The hospital room was oppressively quiet, save for the steady rhythm of the EKG monitor and the faint hum of the machines keeping his father alive. Nile sat slouched in the stiff chair by the bed, his head resting on one hand as his other hand lightly gripped his father’s cold, unresponsive fingers. He hadn’t moved in hours, the tension in his shoulders and back forming a rigid knot of exhaustion that refused to loosen.
The stillness gnawed at him. He hated feeling helpless, hated the void of inaction that stretched on endlessly. His thoughts drifted to his mother - her absence a sharp, gaping wound he couldn’t ignore. And now, his father lay here, caught in a purgatory that neither of them could escape. It wasn’t fair. None of it was.
A faint tremor started in his hand, a surge of emotion he couldn’t contain. Desperation, grief, and anger collided in his chest, coalescing into a single, unrelenting thought: I have to do something.
The memory of the Familiars’ voices stirred in his mind, their ancient, resonant tones lingering like a ghostly echo. He hadn’t meant to connect with them that night, but it had happened - and it had worked. What if he could do it again? What if he could reach his father somehow, bridge the gap between life and whatever fragile thread still tethered his soul to this world?
“Alright,” Nile muttered to himself, leaning closer to his father. “Let’s see if this crazy idea actually works.”
He closed his eyes, letting out a slow breath as he focused inward. The familiar tickling sensation began at the base of his skull, like the faintest vibration of static electricity. It spread quickly, tendrils of energy unfurling through his consciousness as he activated Neural Link.
System Message:
Neural Link Activated - Target: Living Entity
Attempting to establish connection…
A wave of warmth enveloped him, followed by a strange tugging sensation, as though his mind were being gently drawn into a current. For a moment, everything was calm, still - then a jarring cold surged through him, freezing and alien. Shadows coiled in the periphery of his awareness, dark and heavy, like oil slicks swirling through water.
Nile’s breath hitched. This wasn’t like before. The warmth he’d felt with the Familiars was gone, replaced by a sickly, oppressive force that seemed to cling to him. A faint pulse resonated somewhere in the darkness, weak but steady. He knew it was his father - knew it as surely as he knew his own heartbeat. But something was wrong.
System Message:
Warning: Corrupted Presence Detected.
Target: John Maxwell Kinnison (Living Entity)
External Influence Identified: Residual Necromantic Energy.
The words sent a chill through Nile, but he pressed on, his mental focus narrowing like a beam of light cutting through the shadows. “Dad,” he called out, his voice trembling slightly. “It’s me. Can you hear me?”
The pulse in the void grew faintly stronger, a flicker of recognition sparking in the darkness. Nile’s heart leapt, hope surging within him. But then the shadows writhed, a low, guttural hiss echoing through the space like nails scraping against stone.
“Who… are you… to interfere?” The voice was twisted, distorted, as if several tones overlapped. It sent a shiver down Nile’s spine, and he instinctively recoiled.
“Get away from him!” Nile shouted, the desperation in his voice mingling with a rising anger. His mental focus sharpened, a surge of energy rippling outward from his core. The shadows flinched but didn’t retreat, their presence lingering like a stain.
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System Message:
Skill Progression Unlocked - Neural Link: Purification Aspect
You have attempted to combat a corrupted influence within a connected entity. Partial success achieved.
Nile felt the link waver, the oppressive weight easing slightly. The pulse - his father’s presence - flickered brighter for a moment, a faint echo of something that might have been gratitude. But then the shadows surged again, and the connection shattered like glass, sending Nile tumbling back into his own body.
His eyes snapped open, his chest heaving as if he’d been holding his breath underwater. The room around him was unchanged, the machines continuing their monotonous rhythms. But he felt it - the lingering presence of the corruption he’d touched. It wasn’t gone. Not yet.
His hands curled into fists, his knuckles whitening as his nails dug into his palms. His jaw tightened, the muscles trembling under the strain of his mounting anger. Determination hardened within him, sharp and unyielding as steel. This wasn’t just some random accident, some cruel twist of fate. Something - someone - had attacked his parents and killed his mother.
A necromancer.
The word felt foreign, almost absurd, like it didn’t belong in his vocabulary. Nile wasn’t the kind of person who believed in fairy tales or supernatural nonsense. He dealt in the tangible, the logical, the things he could see and touch and understand. But none of that mattered anymore - not when the evidence of its existence lay in the hospital bed beside him. Not when the darkness he’d touched during his Neural Link attempt still lingered in his mind, slick and invasive like an oil spill.
Buru’Enmeli.
The name surfaced unbidden, a poisonous whisper in his thoughts. It didn’t feel like something he should know, but it was there nonetheless, as if the shadows themselves had whispered it to him. That thing - it wasn’t just a creature. It wasn’t just a monster. It was a murderer. It had taken his mother, ripped her from his life with no warning, no reason. And it had left his father like this, suspended in a state between life and death, a mockery of everything Nile had known as normal.
His chest heaved as his breaths came quicker, hotter, each one stoking the fire growing inside him. The despair that had weighed him down for days gave way to something darker, something that burned in his veins and fueled his resolve. He wouldn’t let this stand. He couldn’t.
“I swear…” His voice was low, trembling with a mix of rage and grief. His eyes flicked to his father’s pale, unresponsive face, the rhythmic beeping of the EKG pounding in his ears like a countdown. “I swear I’ll make it pay. For her. For you. For everything.”
The words carried a weight, an unspoken promise etched into the air. It felt final, binding, as though the very act of speaking it aloud had sealed his fate.
A familiar chime echoed in his mind, followed by the translucent glow of a system message sliding into view.
System Message:
New Quest Unlocked: Vengeance Unseen
Objective: Track and eliminate Buru’Enmeli, the corrupted entity responsible for the attack on your family.
Reward: +XP, Enhanced Neural Link Abilities, Unknown Unique Item.
The message lingered for a moment, its text stark and unyielding against the backdrop of Nile’s thoughts. Then it faded, its weight settling deep in his chest like an iron brand.
Buru’Enmeli.
The name burned in his mind, searing itself into his consciousness with every repetition. He pictured it, faceless and monstrous, a silhouette wreathed in shadow. He didn’t know what it looked like, but it didn’t matter. He would find it. He would hunt it. And when he did, he would tear it apart piece by piece until there was nothing left. No shadow. No memory. No name.
Nile’s fists unclenched, his hands trembling slightly as the heat of his vow coursed through him. The anger hadn’t faded - it had sharpened, focused, becoming something he could wield instead of something that consumed him. He placed one hand on the edge of his father’s bed, his gaze steady despite the storm raging behind his eyes.
“I’ll find it,” he whispered, his voice firm now, every syllable a declaration of war. “And I’ll make it pay. That’s a promise.”
The quiet resolve in his tone left no room for doubt. This wasn’t just a quest, some abstract goal handed to him by the system. This was personal. It wasn’t just about avenging his family - it was about reclaiming what had been taken from him, piece by painful piece.
Nile stood straighter, his mind already racing with possibilities. He didn’t know where to start or what dangers he’d face, but none of that mattered. He’d figure it out, one step at a time. The weight of his loss hadn’t lightened, but for the first time since the attack, he felt like he could breathe again. He had a purpose now, something to fight for.
He wouldn’t let them down. He wouldn’t let himself down.