The darkness stretched endlessly in every direction, an abyss so dark it felt tangible
Nyx could only hear his heartbeat as if all of his senses were cut off.
Zirias stood beside him, an imposing figure wreathed in shifting shadows. His ever present smile gleamed faintly, menacing but reassuring.
"You're safe here," Zirias said softly, his voice resonating from everywhere at once.
Nyx looked up at him, the exhaustion of the last days still weighing heavily on his small frame. Before he could reply, a series of tiny blue flames burst into existence around him.
They giggled softly.
Nyx blinked, startled, as the little flames began to dance in lazy spirals, weaving playful patterns through the air.
Despite their eerie glow, they radiated a strange warmth and comfort.
Zirias chuckled a deep, vibrating sound that somehow soothed Nyx's frayed nerves.
"They're fond of you," he explained. "Wisps, harmless spirits of curiosity. They wish to help you."
Nyx tentatively reached out, and one of the wisps brushed against his fingers, leaving a trail of warmth.
He smiled faintly, the first true smile he'd shown in a long time.
Zirias then raised his massive shadowy hand and gently pressed a single finger against Nyx's forehead.
A soft glow bloomed at the point of contact.
Nyx inhaled sharply as a sensation like warm water flooding his veins spread through him.
The pain in his body evaporated. Bruises faded. Cuts sealed. Damaged bones knitted together with quiet pops and tingling relief.
And then.
[DING! CONGRATULATIONS! BINDING HAS BEEN SUCCESSFUL.]
A glowing window popped up before Nyx, hovering in the air, pulsing gently.
Nyx flinched backwards, swatting at it uselessly.
"What is that!" he cried, scrambling.
Zirias' laughter echoed all around, a low and eerie sound.
"Calm yourself," Zirias said, amusement colouring his tone. "It's your system."
"My… system?" Nyx asked, suspicious.
"Yes," Zirias explained patiently. "That black stone you found, that fragment you clung to without knowing, it was the last piece of my soul. Now that you are bound to it, we are linked… permanently. As long as you live, I live. As long as I exist, you are never alone."
Nyx stared wide eyed at the pulsing screen, reading the words again, trying to make sense of it all.
"The system," Zirias continued, "is an artifact woven into the fabric of the ancient world. A tool to help you grow, adapt, and eventually, surpass your limits. It will track your progress, guide your evolution, and assist you in wielding the powers you will come to possess."
Nyx's mouth opened, but before he could process it all, Zirias kept going.
"You see," he said, "your body will soon begin reconstructing itself every time you sleep. Your muscles will strengthen. Your bones will harden. Your meridians, the rivers of energy within you, will expand. Your acupoints will be opened and cleared, unlocking greater potential."
Nyx's head began to spin.
Strengthening? Reconstructing? Meridians? Acupoints?
It sounded ridiculous to Nyx the more he thought about it.
Nyx opened his mouth, clearly about to ask a million questions, and instead his stomach growled loud enough to echo off the unseen abyss walls.
"I'm… hungry," Nyx muttered sheepishly.
Zirias blinked, then giggled an unsettling, warped sound.
"Very well," Zirias said with a grin that stretched wider. "One moment."
He snapped his fingers.
From deep within the void, there came a horrible squelching sound followed by a shriek so high pitched it made Nyx jump back several feet.
He stared into the darkness, heart hammering, but could see nothing beyond the faint light of the wisps.
Seconds later, a giant shape lumbered toward them, dragged by a massive shadowy hand.
It was a dragon. Huge, grotesque, and covered in hundreds of wicked spikes.
The size of a house, it left a trail of blackened blood across the stone as it was pulled closer.
On its forehead was a single, tiny hole. Clean, neat, and undoubtedly fatal.
The giant shadowy hand dropped the beast unceremoniously at Nyx's feet, causing a deep thud that made the ground tremble.
Nyx stared up at the towering corpse, then slowly turned to Zirias.
"Uh. What now?" he asked flatly.
Zirias's smile widened further. "Let's try your first summoning."
Nyx sighed heavily.
"Of course. I can't even get a normal meal."
