"These words are to you, 10,000 years from now."
"…Karmic Soul…"
"…"
In a flash, Scott's eyes opened suddenly, shattering the perception of an empty dream he had, and before him appeared a great scale the size of a building, made of black iron.
"During the Process of Retribution, you may not speak, move or think." A voice rumbled.
"Your soul's deeds have been weighed by the Karmic Scale. Throughout your entire life, you have committed only 9,657 bad deeds. A rare feat."
"…The Karmic Scale tilts to the right slightly."
"However, this is displaced by what you have burdened your soul with, by the power of your words."
"…The Karmic Scale tilts to the left heavily."
"…"
"Yet, you have been redeemed. You have been given, a God's Grace. Your bad deeds have been absolved with the grace of a Boon."
"…The Karmic Scale equalizes."
"Your life will have a [Fated] aspect. Your life will also have a [Knowledge Seeker] aspect."
"…"
"However, due to the burden on your soul, you cannot have a fair life."
"…The Karmic Scale tilts to the left heavily."
"Your second life will retain the physical and spiritual aspects of your first life. Your blood will attain a [Cursed Attribute]."
"The Karmic Scale concludes. In this life, you will be a Fated Knowledge Seeker. However, you shall be flawed, as you shall be identical in both body and soul as your previous life, rendering your body abnormal, and your blood shall be cursed and mixed with that of a demon. Yet, due to the clash between these two aspects, you may be able to use such a flaw to your advantage with time."
"However, to add on to that, you will not have any memory of anything from your previous life, including this very moment."
"So, Don't become a fool. Once you awaken, live your life quietly, and seek repentance for your words towards the Gods. Only then will you receive what you truly want."
The Karmic Scale vanished instantaneously, and Scott was allowed to think, talk and move once more.
"What just happened?! What is happening?!" Scott exclaimed. He felt his body beginning to alter, as the changes that the Karmic Scale placed upon his second life began to take place.
And then, the space around him began to morph with him, leaving him, mere moments later, falling from the air and landing face flat on the dirt ground soon afterwards, in a whole new world.
***
"Argh… damn…" Scott mumbled as he scratched his head with his hand and rubbed the dirt off his cheek, "That hurt…"
"…But… where am I?"
He rose from the ground and looked around. He seemed to be in some sort of small valley, surrounded by grass, trees and the sounds of nature. Scott was unfamiliar with this place, as, at the current moment, his mind was empty. He had no memories of anything whatsoever.
Even the stuff he should remember, like the names of his parents, was missing from his mind.
"…What is going on here?" Scott murmured, just before he noticed something strange about his left arm and chest, which were both blackened and abnormal.
However, he could only go to a nearby pool of water to confirm it, and then, he saw something horrific. His appearance was… treacherous, to say the least.
Currently, Scott had long, luscious, white hair, so white that it was pale, however, his eyes were so dull that they appeared grey. He was extremely malnourished, and not to mention, he had a great, red scar on his chest that was so large that it was noticeable no matter how far you were from him.
And, to add to that, blackened crystals sprouted from both his left arm and the left side of his chest. He looked quite odd, except for his face, as, despite his malnutrition, he still looked good, face-wise.
As soon as he inspected every part of his current appearance, he wondered if he had been passed out for a few thousand years, without the sight of any food at all.
"…I look terrible. I need to eat something…" Scott muttered, before turning around. However, he was met with a sword to the face, and he narrowly evaded its sharp edge, as he yelled, "Holy shit!"
The individual that the blade belonged to wore purple sacrificial robes and held an ominous aura. This man had bloodied bandages wrapped around his eyes and yet seemed to be able to see perfectly, from his reckless mannerisms that told of immaculate vision despite it being the complete opposite.
"Who are you?!" Scott demanded as he felt warm blood trickle down his cheek. His eyes began to blur, as the smell of "sickeningly sweet" blood entered his nostrils.
"…I knew I smelt a demon! With my exceptional senses that were granted by the Holy Rites of "Glamar, the Chained God of Beasts", I have found a great gift for the cathedral!" The robed man declared.
"As soon as you filthy demons catch a hold of the smell of blood, you become Berserk, and attack everything in sight!"
Just as that was said, Scott's eyes turned red, and charged at the robed man fiercely, aiming to take his life. However, the robed man dodged quickly and stabbed Scott several times in succession.
Blood spewed further from his wounds, and Scott grew even more enraged, yet, for some reason, the scar in the middle of his chest was glowing a shade of crimson. And, oddly enough, the blood that had already spilt on the ground was bubbling.
"…It's blood… is boiling. This is not an ordinary demon!" The robed man exclaimed as Scott clutched his head, "Could it be… it's mutating because of the Abstract Essence it contains?"
His mind felt as if it was on the verge of breaking apart, but, after that brief loss of control, he managed a nigh-impossible feat, of keeping sane, and even with demon blood flowing through his veins. And, what was even more bizzare, was the fact that the scar on his chest was morphing, morphing into a strange symbol that the robed man recognised at once.
"You… you… a follower of the Dreaming Gazeless God?!" The robed man yelled out, as he jumped back in surprise, "Impossible… how could a demon have an Arcane Mark?!"
"An… Arcane Mark…?" Scott mumbled, as the blood on the ground soon turned into smoky, black flames, "Also…"
"I'm not a demon, whatever that is." He murmured, as he used his deformed, spiky left arm to slash the robed man to subdue him and press him onto the ground with force, "Now, it's best if you answer my questions, lest you feel like being tortured."
The robed man nodded his head quickly, trying to avoid gazing upon Scott's naked self.
"Alright… then first of all, where is this place?"
"Ah, you're in Wolves Valley, in the region of Harpinbale! This is the area surrounding Saint Cerydias' Great Vines Cathedral! S-Saint Cerydias is a worshipper of Glamar if you also didn't know…"
"…Alright. Then, secondly, do you know what this is?" Scott asked, pointing at the strange symbol that had now appeared on his chest. A symbol similar to many glinting stars, surrounding a pale moon.
The robed man nodded. "O-Of course…! That's the Arcane Mark of the Dreaming Gazeless God! If you have that mark, you must be at least somewhat affiliated with that God… could that God have been the reason why you're still sane, even with demonic properties?"
"…I'm not sure. But, I need way more information. Tell me everything you know about the Gods and demons and whatever else is related." Scott said, though the robed man only looked at him with nervous eyes.
"I actually... don't know much about demons, or any other God except from Glamar. I'm just a youngling disciple of Glamar's Holy Cathedrals and Temples, you see, so…"
"Then, just tell me about Glamar," Scott replied with a stern voice, "Give me as much information as possible."
"…Well… all I know is that there are twelve "Old World Gods" in total, and Glamar is among them. The "Bible of the Almighty Dream", talks about how the Gods freed us from the Firmament that trapped and ensnared us within the Old World. The Old World was erased, and we were brought to the land of the Almighty Dream, which almost spans to infinity, and contains inhabitants from many other worlds!"
"…Alright. Go on," Scott responded, "I'm listening."
"…Among the twelve Gods, Glamar rules over all beasts and animals and is the embodiment of hunting, savagery and triumph. "His" domain in the Almighty Dream spans several continents and "His" Arcane Mark allows you to enhance your physical body and gain the ability of "Branded Blood" to accumulate earth-shattering strength!"
Scott nodded his head and stroked his chin. He couldn't remember anything at all of his past, but he knew he couldn't just sit around after obtaining such strands of information.
"Hey!" The robed man yelped, as Scott grabbed him by the robe.
"C'mon, you're coming with me until I say you can go."
"Until I find out exactly what's going on, we're gonna do plenty of adventuring today."