'Just my damned luck.' The thought surfaced like poison in Lu Yi’s veins.

  Lu Yi spun on his heel, vertigo clawing at the edges of his vision. His senses hitched as darkness parted before him. Another figure, silhouetted against trace amounts of reflected light from the outside, stood in front of him, wielding a metal bat.

  The man’s face was lost in shadow, but his eyes, those were unmistakable. Lu Yi could see the horror blooming in his eyes, wide, hollow pupils dilated beyond reason, filled with a primal terror.

  "Teaming up this early?!" Lu Yi blurted out; his voice sharp with disbelief. "Do you have no decency?"

  The bat-wielder’s gaze locked onto his face; his jaw went slack. Instead of human features, he was met with a visage of absolute void, a face of pure blackness punctuated by two pupil-less white eyes and hair like spun moonlight. A strangled gasp escaped his lips.

  "Aaah—monster! You— you demon!" he screamed, his voice cracking with terror.

  The bat swung wildly; a blur of motion driven by panic. It missed by mere inches, slicing air where Lu Yi had stood a heartbeat ago.

  ‘Again? This is the second time I've heard that since my return,' Lu Yi thought dryly.

  He gave ground, having no desire to feel the bite of the metal bat again. His movements were fluid. In one smooth motion, he nocked an arrow onto his crossbow and let it fly.

  Shiu.

  It passed so close to the man’s ear that the wind from its passage ruffled his hair. He froze mid-swing, nostrils flaring, gaze flickering between the retreating arrow and the unnerving stillness of the creature before him.

  The near-miss acted like a bucket of ice water, shocking him into the grim reality of his situation. Lucky or not, the near-miss gave him the warning he needed.

  The warning sufficed. With a desperate heave, he hurled the bat as a distraction and fled, his footsteps pounding a frantic rhythm on the floor as he dashed towards the stairs, pausing only to pick up the dagger from his friend's loot box.

  A cold, viscous trickle traced a path down the back of Lu Yi’s neck. He raised a hand to the spot, his fingers coming away clean. Or were they? He looked closer. Nothing could be seen but there was something there, a substance with the thick consistency of blood, yet utterly transparent.

  'What? I thought this body wouldn’t bleed.

  Is it just for show?'

  His probing fingers found the point of impact on his skull where the bat had connected. A fine fracture met his touch. Though his unnatural hair had absorbed most of the force, the sensation was unmistakable, like a crack propagating across a pane of glass.

  'Figures. The description only mentioned protection from prying eyes and mental or soul interference. Nothing about physical invulnerability.'

  After a quick assessment, he slipped back into the room he had occupied earlier. The door, like all others here, lacked a lock.

  'Why was that fool just standing outside?' he wondered, peering through the grimy window.

  Several meters away, he spotted the fleeing figure vanishing into another building. The urge to give chase was a fleeting impulse; it was a risk he couldn’t afford. Instead, he returned to the kill box.

  Inside the wooden chest were clothes, some jerky and biscuits, a waterskin and a necklace.

  [Necklace of the Waveless - Absorbs trace amounts of surrounding sound and light waves, granting the user minor concealment.]

  'Now this is some loot. And considering how I didn't even notice bat-guy sneaking up on me, he probably has one too. How come I didn’t find any of these during my search?' Lu Yi thought, a surge of triumph cutting through his fatigue. He quickly retrieved the necklace. He then also took the clothes and food and even the metal bat by storing them in massless. There was such a big space in there why would he leave anything?

  When he was about to leave, he remembered something, there was nothing else in the chest—no bag, no satchel.

  'It seems the majority of their supplies are likely with the one who got away.'

  He fastened the necklace around his own neck, the cool metal a welcome weight. Stepping out of the building, he made a calculated decision.

  'I'll leave the runner for now. Can't afford to chase him—not while injured, in the dark, and when I look like something from a nightmare.

  I haven't even slept, and I still need to refine my spell control.'

  He moved stealthily through the skeletal outlines of derelict buildings, his mind racing.

  ‘Hmm. Five people landed in this zone, including me. I've already killed two. That leaves two. One already witnessed my first kill and the runner just saw me in Unseen Shroud Void Body.’

