"I… I really didn't want to do it."
The monster's hoarse voice cracked, each word dragging behind it a weight of sorrow. Vikram's grip tightened on his weapon, not from rage, but hesitation. He didn't want to strike the final blow...
Not yet.
He still wanted to know the truth about Akk… and the woman he had loved.
"I really didn't want to kill my daughter…"
The sob turned into a howl that split the air, a sound of raw pain and defiance aimed at the heavens.
Vikram's gaze flicked to the Boss's health bar. Empty. The fight was already over. He stepped forward slowly, his boots crunching over the blood-stained ground.
The creature, Asura, looked at him with a storm of emotions tangled in his eyes: relief, resentment, anger, and a grief so deep it could drown a soul.
Vikram didn't need the rest of the story to piece it together. The Village Head had opposed his daughter's marriage to Akk. She had been pregnant. The old man's mind had already been unstable, and the news must have tipped him into the abyss.
The rest was inevitable, a tragedy written in blood.
Vikram sighed. "May you find peace."
One clean stroke. Ravann's head fell. His body followed.
[You have felled Ravann, The Village Head.]
The corpse began to glow, fragments of light swirling upward before sinking into Vikram's body.
[You have acquired 1,500 Souls.]
Unlike the others, Ravann's body did not fade. It remained, solid and heavy, along with several items that glimmered with dangerous allure.
[You have received {Blood Revenant}]
Before him lay a menacing greatsword, its blade forged from an obsidian-like metal that seemed to drink in the light. Lifting it took effort, too much, but compared to his own battered weapon, which was little more than twisted scrap after the battle, it felt like a gift from the abyss itself.
[You have received {Blood Resentment}]
A full set of armor materialized at his feet, black as night with edges kissed by a faint crimson glow. The helmet's horizontal visor promised a predator's gaze, and the descriptions confirmed it, armor and blade both were exclusive to the [Knight] Class.
Vikram's pulse quickened at the sight. He wanted to wear it immediately, but the sheer weight would drag him down in combat. He guessed that once he reached the Middle Stage of Aura Tempering, he could wield the full set without hindrance.
[You have received {Blood Essence of Asura}]
A sphere of dark red and black blood swirled above his palm, its motion restless, almost alive. Just staring at it made heat flood his skull, bloodlust, savage and unrelenting. But unlike the primal ferocity of the [Barbarian] Class, this was something darker. This was madness given form.
He sealed it away in his Inventory without hesitation.
The corpse of the Asura, still massive and twisted, remained sprawled where it had fallen.
[You have received {Body of Asura}]
[You have received {Akkunius's Seal}]
He wasn't sure what use the body or the seal would have, but his attention was already shifting. Behind him loomed a massive structure marked with the emblem of a hammer and anvil.
The door had always been closed. No matter how many times Vikram had passed the pristine white building, its gates had remained shut, unmoved by his presence.
But now… it was open.
No, he realized, it wasn't just that the door had unlocked. The moment {Akkunius's Seal} appeared in his inventory, he had felt it: a subtle hum, a resonance between the strange artifact and the building itself, as though the entire structure had been holding its breath for him.
Vikram stepped through the repeating white arches, five in all, before finally standing before the grand entrance. He summoned the Seal into his hand. It was square, its surface etched with a maze of runic symbols that pulsed faintly with dormant power.
As he crossed the threshold, the world went dark. The air grew heavy with the smell of cold metal and old dust. Somewhere deeper inside, chains clattered.
A slow, deliberate sound, like the breathing of something ancient.
He followed the sound until the dim outlines of two massive stone pillars emerged before him. Between them hung a figure.
A man bound by thick chains that stretched from his wrists to the pillars, holding his hands apart so they could never meet. His long, matted hair concealed most of his face, but his sheer size was undeniable; he was built like a war statue given flesh.
"Mmm…" The man stirred, lifting his head slightly. His voice was deep, gravelly, like stone scraping against stone. "What happened?"
His gaze sharpened as Vikram's figure came into view. "How…? An Aura Practitioner with Supreme Foundation? In this withered, strung-down era? And one who can kill that Demi-Asura at that?"
A sliver of hair fell away from his face, revealing a single golden eye that gleamed in the dark. The intensity of that stare was almost tangible, Vikram felt it press against his mind, as though the man were peering through the layers of his being.
"Akkunius, right?" Vikram asked, the blue glint of his sapphire eyes faintly visible through his visor.
The chained man let out a low sigh. "How many millennia have passed out there…?"
Vikram lifted the Seal. "What should I do with this?"
The golden eye burned brighter, locking onto the artifact. Akkunius studied him in silence for a long minute, his gaze flicking to the two pillars before returning to Vikram. For an instant, something, resolve, maybe, settled in his expression.
"Break it in two. Toss it to me."
Vikram obeyed, splitting the Seal cleanly and sending the pieces his way. They hovered in the air, drawn toward the pillars. The instant they touched stone, runes ignited like veins of molten light, spreading upward and outward.
Vikram hadn't noticed the fine carvings before, the darkness had hidden them, but now they flared to life, line after glowing line. The chains shuddered. Links groaned. Bit by bit, they fell slack.
When the last shackle gave way, Vikram found himself staring up at a towering figure, muscles layered like forged steel, an aura radiating from him that made the air feel heavier.
"Akk," the man said simply, his voice carrying the weight of an unbroken will.
Vikram nodded, falling into step as Akk moved forward. And as they walked, the building itself seemed to awaken, braziers lighting one after another, forges flickering to life, the old heart of the place beating again.
Akk paused before the vast forge. For a brief moment, the corner of his mouth twitched upward into something like a smile.
"What do you want from me?" His tone was level, almost solemn, though it carried the quiet authority of someone who could shape the fate of armies. "A Divine Weapon? A Divine Artifact? Divine Armor? Servitude?"
He stepped into the forge and ignited the flames. Even through the protection of his [Knight] Class, Vikram felt the oppressive heat bite at his skin.
Instead of answering, Vikram found a stool, sat across from him, and leaned forward.
"What's the rest of your Lore?"