Kharon Vex awoke in darkness, the coldness of the coffin surrounding him as he pushed the lid open.
Cobwebs clung to his short, onyx hair as he slowly stood up while brushing dust from his pale, ivory skin. Kharon was a man of average stature who looked no more than 21; with sharp features which accentuated his good looks even more. He wore a dark, well maintained tunic which provided him with a good amount of warmth despite it's thin appearance.
He was suddenly filled with a wave of panic as he struggled to remember anything about himself-his past, his identity, or how he ended up in this disorienting place.
The only grounding force was the name engraved on the coffin lid: "Kharon Vex."
There was also a strange symbol on the coffin lid which resembled an emblem or a crest. It was a circle filled with interwoven lines and an open eye with a dot at the center. There were three overlapping arcs each surrounding the eye.
As he stepped out into the eerie silence, a chill ran down his spine. The air felt thick with tension as low, faint whispers could be heard coming from all around the dark, decrepit mauseleum.
Kharon walked around the large opening filled with massive pillars engraved with strangely familiar runes and symbols. He caught a glimpse of a large obsidian slate and slowly stepped up to it as he realised that he could discern the meaning of a few of the runic symbols as he began to read out the parts he could understand.
"Hidden...", "Secrets", "Mysteries", "Sealed?", he silently mumbled these words under his breath in a slightly hoarse tone. His eyes quickly scanned the slate for more discernable words but there weren't any other symbols he could understand.
He sighed in dejection as he slowly lowered himself to the cool, hard surface of the mauseleum.
Kharon didn't know what else to do except to sleep and hope that this was all a dream. That he was actually in a soft, cozy bed somewhere and would soon wake up.
But before his head could touch the floor he saw a faint shadow move from his peripheral vision as he suddenly shot up with a tense look.
"Who is there?" he said in a cold, yet anxious voice. But there was no response. Kharon repeated the question again but this time he heard something; a growl of sorts. His mind quickly flashed with possible answers of what kind of creature it could be as he suddenly made a realisation and started sprinting in the opposite direction from the growl.
He was surprised to find that his body was capable of almost superhuman feats as he ran from the obsidian slate at break neck speed. He could feel cold air push against his face with every stride he took. But the creature or whatever it was was not far as it too possessed a terrifying amount of speed and strength, Kharon could tell by how close the creature was and he could feel the gap quickly decreasing.
Kharon suddenly caught a glimpse of something he had missed before; an opening to another section of the mauseleum.
He ran even faster, pushing his body to it's unknown limits. The strain on his legs greatly increased but he could still feel the distance between him and the creature steadily decrease as he dashed towards the opening.
Once he entered the next section he was surprised to see that it was many times the size of the previous section he had woken up in. Also there were many strange objects all over the chamber, all filled with an eerie energy which made Kharon shudder.
He also noticed another obsidian slate at the center of the open space. However this one was slightly smaller but it didn't have runic symbols but letters which Kharon could understand. Furthermore it was surrounded by a runic circle which made it seem more like a sacrificial alter. Kharon instinctively sprinted towards it as if possessed. His already strained muscles becoming even more tense as he leapt foward, narrowly avoiding being bitten by the creature behind him.
After Kharon reached the slate, he was washed by a sense of relief; as if all his struggles were finally over.
He turned around to see that the creature had stopped dead in it's tracks. He could finally see it's appearance. It was a wolf-like creature, it's fur was a shade of light grey, it's snout was completely pitch black which contrasted with the rest of the body. It's cold, light purple eyes betrayed a hint of intelligence as it glared at him with obvious malice.
Kharon was perplexed as to why the creature couldn't get past the circle but was happy none the less.
He slowly shifted his attention to the obsidian slate infront of him; he was still worried about the possibility that the creature would suddenly attack him when he let is guard down as it slowly circled him.
He read the slate out loud in his still hoarse voice, silently wishing that it would allow him to escape his current predicament unharmed.
"You must first meditate for a long while in a calm, serene environment. Getting interrupted could have severe consequences so make sure you are alone or with someone who you can trust to stay quiet." Kharon quickly skimmed through the first few phrases before slowly tilting his head.
"Huh...?", "What is this suppose to even mean?" He said in an irritated tone, his voice getting louder with every word.
"How am I meant to escape this darn place without any proper explanations?" his voice betrayed the contempt he was now holding against whoever wrote the words on the slate.
He sighed and decided to continue reading; maybe there would be an explanation later on at the end.
"Once you begin meditating, your mind must stay clear of any distracting thoughts. Once you are in a clear state of mind, you can begin the ritual."
Kharon was becoming even more perplexed by the second but decided to continue reading, hoping that the information would turn out to be useful.
"To begin your journey on the path of mysteries and become a tier 5, you need to vanish from the lives of those you cherish while withholding your reasons and your whereabouts. Only returning after a year or when you are considered dead by your loved ones. Becoming a passing name in the wind. Once this is achieved, draw the runic circle corresponding to the path of mysteries, cut yourself and let your blood fall inside of the cirle. Make sure you don't leave the circle until the ritual is completed. If you succeed, you will receive your Essence, if you fail, you may end up vanishing from the world entirely, die or become a lunatic."
Kharon pondered the meaning of the words, "Path?", "Mysteries?", "Tier 5?". He could feel a strange familiarity towards the words but his mind remained blank as to what they truly symbolised.
Following a gut feeling, he decided to follow the intructions, lowering himself to the ground and began meditating. After what felt like an eternity he slowly opened his eyes. He was in a calm and serene state as he stood up and bit hard on his finger until he tasted blood.
He then let it flow as he was already in a runic circle, which he somehow knew was the symbol of the path of mysteries. It was the same symbol that was on the lid of his coffin.
His right hand slowly trembled due to the amount of blood flowing out. He was unsure how just how much blood was needed but decided to give as much as he could just to be safe as he suddenly felt it; a strange, unexplainable feeling washed over him as if he was covered in freezing water and yet burning under the scorching sun.
His body was changing, becoming better somehow, more refined, much stronger. But it wasn't only his body but his mind as well. He could feel it becoming faster and sharper, his perception changing; one moment he could see the wolf-like creature circling him at an average speed and the next moment it seemed to slow down several fold. There was also knowledge that hadn't been there before, explaining how to use his new found abilities and introducing familiar terms.
All these changes were significant but must significant of all was his soul. He didn't exactly know if it was his soul but atleast he thought it was. It was growing stronger as well, as if returning to a previous state in the past. He wasn't sure why it felt so familiar but he knew that he was ascending into something stronger.
After a while there was another major change in his soul. A glowing purple core was formed inside of his soul; an essence core. He could feel great power emanating from it, the glowing core then began to merge with his soul at a slow pace. He knew that this wasn't meant to happen at this moment but he accepted it. Feeling the power of the core merging with his being before it stopped half of the way.
He had somehow managed to assimilate his tier 5 essence core with his soul by 50 percent. He couldn't quite understand why he knew these terms as they had existed in his mind before the ritual.
The only thing he knew was that it was a good thing and that it would allow him to ascend to a new tier of power even quicker.
He had become... an arcane weilder.