It was one of the few days when he could go to the library and uninterruptedly expand his knowledge. There were so many imperfections in this world, so many problems, and demonic spawn was simply the most publicized. Mad cults practicing their perverted beliefs; former nobles holding on to their old power despite conflicting realities; or simple corruption among officials were no less dangerous to the well-being of the citizens. They weren’t talked about that much, though.

  The time would come to address these issues as well, but trying to focus on everything at once could only end in failure. So Dami sighed, glancing briefly at the books he’d set aside for later, and returned his attention to his current reading. This was his fourth project and this time he will make sure that the councilors will not find any objections.

  This time they will listen to him, and together they will save this world.

  Reviewing information about how people across the multiverse dealt with demonic beings for the umpteenth time, he tried to extract every clue, every previously overlooked nuance that might help their situation. It seemed that public knowledge had already been censored. Yet even in the available stories, there are suggestions that there is indeed some way to quickly, even instantly, identify the possessed.

  A pale hand landed on his shoulder, which, at a cursory glance, clearly belonged to a member of the Abui race. The characteristically pale skin and thin, long limbs contrasted with the black sclera of the middle-aged man. Seeing the large collection of books, the stranger glanced at him and smiled appreciatively.

  “Every view has its own horizon.” said the man, then added another book of his own to the pile. It had a red cover, with a black drop printed on it, and at first glance, he could see that plenty of pages were torn out. An act that normally shouldn't go unheeded and one he's certainly never heard of.

  ***

  It had only been two days since they’d returned from the tutorial, and already he’d killed more people than during its entire three-month duration.

  Teleporting to the city the previous day, Victor, aside from a few system messages, looked at what remained of what had once been their ordinary, non-magical world. He had landed in the city center, or so he thought, seeing familiar, albeit slightly paler, buildings. The distances between them also differed. Each building, whether a small, single-story apartment or a skyscraper, was separated by space, allowing for the construction of something new, much larger. The System preserved old structures to serve as temporary shelters while leaving room for the construction of new ones, consistent with their new reality.

  Vehicles that had previously allowed people to travel the world and proudly served as indicators of their owner’s status and wallet size now stood empty, also faded, a sign that they too would soon cease to exist.

  All electronics stopped working, whether they required external power or batteries, suggesting that the laws of physics as they knew them had also changed. It would likely be some time before humans figured out a way to mass-produce mana-powered technology. This was both sad and comforting news. Sad because they had lost their program, which, before the tutorials, had sold out worldwide at an extraordinary rate. Comforting because, with the presence of magic, they might be able to create something even better. Something that perhaps could even serve as an alternative to the System, but with the possibility to manage it.

  Returning to the present, Victor was holding by the throat a wriggling affirmation of his decision that gaining personal power was a wise idea. Beyond the architectural changes and technological decline, most people likely experienced some degree of backwardness in civilization. The rabble now swarmed the vast spaces, practically salivating searching for any opportunities. Some tried to grab as much as they could for themselves, others, drugged by their newfound powers, raped and murdered as if there was no tomorrow. But even such people have their uses.

  Victor smiled as he looked into the panicked eyes of the young man who had tried to sneak attack him earlier and made up his mind.

  It was time to take action.

  Even the System made it clear that the summit is within his grasp. The task of gathering the most support, though laborious, was not at all difficult. All he had to do was brutally extinguish the competition.

  And now? Now it’s time to start building his own empire.

  ***

  “Oh, I also think I could use some information on where to get some clothes. I doubt the ‘Ori’s Root ‘n’ Vine’ brand has any real chance here, right?” he said, pulling back the blanket and seeing that his hastily crafted ‘clothing,’ though still in place, was covering even less than before.

  Seeing that the Inquisitor needed a moment to understand his gibberish, he decided to consider how he would tell his quarantine story. Then, when Orion signaled he was ready, the older man pulled another device from the air. This time, it looked like a brown marble ball resting on a base with a slight indentation. As he began to speak, the ball rotated slightly with each sound. Seeing his confused expression, the Inquisitor amusedly informed him that it was a device that converted speech into text and recorded the information on small plates inside the base.

  In his story, Orion chose to censor some parts and omit some altogether. He said that people who had died while the System was doing ‘something’ to their souls were put into the universe’s quarantine, and he mentioned that the process was extremely short, so the chance of that happening was minimal. He also tried to convey, as if the System hadn’t revealed to him, what happened to the soul during this process.

  This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

  Then he recounted how he had awakened and what his surroundings were like. He spoke of a hostile, colorless forest of twisted rocks and that he had encountered another person there, the one he had been traveling with, who unfortunately did not survive that journey.

  He told about strange beasts and the battles he had fought with them. However, he did not mention that he had fed on them, fearing that this might somehow lead the Inquisitor to connect it with his current state of his soul.

  He spoke of a time when all he had to do was put one foot in front of the other, in an endless cycle. Of never-ending wastelands and maddening abstract sounds in the background.

