The figure emerged from shimmering specks of light, their gaze slowly coming to rest on me.
"Uh?"
I tried to make out the blurry face but failed.
Worse still, I couldn’t understand what was responsible for the sudden loss of energy and intense weakness I was feeling, and I found my thoughts increasingly difficult to hold onto.
Much more unsettling, however, was the fact that I had no way of fighting back should the approaching figure have malicious intentions.
I tried to stay awake, yet to my horror, I realized there was nothing I could do about my fading consciousness.
’Crap!’
That was my last thought before the world around me dissolved into darkness.
***
Azrael glanced at Kyle, a frown slowly forming on his features.
With a soft exhalation, he shook his head and stepped forward. His figure blurred, only to appear several meters away. In the span of a few breaths, he appeared before the unconscious Kyle.
Muttering a few things under his breath, he examined Kyle. The frown on his face deepened.
Eventually, he sighed and placed his hand on Kyle’s forehead. Specks of light flickered into existence, and, had someone knowledgeable been there, they would have assessed them to be of the same making and esoteric design as the Nightmare System.
The specks of light gathered around Kyle and slowly drilled into his forehead. Kyle’s soul core reacted almost instantly, as though it had encountered a bitter enemy.
Azrael scowled.
"Dammit! I am trying to help!"
The soul core’s efforts to expel the foreign substance only intensified. However, a few moments later, it paused, as though verifying Azrael’s words.
A while later, the force opposing him shrank back to its source. Yet he could still make out a lingering presence, as though it were monitoring him from the shadows.
’Isn’t it even more skeptical than its master?’ Azrael thought, not knowing whether to laugh.
Shaking his head, he summoned more specks of light, infusing them into Kyle.
After what felt like a long, tedious while, Kyle’s eyebrows slowly fluttered, and his breathing became much more pronounced.
At that point, the young Terrisman withdrew the essence still lingering in the air. He exhaled, drawing in turbid air before sitting down on the morbid floor.
***
I found myself in a world of absolute darkness. There was nothing but utter silence around me.
As far as my eyes could see, darkness stretched in all directions, endless and all-consuming.
It soon became glaringly clear that I was the only one in this strange, bizarre world. Yet instead of the wariness and unease I should have felt, I felt the complete opposite.
Warmth, safety... it was as though I were back in Mother’s embrace.
I could feel tears sliding down my cheeks at the familiar presence. The tears flowed more freely as I curled in on myself.
Mum...
I wanted to stay here forever. I wanted to be with Mother. However, a faint unease lingered within me. It was as though, from beyond the shadows, a mysterious force was gazing at me.
And only here was I vulnerable to its influence.
My thoughts were suddenly interrupted by glimmering specks of light, or rather, runes of sorts. I had seen them before — they were of the same design as the Nightmare System. But I had never entered a cursed land. In fact I was fairly certain I wasn’t in one, else the System would have reached out to me. So where was the mysterious essence coming from?
Before I could ponder it even further, the specks of light surged towards me and, to my shock, drilled into my pores. The next moment, I heard my heart pound in my chest and sensed a familiar presence. However, it was as though a barrier existed between us. As though I were trapped in a realm that existed between the world of nightmares and reality.
The surge of energy grew more intense, and eventually, I heard the sound of glass shattering. The next moment, a sudden force reached out to me, grasping me and pulling me out of the bizarre world.
My world faded into darkness.
***
...Until a few moments later.
Opening my eyes with great difficulty, I caught sight of the young Terrisman, a dark expression on his face.
Was he the one that brought me back? I wondered, forcing myself to sit upright.
The young Terrisman scowled. "Next time you want to kill yourself, why don’t you find a better way to do so?"
I forced a smile, scratching the back of my neck.
Azrael exhaled deeply.
"Whatever it’s you’re doing, you should probably put an end to it..."
He noticed the frown on my face and added,
"Or at least, shorten its duration."
Thinking it over, I nodded.
Besides, he had a point. The reason I had lapsed into unconsciousness was not simply because I had completely exhausted my soul-essence reserve, but because I was frequently absorbing corrupted mana from the atmosphere.
I was also certain that if it weren’t for the young Terrisman, I would probably have remained in that state for a very long time.
Long enough to be declared dead.
I froze at the thought.
Forcing such thoughts from my mind, I glanced at Azrael.
"Where have you been anyway?"
He shrugged.
"Just taking care of a few things."
"Oh—alright." I nodded.
Silence settled between us.
Eventually, when the silence was becoming unbearable, I summoned the pair of swords he had gifted me a while back.
"Thanks," I said. "But you should have them back."
The young Terrisman waved his hand dismissively.
"You need them more than I do. Besides, they are yours to begin with."
"Mine?" I raised a brow at his words.
He said nothing.
"..."
Seeing that he didn’t intend to elaborate, I dismissed the pair of swords, sending them back to my Soul Sea.
"How long before you become a True Awakened?"
I shrugged. "Don’t know. A few months or so."
Noting the frown on his face, I asked grimly, "Why do you ask?"
"Doesn’t matter. Just try to survive the battles of the coming month."
He paused.
"With your current ranking, you will be able to take part in the Elite Romans Trial. The only thing you have to worry about now is how to increase your strength and improve your chances of surviving the trials."
I nodded.
The Elite Romans Trial was certainly brutal and cruel, to say the least. It differentiated between commoners and nobles no more than it did between a stray dog and a prized hound.
One of the reasons the Roman Empire could stand apart from the masses was precisely the grim world in which its youths were raised.
Azrael eventually left, leaving me to my thoughts.
Now that I have to ease up on my absorption of the corrupted mana, I have no choice but to kill more Awakened.
My gaze hardened at the thought, grim resolve settling within me.
***
Far into the north, where the wind never screamed and the sun seemed to forget the earth, I stood before a grotesque, spiraling gate.
Inside the gate, I knew, lay a section of the Cursed Land.
Ivar’s words once again came to my mind, a growing sense of unease rising within me.
Hardening my resolve, I glanced behind me — as though I wanted to see the land of Scandinavia one last time — before stepping through the gate.
As I stepped through the gate, a thought settled within me.
Nothing is going to stop me from achieving my goals.
The next moment, a cold voice resounded in the vast, echoing darkness.
Not even the dreaded Land of Nightmares.
[Welcome to the Cursed Lands, Ragnar!]