ᴍᴜᴛᴀɴᴛ'ꜱ ɢᴀᴍʙɪᴛ｜Marvel

Prologue

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A vast emptiness surrounded him, black as pitch and infinite as the concept of time. The void stretched on for what felt like eons, though he could no longer tell if time even existed here. He had forgotten the sensation of a heartbeat, the weight of breathing, or the sound of his own voice. It was just... nothing. Silence. An existence with no end, no beginning.

He didn't know how long he had been here—floating, sinking, existing—but a small part of him remembered that once, a long time ago, he had been alive. He had memories of another life, flashes of faces and places, but they were distant and fading. The emotions tied to those memories? They were already slipping away.

"How long has it been?" he thought for what must've been the thousandth time. "Does it even matter anymore?"

Suddenly, a ripple passed through the darkness. The void, once so silent and still, seemed to shudder as a faint light appeared in front of him. His eyes, once unused to anything but the darkness, squinted as the light grew brighter, and then... a voice.

[You have been chosen.]

The voice was smooth, feminine, and ancient. There was a depth to it, like it had witnessed the birth and death of universes. The light condensed into a shape, and before him stood a figure—a woman, but not quite. Her form was ethereal, translucent, shifting between shapes and colors like she wasn't bound by the same laws of reality he once knew.

"Chosen?" His voice cracked, the sound unfamiliar to his ears after so long.

[Yes. I am Seraphis, a system that has existed for eons. I traverse the void, seeking a host. And I have found you.] Her voice was laced with authority, yet there was a coldness to it, as if this was nothing personal, just business.

"A system?" His thoughts swirled, trying to make sense of the words.

[I am a system designed to bond with a host, to grant them abilities beyond comprehension, and guide them to a new existence in another world. You, who are lost in the void, have an opportunity. Accept me, bond with me, and I will take you to a new world. Reject me, and you will remain here. Your soul will eventually wither and fade into nothingness.]

A knot formed in his chest. The thought of fading into nothing terrified him more than the emptiness he had already endured. But there was hesitation, a deep reluctance that gnawed at him. "What's the price?"

The figure tilted her head, her eyes glowing with an unreadable intensity.

[Nothing in this universe is free. To bond with me, you must sacrifice something. I require your emotions tied to your previous life. You may keep your memories, but the feelings—the love, the hope, the pain—they must go. Only then will you be reborn.]

He stood there, silent, thinking of the faces from his old life. The warmth he once felt for them was already dimming, almost like the void had begun taking that from him long before this system appeared. What would it matter if they were gone completely?

"If I say yes, what happens next?"

[I will guide you to a world where you will be reborn. A world filled with unimaginable dangers and powers, where beings with extraordinary abilities exist. In this new world, you will be more than you were. But be warned: you will face challenges, and the bond between us is conditional. Fail to complete the missions I assign you, and you will face punishment.]

He hesitated. The memories of his old life tugged at him, but they were faint, barely tangible. The emotions were already slipping from his grasp.

"Alright," he said, voice steady now. "I accept."

The figure smiled—a cold, calculated smile.

[Very well. The bond is formed.]

Everything went white.

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