Chapter 108: Hope and Trial
Azakh-Tur watched the Veilstill Sight-Wrap's profile rewrite itself, the letters crawling across the panel like something alive. The rush that hit him was intense...sharp, uncertain, and addictive. Gambling without the risk of loss. His gateway towards the real thing.
Grimm floated above his head, skull bobbing gently, blue fire flickering in the sockets as he peered at the glowing panel. The little specter tilted in curiosity, his spine twitching with faint rattles that sounded almost like laughter.
A toothy grin was plastered across both their faces, that was until Seo-jin read the results.
'Huh...guess that's an upgrade.'
[Item Profile // Veilstill Sight-Wrap]
[Type // Accessory]
[Rank // D]
[Sub-Category // Wrap]
[Appearance]
[Plain cloth band meant to bind the eyes. Coarse weave. Frayed edges. No visible enchantment or sigil.]
[Effect // Updated]
[Blind Training // Wearing continuously for 30 days grants the Skill: Mana Sense.]
[Condition // Must engage in combat at least once every 72 hours.]
[Failure // Progress resets if condition not met.]
[Cost to Use // None]
[Durability // 40/40]
["Blind yourself to see the truth."]
'No wonder the results vary when they hide bullshit like this.'
[You'll have to test whether sparring counts as combat. Shouldn't be too hard either way.]
He rolled the cloth in his palm, feeling the weave scrape his skin like old bandages. The ghost fire above him pulsed once, as if Grimm approved. Now he had it, a clear path to shape the weakest of his spawn into something useful.
"Hex. Take this."
He extended the wrap like it carried disease.
The newly spawned hesitated, arms trembling as he stepped out from between his brothers. His eyes flicked from Azakh-Tur's face to the cloth and back again.
"What… what should I do with it, Broodfather?"
"Bind your sight."
A few quiet snickers slipped from Snare and Panic, Grimm joining them. The sound died instantly when Azakh-Tur's gaze lifted, one sharp glance, enough to silence every throat in the room. Even the ghost drifted higher, flame-eyes narrowing in mock submission.
Hex's breath stuttered. His reddish skin dulled to gray as his eyes began to shine wet. Still, he nodded.
"As you wish, Broodfather."
He raised the cloth, hands shaking, but stopped when Azakh-Tur's voice cut through the silence.
"This isn't punishment."
Hex froze mid-motion.
"This is your last hope."
The words hit like a weight. Hex looked down at the wrap in his hands, chest heaving. His thoughts were chaos...born broken, branded useless, beaten into obedience before he'd even had his first kill.
"Wh—why? I haven't—what did I—"
"Quiet."
The broodling went still. Breath hitched, body shivering like a creature left in the cold. Even his heartbeat seemed to wait for permission to continue.
"I've given you what amounts to a lie. A false hope. A task so steep I doubt even I could complete it. But if you do—if you succeed—not only will you carve your place into my Brood. You'll earn the right to fight by my side."
The trembling stopped. Hex stood locked in place, spine straight, breath shallow.
"Blind yourself. Let that loss teach you. You have thirty days to learn to feel mana. If, by the end, you fail…"
His tone sharpened.
"Your brothers will eat you alive. Do you accept this false hope?"
There wasn't a pause. Hex lifted the cloth, wrapped it once across his eyes, and knotted it tight.
"If I fail the Broodfather, I'll open my own throat."
Azakh-Tur leaned back, smirking faintly. He made a dismissive wave...then remembered the broodling couldn't see.
He cleared his throat.
"I'll look forward to that. But who knows… maybe you'll prove me wrong. Continue your lessons."
He stopped himself from gesturing again, but the grin remained when Hex turned and nearly stumbled. Panic made sure he did, tail catching his foot with perfect timing. Grimm's grin widened as he bobbed approvingly.
[He's in for hell. Your little monsters are going to make him miserable. Nice touch, though. He'll grind himself to the bone trying to prove you wrong… and when time's almost up, he'll break. Beautiful bit of psychological torture.]
'What makes it better is when I swoop in at the end with a single piece of advice. He'll think I saved him.'
[Top marks. If I had hands, I'd clap.]
He didn't answer, his smug expression said everything as his attention went back to his panel, claws dragging through new options. And somewhere, between the scrolling through possibilities and the quiet torture happening to Hex, a low humming began to escape him.
