Note: I noticed that some readers might have missed Chapter 40 since it came out at the same time as the event announcement. Highly recommend you read it first in case you haven't yet. Also, the event is still ongoing. So, put your idea hats on and check out the previous post!

CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

Glimpsing the Dark Side

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Every time Bram tasted Rowan’s blood, he felt a sense of bliss better than cloud weed or any other poison offered by the drug dens of the capital…but this time it was vastly different. Instead of setting his body aflame with pleasure, the blood he drank now was like freezing ice rushing into his veins.

ALERT! The purest form of dark elemental energy has entered your body, threatening to rip you apart from within!

Bram had become familiar with the taste of power flowing inside him, but this was too much of it. Far too much, and all at once. The pain was immediate and excruciating. It was like imbibing venom that was melting him from within. It crashed against his mind like a tidal wave threatening to drown him in depths so dark no light could penetrate it.

His consciousness dwindled.

His mind was unraveling.

Rowan was right.

Humans weren’t meant for the dark.

‘Ping!’

A bright blue radiance flashed to life within the darkness enveloping his mind. It spread enough dwindling light to bring him back from the brink.

ALERT! Darkness has touched your soul. It is attempting to corrupt you. The Loom recommends that you don’t let it.

Tell me something I don’t know!

The Loom’s message was like a breath of fresh air to a drowning man, and with that breath came a desire to live. So, unbearable as the pain was, Bram’s stubbornness kept him up while anger allowed him to regain his focus.

A band of dark energy flowing out of the Midnight Shard whipped against the back of his left hand, drawing blood that seemed too dark to be his.

WARNING! Your health is being rapidly drained. You will lose [1] HP for each second you maintain contact with [Rowan Wolfe].

Bram wasn’t sure, but the constant messages from the Loom seemed to be staving off the darkness in his mind almost as if the system was providing him with a source of light to hold onto.

I cannot surrender!

Humans may not be built to harness dark elemental energy, but somehow, Bram managed to roll with it. He continued to drain Rowan’s blood as if he were drawing poison from a wound, and with that poison came rippling bands of darkness, which, surprisingly, started to taste familiar to him. Soon enough, he became certain that this flavor of power wasn’t new. Not to him.

As realization dawned on him, Rowan’s strained voice reached his ears.

“Get away…Bram.”

Calling him by his given name, that’s how he knew how hard a time she must be having. He had two reasons not to listen to her though.

Firstly, Bram could see the change in Rowan’s status. Slowly, but surely, the dark veins that spread across her skin were receding to the point that a rosy tinge was returning to her cheeks. Besides, more and more of this dark elemental energy was being transferred onto Bram who managed to siphon it with lesser difficulty than in the beginning because of reason number two; this alien energy he consumed wasn’t so alien after all. Indeed, he’d tasted it less than an hour ago when he’d fought Loveless as a blood champion.

Yes, it seemed the source of Rowan’s magic was finally revealed to him. While the Dawnlight Stone’s radiance empowered the imperium’s founding sorcery, the trickster’s magic might be fueled by darkness.

Bram pulled away from her neck briefly so he could insist, “I’m all right… You’ve already…inoculated me…to the darkness.”

“Have I…?”

“It’s your turn…to trust me…”

Rowan didn’t fight him off when his lips returned to brush against her skin. She fell into his arms in a kind of surrender and then matched her breathing to his. Together, they attempted to achieve what she couldn’t do alone; to take the power of darkness and make it theirs—and they had help.

ALERT! The Loom will attempt to transmute the pure dark elemental energy flowing into you, turning it into a more suitable form to help your growth.

WARNING! Transmuting dark energy has failed.

WARNING! You’ve taken in too much dark energy. Your body is deteriorating.

Don’t give up! Bram screamed inwardly. Try again!

…

…

ALERT! A second attempt will be performed.

