{1st Person POV}
> Euclideye here! This is just a backstory I made as an attempt on why Slaw gets chosen as a Duelist. You guys can skip this and go straight to chapter 1 if you want(contains elements that are yet to be revealed far throughout the story). If you choose to read it, then enjoy! Keep in mind that characters here MAY or MAY NOT be canon. They also MAY or MAY NOT have a chance of appearing in the story. That's all! :D... Zzzzzz...
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"Suicide..."
I looked back at the old ha-"I'm not an old hag!"... seer. Her eyes were as strange as ever. Green iris that contained spots of amethyst colors reflected my appearance. Judging by the look she gave me, what she's about the say wasn't any good.
"Let me guess, Ly," Sucking a deep breath, I took a moment of silence before speaking. "My chances are bad, right?"
Her long shining blond hair swayed in a gentle breeze. Pointed ears drooped down and tears of sadness dropped from her head as she turned to look away from me.
"No one escapes fate, Craven. You of all people should know that."
"Fate? Well I am still here, aren't I?"
"But your survival came at a cost." Her hands clenched and her head lowered. "Misfortune continues to follow you because of it."
I looked away. Phew, is it just me or is the guilt a bit overwhelming? Buckets of sweat seem to pile up on my back.
"However, I have a solution."
She looked back at me. Her expression contained shock at my words.
I grinned at her reaction before I raised my right hand and opened my palm. A flash of light materialized at my palm before disappearing. In it's place was a blue crystal that pulsated a bright blue hue every few seconds.
Reincarnation Crystal
Description: A mysterious blue crystal that has the ability to reincarnate a person within a week after death. Depending on how much and how strong the Anima the user has will determine how soon user will fully integrate with the new body and recover their previous strength. The Reincarnation Crystal contains a huge amount of Prana, Anima, and Khronos.
Ability: Reincarnation(one time use) - Upon activation, the user will reincarnate within a week after death. The more Anima the user has, the higher the chances of fully transferring user's abilities to the body. Duelist System will remain with user.
Conditions: Activation upon death of the user.
She gasped in complete shock. My grin grew into a wide smile. Eventually she snapped out of her torpor.
"Are you insane!? The risks of being crippled because of this is high!"
"So?" Replying to her outburst, I stared at the crystal that laid atop the palm of my hand. "You know my death will come soon."
I looked back at her. Worry was evident on her face as she approached me in a slow pace. She halted and faced me, only an a few inches away from touching me.
"Swear an oath." She spoke with clear command as her eyes locked on to me and remained unwavering. "Swear that when you're reborn, you will not make the same mistake."
I sighed before raising my other hand, clenching it to a fist before raising my pinky finger. "How about a pinky swear?"
"Pfft."
Wow. Seems like I managed break her serious demeanor with just that.
"That'll do." Smiling from my humor, her worry-filled eyes lessened a bit.
We interlocked pinkies as I swear to her. A huge wave Anima surrounded us before fading.
A moment of silence was shared between us before she breaks it.
"And don't call me Ly,"
What? I thought she liked that nickname? Well now that I think about it, it's better than old h-
"FROM NOW ON!" She interrupted my thoughts with another outburst before calming down. "Call me Lyra."
…
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"Arise." The Sovereign told me in his monotone voice. Cold winds that howled in the background only seemed to raise tension.
I stood, shaking, as I forced myself to withstand the aura that emanated from him. Gusts of wind reached my face, though it never really bothered that much. The warm fur coat that was worn on top of my leather clothing along with my abnormal body was more than enough to overcome the chills from the weather. Sadly it wasn't enough for the chills he gave off.
"Tell me," He spoke once more. This time the aura increased two fold while he continued. "Why bite the hand that fed you? That raised you?"
You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
Black armor with traces of blood red lines. A dark grey cloak that surrounded his entire being and remained unfazed by the intense winds. An ominous red rune on his forehead can be seen under his dark grey hood as it pulsated a red glow. Glowing red eyes shared the light of the rune, though his face still remained hidden by the shadows inside his cloak.
I struggled to remain standing under the pressure. His gaze locked into my very being as if seeing through me. And to think the Shi he exuded was strong... damn. Now I felt like regretting everything I ever did that led to this. Seems like the old hag was right after all.
To break the tense atmosphere, I upped my tone of voice to a level of some stand up comedian. "Fed? Raise? If you're talking about the so called 'special treatment' you gave me as your 'loyal servant', then you're either joking or mistaken."
Oh boy he's mad.
""You dare question my authority?"" The voice, no longer monotone, screamed loudly in my head. It's wrath can be felt as I struggled to resist the headache it caused me. ""I am ABSOLUTE! I am ALMIGHTY! I. AM. THE. SOVEREIGN!!!""
Now there's the side I wanted to see.
""You will die by my hands, Craven,"" While his words echoed in my head, the red rune shined intensely before his eyes shared its brightness. The blood red lines of his black armor released red flames that gushed out Shi. Surrounding floras begun to wither and nearby wildlife dropped dead and decayed. ""You're powers won't save you now!""
