A silence heavy enough to thump my eardrums enveloped the carriage. I stared at Alice for help, but the little brat promptly ignored me and began fiddling with her stave. Left with no other choice, I faced Adon who was seated few inches in front of me.

“S-so Father, where are we going…?”

“You’ll find out soon,” he paused and narrowed his eyes. “Alice told me what you said to Cyriel.”

I slumped my shoulders and drooped my head, in what I hoped was the perfect imitation of shame. “I—”

“Stop,” Adon said brusquely, “I’m not interested in an excuse, nor do I feel entitled to an apology.” He roughly put his hand on my shoulder. “Look at me.”

“A-ah.”

Adon laughed, and an empyrean aura that grabbed my heart permeated our surroundings. “I’m not angry.”

I wished to bask in this aura longer, but Adon coughed, seemingly embarrassed. “I don’t expect you to understand and accept all my mannerisms. However, I hope you understand this clearly: I’ll always love you,” he folded his arms, letting his words hang in the air. “Understood?”

A warm feeling similar to Adon’s fatherly aura welled up in my chest. “Understood, Father,” I affirmed, the smallest of smiles creeping on my lips.

“I’m glad.”

As I enjoyed this feeling, a dull ache diffused down my head. “Why’d you do that?!”

Alice harrumphed and stuck out her tiny chest. “Do you see how foolish you were to doubt Father’s intentions? Hmm?” she inquired, continuously bashing my skull in with the staff.

“…Yes, please stop…” I groaned out to an unrelenting Alice.

***

The gentle glare of the yellow sun warmed my body as I gaped at the scenery in front of me. A large sea of trees filled my field of vision, out in the distance; I could make out the various cries of the critters teeming within the forest. There was no doubt about it, this was a living, breathing forest…in a building no bigger than our house for Manasael’s sake!

I took a deep breath of the green air, “Enclosed Woodlands, huh?” I mumbled, glancing at the glowing doorway Adon was busy sealing. “It’s beautiful.”

“Indeed, it is,” Alice acquiesced, pointing farther ahead she murmured, “especially that.”

I followed her finger with a curious gaze. “What are you talking about…? I can’t see anything.”

“Can’t you feel it, though?” she asked, glaring at me as though I committed some unforgivable atrocity. “The Founder’s absolute presence is hugging this forest tightly. Around that area specifically.”

“Ah? You mean that? Yeah, it truly is awe-inspiring,” I said, inwardly wondering what kind of occult nonsense she was preaching. “I just didn’t think you were referring to something so glaringly obvious.”

“I see,” Alice’s face relaxed and settled back into her normal bored mold. “Makes sense.”

Carefully surveying the forest that seemed to abruptly morph into a nest where demons resided, I softly gulped down the bile at the back of my throat. ‘Don’t tell me we’re going to be sacrificed or something…’ I glanced back at the now-empty plot of land where the cyan portal floated. ‘…Calm down… You’re being paranoid…’

“…I hope so.”

“What was that?” Adon said, announcing his stealthy presence beside me.

“Nothing, Father.”

“Okay, then. Follow me.” Shrugging off my comment, Adon led us into the Enclosed Woodlands. After a few minutes of hiking, an altar elevated a few meters by three luxuriant statues was visible. The altar was an unnatural bleached-white color and was adorned with gold accents. On either side of the altar stood an assorted array of baskets stuffed with practice weapons.

“Why did you suddenly stop?” Adon said over his shoulder. They were already halfway up the stairs to the altar. “…And are you allergic to something in the air? Or do you have a skin infection?”

It was only then that I noticed; I had been aggressively clawing at my forearms through my coat. “…I think it’s the sudden change in atmosphere…” a strained smile hanging from my lips, I removed my thick coat. ‘There’s no way that worried expression is fake,’ I slowly climbed up the stairs with renewed vigor. “…But I’m fine now.”

