By the time light returned to my vision, I woke up to a terrible migraine.
Groaning from the pain, I forced myself upright and spat out a mouthful of blood. The blood itself was unusually dark, and also seemed to possess a corrosive trait. Mixed with the blood I had bled a while ago, it gave rise to a deep sense of distaste and discomfort within me.
"Curses," I cursed under my breath at the ghastly sight. However, on the bright side of things, I now felt much better. If only slightly weakened.
But that was obviously the best result I could have hoped for to begin with, for attempting such a suicidal plan. Clenching my teeth, I forced myself to concentrate, peering into my Soul Sea.
As a Dormant Awakened, I couldn’t step into my Soul Sea like the higher ranked Awakened could, however, I was still able to perceive the entirety of my Soul Sea.
A sinister expanse of darkness came into view, illuminated only by an eerie, Dark Soul Core that loomed overhead. The Dark Soul Core itself seemed dead and lifeless.
If anything, my Soul Sea certainly wasn’t like that of others.
An Awakened Soul Sea was supposed to be a blinding sea of stars further illuminated by their soul core. Mine was pretty much the entire opposite of that. Much more unsettling, however, was the fact that there was now something different about my Soul Core.
The corrupted mana I had absorbed a while ago had mixed with my soul core. I didn’t know if that was a good thing, or a bad thing, and only time would tell. However, it did manage to accomplish what I wanted it to.
Absorbing the mana from the surroundings, I could perceive it mixing with my Soul Core, and my core attempting to purify it.
It was just like I had previously guessed. I could indeed purify the tainted mana. However, doing so placed a tremendous strain on my soul. The agony and unbearable pain also offered no consolation. Besides, the only reason I could survive such a reckless act was likely due to my soul core purifying the mana faster than the corruption could destroy me — or even worse, infect me and warp my physical form into something that could have only been drawn from a world of nightmares.
I trembled.
It could also have been due to other hidden traits that I had no idea the core possessed. After all, if the possession of an SSS-ranked Soul Core with a purifying ability was all that was needed to solve the disastrous mana alteration, then the whole world wouldn’t have been plunged into war and chaos- heralding what came to be known as the age of war. And perhaps, Mother and Father wouldn’t have had to die.
Clenching my teeth, I stopped my contemplation and continued to absorb the mana in the atmosphere. I made sure I did this at a slow pace, if only to lessen the pain and slow down the mutation, giving my Dark Core more time to deal with the infringing substance.
Fortunately for me, despite the numerous bad news that came with absorbing the tainted mana, there was, however, one consolation.
I was growing stronger. Not rapidly like the consumption of an Atium shard would ensure, but certainly fast enough to be deemed a successful gambit
***
The day to day activities in the pits didn’t stop because of that. The politics and routine continued like any other day. I fought from time to time, having to kill my fellow Dormant Awakened to stay alive. If it was any consolation though, all those I ended up facing and consequently killed, had lots of blood on their hands. Moreover, amidst the misfortune of their death, there was one blessing to it all.
I could absorb some sort of energy from the dead Awakened. Probably their soul essence... or more frighteningly, their soul, itself. The more powerful the Awakened I slew was, the stronger I became. Added to the fact that I was always absorbing corrupted mana from the atmosphere, I grew stronger at a rapid pace.
I was still quite far from being a match for a True Awakened, but I also wasn’t helpless against one, either. Well...I hoped I wasn’t. I had never faced one after all, so this was all a speculation on my part.
On the bright side of things, though, the higher-ups ensured I didn’t come across any adversary I couldn’t defeat.
The abberants for instance, and subsequently, the young Terrisman. But then again, I had somehow expected that. If anything, facing the young Terrisman frightened me more than the aberrants ever could have.
I had heard horrifying tales and rumors about the young Terrisman. About how the spectators and his adversaries would not even know or have an inkling of how the latter had been killed. The aberrants, on the other hand, had much more known abilities, and therefore, could be combated. But the same couldn’t be said of the young Terrisman. And that only made him even more terrifying.
I shuddered.
The fact that the Roman nobles hadn’t dealt with him only raised more questions about his identity. However, I also knew no matter how hard I pondered over it, I couldn’t know the answer. At least, not with the current clues I had.
Days passed.
Going into weeks.
I could feel the crippling sense of doom growing stronger with each passing day. The day they’d choose to act was very close. I could feel it. If anything, the increasingly colder gaze with which the tribal factions glanced at me with, the numerous times we met, gave them away.
The tension was becoming unbearable.
I couldn’t sleep. My eyes had grown bloodshot. My hair had grown disheveled, and I, judging from the occasional looks I got, looked quite miserable. However, even the young Terrisman said nothing to this. Strangely, he had been rather quiet recently.
It seemed he had chosen not to interfere. Or rather, for reasons known only to him, couldn’t interfere.
Night came as usual, and a veil of darkness spread across the world. Like any other night, I expected it to pass by, deepening the sense of unease in my heart. However, it was then, when I least expected it, that my entire world suddenly darkened.
"...!"