I distanced myself from him. My Prana was dimming. If I stayed in his presence, my body will run out of Prana and die sooner than I'll realize. Unfortunately fate seems to have other plans.
""Too late.""
I heard a voice in my head before a wave of red flames covered my body. My Prana dropped down to dangerous levels, causing build up of weariness in the process.
Mustering all my strength, I declared. "System! I challenge Sovereign to a duel!" On queue, a synthetic voice announced its presence.
{Duelist[Craven] has challenged Duelist[Sovereign] to a duel!}
My last chance, though I can always just use the crystal right here and now. But where's the fun in that?
{Duelist[Sovereign] has accepted the duel! Initiating Dueling Field procedure...}
Seems like this guy is looking forward to this. After the acceptance, a dome of ethereal energy expanded between us. Expanding until it eventually engulfed both us and the entire area we're in.
{Dueling Field procedure complete! Dueling System has detected a Duelist in no condition to duel... initiating Fairness Protocol!}
The same ethereal energy surrounded my body as I felt my Prana recover and my body gaining vigor. I stood up ease as I looked at him. The Sovereign was waiting for me to finish, but I can tell that he's on the verge of attacking right at this second.
{Duelist Protocol is complete! Duel will commence in 10 seconds!}
{9!} I opened up my palm, resulting in a flash of white that died down just as quickly to reveal a common looking sword in its place.
{8!} Red flames already present on the Sovereign's armor had intensified even more.
{7!} The intensified flames caused a shockwave that swayed my fur coat, revealing my entire body in full glory.
{6!} I walked towards him in a calm manner. Each step got me nearer bit by bit.
{5!} "Approaching me? How bold." The Sovereign's tone had shifted to one of disdain and arrogance as he raised the flame-covered gauntlets of his armor.
{4!} The flames took shape to form long claws at the ends of the fingers. Did I forgot to tell you he has ridiculously big hands?
{3!} I stopped just a few more steps far from him and took a stance and channeled all my Prana and Anima to intermingle, unleashing a stale blue aura that covered my body.
{2!} I channeled more of the stale blue aura into my sword, enveloping it while increasing in brightness to a more teal color.
{1!} I smiled before inwardly thinking. 'I'm doomed anyway, so why the hell not!' Reminiscing about the past events that led to this moment, I charged with glory to my inevitable fate of death.
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I coughed out blood. My clothes were burnt away and my frail and skinny body was charred. Laying down on my back, I looked around. My fur cloak was burned to ash and melting swords were everywhere. Sovereign was right above me as he stood unmoving and stared at me with joy in his eyes as if expecting this outcome.
Letting out a weak chuckle, I closed my eyes. My body had only a little bit of Prana, which only continued decrease with each second.
As the Prana of my body starting to disappear, the feeling of death started to grow ever more closer. But I knew this wasn't the end. I know my face is still recognizable. So I did one last grin, knowing that Sovereign can see it.
Now being at death's doorstep, I willed whatever was left of my arms to access my spatial storage and take out the reincarnation crystal.
I can already imagine the shock and anger on his face as I activated it. I had no worries as I was confident I saved up enough Anima to recover quick enough in the future.
But as the saying goes, "Just when seems like life is getting good, something always has to come along and ruin it.". My Anima started disappearing in frightening speed. Something's wrong, I can feel it.
I opened my eyes to the sight of Sovereign engulfing me in flames. But these were not the usual red flames I would see. These flames were black as the void itself as it seems to burn away whatever Anima I had.
What is this? A new type of energy? I looked at the Sovereign, who relished my suffering. Damn that madman! First he harnessed Shi and now this! Talk about unfair.
I could only watch in despair as my Anima was reduced to a very little state. Each second gave only added to the state I'm in.
""That's enough,"" That voice resounded in my head once more as the black flames disappeared. ""With this, even reincarnating won't be different from death itself. Only the essence of your Anima will stay the same but that's it. Even your system will restart from the bottom.""
As the reincarnation crystal worked its ability upon death, I heard him one last time.
""From this day on, Craven, the Miserable, the Cunning, is no more.""
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Meanwhile in a small wooden cabin, a crib sways little by little. A baby laid inside the crib, asleep and undisturbed.
The fireplace beside it contained flames that crackled the firewood. Heat of the fire gave the baby comfort and warmth while in slumber.
However, outside the cabin, a trail of light made its way to the chimney. It entered through the cap, down the flue, past the smoke chamber before arriving at the fire itself. Unaffected, the light swerved and darted towards the crib. The light lay atop the baby before encompassing the small child. Eventually the light died down and all was normal as it once was.
The baby remained asleep, not knowing of the light that entered his body.
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Euclideye here! Finally finished the first chapter of this story. Stay tuned as the MC will literally have no idea why he, out of all people, gets chosen by the system... and why it named him Craven! Whoops! Spoiler alert! I'm looking forward to the progression of this story. Any details and weird energies in this chapter will all be explained in due time! Enjoy!... Zzzzzzzzz...