Adon nodded and continued his ascent up the stairs. On top of the altar, an adult-sized statue so intricately detailed it held a sapient ambiance clutched a small basin with both of its hands. Dipping his head in a casual show of respect, Adon held a hand above the basin; before long a crystalline liquid flowed from his palm, filling the bucket.

“Alice, hold a hand above the basin.”

Alice did as she was told, a split second later a crimson bead of blood dripped into the basin from her index finger. Simmering heatlessly, the water soon dyed bright vermilion, and cyan-gold runes lit up on the rim of the basin.

As I studied the series of reactions, five multicolored gems bopped to the surface of the bright concoction. Ignoring the red, blue, grayish-white, and brown gems; Adon scooped up the larger gem—which resembled a diamond with a jet splotch contained within it—in between his thumb and index.

“…This is…White Chaos,” he mumbled with a blank face. “No…it can’t be… Can it…?”

“Daddy, is something wrong?” Alice asked, severing Adon from whatever world he was falling into.

The color slowly returned to Adon’s delicate face, “…I’m fine. In fact, you could say I’m great…I just need to confirm something,” he said, grinning smugly. “My, maybe I should’ve tested your affinities at Samandya like she suggested?” Adon sighed and quickly lifted a shrieking Alice into his arms.

“Stay put, Taryl. I’ll be right back.”

Before I could utter a single word in disagreement, his figure blurred out into the distance. My heart sank as I watched them phase out of my line of sight. “Merciful Manas…who leaves a toddler unattended in a forest… What happened to common sense…?” I complained, crouching down to the floor. “…Who am I kidding? The man just disregarded the laws of physics; probably disregards what I consider common sense, too…”

‘…At least I can find comfort in the fact that he wouldn’t leave me open to dangers.’ I consoled, trying to find a comfortable position to sit on the warm floor, but my mind kept regressing to that day, destroying any attempts at comfort. ‘…Eve, how’s the research going?’

[It has been progressing without a single issue. I’ve been analyz—is something wrong?]

‘…Nothing…just I’ve never heard you refer to yourself as ‘I’ before; not that I recall, anyway…’

[It is but the result of the work you entrusted me with. You don’t need to worry, I can’t and won’t possess your body; for, I have no will—instead, your will is my will. And no, I’m not the voice you keep hearing in your head. That is the illusionary embodiment of your guilt.] Eve recited mechanically. [Suggestion for the topic at hand: Stop beating away at yourself with guilt, your psyche is fragile enough as it is, Tia.]

A smile threatened to spread on my face, ‘I think you just gouged away a large chunk of my psyche with that sharp, accusatory tone… But since you finally called me Tia, I’ll let it go,’ I chimed via telepathy, unable to restrain the small grin on my lips. ‘Maybe now, you’ll also start using my beloved’s voice?’

[I’m afraid that wouldn’t be very healthy for you.]

‘…You know, I wouldn’t mind using you as an emotional crutch, it’s not like you can betray me, right?’

[Correct. I cannot revolt against you. However, I can be used against you. In fact, isn’t that our current predicament? And why is that you believe everything I tell you without the slightest bit of hesitation? You aren’t that naïve, are you?]

I rolled my eyes at those words, not that Eve didn’t have a point. ‘Okay, Okay, I get it… God forbid me from asking you to use Evelyn’s angelic voice ever again.’

[Very well.] After a brief pause, I felt my consciousness stir again. […Would you still like to hear how my analysis is proceeding?]

‘Ah…sure, go ahead.’

[I’ve gathered almost every bit of information scattered on the surface of your soul and diagnosed the condition of your body. The results may not be much, but I should have it ready for a report in six hours.]

‘Then we’ll have a full review in the evening.’

[Acknowledged.]

With that, my assistant subsided into the cesspool that was my mind, leaving me alone with my thoughts in the middle of the vibrant forest. Letting out a ghoulish sigh, I descended the altar and tried lifting a steel sword, but failed as the damned thing was too heavy. It was probably for the better, I’d just end up stabbing myself, anyway.