  Then he moved on to meeting Neru, although he simply referred to him as a ‘friendly, sentient being’ with whom he could communicate.

  He told how this being had lived in this place for millions of years and how he shared with him his theories about what this place truly was.

  Orion recalled his shock when he learned that the place he’d landed on was actually a vast beast, the very surface of which he’d been walking. He shared Neru’s explanation that this enormous creature was merely a crumb of the entire quarantine and that beyond it, other anomalies existed in the cosmic space. He then explained; what was initially a theory, later confirmed by the System itself; that this place was indeed a kind of defense mechanism for the universe, transporting there anything that violated the laws of nature.

  At that point, he paused, pondering the fate of the other people who ended up there, imagining that most of them simply fell into the void. But why would they have their memories erased upon returning? Or perhaps these were people who had died, their souls somehow captured by the System? Could he, following this line of thought, hope to ever see Martha again?

  Unfortunately, given that only a fraction of them were returning, Orion suspected that these were people who actually survived in this place until the System took over the quarantine. Still, why were their memories erased while his remained intact? Ah, an explanation formed in his mind.

  Hunger.

  The reason for the erased memories was hunger. Orion remembered his ‘body’ experiencing that version of starvation. It was overwhelming, agonizing. The feeling had appeared only a few days after waking up in that place, and it had grown stronger with each passing moment. It was the sixth, maybe seventh day in quarantine when he’d devoured the beast that had killed Martha, and he’d eaten as if he were about to explode. He could only imagine what it must have been like for those people suspended in the void, unable to find food, for days, weeks, then months.

  Pure madness. They could kick, cry, and curse the heavens, but the void remained unchanged. After all this time, they were most likely trying to eat their own flesh; their own souls. If they still somehow survived, it’s no wonder the System erased those memories.

  The Inquisitor, noticing Orion’s rising emotions, suggested a break, but he shook his head. At this point, it would be best to end the story quickly and turn his thoughts elsewhere. He could grieve the sad fate that befell these people, but it wouldn’t change anything.

  He also considered sharing his theory but decided against it. Firstly, it’s not substantiated in any way, and secondly, it might lead to the question, ‘So what did you eat then?’

  So he continued his story, recounting the journey with Neru and how he’d finally helped him escape straight into the ending tutorial instance. He was careful not to reveal or in any way hint at his friend’s powers, though. Considering his last revealed skill, this also suggested that a soul could somehow appropriate someone else’s abilities.

  Concluding his story, he recounted what the Inquisitor had already known: he was supposed to be sent home, yet he ended up here. Aware that the older man had literally seen his soul, he also told him about the System message explaining why he couldn’t return.

  “And do I understand correctly assuming that you are saying that the quarantine in question is a place that every universe has?”

  “From what I understand, that’s how it works, at least in non-integrated universes. They have places where things are sent that violate the laws of nature. The entity I mentioned had claimed that something was taking over this place, so I assume it was the System that integrated the quarantine at the very end.” said Orion.

  After considering various scenarios for a while, he added.

  “I can imagine that researchers on my planet have occasionally observed, for example, something strange emerging in space and then suddenly disappearing. They assumed the phenomenon had died out when, in reality, it had been sucked into the universe’s quarantine. I also think this place might be richer in mana than the rest of the world before integration.” he finished, wondering about the source of Neru’s power. If mana was an alien energy, it was natural that it would be drawn into the quarantine, which would mean his friend had long been exposed to it.

  “I am sorry, young man, that you had to go through something like this, and I sympathize that you ended up in this foreign land.” said Saun, and after a short silence he added. “This story does not explain your state of soul, but as we agreed, let us leave it at that. I am curious about your mana, though.”

  “Her name’s Christine. But what does my mom have to do with all this?”

  ”Mana.”

  “Ah. What’s wrong with it?”

  The Inquisitor then explained how mana behaves naturally, circulating between space and the body.

  “The thing is, I do not see anything like that happening with you. It is possible to conceal the movement of mana around one's body, but you would have to be very skilled at controlling it. As I understand it, this is not a conscious act on your part? Or perhaps some kind of mana-hiding skill?”

  Orion took a moment to review his skills and status, then shook his head.

  “No, it’s not a skill... My status says I have five percent of mana. When I first checked I had six.”

  “You have five percent of mana and are able to speak?” the Inquisitor asked in surprise.

  “Uhm. Apparently? Something wrong?”

  “Normally, at fifteen percent mana, people experience headaches that worsen the lower the state.”

  “Aaaand what happens when your mana drops to zero?”

  “Typically, one falls into a coma until the body naturally regains mana and rests, but sometimes… in the worst-case scenario… death.”

  “Ah, fuck.”

  I’ve edited the skill description in Chapter 19. The current version:

  [Skill: [A] Consumption [Level 1]

  Description: By absorbing part of the essence of a defeated enemy, you gain one per mille of their highest stat and have a small chance of stealing a small portion of their potential.]