The crimson constellation bled into existence, my eyes fluttering open to catch a glimpse of its herald, its surreal glow illuminating the desolate and barren landscape slowly crawling to life.
Sccrrch....!
As the constellation became more and more pronounced, its immolating light shone even brighter, prompting the dark mist to recede as though it were desperately trying to escape the crimson rays.
'Yeah, that's it! Push that filthy mist back to where it belongs!' I grinned.
Filled with a sudden surge of vitriol, and perhaps, dark excitement, I watched the dark mist retreat into the shadows. I did so, until eventually, I could see it no more.
'Finally.' I let out a tense breath.
It was in that moment, when all I felt was a deep sense of relief, that a frown crept onto my features.
'Seems like the dark mist has affected me much more than I thought,' I thought with a light frown.
With a sharp exhalation, 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. She seemed to be in a meditative state.
I squinted my eyes at the sight.
'Weird.' I tilted my head to the left.
It was then that I took note of the small, lustrous object in her hands.
'A shard? No.'
My eyes squinted further.
Actually, it resembled something akin to a fragment more. But that wasn't what unsettled me. Rather, it was the fact that I found the object familiar.
A little bit too familiar.
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— the one 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?
"..."
"Don't ask me."
'I also had no idea.'
As a result, I had thrown the weird object into the makeshift vessel.
'Who could have known that it would prove to be useful later on?'
...The smile on my face faded as soon as I began to 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 setofchilling realizations. Among which one chilled my heart to the core.
My heart pounded in my chest, the sound echoing in the tense silence.
'The object. I-It was a freaking soul shard!' My eyes widened.
However, that realization 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.
My face paled.
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." My expression darkened. "Unlike other arcanists, I grow stronger by killing."
The realization sent a chill through me, my heart pounding at its implications.
Under normal circumstances, this would have been a great 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 that only served to deepen the scowl on my face. After all, no arcane powerhouse- God, would allow for someone like me to exist.
'Shit.'
That was simply impossible.
I groaned in exasperation, hands wrapped tightly around my head.
"Hu, Huu."
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.
"Alright. Calm down, Dean. Breathe." I told myself over and over again.
...Eventually, I'd succeed in calming myself. There must be a way around this.
'They had to be.' That I was sure of.
...I just wasn't thinking hard enough.
***
Some nerve-wracking minutes later, the realization settled in like a heavy lead.
'I wasn't sure it would work, but... it was better than nothing,' I thought and rose to my feet.
With a sharp exhalation, I walked towards the makeshift vessel, taking from within 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, I closed my eyes and attempted the impossible.
Anyone who knew what I was attempting would see me as a fool. Or someone who just wished for death. However, I was neither. And...
Haa...
I had thought about it, the only way out of this precarious situation was if I can somehow absorb the soul essence contained within the miniscule object.
Clench--!
My grip on the soul shard tightened.
...In the seated state, I closed my eyes and tried to absorb the soul essence contained within it. However, not to my surprise, but 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 of sorts.
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, my eyes squinted 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!' Sweat poured down my face.
Drip! Drip--!
The sound echoed through the silence. And just then, I heard it.
"..."
The spell.
It echoed within my mind. But this time, not as pleasant and balanced as it always had:
[You have consumed a soul shard.]
[Your darkness grows stronger.]