  A slow, sly smile touched his features, though it was lost on the darkness of his face. ‘My initial plan was to lie low until the numbers dwindled to fifty, to avoid the repercussions of making enemies among family heirs.

  The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  But now that I have this form? Heh, it's time to be more aggressive. I can finally do whatever I want without consequences. They'll never know who I am.’

  ‘This form is a godsend. It seems the Fragment is actually helping me.

  But I must conduct more tests. I need to understand its limitations before I commit fully, or all this will be for nothing.

  And I still need an alibi to tie up the loose ends, otherwise when someone comes searching, I will be the first suspect.’

  He finally reached a small, two-story timber house and secured himself in an upstairs room. Sitting cross-legged on the dusty floor, he willed an arrow from his inventory.

  With clinical precision, he used the tip to etch a fine scratch onto the back of his hand. His hand was still made of flesh, blood, and bones but it was not his original hand. The distinguishing factor was that this hand was much bigger than the original one, and not just the hand, the whole body was much bigger than his previous one.

  But he still needed to know if it was truly separate.

  If a mark made here persisted even after switching, using the void body as a disguise would be catastrophic. He also needed to see if wounds carried over between transformations.

  Concentrating, he willed the transformation to reverse. The profound darkness started spreading once again.

  Soon, the half of his body which was still made of flesh, flaked away. He was left with a complete void body for a moment before his stature began to shrink into his original body. His pristine white hairs settled into raven strands.

  Then, the darkness began to dissolve as his previous body surged from the darkness

  The pain was a familiar, searing fire, but he was prepared this time, clenching his jaw to stifle any sound.

  The white eyes dimmed, pupils appearing from their depths, replaced by the warm hazel of a youth.

  In just a few moments, the universal abomination was gone, replaced by an unremarkable young man.

  Lu Yi checked his head and hand. A sigh of relief escaped him. 'Good. The injuries aren't interconnected. It seems I can treat these forms as two distinct bodies.'

  “Alright. Since we're running two separate identities, let's decide which gift belongs to whom. We can't reveal we have two Soul Gifts.” Lu Yi spoke aloud.

  'Mhmm.' Lu Er replied mentally.

  Lu Yi grabbing a water gourd from the satchel that he had materialized earlier.

  “If the bottom faces towards me I get the Unseen Shroud Void Form, if not then it’s yours. Fair?”

  'Fine by me.'

  He spun the gourd.

  It wobbled and settled

  The bottom pointed towards Lu Yi.

  'Shit. I should've chosen the top,' Lu Er grumbled.

  “Well, it makes sense. Afterall, Barriera was Lu Zhiheng's Soul Gift originally.”

  “Alright. Since I have Equisentia, that'll be the Soul Gift and fighting style of the second form. While Lu Yi will become the talented Ranked with the Barriera Soul Gift.”

  'Seems like a plan.'

  Lu Yi sat down and once again loosened his control over the body. In the end, it still took over twelve minutes to switch.

  ‘Alright then, create the barrier and rest. This is only the beginning. Opportunities for sleep will be scarce from here on. You'll have to scavenge for loot later; daylight will make it easier to spot worthwhile items anyway.’

  “Yes, yes, I know.” Lu Er moved the dilapidated bed and expertly wove a wooden barrier, creating a hidden alcove.

  He had chosen this house specifically because the weathered wood of its walls closely matched the hue of his barrier, allowing him to craft a concealed space that would escape a cursory glance.

  The effort drained him, and as soon as the space was secure, he collapsed onto the floor, succumbing to exhaustion.

  Then, his eyes snapped open with sudden alarm.

  'Shit! How could we be so careless? The clothes! The first witness and the one who ran away both saw us in the same outfit!' Lu Er exclaimed mentally.

  'No. The runner most probably didn't get a good look. If I couldn't clearly see any of his clothes in the dark, he likely couldn't see mine either.' Lu Yi replied almost immediately.

  “Hmmm…”

  Lu Er forced himself to calm down, replaying the chaotic moments.

  “Phew. Almost gave myself a heart attack. But we need to be careful about these small details from now on. It’s these minute details that gets one killed.”

