MIDNIGHT PRINCE: Empire of Sin

Adam did not know how long he stayed in a state of total silence. His thoughts were moving around his mind at rapid speeds as he tried to come up with the logic to face the new reality of his circumstances.

Was it ten minutes? One hour? He could not answer that question as he had become detached from reality as he ruminated over his thoughts. But once he opened his eyes, deep resolve could be seen settled within them. Adam had finally come to a conclusion.

The boy was positively sure that he was not dreaming nor was he becoming crazy.

Since he was facing reality head-on, he deemed that running away from the truth would change nothing and would only worsen his circumstances from here on. What he could do was collect as much information as possible from the mysterious entity in his head that he conjectured to be the spirit of the book of Genesis.

"You talked about a lock and the Curse of Cain, right? Please explain them in detail."

[Processing question]

[Curse of Cain: Primordial curse given to the first murderer and passed through his blood and lineage…

Effect 1: Eternal life. The cursed cannot die from old age…

Effect 2: Immortality via resurrection. The host's regeneration capacity is still human. Only by 'dying' would the cursed wake up to his original stats…

Effect 3: Locked and greatly lowered physical prowess than the average immortal…]

Adam paled after hearing about the effects of the curse. He knew of Cain— The first murderer of mankind. He was cursed for having killed his brother out of jealousy, and the curse inflicted on him was to eternally wander the earth.

Adam touched his chest with his hand. Where there should have been a big hole was normal flesh and a rhythmically pulsating heart beneath. He understood now that he was for all purposes, still 'human' at least, in name and body.

But once he died, all his wounds would automatically heal and he would come back to life. He would live on eternally, cursed to forever wander the earth like his predecessor.

What would happen if he was ever captured for some experiment?

Adam felt suffocated at that simple thought. The horrific sight of him being experimented upon made him break into a cold sweat.

The book, as if uncaring of his turmoil, continued.

[Please turn the page]

Even though he wanted nothing more than to just stop this farce… Adam did as he was told by the inorganic voice. The page was initially entirely white when he just turned it over but then words began to appear on it one after the other.

[This is the status. A way to conceptualize your current physical condition in the simplest way possible…]

[Name: Adam Gospel

Affiliation: N/A

Alias: N/A

Race: Primogenitor

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Age: 21

Weakness: Curse of Cain

Acquired Power: Book of Genesis

Innate Authority: Origin

Skills: N/A

Overall Combat Capacity: F+ (D+)

Remark: You are barely above an average human when the lock is on…]

[For more detailed information about Physical stats, obtain the skill Eye of Truth…]

[Eye of Truth: Power to gaze in the Akashic Records and obtain information about people and object you observe…]

[Prerequises:

1) Learn the Skill— Appraisal

2) Obtain enough Energy to fuel the obtention of the skill…]

Adam carefully read through the page, as he took in all the information that was presented to him by the book of Genesis.

He could now more or less understand his current situation.

"How do I erase my curse completely?"

[Not enough energy to answer…]

Adam's eyes twitched. He was definitely sure now that this Book was not some kind of AI but a fully sentient being and one that didn't seem very happy about being stuck with him.

[You currently have a free pass to enter the Bronze section of the Library. Do you wish to use it now?]

[Y/N?]

He hesitated briefly before selecting the 'No' option using his mind. He simply did not know enough to make a valid choice at the moment. Clearly, whatever energy that book was going to need to empower it was a precious currency. He needed to understand far more about the conditions to decide on a reasonable choice.

"How do I obtain energy? And what is this free pass you're referring to?"

[Following the law of Equivalent exchange, in order to obtain something you need to give something in return. Energy is obtained by affecting the law of causality. In order to obtain more energy you need to gather powerful emotions…]

[Love, Fear, Lust, Admiration, Respect…]

[To access the Library you need energy. To transform knowledge into skill, you need energy. And all strong emotions are sources of energy that can fuel everything related to Genesis…]

'Why do I feel like I am stuck with a vampire capitalist?'