At this point, Bram was feeling quite feverish. His attempt to relieve the pressure from Rowan’s body raised the pressure on him. The bands of dark energy racing through his insides wracked his entire body, forcing the prince in and out of consciousness. On the other hand, Rowan had stopped shaking. She was regaining control of herself. This belief kept Bram from completely blacking out.

Thank you, My Prince, she whispered into his mind. You’ve drained enough of the energy in me that I’m able to absorb it more comfortably now…

Rowan twisted around in his arms so that they were face-to-face. Then, to Bram’s surprise, she pressed her lips to his neck and began to drain him of blood too.

Allow me to return the favor.

ALERT! [Rowan Wolfe] is attempting to siphon off your body's excess dark elemental energy, cleansing it of the taint seeking to corrupt you. This may aid the Loom’s attempt to transmute the lesser amount of dark elemental energy that remains within you.

Brilliant, Bram whispered.

They were quite a pair, each trying to lessen the burden on the other so they could do what neither could achieve alone. Because of this show of devotion, fortune chose to smile at them once more.

ALERT! The Loom has successfully transfigured the dark elemental energy you’ve absorbed into a more refined state suitable to aid your growth.

CONGRATULATIONS! You have received [20] attribute points!

With the pain inside of him dwindling considerably, a new notification arrived to bring a smile to Bram’s face.

CONGRATULATIONS! The continuous drinking of the blood of [Rowan Wolfe] has allowed you to inherit an ability belonging to her.

ALERT! You have permanently learned [Blood Drinking Lv.1]. You no longer need to become a [Blood Champion] to wield this ability.

Bram recalled how Chris had a similar achievement; repeatedly bashing his opponents with his shield earned him the ‘Shield Bash’ spell.

It seemed the Loom took experience and training into account more than the prince first realized. If so, then this was truly a welcome boon. One that might even allow Bram to compete with a dream walker like Hajime.

Speaking of Hajime, Bram, whose mind had calmed down, finally noticed that he and Bridget were standing nearby. They must have made their way into the pith when the power of the Midnight Shard disappeared. They didn’t come any closer though. Instead, they gave him the thumbs up. Bram didn’t understand the gesture nor the wide grins on their faces until he realized what they must be looking at. He and Rowan were wrapped in a tight embrace with their lips still pressed to each other’s necks though they’d both stopped drinking the other’s blood.

Bloody hell…

Embarrassed, the prince pulled away from her. For her part, the trickster didn’t seem to mind. She looked to still be in a daze much like Alkaid had looked when they first encountered the young woman Loveless had enthralled.

“Rowan,” Bram called, “are you… all right?”

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“Yes,” she whispered, sounding wistful. “I’d forgotten what it’s like…the touch of darkness flowing through me.”

CONGRATULATIONS! You’ve helped the Rebel Trickster of Legend regain some of her lost power!

“Like the caress of an old lover whose hand I hadn’t felt in many years…”

Bram didn’t like this strange comparison. Even more, he didn’t like the Loom’s next message.

WARNING! [Rowan Wolfe] has absorbed pure dark elemental energy into herself, skewing her alignment out of balance and drawing the trickster closer to the dark side.

“Rowan…”

“I read it as well.”

“What does this mean…?”

ALERT! Your growing bond with [Rowan Wolfe] has blossomed into a new system; Alignment.

Light and darkness are ever at war within oneself. One’s [Alignment] is determined not by the red string of fate, but by the actions and choices one makes on their path to true growth. With the arrival of such a choice, your star can grow brighter or darker, opening the way to new possibilities while closing doors to others. But be warned, stray too far in one direction and your path will narrow, changing you in ways you may not like.

“I say this often, but the Loom is truly an ingenious tool… Perhaps I should rely on it more.”

“You do have access to it…”

Bram recalled one of their older experiments where Rowan grafted the Loom onto her soul after she’d finished the formula that combined the summoning ritual with the ritual that gifted the Loom to otherworlders. It was proof that Aarders could also receive this tool of otherworldly self-improvement. Only, at least in Rowan’s case, the Loom refused to share any details of her status with Bram. It was the first time since the system became useful that it denied him information.

“But what does this mean for you…?” he asked.

“I think it means Rowan has to watch what she eats,” Bridget deduced.

As administrators, she and Hajime could also see the messages that appeared for Bram.

“She’ll need a balance of dark and light food to ensure her alignment doesn’t go too far in either direction.” Bridget looked like she understood Rowan’s new struggle. “I can help. We Earth women have plenty of practice watching our diet.”

“Yes, ‘tis an affliction for women here on Aarde as well,” Rowan replied cynically.

Both women shared a laugh, with Bram and Hajime looking on in confusion.

“Would it be so bad?” Hajime asked as he helped Bram to his feet. “If Rowan-sama chooses only the light from now on—”

“—Then I would be no better than the gods I abhor,” Rowan cut in.

“What do you mean?” Hajime asked.

“There is no benefit to being unbendingly lawful. Nor is it better to be an uncaring creature of darkness,” Rowan insisted, further explaining, “I would see things only as black and white, choosing the most extreme of choices while ignoring other possibilities that could ensure better results and lesser heartache.”

“We live in a world of gray…things shouldn’t be so clear-cut,” Bram agreed.

Rowan flashed him an impish smile. “It’ll be best you find me something with a divine flavor for my next meal… You wouldn’t want me to get too dark. Aarde might not survive it…”

“Next time, let’s go raid a temple that hasn’t been abandoned,” Bridget said spiritedly. “It’s not just Rowan either. We’re all affected by this alignment system.”

She’d finished helping the trickster to her feet and was now inspecting the shard in Rowan’s hands.

“Stuff like being unable to learn spells that require you to have a darker alignment or maybe get penalties for being too good,” she added, frowning afterward. “This isn’t a normal piece of sorcerite, is it?”

“I believe it’s deifacted sorcerite,” Bram explained.

“Deifacted?” Bridget repeated. “Is that even a word?”

Bram plucked the shard from Rowan’s hand—and nothing happened.

The Midnight Shard had lost the tendrils of darkness cloying inside of it, though this chunk of rough-hewn crystal no larger than his hand still had an otherworldly luster to it as if it had trapped starlight within its depths.

“It’s sorcerite fashioned by the gods…they’re powerful sources of magic different from the one borne from nature,” Bram explained.

“That thing held darkness inside it…shouldn’t we throw it away?” Bridget asked.

The prince shook his head. “We may be able to use this again in the future. Possibly sell it for enough griffins to fuel Reise’s development… Things touched by the power of divinity don’t remain unscathed.”

“This is true for more than just sorcerite,” Rowan added.

She grabbed Bram’s left arm and raised it to eye level.

The tendril of dark energy that had snapped the back of his hand left behind a scar that trailed down to his wrist like a lightning bolt falling to the earth. One that was as black as the veins that had appeared on Rowan’s skin earlier.

“You touched pure darkness, and it’s left its mark on you.”

Hajime, whose eyes glittered at the sight of the lightning-bolt-shaped scar, asked, “Will you be able to summon the power of darkness now?”

“Maybe you’re cursed now,” Bridget proposed.

Bram couldn’t help sighing.

His companions seemed too excited over the fact that he might have just been cursed. Not that this would be a new experience for him. He’d been cursed all his life.

“Maybe a black dragon’s living inside your arm now!” Hajime said excitedly, though this comment made no sense to the others.

Their enthusiasm was infectious though, and Bram couldn’t help wondering if something did change inside of him thanks to this scar.

Interestingly, the otherworlders were correct, something had changed inside of Bram. Apart from the twenty attribute points he’d earned earlier, there were a few new updates on his status screen.

ALIGNMENT: Still in progress…

And a new spell, Bram’s first…

TIER 3 [????]

Though it seemed even the Loom didn’t know what to make of it, Bram couldn’t help but imagine this [????] was connected to his recent brush with true darkness.

Funnily enough, earning his first-ever spell wasn’t the update that caused Bram’s jaw to drop. No, that honor belonged to another equally shocking thing.

MAGIC POINTS (MP): 15

It took him a long while—to the point that his friends thought he might have become comatose—but Bram eventually managed to say, “Rowan…I…I—”

“You’ve grown,” she finished for him.

Technically, this wasn’t a guess since she was privy to his emotions and probably knew the one thing that could shock the prince in such a manner.

“And you?” Bram couldn’t help asking. “What changes are you undergoing…?”

“You’ll see it soon enough,” she promised. “But first…”

Rowan drew everyone’s attention to the center of the spongy ground right where the Midnight Shard had been floating earlier. Half-buried on the pith was a red pinecone.

“I believe there’s one more treasure for you to collect.”

As soon as Bram picked it up, several new notifications popped up in front of him.

CONGRATULATIONS! You have received a [Nymph Seed].

“Interesting,” Rowan whispered. “Very interesting.”

The Loom seemed to agree with her because it classified the nymph seed as an ‘Elemental Egg’, which Hajime and Bridget guessed might mean Bram just earned something future Earth users would covet…a pet.

“A pet…?” Bram frowned.

This seemed a little insulting considering what Loveless had been.

“It’s just what we call a rare summon exclusive to the summoner’s account,” Bridget explained.

Bram didn’t hate the idea of an ‘exclusive’ summoned creature, though he wasn’t sure he could think of the nymph’s egg in this manner. He recalled the tragedy of Loveless’ life, how she’d been used by the gods and thrown away once they’d finished with her.

“I won’t do the same…”

From what he knew of nymphs, reincarnation was possible so long as one seed survived. The Loom verified this on the seed’s status screen; that the nymph who’d died could be born again in a new life. But Bram doubted she’d keep the memories she possessed in her previous life. At least he hoped she wouldn’t.

He patted the seed in his hand. “Your next life will be more fun…happier too.”

“How are you going to hatch it?” Hajime asked.

It was a question neither the Loom nor Rowan knew the answer to.

“Ravi might know how to hatch it. He is a summoner,” Bridget suggested.

“We’ll ask him,” Bram agreed. “Before that, there’s something else we need to finish.”

Bram turned to the other notification that arrived alongside the one about the nymph’s seed.

ALERT! The dungeon [Red Ruin] has been abandoned by its original owner and no longer has a caretaker. It is now possible for the Loom to absorb the dungeon, turning it into a resource the system can manage. Doing so will provide the administrators with many benefits alongside new responsibilities.

ALERT! Accepting responsibility for [Red Ruin] will unlock the system’s Dungeon Manager feature.

Would you like to take over the management of [Red Ruin]?

YES NO

“Yes,” Bram, Hajime, and Bridget answered together.

ALERT! You are unable to gain control of the dungeon [Red Ruin] while enemies are gathered outside of it.

“By the Loom,” Bridget sighed, “this quest is way too long…”

“It’s a chain quest. They’re supposed to be long,” Hajime answered knowingly. “This is probably the last one, Bridget-san.”

“How do you figure that?”

“We’re running out of enemies.”

Right on cue.

ALERT! A new quest has arrived!

URGENT QUEST: Defeat the Invaders of the Red Ruin!

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Oh, hazy eye of the blue moon above,

bestow me the fortune of lovers and go~~old!

And should your red twin fill the night with death and cold,

keep these troubles far from my weary so~~oul…

I hope you enjoyed my performance. I hear it's a special occasion

for you Earthers. So, in the spirit of cooperation between our worlds,

allow me to congratulate you on surviving the past year...

From my found family to yours, from across two worlds,

Happy New Year!

-Bram Lothaire of House Attilan

P.S. May fortune smile on you this 2025!

-Rowan of House Wolf