The Asshai's Bloodmage

 Rafael was trapped in a kind of dark lake, every time he tried to get up and leave that place, the darkness of the lake surrounded him with black chains pulling him back in… He didn't know how long he had been struggling to get up and be pulled back in, but it seemed like a long time…

Tired of the constant struggle, Rafael was almost giving up trying to get out of that darkness, when one day, he finally opened his eyes and realized that it was all a dream… He was now lying on a bed of straw in a poorly lit cave. But no matter what he did, Rafael couldn't do anything other than open and close his eyes… He couldn't speak, he couldn't sit up, and he couldn't even move a single finger because his body didn't respond. He tried to call Vulcan through his link, but that was also in vain…

He then tried to meditate and take control of his Blood Clone, but failed miserably because he couldn't meditate, and there was no longer a connection formed between him and the clone… It was then that he tried to use his magic, and the shock he received was that he could no longer feel his spells. Normal spells were fine, since it was common in these types of injuries…

But how did he lose his innate spells? They were part of his very being and a connection to the world of Planetos itself. For a Mage, losing common spells was something acceptable, but losing innate spells was a blow too hard to accept…

Rafael tried to check a few more times, but failed every time. It was as if he had returned to being an ordinary man…

His eyes widened when he realized something else: He was breathing, but he also didn't smell anything. His senses were all very sharp due to the improvements of Alteration… But at this moment, he just decided to stay calm, after all, it was something small when compared to the loss of all the magic he learned in the last 10 years…

At that moment, a shadow approached his bed and sat down next to him. Rafael turned his eyes to look at the figure and shuddered when he saw a deformed man with worn clothes. The man had a burned and disfigured face; he had no ears or nose, and his skin had a dark red tone, while his eyes were completely black.

Rafael's breathing quickened because he recognized who the figure in front of him was…

A Demon!

The figure looked at him and its lips moved, saying something, but again, Rafael realized that he was also deaf…

"Am I in a vegetative state?" He thought.

The burned man, no. The Demon got up and came back with a bowl full of a bright green liquid. He then used a spoon to feed Rafael.

Rafael was still skeptical; he thought the Demon would devour him, but was it feeding him? Where had Vulcan brought him?

With no choice, Rafael turned to the only place that could give him answers: His system! Ignoring many phrases from when he was still in and out of Stygai, he turned to his status and injuries.

[You have suffered two serious injuries to your soul.]

[While your soul was injured, an eye curse caused triple damage to your soul.]

[Your soul has been given the Fragmented status!](+)1

[Your soul has been given the Permanent Damage status!](+)

[Your soul has been given the Recession status!](+)

[Your body has been given the Corruption status!](+)

[Your body has been given the Impure status!](+)

[(-)1Fragmented: Parts of your soul have been lost; you will frequently suffer from memory loss, personality disorders, and loss of consciousness.]

[(-)Permanent Damage: Your soul has been given irreparable damage; all spells learned through soul memory have been lost. Your physical body suffers severe consequences as a result.]

[(-)Recession: You can no longer meditate, and have lost all enhancements made to your soul through meditation.]

[(-)Corruption: Status gained after continuous consumption of Tainted Blood. The user cannot receive healing from any source. And all Holy and Luminous spells deal triple damage!]

[(-)Impure: Status gained after continuous consumption of Ghost Grass. The user has lost connection with all magical affinities of Planetos.]

I never thought Stygai could be this dangerous, and what the hell were those last two stats? When did I consume Tainted Blood and Ghost Grass? Did I do that while I was in the twisted personality of the Fragmented status?

But it was then that Rafael noticed several new system alerts as the Demon fed him:

[You have consumed Tainted Blood!]

[The power of the Corruption status has been strengthened.]

[You have consumed Ghost Grass!]

[The power of the Impure status has been strengthened!]

Rafael's eyes widened, and he stared in horror at the Demon who kept feeding him… No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't refuse the food it gave him every day.

Rafael finally understood why this demon didn't kill him, why it planned to turn him into one of them... And in the situation he was in, he couldn't do anything but watch the Demon continue to feed him day after day...

Fearing that he would never leave this place or that he would become something non-human, Rafael remembered that he ended up in the current situation because he tried to help Zhang. Rafael still cared about his friend even in the current situation... If Zhang was still in the city, living with that abomination that ignored even the city's safe time, then he was trapped there too. So he decided to grant his friend something that could help him, even if just a little...

[Do you wish to grant a Subsystem to the member of your Order, the Silver Sage Zhang?]

YES!

[Do you wish to name the system? The system name may influence certain skills and effects. Should the user refuse to name it, the Subsystem will choose a name more suitable for the new host.]

"YES!"

"Necromancer System!"

[Confirm the name: Necromancer System?]

"YES!"

[Silver Sage Zhang has received the Necromancer System!]

[The Mirror skill has been unlocked! You can use it to check the Sub-System user's status.]

"Activate Mirror!"

[The Mirror skill cannot be used on the Necromancer System user because the target cannot be found!]

Can't be found? Did he leave the Shadowlands? The system said he received the sub-system, so I hope this will help him somehow… Now I need to think about how to get out of here…

But no matter what Rafael wanted to do, lying motionless on the bed, the Demon continued to feed him day after day, week after week, month after month, and year after year… Until the worst finally happened…

****

Special thanks to Patreons:

Sage's Supporter: Jan, Vinnie, frimorigo, Leery Falcon, Parsa, Scott Robertson, and Pato Senalima!

Magic Apprentice: Axel Bour, Gabriele Sulpizio, Takatchi, mandeep singh, Austin, Kobe Robertson, Paul Gaslac, Niteo akuma, and 704Corleon!

Senior Magic Apprentice: Cole Bromley and Avacus!