Floating in the dark abyss, his senses came back with a sudden spark of light. Though he remembered no memories, a basic humanity glimmered in his soul.

'Uwaah! Where am I?' He tried to move, but his limbs refused.

From the empty vastness a message appeared.

[ Starting Up System… ]

[ Loading Core… ]

The darkness faded away as a pink-shaded world appeared. Bubbles floated upwards around him. He could move, though at the cost of a terrible realization.

'Wait! My body… I'm just an eye! W-What happened to me?!'

Distraught by panic, he tried to run away but couldn't. The smooth crystal wall blocked his path whichever way he swam. He was trapped inside a quartz-shaped gemstone, floating in liquid as nothing but an eye.

'No, stop! Quit screaming, that won't get you nowhere! Get your shit together and think! When you regained consciousness, there was something about a system. And that word… it reminds me of something…'

An idea flashed through his mind. As if a memory tried to emerge, only to be blocked by an external force. Though not powerful enough to fully manifest, it gave him a hint on what to do.

'System!' He yelled in his mind. Just like the message from before, a status screen appeared.

[ Name: --- ]

[ Race: Core ]

[ Level: 0 (0/10) ]

[ HP: 1/1 ]

[ MP: 0/5 ]

[ Intelligence: 1 ]

[ Essence: 0 ]

[ Influence: 0 ]

'W-What?! I got turned into a… core? What the hell is that?! And why do I have so bad stats? Uwaah, I'm going to die!'

He bashed the walls of his prison but to no avail.

'Ouch, this wall is so strong! But now that I think about it… it's actually not a bad thing. At least I have something protecting my fragile body…'

The gem's walls were glass-like. He could see the outside but the image wasn't sharp. His vision was no more that of a human's but a little tadpole's, swimming in a crystalized womb.

'There's so little light out there! Much of the outside is so dark… I must be somewhere in a cave.'

Swimming around, he noticed roots entangling the gem from both sides. They held him above the ground floor.

'Waah, this is bad! I don't know how strong my crystal is, but if these roots let go and it breaks, that will be the end of me! Whahah, I'm about to cry!'

Thump!

'UWAAH!' He screamed as a large shadow appeared on one side of his prison. It was a tremendous monster, bearing six wooly legs attached to a gargantuan body.

'I will do anything, just please don't eat me!' He screamed, before catching glimpse of the beast's eyes.

It was a fluffy, white moth. As if delighted by the unexpected company, it raised one of its tiny legs to comb its long black antennae. Then it blinked twice with its big black eyes.

'Uwaah! You're the cutest little thing!' He approached the being, to which it let go of the gem. 'Huh? Where did you go, Miss Moth? Hey, don't leave me! You're the first company I had since—'

Thump!

'Waah! What the hell?!'

The moth hit the gem! Sticking to it once more, it eyed the crystal with amusement. Pink sparkled from its black pupils.

'W-Wait! I get it! When I talk, my body lights up. It must've been why this moth caught interest in me. Crap, this is bad! Now I have to shut up until it leaves!'

But another thought crossed his mind.

'Or maybe I could…'

He swam close to the moth's face. As cute as moths are, seeing one ten times your size is a scary experience. But he was too determined to care about that.

He focused on the moth's eyes and began to concentrate. Energy slowly built up around him, amplifying his senses.

[ Your MP is Fully Charged ]

His mind continuously repeated the same word over and over again, building up energy. His vision became darker and pain crept up on his nonexistent spine. Still, he did not release yet. He was so proud of his idea, he wanted it to work perfectly.

When he finally couldn't bear the tension anymore, he burst his energy in the form of a voiceless scream.

'Obey!'

The crystal's fluid spun around as the massive energy wave was released. He could barely keep himself still as bubbles twirled him left and right.

'Waah, it was too strong! Oh no, did I kill the moth? I didn't mean to! Uwaah, I'm so sorry Miss--…'

As if confused, the moth combed its antennae once more.

'Miss Moth, you're fine! Thank god! But now… obey my commands!'

The moth stared at him.

'Uhh… alright! Dance for me!'

The moth stared at him. More.

'Why is this not working?! I did exactly what my instincts said! Then why did it not work?'

As he finished his question, a status screen appeared next to the moth's face.

[ Name: --- ]

[ Race: Moth ]

[ Level: 2 (0/10) ]

[ HP: 3/3 ]

[ Strength: 2 ]

[ Agility: 3 ]

[ Constitution: 1 ]

[ Intelligence: 1 ]

'Whaa?! Why do you have a status screen I can actually understand, Miss Moth? Why don't I have one? I'm so jealous!'

The moth let go of the gem and flew in front of it. It stayed there, looking at him.

'Oh, I should keep it to myself. If that moth attacks me again, the gem might fall down and break. Then I'm basically dead.'

He eyed the moth for a while. It was persistent, but still just a bug. Shortly after it flew away in search for another light source.

'Phew! That was close.'

He sunk down to the bottom of the gem and rested there.

'I feel so tired… stupid bug! I used up all my energy to get it to… to obey me? Why did I want it to obey me?'

He gazed at the blurry outside. He blinked once, then twice, then thrice again. It was hard to keep his eyes (or more accurately, eye) open.

'Its intelligence stat was the same as mine. I'm as smart as a butterfly. Moths are butterflies, right? Or… are they not the same? Damn, no wonder our intelligence matches.'

His body became numb.

'Oh, I'm falling asleep… or more accurately, I'm passing out. Heh. Before that happens, I should probably give myself a name. Let's see… Darkness! No… Doombringer Core! Nah, that doesn't fit.'

He saw his reflection in the wall, lighting up as he spoke.

'Heh… Sunny. That's what I'll call myself. Sunny…'

The world became dark as he fell asleep.

[ Hidden Quest Complete ]

[ "Name Yourself" ]

[ You've Gained 10 Experience Points ]

[ Level Up Available ]