“Ah, I should’ve brought the dagger… How careless,” I said, grabbing a wooden saber from another basket.

“Heavy but it should do…” I murmured, knowing all too well I wouldn’t even last a minute fighting a starving mutt with this sword. Nonetheless, I hugged it tightly for protection and sat down against a statue supporting the altar. But a few minutes later, I shot up to my feet, boredom, and anxiety swelling in my chest.

Taking an invigorating deep breath, I swung the wooden sword with all my might. The sudden movement painfully stretched the muscles in my arms, jerking my shoulder in turn. I winced as I regained my footing and kept swinging the dull blade, taking on a less awkward stance.

However, my movements were disjointed, adding unneeded pressure to muscles. Still, I didn’t stop slashing my blade through the air; anger and resentment contain within each strike.

+

Dolorous Soul

Self-inflicted

Description: The Cosmic Karmic Scale has been tilted negatively towards your endless reincarnations.

+

I chewed my tongue as I inadvertently summoned the object of my boundless hate. Croaking back a hoarse whimper, I wiped away the tears rolling down my eyes, only to feel my face get slicker with moisture. I glanced at my bloody tattered hands, which were regenerating in front of my eyes.

“I thought you said you understood.”

I snapped my head in the direction of the sudden appraising voice—Adon standing idly against a nearby tree—and sighed softly. “I do,” I replied preemptively. “Where’s Alice, Father?”

“She’s going through some important test,” he said, pride dripping from his voice. “It seems you don’t want to talk to me but just in case I’ll ask: What’s on your mind?”

“I want strength,” I said, giving an arbitrary answer based on Adon’s personality.

“Oh? And why is it you desire strength?” he questioned, clearly amused.

“I simply want to protect what’s important to me.”

“I see. You’d make a great soldier, Yl.”

‘…This guy’s not sane… Then again, neither is his other half, who wants me to work as a farmhand…for what I recently found out to be an absurdly long life…’ I noted as I got to my feet. “Thanks, Father.”

“Sadly, your dream is proving to be quite impossible the way I see it,” Adon said, walking over to me, he placed two fingers on my forehead. A shrill hum that vibrated my skull echoed from his fingers. “Statistics, or rather, common sense shows that Elven children Awaken from ages 0-5 based solely on talent.”

“W-wha—!”

“Quiet down. I’m not done talking,” Adon said, sending a dense pulse of mana into my body. “What’s this? Your Bridge to Essence is completely formed…but…” grabbing the collar of my shirt, Adon dragged me to the top of the altar; emptied and refilled the basin, and rinsed my bloody hand in the water.

What happened next was a reaction similar to Alice’s affinity test, the water thickened and tinted darker shades of red before finally taking a pitch-black color. The black sludge fizzed and frothed about, slowly leaking out of the basin.

I noticed a slight frown form on Adon’s face, and when I blinked we were standing a few meters away from the altar. Once I was sure of my bearings, I glanced up at Adon, the crease on his forehead was more pronounced as he peered straight ahead.

A loud noise suddenly rang true throughout the forest. The black sludge completely decimated the altar with a myriad of thin black tendrils. Perhaps because of the sudden earth-shattering noise, my senses were in overdrive; enabling me to sense the inconceivable stir in the ambient mana which was pouring into the embodiment of darkness, giving it a steady increase in size.

“How quaint,” Adon said, relaxing his facial muscles. He calmly watched the newly birthed anomaly throb with malicious intent as it tore into the earth; leaving deep crevices in its wake. “Taryl—” Adon gestured for me to look into the air with his chin, where a circular helix of glowing symbols spiraled.

As if to make way for the white bolts of lighting spewing out of the magic circle, the sky rippled; torn asunder by the lightning raining down on the ruins of the altar—completely atomizing the nightmarish creature.

“—This is the power you seek. The power I will help you attain,” his face suddenly grew pale. “Not good…I incinerated the Divine Statue of Manasael…”

“Did you get caught up in playing hero, Father?” I teased, feigning a light chortle. “…What was that?”