He grumbled under his breath as the wisps danced excitedly around him.
Zirias commanded the shadows around them and a large chunk of meat taller than Nyx was cut from the dragons neck.
Blood sprayed from the wound as it dripped onto the ground.
The blood was boiling as it began to steam and sizzle as it covered the cold ground.
Nyx was dumbfounded as he witnessed the gruesome scene. He looked back at Zirias With a frown.
"How the he'll am I supposed to eat this?" Nyx said perplexed.
Zirias looked at the boy's frustrated eyes as his smile widened and giggled.
Leaving Nyx to his flustered imagination.
*****
It took Kain half a day to return to the borders of the Zenithian empire using teleport stations along the way.
He was like a shepherd with his herd of sheep trailing behind him.
Nobody said a single word throughout their journey.
Their breaths were haggard and their feet shuffled through the ground.
Eventually they reached the walls of the Zenithian army.
At the main encampment of the Zenithian forces, chaos reigned in a different form.
The once-proud soldiers that had ventured into the wasteland now limped through the camp gates like broken dolls.
Saintess Jean moved among them, bloodstained and pale, her robes torn and aura dim.
Kain led the procession, his golden armour cracked and dull under the rising sun.
The guards at the entrance straightened, then gaped in horror at the sight before them.
The once proud golden lion knights were now crumbling before the soldiers.
"By the gods," one muttered under his breath. "What in heaven's name happened to them?"
The guard took a single step forward, opening his mouth to ask more, but Kain's sharp glare froze him where he stood.
A faint pressure, barely controlled killing intent, pressed against the guard's chest.
The poor man paled visibly, swallowing hard.
Kain caught himself a moment later and pulled back the killing aura with effort.
"Take me to General Carsen," he said flatly.
The guard nodded hastily, tripping over his own feet in his rush to lead the way.
Jean followed a step behind Kain, her expression troubled.
They crossed the bustling camp in silence, soldiers parting before them like waves.
Whispers rose behind them, filled with skeleton and fear, but no one dared approach.
Soon, they stood before a large, reinforced tent adorned with the Zenithian Empire's crest: a blazing sun over crossed swords.
The guard hesitated, then pulled open the flap.
Inside, General Carsen and the four other division commanders sat around a large war table covered in maps and markers.
They looked up, annoyed at the interruption, until they saw Kain's expression.
The temperature seemed to drop instantly.
General Carsen knew that whatever Kain had to say was more important.
Without waiting for permission, Kain stepped forward and began recounting what had happened.
He spared no detail.
The overwhelming dread.
The instant deaths.
The thing behind the boy.
The silence in the tent deepened with every word.
By the end, the commanders looked shaken, if not outright terrified.
General Carsen sat forward in his chair, fingers steepled under his chin. His face was unreadable, but the tension in his shoulders betrayed his unease.
"You survived," Carsen said finally, voice low. "That alone is commendable."
When Kain heard those words his fists clenched and dug into his palms.
He recalled all those who had perished and all those they had barely saved.
Kain thought of the faces of the wives and mothers of his subordinates and how they would react to the news of their passing.
General Carsen cast a glance at Jean, who bowed her head in confirmation.
"You will return to the empire," Carsen continued, "to rest and recover. The conquest of the Rosel Kingdom will proceed easily without you. Focus on healing."
Kain nodded grimly.
Jean followed behind Kain as she whispered, "the church will take care of them, don't worry Kain."
He could only sigh and nod as they stepped out of the general's tent.
The meeting adjourned, but Carsen remained seated long after everyone else had filed out.
Alone with his thoughts, he stared down at the map of the continent.
A deep, gnawing instinct twisted in his gut, a warning he had learned long ago to never ignore.
He wasn't a man prone to superstition.
He had faced monsters, demons, even heretical cults in his decades of service.
But this?
This was different.
A boy shrouded in power no holy spell could touch.
A shadow being that laughed in the face of divine light.
Carsen exhaled slowly, closing his eyes.
Has a new Demon Lord been born? he wondered grimly.
If so.
The Zenithian Empire was not prepared.
Not even close.