Dawn light filtered through the high, narrow windows of the bathroom, illuminating the half-naked figure laying on the cold floor.
Light footsteps echoed in the hall, followed by the creak of the door.
"Elio?"
A voice called, unsure if the person he was looking for was truly there.
The rhythmic drop of the leaky faucet by the mirror created a weird scenery that makes one cautious.
*Tap.*
*Tap.*
*Tap.*
Jax took slow steps, until he saw the still figure on the ground.
"Elio!"
He moved fast, dropping to his knees beside the boy. He reached out, his hands hovering as if he was afraid to touch.
Then, he slapped him. Once. Twice.
"Hey, Elio! Wake up! Elio!"
Elio's eyes snapped open, but for a split second, they weren't hazel, they were two orbs of darkness.
He let out a rattling gasp, his lungs burning as he struggled to catch air. He leaned forward and grabbed Jax's shoulders with a desperate strength that made the red-haired boy wince.
Elio's chest rose and fell as he fought for air, his body quivering from invisible pressure.
"Easy, easy," Jax muttered, grabbing Elio's forearms to steady him. "Just breathe."
After stretched seconds of painting heavily, his breathing finally normalized.
"Now, what happened? Why the hell are you on the floor and almost naked?!"
Elio didn't answer. He couldn't. His mind was a fractured art of darkness and shadows that screamed and moved.
"Last night was different." That was all Elio said.
He slowly let go of Jax, his hands trembling as he slumped back against the floor.
"Last night?" Jax asked, confused.
"Lord of dragons… Elio, are you sick?! Should I call the physicians? Talk to me!"
"No!" Elio immediately shot from the ground. "I'm fine. Don't call anyone."
"Fine? You're half naked in the bathroom, laying on the ground very early in the morning, looking like you just wrestled a beast," Jax said, his brows furrowed in genuine concern.
"Please, just get me something to cover up with." Elio's voice croaked, clearly struggling to speak. "My uniform… You'll find it beside my bed."
Jax lingered for a moment, clearly unconvinced, but he finally stood up. "Stay put. I'll be back in a jiffy."
As soon as the door clicked shut, Elio collapsed inward, his head resting on his knees.
His head was still panging, and just when he thought it was over, he heard a loud ping.
The silence of the bathroom was immediately violated by a sharp chime inside his head.
[Dark Constituent Stability: 50]
Elio stared at the golden text shimmering in the air.
Fifty.
He had bottomed out at zero and somehow climbed back to the halfway mark while unconscious.
"This thing again?"
He stared at the interface. Now, he was sure he wasn't just staring at some random hallucination or seeing silly visions.
The coincidence was too much.
"What are you?!" Elio suddenly yelled, his anger finally bubbling past his fear. "What do you want from me?!"
The system didn't just ping. It pulsed. A new window unfurled, the text scrolling at the speed of light.
[User has finally acknowledged the system.]
[This is the Bi-Vessel System.]
'It can hear me?' Elio marveled.
[The Bi-Vessel System: A regulatory interface designed and given to User, Elio Ravina, to maintain the dark beast and the light beast the User is bonded to.]
"Dark beast and light beast…" Elio whispered, his face scrunched as he tried to make sense of the new knowledge. "What are you saying?"
[You are bonded to an Abyssal Wyrmling (the dark beast) and a Bloat Lizard (the light beast).]
[The Abyssal Wyrmling is a corrupt beast you were bound to since birth. This beast differs from normal beasts you may know. It is a carrier of dark mana and only breeds with dark mana.]
[Dark Mana: This mana is contrary to the normal mana or light mana. While light mana supports life and anything living, dark mana opposes. It represents death.]
Elio's face suddenly became pale. His fingers began twitching and his breath began to fail.
'I'm bound to a beast that represents death.' The thought made his stomach churn.
'That is why I killed them? That is why I've been seeing and hearing those… the darkness? This is the thing behind my nightmares? This is the reason I killed my parents?!'
His face contorted with red anger. "Why me? Why the curse?!" He yelled again, but his voice lacked power.
[It wasn't your choice. The beast was bound to you by the Dark Entity. It was given the moment your mother had you in her womb, and that ultimately makes you the vessel of darkness.]
[But the system was specifically designed for this. In order to prevent the Dark Entity from succeeding with its objective, the system was created to ensure the darkness serves the user, rather than consuming the world.]
"Serve me?! Why would I want death to serve me? Why would I…" Elio's voice began cracking.
[Unfortunately, this is the only choice you have, User. If you fail to tame the darkness and allow it to corrupt and take control, your world will be doomed. The Dark Entity will succeed and this very world will be plagued by darkness.]
The memories from last night flashed in his head and understanding dawned on him.
"Is that what happened last night?" His voice broke. "Yesterday, something was trying to form from the shadows, and this... This darkness was moving around me. Did I hurt someone?!"
He was seriously hoping for a positive answer. He knew personally that he wouldn't be able to bear the thought of hurting another person.
[Fortunately, you didn't. Yes, dark mana did escape from your body, but no one was around to suffer from it. Also, you were too weak for the Abyssal Wyrmling to manifest.]
"So I escaped by the skin of my teeth? Another person could have died because of me?"
"The beast of death almost formed..."
The realization brought another fresh wave of guilt and fear, his emotional stability taking a toll.
"This Dark Entity, what does it want from me? What is this Dark Entity?!" The words escaped him before he could stop it, his eyes moist with suspended tears.
[The Dark Entity is the ruler of darkness, and it only wants darkness everywhere. I can't provide more details.]
Elio grabbed his chest. Even though the system hadn't brought the Stability message, he knew something was stirring in his chest. He knew the darkness was pulling him again.
The system was definitely making sense. So far, all it said seemed plausible and correlated with all he had been experiencing.
But something wasn't clear.
"Then tell me… I know what this Dark Entity wants, but what do you want? Who made you?"
[The creator is irrelevant to current survival parameters.]
[The system wants balance. If your Dark Constituent grows without a counterweight, you, the vessel, will shatter.]
[Total corruption will lead to the emergence of the untamed Abyssal Wyrmling, and the world's death will become imminent. The result can be very catastrophic.]
Elio began chuckling until it broke into a painful sob. "When my mates are taming normal beasts, I should be the one taming the beast that wants to kill us all and a stupid Bloat Lizard?"
"How is that even possible?" he asked aloud, his voice cracking. "How do I fight something that is too powerful and lives in me?"
[This is why the system is here. You're not just the vessel of darkness. You're also a vessel of light. Your Bloat Lizard is rather a blessing in disguise. Taming both beasts will put an end to your misery. Both beasts will put an end to the lurking doom.]
[For now, you need to grow.]
The golden text vanished, replaced by a sudden, violent flash of white that burned his retinas.
Brighter words with brilliant calligraphy that hurt to look displayed on the screen, and the very words Elio read made his breath cease.
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[New Quest: Fortify your Bloat Lizard.]
[Objective: To maintain the Vessel and keep the Dark Constituent at bay, the Light Constituent must be fortified.]
[Quest Goal: Feed the Bloat Lizard 500 Swamp Flies in the Iron Ring.]
[First reward: Ascension to Middle Iron
Rank.]
[Second reward: +1 new System Feature.]
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