“That was your fifth element: darkness. Why it contorted into a raging beast. I have no idea.”

I frowned, it was obvious he wasn’t telling me everything, and normally I would’ve accepted that explanation without prying further to avoid herding unneeded attention. But how could I possibly take the fact that my blood combined with water could transform into a murderous monster so lightly?

“Father, is something wrong with me? Why didn’t that happen when Alice—” I stopped mid-sentence as a boiling pain froze my brain. Wiping away the blood trickling down my lips, I felt a cluster of shattered bones move loosely under my skin.

Unable to withstand the excruciating pain radiating down my body, I crumpled to the ground and stared at Adon blankly.

“I was honestly planning to go easy on you, but hearing it and seeing it in person are two entirely different things”—a frigid glint lit up Adon’s eyes—“hence, I’m filled with two different quantities of disgust. I’ll have to teach you what it means to be a man before anything else,” he said as he lifted me off the ground with his left foot before kicking me into the air with his right. “I’m not angry, Taryl. I’m so mad it's nauseating.”

The force of the kick snapped my ribs like dry twigs, locking my eyes to the back of my head. And as my consciousness slowly wilted, I heard, “Lesson one: Don’t compare yourself to your sister, you’ll only wrought contempt.”

When I began falling Adon grabbed me by the throat, preventing me from planting into the ground. A seemingly reinvigorating energy flowed into my body as a gazed into his caustic eyes. I felt it; an almost frenzied primal instinct, if I gave up my lucidity, I would be damned to hell.

‘I-I can’t die!!’ I writhed and began tearing into Adon’s arm, digging my fingernails down to his sinew.

“You’re still conscious? What praiseworthy vital energy,” Adon said coldly, tightening his hold on my neck. “That’s great. It seems we’ll be able to finish this two-part course in one session. Lesson two: Manipulating Cyriel using your shortcomings is unforgivable,” Adon plunged his fist into my solar plexus, forcing me to hurl out a gut-wrenching mixture of blood and predigested food.

……

…..

….

…

..

.

“—have to go that far?” a gentle, feminine voice pulled me out of the perpetual cesspool. Curtaining open my heavy eyelids, I met the weary blue-eyed gaze of a white-clad woman seated beside me. “…How are you feeling, Taryl?”

“He’s fine. Please standby, Clehr.”

The blond Elf held her hand over my chest, “…Yes,” she said after a long period of hesitation. “But please be a little more gentle, lest you want to get on our Lady’s bad side.”

I shrunk back into the dirt unconsciously when Adon came into my field of vision. He stood there in silence—studying me intently; the bastard showed no signs of opening his perfectly symmetrical lips.

“…Don’t tell me you plan on attacking the second I twitch a limb?” I asked simply.

Adon blinked a few times before laughing softly. “…This kid sure is scary,” he said, helping me get to my aching feet. “Are you not angry, perhaps even scared? …Did you break from that short spar? I was led to believe dark elves are tougher than that… This really is no good… Cyriel’s going to kill me…”

‘…How stupid, I guess I was supposed to throw a hissy fit after being brutally beaten by my own father…’ I bit my lips as I realized my irreparable mistake, “F-father…?” I sniffled, squeezing out the tears that my anger had suppressed.

“…You seem to be back to yourself now,” his blazing gaze narrowed sharply. “…As long as you’re fine, we can continue. Now, Taryl, listen carefully. It’ll be impossible for you to manipulate mana. The main reason being: Your mana veins are horribly deformed and about half the number of an average—untalented—child. Additionally, there’s an esoteric miasma within you that absorbs all mana that makes its way into your Essence.”

I struggled to maintain my tearful act as Adon’s gaze pierced through me. Obviously, I knew something kept devouring the mana I cultivated, but I thought if I kept feeding it mana; it would eventually be satiated… ‘But…my mana veins are also deformed? Sigh, turns out it really was fear tactics. Still, I wonder what the endgame is?’

