Flick!
With the moon constellation looming overhead, my eyes fluttered open to catch a glimpse of its herald; its surreal glow illuminating the desolate and barren landscape beneath it.
As its shape became more pronounced, its crimson light shun even brighter, prompting the dark mist to retreat into the depths of the shadows, as though it were trying desperately to escape the crimson rays.
Yeah, that's it! Push that filthy mist back to where it belongs!
Filled with a surge of vitriol and a strange sense of comfort, I watched the dark mist retreat.
...I did so, until eventually, I could see it no more.
Finally…
I let out a tense breath I didn't know I had been holding in. In that moment, all I felt was a strange sense of relief.
A frown crept onto my features. Seems like the dark mist has affected me much more than I thought.
With a dark expression, I rose to my feet, stretching my stiffened body and bones.
Crack! Crack!
It was then that I turned to the left and caught sight of Mia who seemed to be in a... meditative state?
"..."
I squinted my eyes at the sight. It was also then, that I took note, the shiny, lustrous object in her hands.
...A Shard?
Actually, it resembled something akin to a fragment, more. But, that however, wasn't what unsettled me. Rather, it was the fact that I found the object familiar. A little bit too familiar, even.
As my gaze lingered on it, it soon dawned on me that it was the shard I had seen —after scavenging the carcass of the dark creature— killed by me, a few days ago.
Though I wasn't sure of its use, I had kept it, knowing it was one of the useful parts of the nightmarish creature.
As for how I knew this?
"..."
I also had no idea. As a result, I had thrown the weird shard into the makeshift vessel.
With a light frown on my face, I couldn't help but ponder harder on what the shard was.
The fact that I already had a certain level of knowledge about it, if only barely, made it obvious that I should know of its use. And indeed, as soon as I pondered harder, the pieces started to fall into place, and before I knew it, they came together to form a set of chilling realizations.
One that chilled my heart to the core.
Thump! Thump!
My heart pounded in my chest, the sound thundering in the tense silence.
The object. I-It was a soul shard!
However, that wasn't what chilled my heart to the core, and made every hair at the back of my neck stand on end. Rather, it was the fact that unlike other arcanists, I didn't follow the normal path of ascension.
Normally speaking, every single arcanist consume the soul shards gotten from the corpses of other creatures to grow stronger. By absorbing the soul essence contained within them, they all aim to saturate their soul core, until the end of the arcane ascension, through which they could ascend to the next level.
However, the fact that I didn't have a soul shard or soul core stat should have made it more obvious than ever, that I didn't follow that path.
"If I was correct," A grim expression darkened my features. "Unlike other arcanists, I grow stronger by killing others."
The realization sent a chill through me, heart pounding as my breath came out in short, ragged gasps.
In normal circumstances, this would have been a good thing. After all, without needing to compete with other arcanists for the limited available resources, the rate at which I grow stronger would be exponentially faster than other arcanists.
However, in the long run, when an increase in one's strength brings about an increase in one's popularity and fame, it wouldn't take too long for even a dumb man to understand why and how I level up so fast.
And this only deepened the scowl on my features. After all, no arcane powerhouse- God, would allow for someone like me to exist.
Shit!
I groaned in exasperation. Allowing myself to take deep intakes of air, before letting them out, I tried to calm down, even if it was proving impossible to do so.
But, eventually, I'd succeed.
"Alright. Calm down, Dean. Breathe."
There must be a way around this.
'They had to be...'
"Huff..."
With a sharp exhalation, I walked towards the makeshift vessel, taking from it, the soul shard.
I stared at the shard for a few seconds or so, filled with a plethora of dark emotions, before walking away. Sitting in a desolate, ruined corner of the dune structure, as a result of the previous harrowing battle, I closed my eyes and attempted the impossible.
I had thought about it, and the only way out of this precarious situation was if I could absorb the soul essence contained within the miniscule object.
Clench!
I tightened my grip on the soul shard.
In the seated state, I closed my eyes and tried to absorb the soul essence contained within it. However, not to my surprise, yet to my dark discontentment, I wasn't able to.
It was as though I were doing something that went downright against my… creation.
If I had to guess, it was the dark side of whatever nephilim creature I was. However, what gave me the reassurance that I could do it, despite the heaven-surmounting difficulty it was proving to be, was the fact that I also had a… holy side.
..If it could be called one, that's.
Hence, right now, I was betting that this "holy" side within me, would be able to overpower, or at the very least, balance out the dark aspect.
Drip! Drip!
Minutes later, sweat drops poured down the side of my face, eyes squinting in pain and hellish agony.
Just fucking work for Gods sake, will you?!
An hour or so later,
The rage and annoyance within me at that point was already rising to extreme heights, and so was the pain. It was becoming unbearable. I-It felt as though a part of my being was forcefully being shattered and reconstructed.
Drip! Drip!
...The pain the change brought with it was hellish beyond what words alone could describe.
Right about then, I was already on the verge of giving up, or perhaps, exploding in a fit of rage when…
Crack! Crack!
I heard the subtle sound of the soul shard creaking and breaking. And with it, I felt a subtle flow of energy flow into me.
'Yes...!'
A fleeting smile tugged at the corner of my lips as sweet drops dripped down the corner of my face.
Drip! Drip!
The sound echoed through the tense silence. And just then, I heard it.
"..."
The spell. It echoed within my mind. But this time, not as pleasant and balanced as it ought to:
[You have consumed a soul shard.]
[Your darkness grows stronger.]