The broodlings couldn't help hearing it, stopping what they were doing as they each began to twitch. Especially Hex, eyes covered, his ear twitched as if electrified.
Their father humming...a sound of peace that felt stranger than any scream they'd ever heard.
----
It had only been twenty minutes, but Seo-jin, back in his human form, looked like he'd crawled out of a furnace. Sweat slicked his chest, his skin pale and drawn tight across the bone. He leaned back, dragging a forearm across his face, the veins along his neck still pulsing.
No sound of satisfaction left his mouth. Just a dry exhale as he stared up at the balance displayed across his panel.
"Money's scary…"
Only [213DP] remained.
[So much for saving. I gotta say, that was probably the dumbest shit I've seen you do yet. All those points—gone.]
A slow burn crawled up Seo-jin's spine, hot enough to melt the regret right out of him. Grimm's faint cackle drifted from above his shoulder, the little skull bobbing upside down to get a better look at the panel.
'I wouldn't expect you to understand, you don't even have a body. And yeah, it drained most of my points—but it'll be worth it. An A-Rank blueprint for just over nine thousand? That's a steal.'
[That's just the blueprint, you idiot! It's cheap because the materials you'll need to craft that thing are expensive as fuck! Goddamn—you suck so bad sometimes.]
Seo-jin blinked, half-stunned, then squinted at the glowing text. Grimm rattled faintly, sounding almost amused.
"What all did you get with that update? Where'd this love for the word 'fuck' come from? Huh? 'Cause I'm not liking this new attitude. You're supposed to support my dream, remember?"
[Suck your own dick. You've been an ass since I first met you. Don't get snippy just because I'm matching energy.]
"Matching energy…"
Seo-jin repeated under his breath, nodding like he was taking notes. His jaw flexed. He was tempted to argue, but instead let the words slide off like sand.
"Alright, that's fair. But tone it down a bit. We can't both be assholes."
[Agreed.]
A low, crackling hum came from Grimm's skull as if he approved of the truce, blue flame flickering brighter before dimming again.
Across the room, the broodlings had gone still. Hex sat in the corner, his brothers crowding around him mid-lesson. All three were watching Seo-jin now, ears twitching, eyes sharp.
"Who is Father talking to?"
Hex asked, voice hushed.
"I don't hear anyone el—"
Pain's knee shot into his ribs, cutting the question off with a grunt.
"Not your concern."
Panic leaned in, the edge of his dagger hovering just in front Hex's blindfold.
"Father speaks to those who can listen. You must be deaf and blind."
The manic grin that followed was wiped clean the instant Seo-jin stood. His movements were deliberate, unhurried, but heavy enough to freeze the room. All three older broodlings dropped to a knee in perfect unison, Grimm drifting lazily above them like a dark halo.
Hex hesitated, then followed, off by a beat, but without stumbling. Seo-jin's eyes lingered on him, tracing the precision in how the blind broodling aligned himself. Even without sight, he was already adapting.
A faint smile flickered across Seo-jin's lips.
"Have you finished teaching him what he needs to know?"
Panic and Pain nodded, but it was Snare who answered. His tone was low, clipped, as if every word was chosen to avoid a mistake.
"As best we could, Broodfather. His learning comes slow. It'll take time to beat the weakness out and make him worth the flesh he's built from."
"That's no longer your task. From here, it's on him to prove his worth. Now, return to rest. The next time I call, it'll be for war. Be ready."
All four broodlings flared at once. Pain's fire lit the walls in shifting red, the others pulsing with bloodlight that painted the air thick and heavy. Their voices cracked together into one raw chorus.
"Yes, Broodfather!"
Seo-jin turned to show his back, but paused, eyes locking on Pain.
"Except you."
Pain froze, flames stuttering.
Turning fully, Seo-jin reached through the link to the Twinback Growths. Both masses twitched awake, the teeth-lined maws tearing open with wet shrieks. The air filled with howling, raw and layered, vibrating through every stone in the room. Grimm's skull tilted toward the noise, the blue fire inside flickering faintly before he drifted forward and sank into Seo-jin's chest, vanishing beneath the skin.
Hex stiffened at the first sound of tearing flesh, head jerking as he tried to parse what he was hearing. His nostrils flared, the scent of blood hitting hard, but none of it made sense. He opened his mouth to speak, until Panic's claw hooked his arm.
"Too bad you're weak. Watching yourself get eaten is the best part. You get to see your insides on the outside."