“Wipe that pitiful look off your face. It might be impossible to fix your mana veins, but that doesn’t mean there’s no hope,” Adon said, a cylinder golden glow coalesced from his ring above his palm, fusing into a golden scroll. He threw the golden scroll into my hands and dawned a stoic mask. “You can read basic Elfish, right? It took a long while to translate the Ancient Tongue into something you could comprehend, however, if you get stuck on something ask Clehr for help.”

‘Ancient Tongue? Does he mean the rudimentary Riljian dialect?’ I couldn’t help but chuckle silently at the pompous attitude he was giving off, considering the way Elves structured and stretched out their sentences was similar to Vaga’s infamous ‘suburban hillbillies’. “Ah, thank you, Father.”

He waved off my gratitude, “You’ll never be as strong as an average Elf because your body simply cannot handle mana… Even if it could your spells would be completely ineffective.”

Adon raised his hand, manifesting a small tempest of air. The air kept spinning in different directions as it sparked with a hollo howl before emitting a single thunderous bolt of yellow lightning.

“…Would you believe I infused the same amount of mana in that spell as I did with my earlier spell? It’s weak because I directly channeled the mana through my mana veins; without using magic circles and formulas as mediums.” Peering at the amber sky in an attempt to hide his sorrowful expression, he continued, disregarding the single tear streaming down his cheek. “You understand what that means, right?”

“…Y-yes,” I said, completely taken aback by his sudden change in moods.

Adon placed a sphere that seemed to contain a cluster of galaxies within it in front of me and took quick strides toward the interdimensional gate. “Ever since that day, I knew your life would be difficult. That’s why I researched various ways to guide you to strength; it’s the reason I went to the barbaric human continent,” he said, sighing softly. “I’m rambling needlessly... Do your best understanding that scroll, okay? I’ll be right back.”

“Of course!” I yelled, tearing my gaze from the football-sized crystal sphere.

‘…Bipolar jackass… What’s he crying for? I’m the one who memorized countless brain-numbing spells for no apparent reason, dammit!’ I thought, unrolling the long scroll with a hopeful lust for knowledge. My excitement slowly vanished with the dimming sky. ‘What is this shi—?’

“I’m sorry for disturbing you, Taryl. Do you need some light?” Clehr asked warmly, sitting next to me.

“…Yes, thank you. I could’ve sworn it was just midday…” I said more to myself than to the beautiful Elf.

“The days are shorter in Umdya,” Clehr said, hugging me into her flowery embrace, she flicked a fingernail-sized marble of energy into the sky.

The next second, a giant white ball of energy orbited by a ring of cyan runes lit up the entire woodland, eclipsing the crescent moon. “You sure are reading fervently; even though your body must be aching... How can a parent treat their kin so harshly?”

“I’m all right, big sis... You don’t have to worry,” I said, barely maintaining my consciousness in her warm embrace.

“B-big sis?” Clehr blurted, her face flushed. “Please j-just refer to this lowly servant as Clehr.” She pushed me out of her arms and stood up. “Are you having any troubles with the scroll?”

I raised a brow and assessed her sudden bashful behavior. The Oryil Household. Was it because I was Cyriel’s son? I wanted to ask her; to know where I stood in this society…but something far more important warranted my attention. “No troubles at all. However, I do have a question.”

“Please don’t hold back, ask away.”

“The spell you just used, what attribute was it?”

“Oh, that… It was a dual-elemental spell of fire and light,” she said, slightly uncomfortable. “You should go back to reading.”

“…Okay,” I said, not bothering to hide my disappointment. ‘Are all spells really constructed using elements only? But…’ Sighing, I cut my thoughts short and continued reading the other half of gibberish Adon handed me.

