Elias's heart pounded in his chest as he hobbled towards the sound of Tessa's scream.
A million thoughts were racing through his mind as he moved along the dirt pathway—he was just a street away.
His muscles were burning, and post-adrenaline exhaustion was setting in, and the damage to his foot was sending shooting pain up his entire leg—but, nothing would make him stop.
The closer he got, the more his instincts screamed at him to push harder—it was a deep, primal warning from within.
"Tessa, hold on…" he whispered.
-break-
He pushed around the corner of the blacksmith's house and his breath caught in his throat, there she was. Tessa. She was backed up against the wall and her face was pale. She stared in horror at the creature that stood before her.
The Aberration that came into his vision was different from the others he'd seen before. A dark and dense aura of mana billowed out from its presence, it was so thick that even he could feel it.
The creature was taller than a man, still twisted and hunched like the rest of them, and, its body seemed barely human—it had a single mottled bat-like wing extending from its back. It's face was deformed and yet, it held signs of an intellect that was not present in the others.
It's eyes glowed deep crimson.
Tessa pressed further into the wall as her hands gripped out at the empty air. She was unarmed and defenceless—she'd just awakened, but it didn't matter, it wouldn't help here. This aberration was different than the others.
Still, he couldn't let her face it alone. Not now.
"HEY!" he screamed as a throbbing pain burst out in his throat.
He had to draw its attention somehow. He knew neither of them stood a chance.
"Shit. Come on you ugly bastard, look at me!"
He yelled again, "HEY-YY!"
It was too late, he was too late. Tears blurred his vision as he collapsed to the ground in pain as his foot finally gave way.
The Aberration turned, and a flash of its scaled and clawed arm surged through the air as if to swipe at him—despite the twenty or so meters between them.
"AGH!" Elias grimaced as an immediate crashing of force slammed into him.
It tore the air from his lungs and tossed him through the air. He struck the ground with a sickening jolt as pain like he'd never felt before shot through his entire body.
He couldn't move, he was lying on the floor, gasping, every nerve in his body screaming at him.
He could make out a voice—It was her voice, it was laced with desperation. He couldn't make out the words.
"What can I do?"
What could he do?
"How can I get to her?"
How could he even move?
He willed for a plan, for an idea, for anything to come to him but, his thoughts were interrupted as her voice broke through, "Elias! No. Please, no!"
He struggled to rise, to reach her, but he couldn't.
He felt the sensation of the cold ground against his skin, and the salty-metallic taste of blood and tears filled his mouth. Every movement he made was torture.
The creature's focus returned to Tess, its crimson eyes glowed as it glanced his way. It was almost as if the monster was getting something out of this.
He clawed at the ground.
"I have to reach her, she can't die!"
As if it had read his mind, a twisted grin spread over the monster's face.
He saw Tess's eyes move between him and the creature, her voice trembling as she begged, "Yes! Me, look at me! You don't need to hurt him."
His felt a pain in his chest. It wasn't physical. It was more. He wanted to do something, to shout, to fight, to tell her that she was wrong.
It was him who should be where she was.
He tried to scream the creature to death with pure willpower—but his voice failed him and his brief delusion of mystical powers dissolved as his fingernails scraped against the dirt.
Their eyes met - Her bright green eyes wide with terror and his, filled with a desperation, a longing and more than anything—inadequacy.
Her lips parted as if to say something, but no words came.
The aberration's claw pierced straight through her chest and out the other side. Cracked and broken ribs pushed straight through the flesh of her back as the hand protruded through her body.
Her scream filled the air, it seemed to encompass the entire area before it was instantly silenced. He watched, frozen as her life faded.
Their eyes locked one last time before her body slumped, her expression forever etched into his mind.
The aberration gripped Tessa's heart in its clawed hand, dark blood seeping down its arm as it lifted her limp form, as if to display its triumph. His vision swam.
His sobs were swallowed by the numbness and apathy of his mind. Every sound, every thought, dissolved into nothingness.
All he could see was her lifeless body, suspended in the creature's grip, and her blood flooding down it's twisted limb.
At that moment, He felt something inside him break; a rage and sorrow that were so intense that they seemed to pull him into void of despair.
His entire being froze, the aberration froze, Tess's lifeless eyes froze. It was like he was trapped in a single instant, a moment that stretched beyond eternity.
And then.
Everything.
