Darein approached the young man with cautious steps. His brown hair fell to medium length, and his features were so ordinary that he would have been lost in any crowd. Yet what Darein sensed was anything but ordinary. There was something strange emanating from the young man—a hidden aura warning of an unseen danger.
Despite Darein's proximity, the young man remained lost in his own thoughts, as if he didn't belong to this world at all, as if his existence here were nothing more than an empty shell. Darein wondered silently as he stared:
"Is this just a coincidence? Or was this meeting orchestrated? If he is truly targeting me, my false identity is at risk. Even the most meticulous disguise won't withstand careful scrutiny if suspicions arise."
When Darein stopped in front of him, waiting for a reaction that never came, the young man still didn't look up. Darein forced a polite smile and asked casually:
– "Excuse me… do you know the best book about the history of the races?"
The young man slowly lifted his head, as if the words had taken a long time to reach his awareness. He stared at Darein oddly before answering in a cold voice:
– "There is a book about what you seek… it is here."
But his finger pointed to nothing on the shelves, to no book at all. He had pointed to himself.
Before Darein could respond, the young man pulled him with an invisible force. Suddenly, Darein found himself in another world. A crushing pressure surrounded him, as if he were deep underwater, enough to crush him to death… yet, for some unknown reason, his body remained intact.
Questions flooded his mind: Where am I? What is this place? Wasn't I in the library just moments ago?
He lifted his gaze to witness a scene beyond description: a massive throne made of blood, upon which loomed a horrifying entity, incomprehensible to the mind. Its body was a grotesque formation of blood, constantly shifting into unstable, monstrous shapes.
A cold drop of sweat slid down Darein's forehead, but as he looked around, he realized that what surrounded him was not water—it was blood, filling the space around him.
His eyes met those of the creature, a moment dense with terror and awe. The mysterious being was not given a chance to move before Darein found himself thrown back, as if some force had hurled him back into the library.
But the fear did not end…
He clearly felt that the same entity that had controlled the young man had infiltrated him. A strange power sought to dominate both his body and mind.
Darein smiled wryly, another cold drop of sweat sliding down his forehead:
"It seems I've discovered an intriguing secret…"
That weak "Ethereon" had no chance against him, even at less than half his usual strength. And while Darein tried to trap this parasite within himself to extract more information, the Ethereon surprised him with its last trick: self-destruction.
A silent scream tore through him, and Darein's eyes turned red. Blood flowed from his mouth, but it was not red… it was deep black. He barely managed to keep his balance as he breathed slowly.
In the end, he collapsed to the floor in front of the terrified young man, who had only just regained consciousness from the horrify
ing nightmare he had been trapped in.