Colors

This world is full of colors. Some are warm, others cold. Some are vibrant, others dull. Some are bright, others dark.

This was something Raphael discovered when he was around four years old, when he unlocked his first Phenomenon Imprint. Like many others before him, he obtained the ability to reproduce phenomena. Lightning, fire, light, the stars, gravity. You name it.

He, however, seemed to have an almost unlimited ability to store them in his core and reproduce them at will. Commonly, only people managed to store up to 3, or 5 in the rarest cases. His village and his family had praised him since he was a boy for his extraordinary ability. All of them contributed to gathering enough money for him to go to University. When he set off to study at the Mages Guild University, they all bid him farewell with one of the greatest parties the village had seen; their hopes all rested on him. But then—

"We are considering revoking your membership in the Mages Guild," said Victor Ardent, Guildmaster of the Mages Guild, who sat in the luxurious chair behind the desk. An elderly man with immaculate white hair, ornamented robes, and a staff made of silver moon metal. "We allowed your graduation from university and your subsequent registration with the Mages Guild because of your unique ability to imprint virtually any number of imprints. But despite all your time here doing research and working at the Guild, you have yet to reach the advanced set of spells of any imprint."

Raphael's face tensed and his chest tightened. Unable to meet the guild master's eyes. He already knew what this was about.

“Yes, that's correct." Raphael clenched his fists.

 "As you know, the Guild has had a recent strain on its finances because of some political tensions with the War Continent. So we cannot be investing without care."

Raphael just wanted this to be over, so he just rushed towards the door.

"Although there's this one thing we haven't tested yet," the guild master said, "and that's testing your effectiveness in exploring the Abyss."

Raphael widened his eyes. The Abyss. An anomaly of the world. It appeared centuries ago, and nobody knows its exact origin. Others say it is a natural phenomenon, or a concentration of Aetherius, but no one knows for sure.

Inside it lived very unusual monsters, phenomena, and ingredients often used for advanced research, like the ones he'd been researching. Only mages at the rank of Sage were allowed to become explorers, meaning they had to unlock at least one fundamental law of their imprint. Something that Raphael hadn't accomplished.

"If I showcase my usefulness in the Abyss, does that mean you'd reconsider maintaining me at the Guild?"

"Yes, that's because mages who haven't reached the law layer are extremely limited in the amount of spells and power, and that's risky. That's why we only allow mages who have unlocked the law layer to enter the Abyss. So it's gonna be an experiment. But don’t get your hopes too high, Raphel. The experiment might end up showing that even with that many imprints, you are not suited to be an explorer. So it's your choice."

Raphael's stomach ached. The world became noise, and everything darkened. He couldn't let go of the feeling that he was being presented with an unfair decision. But some part of him felt excited. Since he was a child, he'd always been interested in everything, and the Abyss was one of them.

"Alright, I'll take your offer. I'll try to prove myself as an explorer."

The guild master nodded. "Very well. I'll arrange the party members who'll accompany you on the expedition. Tomorrow morning, gather in front of the Abyss."

Raphael walked back to his room at the Guild. His eyes stared blankly at the ceiling. How had it come to this? He was supposed to be the hope and pride of his village. Everyone had talked about the bright future that awaited him. But now the simple thought of coming home empty-handed felt as if someone was choking his neck. He had to prove himself tomorrow. He couldn't let his village see him with disappointed eyes.

The very next day, he walked towards the Abyss. The Abyss and the Guild were only an hour's walk away. This was to make logistics easier and also to defend it against unauthorized individuals.

He climbed what used to be an active volcano, but now the massive crater had been replaced by the mysterious dark abyss that distorted the world around it. Devouring everything around it. He went down the stairs all the way to the platform in front of the abyss.

In there, he found his group waiting. His lips parted in surprise as he recognized the faces. There were four of them, three of whom he recognized as his former classmates back at the Guild's University.

There was Adrian SwordEnd, a prodigy from a military family of knights. Tall, athletic, with brown hair, green eyes, a scar that traversed his face, and armour of white and silver.

There was also Clara Cureall, a mage with the imprint of healing, who had recently obtained the law of restoration. She was from a family of traveling healers. Short blond hair and blue eyes just like Raphael's, so people often mistook them for siblings. Especially since she always behaved like a caring older sister towards him.

Then lastly, Marcus Flamehand, a mage with the imprint of fire, had reached the rank of Archon, which is just above Sage. He was from a family of nobles known for producing scholars and court mages in the empire.

All of them had reached what they wanted.

Raphael resisted the urge to run away. His face tensed and his breath was heavy.

"H-hi, long time no see," Raphael said, his voice shaking, unable to maintain eye contact.

"Hey Raphael! How are you?" Clara said in a gentle voice.

"I-I'm good, how about you?"

Marcus gave a simple nod. 

Adrian came close and put his arm around him.

"C'mon, man, don't worry. With us here, there's no way for you to fail. We're some of the best Abyss explorers there are. Who knows, maybe going into the Abyss finally helps you become unstuck!" He laughed with his whole chest.

