The aftermath of the battle lingered in the cavern like smoke. Shadows dissipated slowly, curling back into the Sorrow System's core, leaving Aric standing among the ashes of fallen demons.
His chest heaved with exhaustion, but inside, something burned brighter than fatigue. Control. For the first time since devouring the manifested soul of a demon, he felt he had wrestled sorrow itself into obedience. It hadn't consumed him this time. It had served him.
Lira sheathed her blade, her eyes fixed on him. "You keep changing, Aric. Every time you fight, the shadows become sharper. More precise. But so do you."
Aric gave a faint smirk, though his eyes stayed wary. "That's good. If I falter even once, this system will devour me whole."
The ground trembled faintly, drawing his gaze down the endless corridor. A cold breeze carried whispers with it—faint, indistinguishable, but insistent. He knew without a doubt: the Observer was still near. Watching. Waiting.
But it wasn't only that. There was something else in the air now. Something human.
"Do you feel that?" Lira asked, already shifting her stance.
"Yes." Aric's expression hardened. "Not demons. People."
The corridor widened into a split tunnel. Faint torchlight flickered in one passage—unnatural in this abyss. A sign of resistance, survivors, maybe even the rumored rebels who had refused to surrender to the Demon King's reign.
The other tunnel was pure black, radiating power that clawed at his senses. The Sorrow System reacted immediately, shadows twisting toward it with hunger. It was a trial, without doubt—a continuation of the path laid by the Observer.
Aric clenched his fists. Two paths. Two choices.
Lira stepped beside him. "Which way?"
He stared at both. On one side, the path of the abyss, promising power and deeper mastery but at a cost he couldn't yet see. On the other, the fragile glow of humanity, a chance to find allies, maybe even answers.
The Sorrow System pulsed violently, favoring the abyssal path.
His heart, however, leaned toward the torchlight.
"I'm not abandoning people," Aric muttered finally. "Not again."
They advanced toward the flickering light.
The tunnel sloped upward, and soon the stench of damp earth gave way to smoke and iron. As they emerged into a cavern wider than the last, Aric froze.
Dozens of figures stood there, armed with mismatched weapons—blades, spears, even scavenged demon tools. They were ragged, scarred, but their eyes burned with defiance. Resistance fighters.
Every weapon turned toward him instantly.
"Stay back!" one of them barked, a tall man with scarred cheeks and armor patched together from demon husks. "Those shadows… they mark you. You're no different from the monsters we fight."
Lira tensed. "He's not your enemy."
"Then explain that," the man snapped, pointing at the shadows coiling instinctively around Aric's shoulders.
The room grew tense, fear mixing with hatred. Aric could feel it—sorrow, anger, despair—all feeding into the System. He pushed it down, forcing the shadows to recede.
"I'm Aric," he said firmly. "I don't serve the demons. I fight them. And if you want proof—" He gestured to the trail behind him. "The ashes back there are what's left of a Demon General."
A murmur rippled through the fighters. Some eyes widened in disbelief, others narrowed in suspicion.
The scarred leader stepped closer, blade still drawn. "If that's true… then you're dangerous. To them. And to us."
Aric met his gaze evenly. "Dangerous, yes. But I choose where that danger falls. You want to live in fear of shadows, fine. But if you want to destroy demons, then stand with me. Because I'll do it with or without you."
The silence that followed was heavy.
Then, a woman among the fighters stepped forward—tall, dark-skinned, her arm replaced with a mechanical prosthetic made from demon scraps. "He's telling the truth," she said. "I can feel it. Whatever's inside him… it doesn't serve the King. It fights him."
The leader's jaw tightened. After a long pause, he lowered his blade. "You'll stay under watch. You slip once—just once—and I'll cut you down myself."
Aric nodded. "Fair."
The resistance lowered their weapons, but the air remained thick with tension. Aric could feel their unease feeding his System, sorrow lapping at the edges of his control. He forced it back, refusing to let it grow.
As they moved deeper into the cavern, Aric realized something unsettling. The torchlight didn't just illuminate survivors. It illuminated chains.
At the far end of the cavern, prisoners knelt in rows, bound in shackles infused with demonic runes. They weren't demons. They were people. Ordinary men, women, even children—captured, broken, left to despair.
The Sorrow System pulsed violently, shadows writhing with hunger. Their grief was a feast, overwhelming, irresistible.
Aric staggered, gripping his head as whispers surged in his ears.
Feed. Grow. Consume their sorrow. Power lies in suffering.
"Aric!" Lira grabbed his arm, grounding him. "Fight it! Don't let it take you."
He clenched his teeth, forcing shadows back under control. Sweat poured down his face. He had thought himself stronger after defeating the General, but this… this was different. This wasn't combat. This was temptation.
The resistance fighters watched, unease turning to fear. Some reached for their weapons again.
The scarred leader's voice cut through the silence. "So. That's the truth, isn't it? Your power comes from suffering. From them."
Aric's breath came ragged, shadows still twitching at the edges of his form. He looked at the prisoners—at their hollow eyes, their chains, their despair. His heart clenched.
"I won't feed on them," he said, voice rough but steady. "Not unless they choose to give it. My fight is with the demons. Always."
But deep inside, he knew this was the greatest trial yet. Because the System would never stop hungering, never stop whispering, never stop tempting.
And if he faltered here—before the eyes of both allies and innocents—he would lose everything.
The Observer's laughter echoed faintly in the shadows, unheard by anyone but Aric.
Chains of choice, little vessel. Let's see how long you resist.