Hajime knelt down, hands stil firmly clutches to his stomach. An unbearable pain flushed his body. Suddenly, the heavens released rain. It began with small drops, amplifying over time. In a small gathering of rippling rain water, he could see his own reflection. Blood shot eyes and two very noticeable claw scratch shaped marks on his left and right eye lids extending to the bottom of his eyes. The marks were magenta coloured. The excruciating pain was inexplicable.
In the Gale Valley, Lily was still a head of Bianca. Bianca cast an ice pillar spell, which carried her up the side of the mountain. Soon after, she had arrived at the summit.
Shockingly, the deafening screams had stopped. Hajime was gone. Lily could not longer sense his presence. Contemplating on the matter, she came to one conclusion, Hajime's blood lust had mirked his conviction. Although Divine Soul Arms were a god- given weapon, unless the user aligns their conviction to the Divine Soul within the weapon, their bond weakens and makes the overall performance of the weapon, unstable.
Hajime's mind was in a frenzy. In the shadows, a figure moving with zombish patterns and insane speeds zipped by. It moved with insane precision. Bianca drew her blade and called out, expecting an assassin. However, Hajime was the one in the shadows. He closed the distance gap, with bloodshot eyes. The marks on his face caught Bianca's attention. Pushing Hajime away, he slipped back into the shadows.
Bianca asked Lily for an explanation and she obliged.
" My master's Class, The Soul Devourer, requires soul energy to remain stable. While consuming soul energy night aid him, it might also make him mentally unstable. That is why he needs dark soul energy from ghoul type and spirit type monsters. If he consumes a living soul, he has to promptly assimilate it our loose his mind to the urge to kill".
Bianca was shocked, but deep down, she knew her friend was still in here somewhere. She charged at Hajime and knocked him to the ground. Restraining him by the wrists. She tried her hardest to talk to him but he wouldn't listen at all. Hajime turned the tide and freed himself, pinning Bianca to the ground in the process. With a hand firmly pressed to her throat, he s raised the Petal Scattering Blade with he other. Lily, who couldn't interfere with physical things, could only restrain the blade from moving. She spoke.
" Master!! No you mustn't. The Hajime I know would never take the life of his loved ones. You must remember. You must resist the urge to shed blood".
Hajime looked at Bianca, blood shot eyes radiating primal blood lust. In a dark void, an eight year old Hajime sits bound by hands and feet with blood like threads. A being of intense darkness stares at him from the depths of the darkness. Hajime looked at Bianca and saw her shed tears, giving up on life of it meant she was to die by his hand.
Seeing Bianca in tears, a memory flashes before his unconscious state.
A memory from twelve years ago.
A six year old Hajime leaves the house in the morning to play in the forest as always. On his way, he stops by a small cottage near the outskirts of Ambrose. There, a petite blue haired girl steps out off the cottage. With her parents telling them to be back early, she sets out to the forest with Hajime. In the forest, they play together and laugh enjoying each other's company.
As the day progressed, they decided to head back home. As usual, Hajime would escort her to her home first. When they arrived, a fancy cart was parked in front of her cottage. Her mother came out and bid Hajime good evening and asked whether they had fun. Hajime affirms her suspicions and she smiles, although her smile carried a subtle hint of disturbance. She went inside with her daughter Elisa and Hajime went home. The next day, Hajime went to her house for heir usual play time. However, she wasn't there. Asking her parents, Elisa's mother decided it would be best to tell him over a snack. A plate of cooki3s were set before him. Her husband, knowing how the story would end was disappointed and left the room in sadness.
His wife explained, " you see Hajime, Elisa was our adopted child we found in the forest one day. She actually hailed of noble blood in the dutchie of vale. Her parents have been looking for her since an incident separated them five years ago. Yesterday was when they came for her".
Hajime's heart sank. His best friend had left him without so much as a goodbye. He loved her dearly and had plans of marrying her in future. With a sudden loss of appetite, Hajime thanked Mrs. Belle for the cookies and left for his house. Alone in his room, his parents tried to cheer him up but to no avail. A day later, he came out, determined to find Elisa and marry her. He decided to go into the forest everyday to play B6 himself and keep their friendship alive.
After five years, they met. But Hajime was now her opponent. He was about to speak from behind his Inigma mask, when Elisa cut him short.
With an introduction, " Bianca Frost, first lieutenant of the Ambrose Town Guard. I order you in the name of the emperor to hualt".
Hajime immediately realized that their world's had drifted apart. Playing the role of the thief, he sunk into the despair of his role and beat Bianca in a fight.
Since then, they had been enemies. That is until five years later, when he stole the Floriene blossom pendant. When a side of his mask cracked. She saw his face before he fainted. Getting a better look at it after she took the other half off. She burst into tears before a fainted Hajime. Steeling herself, she decided to follow through with protocol as a captain and delivered him to the Floriene family.
Back on the mountain summit, Hajime's crazed state suddenly sheds tears. Bianca realizes this and puts her hand to his cheek, wiping away his tears.
A system notification appears to a now grown yet still bound Hajime in his unconscious state. The binds break as he reads the notification.
[ Hidden quest complete]
The administrator has successfully assimilated the living soul energy of the mystery Assassin.
Unknown reward scroll has been obtained.
Hajime reaches into the scroll and sees a mask. Another system window appears.
Class S artifact obtained.
The Reapers mask. Successful suppresses aura emanation and mama to conceal the wearer's presence. Amplifies dark affinity for two hours with no after penalties.
Hajime's consciousness returned. Seeing where he was and what he was doing, he quickly embraced Bianca, much to her relief. Bianca called out to Lily, which shocked Hajime. He asked, " wait you can see her too".
Bianca responded, " yeah. Ever since I woke up my eye sight improved and I could see people's aura". She thanked Hajime for saving her and not dying I'm the process. Lily came and scolded Hajime for not thinking and killing his uncle. Looking at the marks on his face she said, " now that you've awakened the starved state, it is crucial that you train it or else, you'll loose control of your mind". Hajime expressed his gladness to see her, which cut her short and she blushed. She turned around in anger an pouted walking away as the Petal Scattering Blade vanished in Hajime's hand. Bianca looked at Hajime still hovering over her and sat up suddenly, pulling him in and kissing him on his lips. Hajime did not resist and simply embraced her.
Their love transcended powers and theur affection transcended time. These two lovers were now eternally blood bound.