My path?
But what path was he talking about?
I furrowed my brow. The air seemed frozen around me, icy as if suspended. The creature, still as dark and misty, watched me with its glowing red eyes.
— Your life has been a long injustice, Kai. And do you know why?
I did not answer. I stared at it, wary.
— Because the God who rules your world… does not understand what justice is. It makes no distinction between good and evil. For it, everything is balance. Even your torment. Even your death. It could reincarnate you again and again… into the same miserable life, without ever blinking.
I interrupted, stunned:
— Wait… God? Reincarnation? Injustice?
It nodded slowly, a grim smile on its lips.
— Yes, Kai. What you live through, it considers "normal." You don't even have the right to love. You are just a cog in its grand cycle… a heartless cycle. But if you want out, I can help you. Do you want to disappear? Or do you want to change everything?
I clenched my fists. My breath was short.
Yes… I wanted to change things. I wanted… to take back control.
— Change everything…? How?
The creature's smile widened.
— I offer you a power. Immense. With it, you will be able to do whatever you want with your existence. Crush those who broke you. Protect those you love. Build your own world.
A black, vaporous hand materialized before me, pointing a finger at me.
— But in exchange… I want your soul.
I stepped back, shocked.
— My soul?
— Yes. Your soul. That is the price. But in return, you will even gain what is called… the power of the Eidolins.
I narrowed my eyes.
— The Eidolins? What are they?
— Mythical creatures. Living incarnations of absolute concepts. Death. Time. Oblivion. Pain. As long as their concept exists, so do they. They are its essence. You, Kai… could embody a concept drawn from your own suffering. Create your own form of power. Rise above all that oppressed you.
His offer disturbed me.
Me, to have such power? To become… like a god? I imagined it. Just for a moment. The world in my hands. No one to humiliate me anymore. No one to drag me through the mud.
— And you… are you an Eidolin? I asked.
It sneered, a deep and hollow laugh.
— No. I am beyond them. I am the one who heard your distress. The one who offers you a door out of the cycle. Eidolins, or "Ideomorphs," are only expressions of ideas. They dominate in Delzluhud, this intermediate world, but the higher you ascend in the Giant Dimensions, the more their power blurs, because their essence becomes… intentional.
I listened, fascinated.
— Ideomorphs subjugate soul, body, and mind. But not… the narrative. Do you understand, Kai? The narrative is the most intimate form of causality. It is what can break the chain of destiny. In higher dimensions, your being is far more than you think. It can reach Abyphage, the domain of the void…
I did not understand everything, but one thing was clear: this creature was offering me an escape. A revenge. A rising.
Then it drew closer to me, closer than ever.
— So, little one… accept. Give me your soul. You will not disappear. On the contrary. You will be more powerful than you have ever dreamed. You will dominate the soul, the mind… and the bodies of mortals.
A long silence.
I looked at it. My heart raced. I was on the edge.
Then I asked, in a low voice:
— And if I refuse?
— You would die.
— And if I want… the power… but without losing my soul?
An icy silence followed.
Its smile faded slightly. The darkness around it rippled.
It studied me for a long moment, then answered:
— Then you will have to suffer much more, Kai… and deserve that power.
I would have to suffer?
What does that mean?
— Suffer even more?… I whispered.
Can there really be worse than everything I've already endured?
The creature watched me, silent. No answer. Just that strange smile, as though it already knew the outcome of my hesitation.
— What exactly do you want… to grant me this power? I asked uncertainly.
Still no word. The silence ate me up even more than its red eyes.
My heart pounded. A deep fear washed through me.
I was beginning to think I might be making an irreversible mistake.
I don't even know what it really is. If it demands my soul… then it requires a terrifying price.
What could be worth a soul?
The creature burst into a grin.
— Excellent question…
I jumped.
— What?
— Yes, I can read your mind, Kai. I know what you're wondering. But it's not "what is worth a soul" you should ask yourself…
It's: what is worth your soul?
I froze. My soul…? What part of me am I willing to sacrifice?
— I don't know what you're scheming, I murmured, but it doesn't reassure me.
I want to say… no. No thanks. Let me die. That would be simpler.
But the creature slowly shook its head.
— Death will not free you.
I told you, the god who rules your world understands neither good nor evil. It can reincarnate you… again… and again… into lives even worse. You will not escape so easily.
My breath caught.
— Who are you? And… who is this god you speak of?
Its smile returned, wider.
— I am the one who can make your deepest dreams come true. In exchange for your soul… or what has its value.
And in return, I will make you an entity above suffering. You will manipulate magic. You will be feared… and free.
I squinted.
— So… what can be worth my soul?
It came closer, barely a few centimeters from my face.
— You will offer it to me yourself.
Instinctively. When what you will be ready to lose… bursts from you without even realizing it.
I swallowed.
— So… it will be me… who decides?
It nodded slowly.
— Exactly.
I remained silent. For a long moment.
Then I lifted my head.
And in a voice I did not even recognize as my own, I said:
— I accept.
The creature burst into a sarcastic laugh and disintegrated into swirls of black mist.
And then… time resumed.
The guard, axe raised, was ready to strike me down.
Mizellla's screams, the tears in her voice.
The triumphant look of her father.
Everything clashed again around me.
But they didn't know…
Something… was changing.
A black mana suddenly escaped from my body.
My eyes burned. I saw red.
The guard's axe crashed down on my neck… and shattered into a thousand fragments on contact with my skin.
— What?! he yelled, stunned.
The silence broke in the room. Everyone froze.
The mana transformed into a vast pool of black ink, boiling, that rippled to the guard's feet. Before he could even retreat, it swallowed him. Dissolved. Devoured.
Screams erupted. Chaos.
Then it was Mizellla's father… who screamed. He too, was swallowed. Gone.
Mizellla…
I didn't understand how or why, but the black pool spread. And it took her as well.
She screamed. And then… nothing.
I was terrified.
— Mizellla?!
But it was not over.
The entire village was swallowed.
The guards. The slaves. Even my mother…
She too… dissolved. Erased.
I controlled nothing.
— What have I done?!
When everything disappeared, the black pool evaporated, as if it had never existed.
I dropped to my knees, gasping.
Silence.
I rose slowly.
Everything was in ruins.
The village no longer existed. Only rubble remained. No voices. No breath.
— Where… where are they? I whispered.
Then, the creature reappeared, high in the sky, towering over me like a mocking deity.
— Now… you are Kai. A great mortal. Capable of magic. I kept my word. Are you satisfied?
I raised my eyes to it.
— Where are the others?… Where is Mizellla? Where is my mother?!
It did not answer.
But… then, a vision pierced my mind.
I saw everything.
The black pool.
Mizellla. My mother. Dissolved. Erased.
— No…
My voice trembled. My lips too.
— Why?!
— Why kill them?!
The creature tilted its head, then answered softly:
— Because that was the only price worth your soul.
— No… no! I screamed.
— Your suffering. Your love. Your slavery. All these… are the fragments that give your soul its value. It wasn't your essence I took… but everything that made up its weight.
I knelt, eyes empty.
— No… give them back to me. Give them back alive. I do not want this power! I do not want to lose Mizellla… I do not want to lose my mother!
My cry rose to the heavens.
The creature stared at me for a moment…
Then, slowly, it vanished like smoke in the wind.
And I was left alone.
— NOOOOOOOOOO!!!