Book 3. Chapter 27
“Darkness” Part 1
By the time Kalysto was able to regain consciousness, it felt as if an eternity had passed.
She opened her eyes and found herself lying on her back in her mental space, so awash in darkness that she doubted she had ever been in that same sector before. This time she appeared much farther away from where she felt the seal was and there was no trace of the small blank space she had absorbed earlier.
The thin thread of energy connecting her to the seal felt so faint, she could barely feel it, as if she were miles away from it.
Something similar was happening with her connection to Tsuki.
“Tsuki?” She asked to nothing, but she only heard silence. “Communication with the sacred beasts! Tsuki! Can you hear me?” She tried once more, but got no answer.
Annoyed at being trapped in that huge place again, she stood up.
“Persephone give me back my body!” She shouted, but again no one answered her. “Persephone, stop ignoring me and give me my body back, now!”
But only silence answered her.
Annoyed by the lack of response Kalysto began to walk through the vast darkness towards the direction she felt the seal was in, until her feet hurt.
“What the hell was that all about?” She muttered in disbelief that she was trapped there again when it had only been a few days ago that the demon king had helped her re-strengthen the seal after the whole fiasco of the third mission.
She herself had checked every little crack making sure they had been sealed properly and thus avoiding what was happening to her.
Or Persephone attacking Alice again.
“How the hell did the seal reopen if all the cracks were closed?” she muttered. It was then that she remembered the huge black crystal in the necromancer's hands.
That must have been it. She thought, finding no other logical explanation for the strange phenomenon.
After almost half an hour of walking in the same direction, she had the slight impression that she had been walking in circles. So she stopped and frowned, sensing that something wasn't right.
There was something that felt different in her mental space, something out of place.
But she had no idea what it was.
And though she tried to look for it, she could see nothing but darkness and her own mental body, the only thing she could see, apart from the shadows and thick black mist that seemed to dissipate every time she felt she was approaching the seal, only to increase again when she suddenly seemed to be, without explanation, far away again.
Once again, she tried to contact Persephone and Tsuki, but got the same result.
Tired of such darkness, she sat up and placed her palms on the ground.
Absorb! She thought, and a simple black window appeared before her, taking her by surprise.
[Does the user wish to absorb this dark mana?]
Despite the simple notification, she was glad to know that the black system worked much better than the other two, there.
Yes! she thought.
[Congratulations! The user has acquired 6000 DMP!]
From that moment on, she spent the next hour absorbing the darkness around her, leaving a large blank space in the middle of the gigantic darkness. She then walked to the edge where the blank space ended and the shadows began, and started again.
A couple of hours later she noticed a change in her system window that immediately caught her attention.
[Status window]
[Name: Kalysto Luna
Age: 21 years old
Race: Half-breed
Level: 150
Fatigue: 70
Class: N/A
Professions: Enchantments
Title: Champion of the fairies. Avatar of Anissha. Guardian of the seal.
Affiliation: Kingdom of Bahram
HP: 140,000/140,000
MP: 175.800/175.800
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
DMP: 213.000/213.000
Strength: 37.000+55
Vitality: 3,800+80
Agility: 50.000
Stamina: 42.520+110
Intelligence: 4.050+100
Charisma: 50
Luck: 70
Ether: 135
Status: Cursed. Tired. Curious.
Available points: 0]
Strange. She thought as she looked at her DMP stat, which unlike her other stats, had always had a single value. Like a resource which would cease to be available to her as soon as the score reached zero. But now, like her MP and HP, it was a renewable resource with a limit.
Immediately, her gaze shifted to the huge white patch that stained the infinite darkness.
Maybe it wasn't so bad that I was trapped here. She realized. While the darkness is not an element that would serve me well in a fight against Mhiralla, maybe it can serve me well to get something that I can actually fight her with.
She encouraged herself.
And she continued to move determinedly for hours towards the seal as she continued to absorb more and more DMP, until she finally reached her destination.
But to her great annoyance a red colored energy barrier prevented her from moving forward.
“Where the hell did this come from?” she questioned with a frown as she reached out her hand to touch the thin protective layer of red colored energy, which rippled as she touched it, releasing a small electric shock as a warning to stay away.
Kalysto arched an eyebrow, half amused at the brazenness of whoever it was that had put it there. Because she was sure it hadn't been Persephone.
Not when she could finally realize that that strange feeling she had been having that something was out of place when she woke up in her mental world, it was because there was something else besides her, the bond with Tsuki, the two contracts with Aegir, the contract with Sakura and her brother's, Natasha's and her mother's, Katia's and the ones she had made with some of the heroes, the bond as avatar of the fairy queen, the seal and Persephone.