[Welcome to the System]
A melodic tone rang through his mind. As he heard the words, they appeared to him in a semi-transparent rectangular window, with the common language of Eridoria reflecting the words he had heard. The window was visible atop the frozen carnage in front of him.
The voice continued
[As per the laws governing Eridoria, upon reaching adulthood and connecting to the System through the Awakening, the capabilities of the Divine shall be awakened within you]
What was happening? The System? What about Tessa? He couldn't make sense of what was happening; the pain he was in had vanished, almost as if he had felt nothing at all. At the same time—something was coursing through him, he was so filled with power that he didn't know whether his nerves would detonate from the influx of energy. Was this mana?
The System didn't allow him to parse through the sensations further. It continued without pause:
[As part of the awakening, you will have chosen your desired Path. Depending on your desired Path, you will receive an ability equivalent to your standing in the threads of fate]
Wait, he knew these words; Jacob had finally explained to him only a few months ago after he had pestered him on his seventeenth birthday. Everyone would hear these words as they sat in the chambers of Awakening.
[No matter where you stand now, no matter what gift you are given, ingratiate yourself in the laws of the System and your Path may know no end. Follow the Path set before you and become chosen. Falter in your conviction and the path will become lost to time]
His attention became fixated on the System's words; they held him spellbound, his every thought and emotion entranced by their utterance.
As he eagerly awaited the System's words, a wave of energy engulfed him; it felt like it was passing through him. It left him breathless.
Almost as soon as the first surge had passed, it was followed up be an even more intense wave that coursed through him like an elixir.
But—just as he revelled in the energy, a maelstrom of power exploded within him. It shattered the trance-like state he'd been in. A sharp grimace spread over his face as his mind snapped back to reality.
An instinctual sense of danger gripped him and searing pain raged throughout his body, once numbed by the System's influence, his emotions flooded back. Sorrow, anger, desperation all resurfacing and displacing the unnatural calm that had momentarily possessed him.
He regained control over his battered limbs and swiftly turned his attention to the grotesque scene before him, his gaze falling upon Tess, and the Aberration.
The creature's arm was wrapped around her savagely mutilated body, its hand grasping the heart that had been torn from her chest.
[Standby, early Awakening detected] The System now said in a more neutral voice.
Overwhelmed by the sorrow of his companion and perplexed by the System's message his only response was a mournful sob as he lay frozen in the stillness that surrounded him.
[Innate Ability detected, analysis] the System imparted.
A new surge of energy flowed through him, its effects starkly different from the devastating impact of the previous one, as well as the exhilarating sensations of the first two—instead it felt almost 'factual'.
[Analysis failed, Pathway detected, analysis]
He waited.
[Analysis failed. Innate Ability and Path categorised as anomaly. Deemed void. Awakening failed. Attempting to disconnect]
He waited.
[Link cannot be disconnected, Ability and Path to be Awakened at next viable Awakening. Limited System functionality activated]
A blur of bordered shapes filled with text flashed across his vision: Stats, Titles, Quests, Skills, Effects, and others he couldn't understand.
As he lay on the ground the Systems words began to sink in—Awakening, Ability, Path, he was trying to make sense of it all. He recalled Jacob's limited explanations, adventurer's stories and the incredible abilities they had.
Could the System awakening have been the chance to undo the tragedy that had befallen him? To bring Tessa back?
The Systems silence drew on; leaving him with his own thoughts. The screens that flashed before his eyes seemed to hold the answers to endless questions in his mind.
His gaze fell once more upon Tessa's body, he felt so small and powerless.
[Limited System Functionality. Further interaction disabled until full Awakening]
His heart sank.
As the silence stretched on, his thoughts grew more turbulent. He was trapped in a maelstrom of emotions, frozen in time that seemed to stretch for an eternity.
And then, a window appeared before him.
[Temporal realignment in five minutes]
No voice accompanied these words. He was trapped in time.
The System had frozen time. If the System could halt time itself, what else was it capable of? And if it was so powerful, why did Aberration still exist? Why were they free to tear apart the souls of those he loved?
His anger soared, it would've taken nothing but a thought for the System to have wiped all the Aberrations in Havens Point away—but it didn't—
"Why not?!"
Before his thoughts could continue, another notification appeared in front of him:
[QUEST GAINED]
[Quest: Survival 1: Survive your encounter with a Tier Two Aberration: 0/1]