Maybe it was because of the overly simplified style, but the scroll read like something a tree-hugging college student would write on some ‘Enlightened’ Internet forum. It was mostly about the origins, uses, and effects of an omnipresent energy referred to as orgone. I speedily skimmed most of the silver-threaded words. Finally, my eyes fell on something worthwhile:

Gathering And Assimilating Orgone: Revamped By Adon Oryil

Simply absorbing orgone is but a simple matter, however, to make this energy perceivable; one needs to make it tangible by coalescing a large quantity of orgone before absorbing it. This process could be done in a few minutes using orgonite[See Chapter 13 if you forgot what orgonite is, Taryl.]

Unfortunately, you can’t assimilate orgone via your mana veins because the energy is extremely volatile in large volumes; if not controlled perfectly, it could rip your body apart, so I created a breathing technique for measured intakes of orgone. All you need to do is breathe in the orgone, and your body will naturally assimilate it—the same way it does with oxygen.

The breathing technique follows the strict sequence: Inhale[deep breathe]-Exhale[deep breathe]-Inhale[deep breathe]-Inhale[short breathe]-Exhale[short breathe]….

The breathing sequence went; consisting of a looped series of 93 ‘inhalations’ and ‘exhalations’, and from a single glance I could tell it was inspired by how magic theorems were structured. I read the sequence two more times, memorizing it completely.

‘…Judging from the sequence, it doesn’t matter if two distinct ‘short’ or ‘long’ breathes differ in volume by a small margin.’ I clasped the sphere Adon left in my hands as I emptied my lungs. ‘…In… Out.’

I fell into a trance almost instantaneously after a few breaths, a silver mist spread out of the orgonite as the mystic crystal resonated with my breathing; creating a thick sheet of fog around me. Unwilling to give the energy time to dissociate into the atmosphere again, I sped up my breathing.

My lungs seared, the pain was similar to what I felt when I took my first drag of a cigarette. Soon, the gentle burning sensation stopped. And a suffocating warmth gathered around my chest, permeating down my body; filling me with immense strength.

[Derivation of Divine energy, Life Force: Orgone recognized within body.]

[Orgone assimilated into body cells: 533/1050]

A greedy impulse took over me as I watched a stat increase so fast. The cap didn’t so much as phase me, why would it? My mana stat was still negligible for fuck's sake!

I gleefully, accepted the energy; allowing it to reinforce my body and add a buff to the vitality, agility, and intelligence stats. Slowly sighing out a silver cloud of air, I observed my leathery burn scars.

“…Still there, huh?” I smiled before adding mentally: ‘At least she saved my face…Hmm? The trembling stopped, though. What about my luck has the ‘negative energy’ within me been cleansed, Eve?’

[No. There aren’t any changes in the status’ of your Curse Charms.]

‘I see. Well, now that I mention it; I can’t perceive anything fitting the description of ‘negative energy’ anywhere around me…Perhaps th—’

“As expected… You learned fairly fast.” Clehr said, giving me an approving thumbs up. “It’s going to be awhile until your father arrives, want to test out your newly acquired power?”

“…Yeah. I guess, I do. I just need to…” I hurriedly absorbed few more wisps of orgone; maxing out the stat. “Alright! How should we do it?”

“How about full speed sprinting? We could also try hunting… Rock climbing might be fun…” Clehr said, listing the various exercise on her fingers, she suddenly froze. “Err…? I think that’s all. I could demonstrate various swordplay for you and—”

“Let’s start with running first; that way I’ll get a better feel of my body,” I said, stopping her before she could say anything that would make my day long than it needed to be.

“Okay. Be careful, though. Your body is far stronger than you think it is.”

+

Quest:

Run a total distance of one kilometer: Distance covered: 0m/1000m

Failure will result in soul corrosion.

+

Scoffing at the sudden pop-up message at the edge of my peripheral vision, I took a simple crouching stance and kicked off the ground. The surroundings melted into a blur of green, disorientating all my senses. However, that didn’t last long, as my brain began processing the rapidly changing scenery milliseconds later, enabling me to react to the tree I was inches away from crashing into.

Raising my arms to my chest in a last-minute attempt to shield my body. I collided with the tree, bursting it into a hail of splinters. As if I didn’t lose momentum from the impact, my body drove into the woodland vegetation like cannon fire; only stopping when I plunged into a shallow pool of mud.

