A shimmering screen materialized in the air before him, hovering in the space between him and the mirror.
[Dark Constituent Stability: 50%]
Elio staggered, almost falling back. He stared at the golden text, his heart beginning to race all over again.
"What do you want from me?" he suddenly yelled. "What are you?!"
The screen suddenly changed.
A new window unfurled, the text scrolling at the speed of light.
[User has finally acknowledged the system.]
[This is your Bi-Vessel System.]
'It can hear me?' Elio was shocked.
[The Bi-Vessel System: A regulatory interface designed and given to user, Elio Ravina, to maintain the dark beast and the light beast the user is bonded to.]
"Dark beast and light beast…" Elio whispered, his face scrunched as he tried to make sense of the new knowledge. "What are you saying?"
[You are bonded to an Abyssal Wyrmling (the dark beast) and a Bloat Lizard (the light beast).]
[The Abyssal Wyrmling is a dark beast you were bound to since birth. This beast differs from normal beasts you may know. It is a carrier of dark mana and only breeds with dark mana.]
[Dark Mana: This mana is contrary to the normal mana or light mana. While light mana supports life and anything living, dark mana opposes. It represents death.]
Elio's face suddenly became pale. His fingers began twitching and his breathing slowly failed.
'I'm bound to a beast that represents death.' The thought made his stomach churn.
'That is why I killed them? That is why I've been seeing and hearing those… the darkness? This is the reason I killed my parents?! Then those men…'
His face contorted with red anger. "You're lying! Impossible!" He suddenly yelled, but when he thought again, it seemed plausible. "Why me? Why the curse?!" He yelled again, but his voice lacked power.
[It wasn't your choice. The beast was bound to you by the Dark Entity. It was given the moment your mother had you in her womb, and that ultimately makes you the vessel of darkness.]
[But the system was specifically designed for this. In order to prevent the Dark Entity from succeeding with its objective, the system was created to ensure the darkness serves the user, rather than consuming the world.]
"Serve me?! Why would I want death to serve me? Why would… Consume the world?" Elio's voice began cracking, his head struggling to comprehend words too much for his age.
[Unfortunately, this is the only choice you have, user. If you fail to tame the darkness and allow it to corrupt and take control over you, your world will be doomed. The Dark Entity will succeed and this very world will be plagued by darkness.]
"Is that what happened to me yesterday? The moving shadows… was it the beast? Did I kill those men?" His voice broke again. He was desperately hoping for a positive answer.
[That was exactly what happened, but fortunately, your body was too weak to function properly. You collapsed before you could do any damage.]
That didn't even seem like good news to him. He didn't feel any better.
The system had clearly stated he escaped luckily. If his body was strong enough, what would have happened?
And it even hurt more that he couldn't remember anything after the darkness started.
"This Dark Entity, what does it want from me? What is this Dark Entity?!" The words escaped him before he could stop it, his eyes glistening with agonizing liquid.
[The Dark Entity is the ruler of darkness, and it only wants its darkness to consume everything. I'm sorry, but I can't provide more details.]
Elio grabbed his chest, the tears finally flowing without restraint.
Even though the system hadn't brought another stability message, he knew something was stirring in his chest. He knew the darkness was pulling him again.
The system was definitely making sense. So far, all it said seemed plausible and correlated with all he had been experiencing.
But something wasn't clear.
"Then tell me… I know what this Dark Entity wants, but what do you want? Why are you here, and who brought you here?"
[The creator is irrelevant to current survival parameters, but I can tell you that your Bloat Lizard was given this uniqueness by the Light Entity, the creator of the system. I can't provide more details.]
[Now, the system wants balance. If your Dark Constituent grows without a counterweight, you, the vessel, will shatter.]
[Total corruption will lead to the emergence of the untamed dark beast, and the world's death will become imminent.]
Elio began chuckling until it broke into a painful sob. "I should be the one taming a stupid lizard and the beast that wants to kill us all?"
"How is that even possible?" he asked aloud, his voice cracking. "How do I fight something that is too powerful and lives in me?"
[This is why the system is here. You're not just the vessel of darkness. You're also a vessel of light. Your Bloat Lizard is rather a blessing in disguise. Taming both beasts will put an end to your misery, and eventually the world's.]
[Now, we need to focus on your growth.]
The golden text vanished, replaced by a sudden, violent flash of white that burned his retinas.
Brighter words with brilliant calligraphy that hurt to look appeared on the screen, and the very words Elio read made his breath cease.
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*Ding!* *Ding!* *Ding!*
[New Quest: Fortify your Bloat Lizard.]
[Objective: To maintain the vessel and regulate the user's Dark Constituent, the Light Constituent must be fortified.]
[Quest Goal: Your Bloat Lizard must consume the essence of 500 Swamp Flies.]
[First reward: Immediate leveling to Middle Iron Rank.]
[Second reward: +1 new System Feature.]
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