Chapter 4: The deal with Entity
After watching his entire life once again, Leo opened his eyes. A silver haired woman greeted him — her face covered in a mask with a circular blood-red marble on top.
"Who... are you?" he asked in a hoarse voice.
He coughed hard and tried to whisper some words.
"I am the Entity who governs over Souls," she replied in a voice cold and apathetic.
"Was it... You?"
His face morphed into a crazy expression and a pitch-black aura flowed from him — even his eyes sclera turned black. He sprang to his feet and rushed at her. His fist about to strike her halted along with his body. He glanced at pure white chains wrapped around his hands, restraining him.
The Entity placed her cold hand on his cheeks. "Calm down, child."
Her voice still sounded so unemotional. Yet, it brought him enough comfort to calm him down.
"I did all this to make your soul stronger," she said. "Your soul couldn't get through the cycle of reincarnation because of high karma. It might have dissipated if I didn't do this."
He lowered his head. "Why do I have high karma? I never did anything good..."
"You saved many people from Robert's Organization, but most importantly, you burned the 'Grimoire of Death', a cursed evil artifact."
His eyes widened as he looked up. "The book.. was 'Grimoire of Death'?"
"Yes, giving control over 'Laws of death', it takes away rationality. You did good not opening it, or you would have gone berserk and ended everything."
Her words chilled him to the core. He took a deep breath and asked,
"The book was that powerful? How come my parents had it with them?"
The Entity shook her head. "I can't answer that question."
"Why?"
"I can't answer that question as well."
He gritted his teeth, frustrated at her attempts to avoid his question. "Then tell me how Robert came to know about the existence of that book?"
"The Grimoire has a consciousness, which tends to attract people with high negative karma and corrupt their soul."
"What am I gonna do now?" he said and lowered his head, gazing at the blank ground. He was truly lost at what to do now.
The Entity lifted his chin. "Do you want to pass over or do you want to become stronger?"
Her words brought a bloodthirsty smile to his face. "I want to become stronger to slaughter people like you."
He will avenge the pain he suffered!
She disregarded his vicious expression and continued, "Then, I have a deal for you."
Her words tempted him. He decided to hear out.
"Nakamura Eri, your childhood friend. She, who mysteriously disappeared with her classmates."
The name of his childhood friend expanded his eyes. "E-Eri? W-Where is she?"
"She was summoned to another world, to fight a hopeless war against the Demons. She will be killed if you don't do anything."
"Why are you telling me this?"
"I want to give you something," she snapped her fingers and a rainbow-colored Orb appeared floating there. "It can fulfill any desires of yours. I call it 'The Creed'. Blurring the line between Reality and Beliefs, it can give you unimaginable powers."
"What do you get from this?" he asked cautiously.
He was tempted but he would be damned if he had to become a slave of hers.
"You see, this is something I made with my powers. I need a strong soul with high karma to activate it. I need your consent to fuse it with your soul, there is still a price to pay."
The offer sounded too good to be true. This was exactly the definition of devil's whispers.
"What price?"
She crossed her arms as she answered, "You won't ever be able to reincarnate if you die. Your soul will be consumed by Void and roam endlessly there with no sentiments."
He stared at her wordlessly. This price was something very small in comparison to the life of his childhood friend.
His face cracked a fearless smile. "That is a very little price to pay if I can save Eri."
"Great."
he brought the Orb near his chest and gave it a little push. It touched his chest and sunk inside. He marveled at the fantastical scene as the entire orb disappeared.
A strange feeling — cold yet warm caressed his heart.
(Establishing connection with User... Connected... Fusing with User's Soul: 1%... 14%... 50%... 78.... 100%... Fusion Completed)
An artificial voice spoke inside his head.
"I just heard a voice."
The Entity snapped her fingers and the chains binding him vanished. Unable to react, he fell to his knees.
The Entity leaned till their faces almost touched. "So it finally connected! What did it say? Tell me quickly!"
He stared at her with a blank face. "It says 'Fusion Completed'."
"Very well. Then I will fulfill my part of the deal and send you to Tortus. However, remember that you have four months to help Eri Nakamura."
She waved her hand. The space beside her twisted, forming a gate. She grabbed his collar and threw him straight into the portal!
This woman is annoying!