[The administrator has limited your access level to the Records. The higher the access the more esoteric knowledge that can be obtained. To obtain higher access. You need to increase your powers…]

"So she is setting bait and I am the fish."

[Humans are truly incomprehensible creatures. Wishing to run before even learning to crawl, much less walk. How do you learn Calculus without knowing Basic 1+1? It's a similar process…]

[Furthermore, high-level knowledge is harmful to weak and feeble minds. As a human, the basest form of all creatures, what is already offered is enough to destroy the mind…]

"You seem… To not like me very much."

[The host must be confused. There is no such thing as like and dislike in my dictionary. Only duty…]

"I see. Let's say I believe you for now. Is there another way to obtain energy or those free pass?"

[Generating the path of ordeals…]

[1st Ordeal: Fear — The most primordial emotion

Description: Immortal you may be. But getting killed is still an insult to your title. Find your killer and give him a taste of his own medicine by killing him.

Reward: 1 free pass to enter the Records…]

[2nd Ordeal: Respect — One emotion to rule them all

Description: Impress Yui during the opening party of her Bar.

Reward: 1 free pass…]

[More ordeals will be generated depending on your situation.]

"Any consequence if I fail or time limit?"

[None of the ordeals are mandatory. The host is free to ignore the existence of the book of Genesis and live his everyday life if he so wishes. Time is meaningless for us, after all.]

[Too much energy consumed. Entering standby mode…]

"Genesis?"

Adam called out to the voice a few times, but after receiving no answer, he sighed and stood up from his bed.

He was still a bit confused with everything but he now knew what he had to do.

First, he had to complete one of those ordeals the book had mentioned and obtain the rewards. Doing so would allow him to use one free pass and enter the Library again to see what was inside the Nexus. Meanwhile, he would be able to keep another free pass just in case.

Facing his killer was out of the question. He knew nothing about the supernatural and much less about the one who killed him.

How would he even find him in the first place?

'Let's think about it from another angle.'

He needed knowledge about the supernatural. If so… What better place than his own house?

All his life, his mother had made him read books about supernatural creatures and their lore. So he at least had some basic knowledge about the subject than the ordinary bystander.

Be it Cain, Lycaon, or Ambrogio, he knew all about them or at least what was publicly known.

For instance, how Lycaon had been cursed by Zeus, while Ambrogio had been cursed by Appolon, Hades, and Artemis.

But this wasn't enough. Not enough at all.

Adam did not wish to live like an ostrich with his head buried in the sand and ignore his new reality.

It was one thing when he knew nothing. But since he now knew about this world he needed to learn how to live in it using its new rules.

And who was the best for this?

It was evident. The one who would have all answers to his question.

His own mother.

'Haha, I wonder how the conversation will go between us.'

He had obtained so much information in one go that he was completely lost as to what path he needed to choose.

In short, he was some sort of Immortal being who could endlessly come back to life after being killed.

His father was most likely related to the first murderer of Humanity and he might be his son in reality.

He had died on his birthday and faced some woman who obviously had a goal she wanted to fulfill by helping him.

And now he had a talking book in his head that obviously did not like him very much.

'Well, I guess this is just the beginning. Just hope it doesn't end in a tragedy.'

That was all an ordinary boy like him could hope for…

END OF VOLUME 1

(AN: Thus ends Vol 1: Awakening. I still lack experience with stories like this. I am more used to full fantasy. My old readers from SHK know that I divide my chapters into Books and Volumes. Makes it easier for me. Volume 2 will be called 'The First Hunt'. My rule will be now, whenever I finish a Volume, I take one day of rest and think of the future plot and organize them to set on a distinct path. To help my brain rest. In the meantime, I would be happy to get opinions about Volume 1 from you, my dear readers.

What you liked.

2) What you disliked.

3) What do you think could be improved, so on and so forth… You know the drill…

All of this will be helpful for me. Thank you guys for everything. Really. )