“…It didn’t hurt?” I mumbled, wiping the thick smelly sludge off my face, I realized; I didn’t have any open wounds.

Clehr suddenly appeared in front of me, her nostrils pinched shut. “Hm? I told you, your body is stronger than you think it is,” she stated as she made a waving gesture, conjuring a whip of water that rinsed my muddy body. “…To fall into cyclops dung in this wide forest, how unl—Ah!”

I pulled the blond into the mud by the hem of her white robe, earning a disapproving glare from her. I honestly didn’t need to hear how jinxed I was.

Chuckled innocently, I gained some distance from the fuming Elf, “I’m sorry, big sis Clehr, I still can’t get control of all my newfound strength.” I said as soon as I saw her lips part. “Anyway, shall we clean up and get back to it?”

“…It can’t be helped,” Clehr said, reverting to her docile manner. “Get up so I can get you cleaned.”

***

Adon navigated his way through the pathways of the large compound with a worried gait. He let the chill of the afternoon blizzard cool his mind as he made his way to Samandya. It would’ve been much more efficient to teleport directly to the subspace Alice was being tested from Umdya, but he needed to collect his thoughts after what he had just discovered.

“…What should I do…?” Adon mumbled. Stopping in front of Samandya’s gate, he dispersed the dense layer of mana around his arms. He let the corrosive snow peel his skin. He watched his skin turn a sickly blue tone before transforming into crisp ice flakes.

This was better. No. Anything was better than the feeling he got every time he recalled the sinister energy infesting Taryl’s Essence. He felt such bleak energy once before…it was terrifyingly similar to the energy signature of Zenalorp’s Dark Disciples.

“…Shit,” he cursed out under his breath. Flexing the muscles in his arms, Adon destroyed the mold of frostbite encrusting his skin. He felt awfully disgusted with himself. How could he associate his own flesh and blood with the beings responsible for the Demon Fall on Byral?

And even worse, what was this ill sense of dread? Did he actually fear that meek little brat?

“…Impossible. Simply impossible,” Adon smirked, clenching his fist tightly. “How can I fear someone I have to protect?”

Adon didn’t understand what Taryl did to earn the ire of the Deity that cursed him. Perhaps the Cycle couldn’t wash off all the sins of his past lives, or maybe it was a punishment for one of his or Cyriel’s sins. But in the end, none of that mattered, he would always keep his family safe.

With a steely will, he placed his hand on the Spatialrune on the surface of Samandya’s gate and pumped a steady flow of mana through it. Adon watched as the fabrics of reality intertwined, creating an interdimensional doorway that connected all testing grounds.

He simply could not comprehend it. No matter how much he studied this world, the Natural Laws were far too fragile. How could a non-spatial mage split reality so easily? ‘‘There’s no point in pondering useless things; we were just birthed from superior beings in a harsher environment’… Was it?’ a cynical smile formed on Adon’s lips. ‘We aren’t gods, you idiots.’

Clicking his tongue, Adon buried his superior officer’s zealous speech in the back of his mind and passed through the ripple in space. Samandya’s air was one Adon could never get used to; the scent of smoke and the feel of the artificially manufactured mana was especially sickening, even as he stood indoors.

Nonetheless, he held back the repulsed scowl threatening to form on his face and walked up to the front desk. Seemingly recognizing him, the clerk gestured for Adon to pass through the doors leading to the inner facilities of the building.

Adon silently walked through the wide hallways, mind still dismayed. He heard the rushed footsteps of a bespectacled Elf dressed in a white coat. The loud metallic steps of the man cleared Adon’s mind fog, warranting his full attention.

“S-sir! You finally returned!” the man barked, flipping hastily through the stack of papers in his hands. “We need your consent on several tests we have laid out for your daughter! You see, all her results are simply of the charts! The size of her Essence… Spiritual strength, physical strength! Her connection to the Founder! And not to mention she’s a White Chaos Heir…! W-, we must—!”