---
After sending Leo, the Entity turned back. A man with a twisted smile stood there.
"What do you want now?" she asked in a cold voice.
The man's creepy smile didn't falter as he shook his head. "Nothing, nothing, I just wanted to confirm something."
Her face under the mask twisted in disgust every time she witness this smile. She would rather not do his bidding. But she had no choice.
As if sensing her distaste, he turned to her and burst into laughter.
His madness echoed through the place.
***
Leo's world turned upside down as his head hit the soft grass. He rolled over and squinted at the dazzling sunlight. The chirping of birds reached him and a refreshing breeze brushed his cheeks.
He couldn't believe that the woman threw him without any question.
"Damned Entity, I'll have my revenge once I get stronger."
[Converting Host's experience into basic skills...]
['Marksmanship' skill acquired]
['Martial Arts' skill acquired]
['Weapon Mastery' skill acquired]
['Pain tolerance' skill acquired]
['Swift steps' skill acquired]
['Mental Fortitude' skill acquired]
These weird texts floated before him.
"What's this?"
He tried touching them but his hand just passed through them.
(These are the skills you learned in your previous life.)
A gentle and soothing voice whispered in his mind.
"Who?"
(I am consciousness of 'The Creed'. I have adjusted my voice to your preference.)
He scratched his cheeks awkwardly. That's breach of my privacy, he thought.
The Creed's consciousness replied with a soft chuckle.
(I can hear your thoughts and respond to them telepathically. Just say 'Menu' in your mind to access the system.)
'Just call me Leo. I'll call you 'Jen' which is short for 'Jenica'.'
(Okay, Leo.)
He sprang to his feet and examined the surroundings. The trees spanned till a long distance. It appeared like a typical forest.
He walked toward the closest tree and leaned against it.
'Menu'
A list of text appeared in front of him. He tilted his head. The texts also changed their angle in sync.
[Status]
[Inventory]
[Shop]
[Locked]
[Locked]
[Locked]
(Status show your current parameters, skills, and abilities. You can store anything in Inventory. The Shop is useful for buying some items in this world, but you need Shop Points or SP to buy them. Other functions will unlock by completing various quests.)
He touched status and another menu popped up.
[Status]
Name: Leo Evans
Title: –
Race: Human
Age: 17
Level: 1
Job: Berserker
Strength: 70
Vitality: 80
Defense: 80
Agility: 60
Magic: 300 (Sealed)
Magic Defense: 300
'Why is my magic so high compared to other stats? I haven't even used magic yet.'
(Magic stat is directly related to Soul. As your Soul is tempered by The Entity, it has evolved nearly to the limit of a mortal and your body is still not strong enough to match your soul. Raise your base stats and level to remove the seal.)
'Does that mean I have the potential to become a 'God'?'
(Yes.)
Her nonchalant words dumbfounded him. They were talking about Gods for Christ's sake.
Jen giggled in response.
(Gods are not that omnipotent as you think.)
He reluctantly nodded his head. Every bit of power was welcomed in helping Eri. The image of a clingy black haired girl pouting brought a smile to his face.
He sighed and continued to scroll the list.
[Skills]
[Martial Arts (Passive skill)]
Increases physical strength of the user
[Marksmanship (Passive skill)]
Improves skill with ranged weapons
[Melee Weapon Mastery (Passive skill)]
Improves skill with Melee weapons
[Swift steps (Passive skill)]
Improves movement speed of the user
[Pain Tolerance (Passive skill)]
Increases resistance to pain
[Mental Fortitude (Passive skill)]
Increased resistance to any mental status
'These skills… are OP.'
(You got Martial Arts, Marksmanship, Melee Weapon Mastery and Swift steps from your time on Earth. The last two were achieved with your time in the Entity's domain.)
He nodded his head in approval. He was confident when it comes to shooting guns and taking lives. It was all he did on Earth. He survived the most gruesome state thanks to his unknown supernatural abilities. He even charged into a storm of bullets only relying on the ability of his healing to survive.
(Your time in Kaleidoscope of Memories tempered your mind but your trauma is still being suppressed by Mental Fortitude. So try not to be too emotional.)
He flinched before nodding his head sternly. The years of solitude and pain wasn't something that anyone could bear.
[Innate Abilities]
...
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone