"You left me behind, you coward."
A voice whispered in the void as Nyx floated in the emptiness.
Hearing the voice, Nyx turned around—only to find nothing.
"You're nothing but a coward, who left me to die."
The same voice rang out again as Nyx started recognizing it.
Panic kicked in. He turned in every direction, searching, but still found nothing.
"Was it fun? Living like a rat until the end, you pathetic loser."
The voice echoed once more, sending Nyx into a frenzy.
"I-I didn't... I didn't have a choice!" Nyx shouted back in desperation, the words scraping out of him with something even he couldn't explain.
"Who are you trying to fool? Do you even believe yourself right now?"
The voice cut deeper this time—louder, clearer, stabbing straight into Nyx's soul.
"I should have never stepped forward for a coward like you."
---
*Huff*… *huff*…
Nyx woke up, clutching his chest as he looked around—only to find the familiar room he'd been staying in. He slowly calmed his breath, then looked down at his hands and just stared.
For a split second, he saw them drenched in blood. Then, just as suddenly, it vanished.
"…Fuck," he muttered, dragging himself up before heading to wash up.
---
"You look pale, young master. Is something bothering you?" Karl asked, noticing the boy staring blankly at the table.
"Nothing..." Nyx replied, still lost in thought, the dream from earlier lingering in his mind.
'Why? Why after all this time, are you haunting me again?'
Nyx questioned the voice in his head as if it might answer back.
[Get yourself together before something happens. I can't access your memories, but if it's something from the past—leave it behind. You've got enough to deal with in the present.]
If forgetting the past were that easy, we wouldn't have stayed human for so long, Nyx muttered internally, but system didn't reply.
Suddenly, a warm hand touched his forehead.
Nyx looked up to find Rhea, her eyes filled with silent concern. She hadn't spoken a word about the incident, or about the chaos surrounding him lately—but her gaze said everything.
Looking at her, Nyx snapped out of his daze.
"I'm fine, Rhea. Let's have breakfast," he said with a small smile, gently trying to remove her hand.
But Rhea didn't budge. She kept checking his temperature, then moved on to examine him like a worried mother hen. First his forehead, then his arms, shoulders—eventually giving him a quick once-over.
Nyx didn't resist. He knew better than to argue with her when she was like this.
"You done?" Nyx raised an eyebrow, giving her a lopsided look.
"Yes. Now we can eat," she replied softly.
---
After a quiet but warm breakfast, Nyx left for the guild. He had questions—lots of them—and needed answers. Rhea and Karl stood by the door as he departed, the atmosphere lingering in silence.
Once he was gone, Rhea turned to Karl and bowed deeply.
"Sir Karl, can you please teach me swordsmanship?"
She had thought about it for a while now. With the world around her changing—and Nyx moving forward—she didn't want to be left behind. She didn't want to be a burden again.
Karl studied her expression. The conviction in her eyes made him smile faintly.
"Shall we start from the basics?" he asked, retrieving a wooden sword and tossing it toward her.
Rhea caught it clumsily, barely managing to hold on as she vigorously nodded her head like an eager little puppy.
---
At the guild, Nyx immediately noticed the stares.
But this time, it wasn't malice. Not exactly. It felt... different. Something closer to respect? Admiration? Maybe even fear? He couldn't quite tell.
He headed to the counter, where a familiar face was practically drowning in paperwork.
"You look busy, Anna. Something up with the guild?" Nyx asked, eyeing the messy stacks of documents and what looked like urgent notices.
"Ah! Nyx, you arrived at the perfect time," Anna said, frazzled. "The guild's been flooded with monster hunting requests—especially from the west side. We've sent most of our forces there, but now the east is wide open. We weren't careful and caused a damn breach. Can you and your party help us? We really need reinforcements." She said with a pleading tone.
"Damn. You talk a lot for that little mouth of yours," Nyx muttered, grabbing a flyer from the counter.
"We'll head toward the east gate once we organize. Be ready to stack a mountain of gold when we get back."
He waved casually as he left the building.
---
"Someone's late," Valon complained as Nyx entered the inn, already looking like he had a lecture locked and loaded.
"Got something to say?" Nyx asked, raising an eyebrow as he took his usual seat. Valon kept quiet, but Samantha spoke up instead.
"Now that the whole kingdom's potentially after you... what's the plan, Nyx?" she asked, her tone gentler than usual.
"Let's see how it goes. I'm not looking to mess with anyone big right now, but if they come scratching my ass—I'll kick them in theirs," Nyx said, flashing a grin in Valon's direction.
"You really think you can take on the whole kingdom?" Valon smirked.
"Wanna join the fun, then?" Nyx shot back, amused.
