SSS Awakening: Starting With Infinite Soul Copy

It was a world unlike anything White had ever seen.

The skies above were grey and gloomy, with red lightning flashing with every passing heartbeat.

The ground was a crimson-red gem-like surface where various Umbrawyrs, many with different shapes and forms, could be seen moving in flocks.

In the distance, mountains held bubbling streams of lava that snaked through the domain like rivers.

Gothic dark castles, easily over a thousand meters tall, stretched as far as the eye could see, covered in pitch-black soot, while the ground itself shimmered like a polished gemstone beneath them.

They continued their flight through the skies, heading deeper and deeper into the world, and at one point, they came across a domain where the castles were no longer pitch black but fully crimson instead.

White also noticed that instead of their walls appearing covered in soot, these gothic castles seemed to have been forged from smooth red gemstones.

The change was almost instantly noticeable.

This was a different, more luxurious, and higher-standing area than the one they had come from.

The three Umbrawyrs spoke no words, nor did they attempt to introduce him to the world.

They simply continued their flight until they appeared before the tallest structure within the realm.

A singular gothic castle that stood nearly three thousand meters tall, its tips seemingly piercing into the Void itself.

All at once, the three Umbrawyrs descended to the ground, where a squad of Umbrawyrs was already waiting.

"The Prince, as requested by Her Evil."

The words echoed from the four-armed Umbrawyr, and in that moment,

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

The world itself seemed to shake as figures descended before them.

Dark White was six meters tall, yet standing before these Umbrawyrs, he looked like a child before giants.

The shortest among them stood at fifteen meters in height, and the aura of power lingering around them was pure suffocation.

They were humanoid in shape, but each possessed six arms, and their faces held nothing but a single eye filled with pitch-blackness.

"Return. Your rewards will be issued to you soon."

The words did not come from mouths, yet they rippled through the air as all three Umbrawyrs turned and left.

This left only Dark White standing before them.

"Come with us..."

They spoke again, another order.

They turned back toward the massive gates of the castle.

___________

20 minutes later...

It had been twenty minutes since they stepped through the massive gates, yet there had been no doors or walls

Simply an endless area filled with vortex after vortex.

White had counted a total of nine vortexes that they had entered, each taking them to a different area before they resumed walking once more.

Eventually, they arrived before one final portal.

It was the only crimson vortex in the entire massive space instead of the usual black.

’This will make the tenth.’

He thought quietly, pausing when he noticed the three giants leading him had stopped at the edge of the vortex, refusing to enter.

"Her Evil awaits."

They said to him.

And while White himself felt cautious, almost reluctant even, Dark White felt nothing, continuing forward and entering the crimson vortex.

The second he disappeared, the giants turned around and left, leaving the space in silence.

_________

The feeling of teleportation lasted only briefly, and when White opened his eyes, he found himself within an abysmally vast throne room.

Streams of lava flowed through cracks along the floor, while lining the walls were Gargoyle-like monsters seemingly carved from the darkest gemstones.

At the center stood a massive throne of darkness, its armrests lined with the skulls of defeated creatures.

Runes shone with horrifying power from their skulls, making one wonder what monstrously powerful abominations they had once been while alive.

And yet, more than thirty-eight of them adorned the armrests alone.

And seated upon this throne was the last thing White expected:

A woman.

She wore a dark, gown-like garment from which strands of magical, arcane runes continuously rippled outward.

The robes were long and completely concealed her body from view.

Only her pale white arms and neck remained exposed, and across her skin, crimson veins occasionally pulsed and slithered beneath the surface like living snakes.

Her head tilted slightly to the side as she leaned against the throne, while long, silk-like crimson hair covered much of her face.

But unmistakable above all else was the crown of pitch-black resting upon her head.

It was adorned with jagged spikes that exuded an overwhelming aura of dark royalty.

’This... this is the one they call Her Evil?’

White mused in disbelief.

And in that moment, he watched as she slowly stirred from her throne.

Two sharp rays of crimson light shone upon him, and this time, they were so bright that even Dark White had to close his eyes to avoid being blinded nearly.

When the light finally faded and his vision returned, shock flashed through him as he realized her figure now stood mere centimeters away from him.

He had not seen, heard, or sensed her move at all.

"You have returned."

The words were like a melody that froze Dark White’s heart and made the thoughts in White’s own head disperse.

He watched her hand reach forward, and even when caution urged him to retreat, Dark White surprisingly remained still, allowing her pale fingers to rest against his cheek and trace the sharp contours of his face.

She stared directly into his eyes, and within the soul space, their closeness allowed White to see the deep crimson in her gaze with perfect clarity.

That was when he noticed the anomaly:

Her eyes weren’t the ordinary pitch-black eyes with tiny crimson dots like most Umbrawyrs possessed.

Her eyes were like nebulae.

Endless darkness surrounds countless tiny crimson stars at their centers.

They were beyond captivating, almost as if he were staring into an entire solar system, but with the worlds being crimson.

And then, she spoke a sentence that sent a wave of shock through White’s spine.

"I..."