And without thinking, I replied,
"Yes. Give me all the power you can, so I can protect the ones close to me."
He looked at me.
"Everything has a price," he said. "Even this."
"You'll regret this," he added.
"No price is greater than my loved ones being safe," I replied.
But I still had a doubt, who was this person?
"You won't be able to handle the power that'll be released. The instant power you gain will be your future potential, what you haven't yet harnessed. Your body will be crippled if you use it for more than a minute. That's the maximum I can allow."
"One minute is enough," I said.
No.13 was going to die. He dared to touch Suhee, he dared to hurt her. That was the last straw.
"You'll experience something called 'Soul Fracture', a consequence of ether overuse your body isn't built for."
"I can strengthen your body with ether, but that protection won't last. Once it runs out, your life force will be drained. And when that's gone… you'll die."
He told me all of this just to stop me from using power that wasn't mine.
Then he said,
"You'll wake up the moment you think about leaving. Time will resume three seconds after that. I'm a little rusty… been asleep for a few hundred years."
"I've forgotten most things about myself, except my duty and my purpose."
To be continued...