I often sought the forest for peace and solitude, my favorite place to simply be. There, alone, I could observe nature's wonders and, most crucially, practice my Aspect away from others.
I haven't seen the ethereal spirit lights in the forest since one distant night in my childhood. Their vanishing, a mystery, might be linked to the vessel's disappearance—or perhaps they were just a childish illusion, a tool of clan folklore. "Finding a husband, huh," I scoffed, the thought ridiculous in the sacred woods. "Like this has never crossed my mind."
It was true; a deep, persistent loneliness had been a silent companion for some time. I wasn't immune to the yearning for connection, for a love that was real. If I ever wanted to fall in love, I would have to leave my house, there's no way I'm getting married to any of these morons.
I flexed my hand, the air around my fingers crackling with the vibrant, unmistakable pink of my Aspect, powerful existential energy. It was a beautiful, devastating thing, yet still largely a mystery to me.
"I wonder what the absolute limits of my power are," I mused, the words hanging heavy in the air. "Am I truly as formidable as Hisakage claims?"
Testing my confinement, I impulsively shot a concentrated burst of pink energy—a potent, harmless spear—at a distant tree. Instead of impact, I heard a faint, choked scream where my energy landed.
I froze, my body rigid with shock. A single, chilling thought seized my mind, erasing all others: Did I just… hurt someone?
Panicked, I ran through the underbrush and burst into a clearing. I saw a woman sprawled on the ground. Her black hair was matted with dirt, her fine silk clothing shredded and covered in dark blood—a horrific tableau of violence. But the shocking sight brought a realization: It wasn't me. My energy blast was non-concussive; it couldn't have caused these wounds. She looked mauled by a crazed beast or an overwhelmingly powerful, untamed wraith.
I dropped to my knees beside her. Before I could even manage the useless question—Are you okay?—she lifted her head, her gaze locking onto mine.
Her eyes were unnerving: vertical, slitted pupils, burning red, like a nocturnal predator. More astonishingly, deep black markings, that symbolized my clan's worship of the Something, were visible around them. This revered visual legacy was only borne by a precious few of us, the most powerful or spiritually blessed, myself included.
Is she one of us? The question screamed in my mind. But how could that be? I knew every marked member, every elder, every powerful bearer in our small community. I had never, ever seen her before.
Then she spoke in the most faint yet powerful voice:
"You must take it."
"Take what?" I replied, my voice a shaky mixture of shock and utter bewilderment. I attempted to regain control, my instincts kicking in. "I must get you back to the village. Our clan's healers will heal you. We don't have much time; you look like you are about to die."
"Indeed, time is running out," she confirmed, her crimson eyes unwavering. "This power is more immense than you can possibly imagine. Use it wisely. I do not have time to explain, I am truly sorry."
And with that, she lifted a trembling hand, her fingers brushing softly against my cheek. Before I could recoil, before I could even process the sudden, intimate contact, a wave of incandescent, searing energy slammed into me. It was not a gentle flow; it was a torrent, a tidal wave that felt like it would atomize me from the inside out. I gasped, my consciousness reeling, convinced I was about to explode.
Is she… somehow transferring her power to me? The realization was shattering. But how was such a thing possible, and what exactly was this raw, primal energy? A single, monumental thought, terrifying and awe-inspiring, eclipsed all others: Wait. Is she?…
Is she the vessel of the....Something?
She collapsed before I could think or control my fractured mind. The light vanished, and she lay still. The transaction was complete.
Before I could check for a pulse, a white-hot lance of pain shot through me, bringing me to the brink of oblivion. My protective pink cursed flames instantly turned a searing, brilliant red. Behind me, ten magnificent, shimmering red veins of blood materialized, displaying raw, unrestrained divinity. The power flowing through me was a separate, sentient universe of strength, exponentially amplifying my own cursed energy and solidifying countless new abilities within my finite vessel. I could feel the volatile chaotic nature of the Something awakening inside me. I could feel the rage, the instinct to kill, to destroy, a malevolent urge.
I had no frame of reference, no training, no idea how to contain or control this sudden, cataclysmic ascension. I felt the vicious grim appearing on my face as the manifestation took over my body and my consciousness.
I stared down at the collapsed woman, the predecessor.
"Why me?" I demanded, the question torn from my throat.
But even as I asked it, I already knew the answer. The terrible, inevitable answer.-----(Flashback)
Legend has it that the Something, in its wisdom, would cyclically select a worthy vessel from the very clan that worshiped it.
I sat, shattered, overwhelmed by a power I hadn't sought or understood. She was still, bleeding before me, her gone soul leaving a tangible, cold emptiness.
It was only me now. The weight of this burden, this legacy, was entirely mine to bear. I had to master it, or it would master—and destroy—me.
Slowly, deliberately, I pushed myself to my feet. My gaze was fixed upon the dark earth, my expression hollowed out, empty of all the dreams and ambitions that had defined me minutes before. There was nothing left but rage and hunger to kill.
I turned my back on the corpse of my predecessor and began to walk, one leaden step after the other, toward the lights of our distant village.
I knew, with a certainty that chilled me to the bone, that my life had just fundamentally, irrevocably changed.
They will begin to worship me. Treat me as their ultimate salvation, the source of their power.
My dream to take my life into my own hands and forge my own destiny had been gone.
And I will have to endure the isolation and control for hundreds of years or maybe even more.
Then, a sudden, blinding realization cut through the despair.
I have all this power now.
For myself.
I can do whatever I want with it.
I didn't have to submit to anyone's control. I didn't have to fulfill their ancient, stagnant prophecies. A precious few individuals in the entire world now possessed the power to defeat me, to stop me. Maybe, just maybe, this wasn't my imprisonment.
Maybe this was the key to my ultimate, undeniable freedom.