Adon squeezed the man’s mouth shut, putting an end to his incessant ramblings. “Enough. All I need from you are the documents detailing her results,” he said, dusting the Doctor’s shoulders off. “Now, take me to my daughter, I have to return to my wife.”

“Yesh, right ‘way… f’llow me…”

Following the man, Adon realized Alice wasn’t being held at the testing center he left her in. Instead, it was a large domed room furnished with various unsightly, mechanical contraptions. He glanced around and caught sight of a weary Alice jogging in his direction.

“…Daddy, I want to go home,” she muttered, jumping into Adon’s arms.

Adon sighed. It ached his heart to see her so worn out, “Don’t worry, princess. We’re going home now,” he comforted, glancing to the man who led him here. “Cognitive Gem. Now.”

The elderly Elf chuckled awkwardly. “No need to be so rude mister Oryil”—he gestured to one of his subordinates— “Though, I do admit I was a little too excited back than. I hope we’ll see more young Alice here in the future.”

“Of course, you will Dr…”

“Caron.”

“Dr. Caron. Without your help I wont be able to fully assess Alice’s true talents.” Adon admitted, ignoring the defiant purr echoing from the doll in his arms.

“Very well. You can count on me for that, after all, this child is indeed special,” Caron said merrily, handing the gem containing all Alice's data within it and bowed deeply.

Not bothering to reply, Adon turned his back from the enthusiastic researcher. His mind was fully occupied by the ‘talk’ Cyriel was referring to. A cold ball of dread far worse than anything he had ever felt was slowly churning his insides as he recalled the reason he main reason he fled the house.

‘Hopefully, she calmed down by now…’

***

I silently lay in my new bed, the wonderful scent of fresh, untouched books tickling my nostrils.

It had been a long day. My entire body ached. I needed to pass out. Now.

‘Ha… It ain’t over yet…’ I thought tiredly. ‘Eve. It’s time to face my fears… Report.’

[Yes. I’ll begin with what I discovered analyzing your body and soul.]

[Your body and soul are completely incompatible. The embodiment of this fact is the ‘Miasma’ found within your Essence. This Miasma’s origins are your soul. Right now, it’s busy encroaching your soul-body boundary, eventually, it will invade your body. This could result in a shortened lifespan or death.]

[Additionally, it will be impossible to satiate the Miasma’s hunger for mana. However, it is recommended that you should not stop this practice as it slows down the Miasma’s encroachment. Furthermore, it is possible all the mana simply doesn’t vanish.]

After processing Eve’s words, I couldn’t help let out a breath in exasperation. A few days ago when I recovered a tiny bit from the agony of having my soul corroded, I read the Quest regarding mana absorption more clearly.

It stated: ‘Find out how to absorb mana to 450+’ not ‘Absorb mana to 450+’.

Why? Obviously, it was a simple mind game from my favorite goddess, Moon. The painful thing about this entire ordeal was that when I became a little complacent with my mana absorption; I earned a new curse, 'Eternal Damnation Upon Death'.

Now, I didn’t know the difference between Eternal Damnation and Soul Corrosion…but I didn’t want to find out either. ‘Sometimes I wished this is a postmortem hallucination…Fuhehe…not that I ruled out that theory…Forget it. What have you discovered studying the Status Screen?’

[It is a system deeply rooted to your soul. It’s also broken beyond my comprehension ability…]

‘So, it's simply a tool to keep me going, as I thought?’

[That is highly probable.]

‘Is that all?’

[Yes. That concludes my report.]

‘…How disappointing. It’s barely anything I didn’t know.’

I chuckled. ‘Well, it’s fine…I’ve been thinking about it ever since I regained a fraction of my sanity. The voice I heard before dying, the self-inflicted curse….how is it all connected? Most importantly…’ I felt my blood rush to my head and fissuring my sclera in bloody spurts “…I need to find out who’s the one responsible for all my misery.”

[Cold Mind: Levelled Up!]