The energy that linked her to each of these contracts was becoming easier and easier for her to identify without the aid of a system.
But apart from them, there was a new one, one that did not have Kalysto's magical signature, nor did it resonate with her the way Aegir's energy or her father's did.
“Who the hell are you?” She shouted in annoyance at the intrusion she hadn't been able to detect before. And contrary to what had happened so far, when she had tried to contact Persephone or Tsuki, a male voice boomed in the middle of the vast darkness.
“You can't stop us! You can't stop his awakening!”
For an instant, a surge of unreasonable fear seized her before she could regain her composure.
Come on, Kalysto! Focus! She scolded herself and immediately the familiar coldness completely covered her mental body.
[The skill Mental Defense has been activated.]
“Oh! Really?” She scoffed, irony flooding her voice. “Watch me do it!” She challenged him and immediately conjured: “Dispel Ezhil! Ezhil Purification! Dispel Ezhil!” The golden light burst forth from her, disintegrating the barrier and giving her access to the tentacles of darkness that sprouted from within the new cracks that appeared in the seal. Kalysto hastily grabbed a tentacle in each hand before continuing to conjure. “Absorb! Absorb! Absorb!”
“Nooo!” the male voice shouted, but it was too late. Kalysto could feel the energy entering her. And just to make sure that the intruder could not interrupt her, she surrounded her mental body with that soft white glow, which was now much brighter than before.
[Congratulations! The user has acquired 5000 DMP!]
[Congratulations! The user has acquired 4000 DMP!]
[Congratulations! The user has acquired 6000 DMP!]
But as she did so, her vision darkened.
To then light up seconds later, allowing her to see a beautiful field of flowers in the middle of a thick forest. And in the center, a little girl of about six years old with long black hair and dark eyes, who greeted her with a huge smile as she was surrounded by a soft black mist.
Dark mana. Kalysto thought as she stepped forward and tried to remove a tree branch that obstructed her vision, noticing that she herself was no longer an adult. But a child.
Kalysto, look, I was able to save him! The black-haired girl shouted excitedly, her eyes sparkling with anticipation, waiting for her reaction. Her congratulations on a job well done.
What the hell? She was surprised. Even though my ability to absorb has sometimes allowed me to see other people's memories, I'm sure I didn't meet Persephone until a few days after my father left us.
As confused as she was, her little child-like body moved on its own. And by the time she was finally able to get out of the group of trees and into the pretty field of flowers, she could see a white rabbit with a wounded leg, trapped inside a semi-transparent black mana crystal that was in Persephone's hands.
“What did you do to Mr. Rabbit?” The voice that came from her lips was too childish to be her own. Still, she couldn't stop it, it was as if her body was running on autopilot from the instant she entered the flower field.
“You won't have to be sad because he was dying anymore! And then you can keep him forever!” Persephone said, her big black eyes shining with excitement as she smiled, making her chubby cheeks look a little bigger than they were.
Is she crazy? Kalysto thought, terrified at the unpleasant idea. Feeling repulsed at the excitement and longing Persephone showed in her eyes as she spoke.
“Are you sure he's alive?” asked her childish body, instead.
“I'm sure! When you grow up and become a great veterinarian, I'll get him out of the crystal, so you can cure him yourself!” She assured her, completely convinced of what she was saying.
Little Kalysto nodded and received the gift, satisfied that she had found a way to save her pet while her father was away on a work trip and her caretaker had refused to spend money on a simple rabbit that 'that woman' said they should eat.
The adult version of her, however, couldn't help but compare the little girl's attitude to her to that of a religious fanatic as she tried to convince someone to join her cult.
That, and the spark of madness that shone in the little girl's eyes. Making her uncomfortable.
I better make sure to keep Tsuki away from this crazy, who knows what she's capable of doing to him? She thought fearfully, looking again at the frozen rabbit inside the crystal. There's no way that poor rabbit can breathe inside that thing.
“Thank you Persephone,” said her body. And the black-haired girl's smile grew, completely filled with pride. The image turned the stomach of the adult version of Kalysto. Wanting to step back and away from the crazy woman in front of her, however, her body didn't move.
“Don't worry, you know I'd do anything for you,” she replied, her eyes shining with adoration.
And there she is again looking like a religious fanatic receiving praise from the people of her cult. She thought with distaste as the desire to get out of there grew vehemently.
“Then give me my body back,” she growled, finally able to regain control of a part of her body.
And to her great surprise, Persephone blinked. Looking slightly confused at her unexpected words.
“Why would I listen to you?” The black-haired girl answered, turning her head to one side as the childish innocence on her face disappeared completely. “You're not even my Kalysto,” she accused her.