"What the Hell…"
"What the hell...?"
The Lion loosened his grip, his jaw hanging open. Seris fell to the ground, still barely conscious. A violent surge of crimson innate energy flooded the surroundings. It shone like a beacon, brighter even than the Lion's cleaver.
It was the raw, unbridled energy of a newborn Enlightened.
The Lion turned, his cleaver glistening. The blood coating it like a thick blanket burned away as he moved. His entire body seemed to tense; blood vessels bulged beneath his skin, and his eyes widened.
All the fire in the surrounding area was extinguished, leaving this section of Sorrow looking like a barren wasteland. Only the trees remained untouched, their bark seemingly impervious to the horrid heat that had ravaged everything around them.
"So someone managed to fuse with a shard after all. Well, let's see how much you can handle, newborn!"
"What is it that you desire, Kalen?"
The voice paused before continuing.
"Is it strength? The kind that can topple mountains?"
"Or perhaps intelligence? The kind that lets you bend the world to your will?"
"Or maybe—"
A young man with long crimson hair stood alone in a dark, empty void. There was nothing around him—only the disembodied voice rambling on.
In truth, Kalen already knew where he was.
It was obvious, really.
He had died.
And now some godlike figure was judging him, trying to trick him into saying something he shouldn't so it could cast him into eternal punishment.
It was all the fault of that damn kidnapper.
"I'm not even a girl!"
The voice continued.
"Kalen, don't you want the power to achieve something? To make those kidnappers pay? To rip out their throats and paint the trees of Sorrow with their blood?"
Kalen sat down and crossed his legs, folding his arms across his chest. He remained silent for a while, his eyes firmly shut.
"Look, if you're going to send me to hell or whatever, just do it. At least burn this female uniform off me on the way down."
A barely audible sigh echoed through the void before the voice spoke again.
"You idiot. Do you not know what was happening before you came here?"
Kalen opened one eye.
"I was stuck in a cage, trying to beg some Enlightened stranger for help before taunting that ugly bastard of a kidnapper. Then he burned me to death. Isn't that obvious?"
The endless void around Kalen seemed to stir. The darkness deepened, growing denser before condensing into a shape directly in front of him.
He found himself face-to-face with what appeared to be a demon.
Or at least, that was Kalen's best guess. The creature possessed a strange aura. Even while staring directly at it, he couldn't quite make out what it was supposed to be.
Its very existence seemed blurred.
Kalen leaped backward, diving headfirst onto the dark floor. Strangely, it didn't hurt. That was probably a side effect of being dead.
"Listen, Kalen. You have been chosen. The System recognizes your potential. Whether you accept this proposal is entirely up to you, but I'd advise that you do. Otherwise, you will die."
The voice paused once more.
"You are one lucky man, you know."
Kalen lifted his head slightly.
"What do you mean?"
"An Enlightened's initial strength is determined by their condition before awakening. The closer they are to death, the greater the initial boost."
The space between Kalen and the demon compressed. Suddenly, he was directly beneath its feet.
At least, he thought they were its feet.
It was difficult to be certain when it came to this thing.
"Then I'll gladly accept. This'll give me enough power to rip that guy a new one, right?"
A huge grin spread across his face.
The demon looked down at him and extended an arm.
"Damn straight."
And with that, the deal was sealed.
The void surged once more. Cracks spread throughout the darkness, and faint rays of light shone through them.
Then, suddenly—
It shattered.
A sweltering heat flared once more. This time, however, it wasn't surrounding Seris.
It burned directly in front of her.
Every bit of it came from the Lion's cleaver.
It seemed he had realized it too.
The immense danger he had placed himself in.
Accidentally or not, he had given birth to an awakened—one who had awakened on the verge of death.
And that could be a huge problem.
No.
That would be a huge problem.
The Lion knew that better than anyone.
He too was the product of the very same circumstance.
Clenching his cleaver as tightly as possible, he let out a roar that mirrored that of an actual lion.
He moved with breakneck speed, trying to reach the crimson energy before it dispersed and the new Enlightened fully manifested.
But he was too late.
The Lion came to a dead stop, no more than thirty feet away.
Standing before him was the crimson-haired girl, her body remade, lilac eyes gleaming with renewed fervor. Her top had been blown away, leaving her bare-chested. She stared upward, a single tear rolling down her cheek.
It was then that Seris realized she had been wrong this entire time.
"You were a man?! Oh—and you're alive..."
In the end, both the Lion and Seris bore witness.
To the birth of a true awakened.
To the birth of a true Enlightened.
To the birth of a calamity.