint at him being able to see again one day if his body became stronger. How he was supposed to get stronger in this strange place he had no idea. Luke strongly suspected that his rank and stage were the main aspects to getting stronger, considering they almost looked like an experience bar from a video game. How to raise the number of his soul tempering though was still a mystery.

Lastly was his unknown affinity, which said he couldn't use magic until his magic had a shape. Again, the description wasn't helpful at all as he really didn't even know what magic was, other than the old movies he had seen as a kid where old wizards threw fireballs.

Taking the time to read over the descriptions and new points a few more times, Luke finally decided to close the status. Doing erased the mental image he had of the screen and left him alone in the darkness of his cell. Swallowing to shove down his earlier panic, Luke decided it was time to find a way out of his chains.