"Depends. How much fun are we talking about?" Valon grinned wide—too wide. He looked more like a lunatic than a fighter.
"Enough to carve a tale into history," Nyx chimed, his grin matching Valon's.
The girls exchanged a look.
"Uhh... guys, I don't think that's a good idea," Ruby said carefully, watching the two idiots spark off each other like fireworks.
"These two have already gone mad, Ruby. Leave them. Don't let them influence you," Samantha said, dragging Ruby to her side like a protective big sister.
---
"You called us here for this shit? This looks more like gatekeeping than actual monster hunting," Valon grumbled as he lounged atop the city wall, legs dangling like he had zero respect for gravity or the threat outside.
Samantha and Ruby were more focused—silently surveying the terrain beyond the gate, double-checking gear, ensuring they hadn't missed anything. Meanwhile, Nyx sat tucked in a corner, deep in what looked like a one-sided tug-of-war with the System.
"Sys, don't you have any wide-area skills like the last one I fused?" Nyx muttered under his breath, scrolling through his arsenal. "It was flashy, sure, but the efficiency sucked."
[You wiped out over fifty men without lifting a damn finger and you're still complaining? What are you, a masochist bitch?]
"Wow. I thought we'd evolved past this. I gave that grand speech, turned the tide of public opinion, and here you are—still stinking like a sewer, even if someone bothered to mop it."
[Someone hasn't gone through an integration cycle in a while. Wanna try?]
"N-nope! Absolutely not! You're fine, I'm fine, everyone's fine—no need for violence, thank you very much!" Nyx stammered, mentally backing up like a man trying not to poke a sleeping bear with a stick.
[Got something called Flame Tornado. Wanna try that?]
Nyx side-eyed the void. This bitch has mood swings like a rollercoaster designed by a sadist.
[I can still hear you, ungrateful bitch. Price of the skill book: Flame Tornado +500 SP.]
"…huh?"
'Oi, that's cheating!'
But of course, System didn't budge. It never budged.
"Fine. Buy it," Nyx groaned, caving in like a broke gambler hitting 'all in' with a 2 and a 7.
He was already playing with possible combos in his head when something clicked—a lightbulb moment laced with pure, chaotic intent. A grin stretched across his face, wide and wicked, as he stood up and strolled to the wall's edge.
Valon caught the look and immediately sat up straighter. Samantha and Ruby turned at the same time, eyes narrowing in suspicion.
"You look like you're about to wipe out an entire goblin village," Valon said warily. "What the hell's going on in that maniac head of yours?"
"Wanna see something fun?" Nyx grinned like a lunatic as he side-eyed the group.
Before they could even react, a twisting vortex of wind erupted around Nyx, spiraling forward with growing velocity, tearing across the terrain and surging into the forest. Trees were ripped from the ground like twigs, caught in the swirl like leaves in a blender.
The group stared, stunned by the sheer absurdity of the display.
And then Nyx murmured, calm and smug as hell:
"Fire Tornado."
A roaring column of flame burst forth, colliding with the wind vortex mid-air. The two forces merged violently—wind fueling fire, fire feeding frenzy. The tornado exploded in scale, now a towering inferno dancing with wrath and destruction. Heat blasted across the field, flames licking the sky. Everything caught within was instantly reduced to cinders—trees, monsters, even the soil itself looked offended.
Then, silence silence followed as Nyx canceled the spell. Where once there had been forest, now there was nothing but scorched earth. A wasteland of ash.
"I call it… the Mass Deforestation of Flames," Nyx declared, hands on hips like a proud artist unveiling his masterpiece.
Behind him, was silence. He turned to look at them.
The rest of the group stared at him with open mouths, dumbfounded, like he'd just nuked a tea party.
---
"Reporting, Lord."
A shadowy figure emerged from the darkness, kneeling before a man whose face remained turned away, shrouded in silence and shadow.
"Nyx Vaelthorn is growing at an absurd rate. It's almost unnatural. Where mages take years—decades—to master a single spell, he's displaying power that even the elders of the Mage Tower would envy. At his age, it's unheard of."
A low chuckle echoed from the man.
"Ahh… seems like an anomaly has wriggled its way into my plans. Invite him there. Even if it's risky, we'll find the right chance to eliminate him."
"But sir, isn't that place un—"
The shadowy figure hesitated, but the man cut him off coldly.
"Send him. The risks are worth it. Better there than this border town, where too many eyes are already watching. Let the others play their game—we'll play ours."
"Yes, sir. I'll move on it immediately."
The kneeling figure disappeared as quietly as he arrived, leaving the man alone.
He turned slightly, just enough for his smile to be seen—cruel, calculating.
"Let's see how far you can really go, Nyx Vaelthorn. You survived this round... but for how long?"