Everything was silent.
The pain had faded, replaced by a strange, cold numbness.
Hope drifted in a void—a place beyond consciousness, beyond life and death. It was a deep abyss, one that felt both endless and boundless, as if he had fallen through the fabric of reality itself.
Then—
A voice.
A voice unlike any he had ever heard before.
It wasn't human. It wasn't mortal.
It was ancient. Profound. Absolute.
A voice that spoke not to his ears, but to his very soul.
> "Congratulations, contestant."
The words carried a weight that pressed against his very being, sending tremors through his fractured mind.
> "You have activated the power of a forgotten god… the God of Darkness. The throne upon which you sit was once the throne of Darkness, during his reign."
Hope wanted to respond.
But he couldn't.
He couldn't move—he couldn't even breathe.
He was trapped in nothingness, his mind struggling to grasp what was happening
You have been granted a title : 'Emissary of Darkness.'"
A title!
Not just a reward—but something more.
Something fundamental.
A mark—an identity—a curse.
Oh.... You have been give a true name
True Name(s): Child of Darkness, The Mad Son, Last Descendant of Darkness
> "Since you have offered yourself as a sacrifice to the God of Darkness through your spilled blood, you have become one with darkness."
Something inside him shifted.
Something deep.
Something unnatural.
It felt like his very essence was being restructured—as if his body was being rewritten by an unseen force.
> "Rejoice, contestant, for you have passed the first trial."
The words echoed, and suddenly—
A rumble.
A low, deafening tremor that seemed to come from within him.
Then—
BANG!
A detonation.
A force so terrible, so violent, that the entire world seemed to shudder.
It was as if reality itself had been ripped apart.
Then—
The voice spoke once more.
> "Now, the blessings shall descend upon you."
Hope still couldn't move—his body remained lifeless, pinned to the throne, but he could feel something invading him.
A force.
A presence.
Darkness.
It wasn't like the absence of light—no, this was something more.
Something alive.
Something that welcomed him—that embraced him.
And then, the voice spoke again, its tone filled with a chilling finality.
> "You have been gifted with the Gift of Darkness."
A sudden wave of knowledge poured into his mind—searing into his soul like a brand.
It was law.
It was unchangeable.
It was his.
> 1. You shall have the power to hide and move within darkness.
The words etched themselves into his very being, and Hope could suddenly feel it—the shadows, the void, the absence of light—he could sense them like they were a part of him.
> 2. You shall see well in darkness.
His vision expanded, even in his unconscious state. He could feel his eyes changing, adjusting—not to light, but to the absence of it.
> 3. You shall be comforted by darkness.
The cold, the loneliness, the void—it no longer felt like emptiness.
It felt like home.
Then—
A pause.
A shift.
A change.
The voice spoke again, but this time, its tone was different.
Darker.
Colder.
Final.
> "You have received a flaw."
Hope's soul shook.
> "Your flaw is: Mental Deprivation."
A weight settled onto him—heavy. Unyielding.
> "You shall continue to hear voices in your head. You shall forever be haunted by inner voices and guilt."
A curse—woven into the very fabric of his existence.
Not just a burden, but a torment.
A madness that would never leave him.
Even in silence, he would never be alone.
Then—
Hope felt something else.
Something from the outside world.
The Centaur.
It had been moving toward him, its massive hooves shaking the ground, its bloodied spear still dripping with his own lifeblood.
But then—
The explosion unleashed.
A torrent of destruction erupted outward, shredding through the very air itself.
A surge of pure, dark energy—a force that ripped through reality.
The Centaur didn't even have time to react.
Its flesh tore apart—its body splintered—its armor shattered—
The unspeakable power of the forgotten god's blessing annihilated it in an instant.
The last thing the beast saw—before being reduced to nothingness—
Was the boy sitting on the throne.
Hope.
And then—
The world fell silent.