  ‘True I do need to find distinct clothing for my other identity.'

  With that, Lu Er finally surrendered to the pull of sleep.

  …

  Monster.

  That was the only word that fit the entity Hei Jun had encountered. There was no other description. It had no face, no features, no mouth—just an abyssal blackness and two pupilless white eyes that seemed to swallow the light. He hadn't been able to process what he was seeing.

  He and Ma Bo had been friends since they could walk. They had played, lived, and grown up together. They had stood side-by-side during the Awakening Ceremony, and when they learned of the game, the decision to team up was natural. It doubled their chances of making it into the top fifty.

  A few hours earlier, they had heard a scream a few buildings over. It was pure coincidence they were nearby. While the sound was chilling, they also recognized it as an opportunity. If someone was ambushed or vulnerable, it was their chance to secure a kill, to guarantee their awakening without having to face the hardened survivors at the end.

  Ma Bo had been insistent. Waiting for the numbers to drop was a gamble; the final fifty would be scions or genuine geniuses. Taking a weak opponent early was the smart move.

  And then it all went wrong. Ma Bo triggered some kind of alarm trap—objects spilling, noise erupting—but he'd been fast enough to reach their planned ambush position.

  Meanwhile, Hei Jun had panicked at the noise and fled toward the front entrance. But when he saw Ma Bo actually entering the building, embarrassment overrode fear. He followed.

  What he saw would be seared into his memory forever: a shadowy figure pulling a dagger from Ma Bo’s chest, an arrow buried in his brain.

  Words failed him. He acted on pure adrenaline, swinging the metal bat he carried with all his enhanced might—he’d consumed two strength pills earlier. He expected the killer to die or at least faint. Instead, the figure turned. The worst part? The monster didn't even bleed. The kind of strike that should've split a head like a watermelon did nothing but elicit a cold murmur. He couldn’t understand anything it said but he was certain that it was angry.

  When an arrow hissed past his face, his courage shattered. His desire for vengeance evaporated, replaced by a primal need for survival. He flung the bat as a diversion, snatched his friend's dagger, and ran.

  …

  'I will avenge you, Ma Bo. Forgive me for running', he pleaded silently as he stumbled back into the building they had used as their initial hideout.

  Suddenly, an arm snaked around him from behind, locking his own arms to his sides. The cold, sharp point of a blade pressed against his throat.

  “What happened in there?” a voice demanded. It was low, controlled, and strangely feminine.

  “Wait—don't! Don’t kill me!” Hei Jun rasped, his throat dry with terror. “There’s a monster out there—a real monster! We don’t have to fight each other. We need to work together to kill it!”

  "Do you know who I am?" Cold amusement laced the question.

  “N-no..?” he stammered.

  She released him with a sharp kick that sent him stumbling forward.

  “I am Xia Sahui, of the branch family of the clan. So, you would be wise not to attempt any cleverness.”

  He gasped, turning around. “The Xia Family? You... you’re the daughter of Instructor Xia Zhong?”

  And then he saw her. The moonlight passing through a window reflected directly on her face.

  She was breathtaking.

  Her hair, a crown ponytail of dark silk with a violet sheen, framed a face of sharp, feline eyes, a perfectly symmetrical nose and porcelain white skin. Dressed in form-fitting black attire, her beauty was as formidable as her presence. She was the very image of the instructor who had presided over the Grand Awakening Ceremony.

  “Yes, he is my father,” she confirmed, her gaze piercing. “Is there anything else you wish to know? Or will you now tell me about this monster?”

  ?? Even gods need to be held sometimes

  What to Expect:

  - An epic, multi-book space opera with a large found family and multiple POVs.

  - A powerful but emotionally vulnerable protagonist with chaotic powers he struggles to control.

  - Strong, capable, and sometimes morally gray women.

  - High stakes, cosmic threats, and detailed world-building.

  What NOT to Expect:

  - LitRPG/System elements

  - Lone wolf power fantasy

  - A story that is only about romance

  This story contains mature themes, explicit sexual content, and graphic violence. It is not suitable for readers under the age of 18.

  90+ Chapters in the first month

  500,000+ words already written and backlogged