Raphael flinched a bit and tried to force a laugh. Adrian had always been like that. Despite his intentions, he always managed to say stuff that made his heart ache.

The fifth member stepped forward. A large, middle-aged man with gray hair and a scarred face, wearing gray armour. He extended his arm to Raphael.

"Pleasure to meet you, Raphael. I'm Gareth Ironfist, the party leader. I was instructed by the guild master to evaluate your effectiveness in the Abyss."

Raphael shook his hand. His hand was so strong that he had to restrain himself from making a painful face. His rank was Legend, a rank above Archon, and reserved for only those who had mastered multiple laws of their imprint. From his demeanor, Raphael deduced it could be the imprint of the phenomena of battle, like Adrian.

"Y-yes, that's correct, sir. I'm gonna do my best."

"Very well," he said, positioning himself in front of the gates of the Abyss.

He activated a lever, and the platform started lowering into the massive crater hole.

"We'll skip the first and second layers. Our employer wants us to collect death bell flowers. Once we get the required amount, we will leave the abyss.”

"Yes, sir!" the party said in unison.

Raphael was a bit shocked that they were gonna skip two full layers. Each layer increased the danger, from the quantity and quality of monsters to the environmental risks. The third layer was called the layer of the undead.

The elevator traversed the great Abyss. He resisted the urge to look down, scared he would trip and fall.

When the elevator doors opened, it revealed a massive landscape lit by phosphorescent green fauna. It was almost like its own ecosystem, and at the center was the abyss hole.

The place hosted the ruins of an ancient city made of gray and ash bricks. They called it the Ash City, the capital of a forgotten civilization that no one knew much about.

He looked at his fellow members. Their faces didn't show fear, especially Adrian, who put on that on-duty face. Sharp and focused. He always admired that about him.

Adrian seemed to notice Raphael's glare, and he gave him a quick smile. Raphael panicked and looked at the ground. Did he really belong here with them? They had managed to reach the law layer and become renowned abyss explorers. What had he accomplished all these years?

When he entered the university, he was praised for his unique ability to have many phenomena. Everyone, including the quiet Marcus, told him he'd do great in life and possibly become the best in class, and even reach the ultimate God rank one day.

But as the years passed, he slowly realized that he wasn't able to pass to the next layer. Adrian was the first of them to unlock it, and then, one after another, his other classmates did. That was when it appeared: the darkness, the noise encompassing the world, and his stomach and chest feeling so heavy that he felt like he was gonna die. Before he knew it, he was not able to look people in the eye anymore. He tried to focus and study,  locking himself in his studio.

By the time he realized it, the people in his class had already graduated, and the people who used to talk to him, including Clara and Marcus, had stopped reaching out. And he became terrified of the world. He felt like a stranger, like an extra who had intruded in their heroic story.

Raphael and the party reached the ruins of a gray stone church. Inside, he glimpsed the death bell flowers, with their characteristic pure black color. Wisps floated around like balls of dark miasma. As soon as they approached, the wisps reached the ground, raised the bones of the dead, and forced them to come back to life by controlling them from the inside.

Adrian activated Sword Slash, a spell that enabled the user to slash quickly and pierce his enemies, then activated Step, a spell from the law of advantage of the Battle imprint, which helped him adjust his position by traveling in a blink and positioning himself in front of the skeletons. Then he activated Counter, a skill that countered the attacks of the skeletons automatically.

At the back, Clara used her phenomena layer spells to heal Adrian whenever he got hit. Marcus supported with fire spells, from Fireball to advanced law spells like Ignite and Kindle.

Raphael took a deep breath. C’mon, Raphael, you got this. He thought of the phenomenon of lightning, of how many times he'd watched it as a kid, of when it first generated a permanent impression on him. He raised his palm. Dark clouds formed above the dark skeletons, thunder echoed, and then lightning fell on the skeletons, destroying some of them.

Raphael's eyes sparkled. Yes! That's it! He then activated spells from his other imprints, like fire, water, tree, and especially light, which he had studied for years. Light was the main weakness of the skeletons and other types of undead. He reproduced the light of day from his palm, Sunlight, and even used the Battle imprint to boost his body and jump into a position where the light shone clearly.

With this, the skeletons weakened. Adrian, Gareth, and Marcus took advantage of this and destroyed the undead with single strikes in a blink.

"That was amazing!" Adrian said, wrapping his arm around Raphael. "I knew you had it in you. Even with such basic spells. Your knowledge gets put to good use!"

Clara touched his shoulder. "Very well done."

Marcus nodded in satisfaction and agreement.

Raphael smiled and nodded.

"Very well done, indeed," said Gareth. "Now let's gather these flowers so we can go back and complete the contract." He smiled at Raphael.

The flowers were spread around the church, so the group divided to make it easier.

Raphael collected the last flower just at the edge of the Abyss when he suddenly felt someone push him.

When he realized it, he was already falling.

He was screaming, his arms thrashing through the air. He tried to use his spells, wind magic or fire magic, but they weren't strong enough.

He fell and fell, the light at the top fading more with each passing second.

Dark.

That was the color that filled Raphael’s vision.