Before Hex could reply, Panic shoved him forward and raised his arm. The pull hit instantly, violent and absolute. The air tore around him. His body lifted, twisted, pulled apart by something invisible and unrelenting. Every nerve screamed once, then burned out. He didn't understand the sensation, only that it was ending him.
The light bleeding through his blindfold flared, then vanished. Sound went next. Then weight. Then everything.
He almost reached for the wrap, but then his father's voice filled the black.
'I've summoned you inside me. A void where nothing can reach you. You can still speak through the link if needed.'
The message snapped off, and the connection fell silent.
Seo-jin waited until the echo of Snare's disappearance faded, then turned back to the only broodling left.
Pain met his gaze, motionless but trembling under the skin. The fire that burned along his arms flickered, dimmed, then rose again in uneven bursts. His face held both hope and dread, the look of a creature torn between the wish to be chosen and the fear of what being chosen meant.
"You're right to fear me… but not now. Not when my son has done so well. I saw it the moment I returned. I could smell it on them. The fear, Pain. The fear you carved into their hearts runs deeper than any wound."
His firstborn. His first mutation. Every word rang true. The dwarves had trembled when he entered, the air thick with the scent of submission. Pain had done exactly as ordered, shaping terror with precision, violence turned to craft. Primal. Pure.
[Think he's gonna pass out.]
The broodling did sway, just slightly, but Seo-jin didn't reach for him. Not yet.
Inside, Pain felt hollowed out, weightless. His breath came ragged, his fire shrinking low, every nerve burning with disbelief. For a moment, thought itself collapsed, leaving only the echo of one word.
"…Son?"
It left his mouth cracked and raw, the sound small against the silence that followed.
He stood frozen, lost inside the moment, but Seo-jin had gone still for another reason. The chill of pride crept through him, tightening his jaw as he smothered the smile that threatened to show.
[You're enjoying this too much. Can't imagine what the humans'll face.]
'Not now. I'm speaking to my son.'
[Oh, fuck off. Gross.]
A quiet tremor ran through him, half a laugh he didn't let out. He drew a slow breath, forced the tension from his shoulders, and broke the silence.
"I know you think I've wronged you, Pain. You've watched your brothers earn what you thought I denied you. That has to sting—"
The reaction was instant. Pain snapped out of his haze, panic blazing through his eyes as he dropped to his knees.
"Blasphemy! I'd never think ill of the Broodfather! I'm too small—too unworthy—"
"I intend to fix that. Stand. I've something to say first."
Pain hesitated, trembling, then forced himself upright. His eyes blazed hotter, locked on Seo-jin's.
Bloodlight began to seep from Seo-jin's pores, slow and deliberate, casting the room in a pulsing red haze.
"I've treated you differently for a reason, Pain. You are different. You're the strongest of your brothers. And I expect more from you."
Like the room itself had veins, and something had sliced them open, Seo-jin's bloodlight had risen and spread across the ceiling filling the room.
"And because of that strength, I'm giving you a task—one you'll speak of to no one. Not your brothers. Not even me once it's done. You'll carry it alone. That's how important it is."
Pain straightened until his chest nearly split from the tension. Every muscle locked, his pulse pounding so hard it sounded like footsteps inside his skull.
"I need you to protect your new brother."
The fire in his eyes dimmed. His stance wavered, shoulders sagging a fraction. Seo-jin caught the shift, buried the curl of his mouth, and pressed on as if he hadn't seen it.
"He holds a role vital to our future. Only you can be trusted with this. The key is simple—Hex must never know you're watching over him. Do you understand? Can you do this, Pain? Can you prove I was right to call you different?"
The answer came fast, instinctive, like fear itself had trained him to obey. He dropped to one knee, voice breaking through the heat.
"To refuse is to die! The Brood obeys!"
Seo-jin's brows lifted slightly.
The brood obeys… He let the phrase turn over in his mind, tasting the weight of it.
Then the air around Pain thickened, pulsing red. Crimson system light flared across his vision, blinding, his face twitching as he looked up. His body jerked at what he saw in his father's hand.
"This is to aid your task—and to honor what you've done. You slaughtered the snakes in my name. Now take it."
Pain's breath caught. His gaze locked on the blade, massive, brutal, and perfect. The black steel glowing with a faint light of living heat, as if it remembered every life it had taken.
A large, two-handed greatsword. His first weapon. Claws shaking, Pain grabbed the weapon, and could barely breathe.