"You want companionship?" the ancient one continued, his voice dropping lower. "That woman—Elena. The one you consider an NPC. The widow whose husband died before your eyes. Do you find her beautiful? Do you desire to comfort her... thoroughly?"
"Stop," Max said, but his voice was weak.
"Why stop? She is alone now. Vulnerable. Grieving. It would be so easy to reach into her mind, twist her sorrow into need. Make her forget Thomas and see only you. She would come to you willingly, believing it was her choice, never knowing you had corrupted her will."
The image changed. Now it showed Velara—Yuki Takahashi—in her real-world form.
"Or perhaps that one?" the ancient Soulbinder's voice was almost playful now. "The Finance Minister's daughter. Beautiful. Intelligent. Powerful in her own right. But you hold back with her, don't you? Afraid to pursue what you want. Afraid she's too far above you."
The vision showed Velara's eyes going blank, then filling with desire as she looked at Max.
"Corruption could make her yours. Completely. Utterly. She would abandon her family, her status, her future—all to be with you. And she would never know it wasn't her choice."
Another image. This one froze Max's blood.
His mother appeared. Yuki. In the real world, smiling, but in the vision, her eyes were empty, controlled.
"Or perhaps—"
"STOP!" Max's voice cracked like thunder through the void. "Don't. Don't even say it."
The ancient Soulbinder pulled back, and something like approval flickered across his weathered face. "Ah. There is your line. Your anchor. Even contemplating such power, you have limits you will not cross."
The visions vanished, leaving only darkness.
"Good," the ancient one said quietly. "That is good. It means you are not lost. Not yet."
Max was shaking, his mind reeling from what he'd just seen. "You're saying corruption can... can do that? Mind control? Making people want things they don't actually want?"
"Corruption can do anything," the ancient Soulbinder said.
"That's monstrous."
"That is power." The ancient one's voice held no judgment. "And you possess it whether you acknowledge it or not."
Max looked at his hands, trying to process this. "I don't want to control people. I don't want to take their free will."
"Then don't. But do not pretend the power doesn't exist. Do not run from your nature out of fear." The ancient Soulbinder's expression became intense.
"You asked me for guidance. Here it is: embrace what you are, but choose how you are. Corruption is not inherently evil—it is a tool. What matters is the walker's intent."
He gestured, and the void opened—not with visions this time, but with paths. Multiple routes stretching into infinite darkness, each one different.
"I have shown you what corruption can do. I have shown you the depths to which it can sink, and the heights to which it can rise. Now I leave you with a choice."
The ancient Soulbinder began to fade, his form becoming translucent.
"How do I know if I'm making the right choices?" Max asked desperately.
"You don't." The ancient one smiled sadly. "That is the burden of power. You will make mistakes. You will question yourself. You will wonder if you've gone too far. But that uncertainty? That self-doubt? That is what keeps you human. The moment you stop questioning is the moment you become what I became."
He was almost gone now, just a faint outline in the void.
"I have opened the path for you, young walker. The rest is your journey. Use your corruption wisely. Embrace your Voidborn nature. And remember—"
The last of his form faded.
"—the void does not judge. It only reflects what you choose to be."
And Max was alone in absolute darkness once more.
Then reality shifted once more.
Max gasped and stumbled backward, his hand jerking away from the orb's surface as reality snapped back into focus.
He was back. The circular chamber with its domed ceiling, the purple-black stone walls, the pedestal—all exactly as they'd been before he touched the artifact.
The orb still sat there, but now the darkness seemed to fade.
Max's hands were shaking. His breathing was unsteady. The encounter felt like it had lasted hours, but when he checked his interface, only thirty seconds had passed in the real world.
Night stood beside him, its blue flame eyes filled with concern through their bond. The shadow warrior reached out tentatively, as if asking if Max was alright.
"I'm... I don't know what I am," Max said honestly.
Then the notification appeared.
It materialized in front of him with a flash of dark energy, the text pulsing with purple-black light that matched the stone around them:
[QUEST COMPLETE: ACCEPT YOUR DARKNESS]
You have journeyed to the heart of the void and confronted the truth of your nature. The ancient founder of your path has shown you what lies within—the power you fear, the corruption you deny, the potential you refuse to embrace.
The choice was presented. The path was opened.
You have accepted the darkness.
[Reward: New Ability Unlocked]
"Wait, I accepted—" Max started, but the notification continued scrolling.
[LEGENDARY SKILL UNLOCKED]
[ABSOLUTE CORRUPTION – RANK S]
Skill Type: Ultimate Ability / Domain Creation
Cost: 300 MP
Duration: 5 minutes
Cooldown: 24 hours (real-time)
Skill Description:
Embrace the totality of your Voidborn nature and unleash corruption in its purest, most devastating form. Create a dome of absolute darkness—50 meters in radius—where reality itself bends to your corrupted will.
Effects While Active:
[Corruption Multiplier]: Your corruption generation increases by 300% (3x normal rate). All actions that generate corruption will generate triple the amount while this domain is active.
[Power Amplification]: ALL Soulbinding abilities, contracted entities, and corruption-based skills have their power increased by 500% (5x normal power).
[Domain Control]: Within the dome, you have absolute awareness of all entities. Shadows obey your will. Darkness becomes solid at your command.
[Enemy Debuff]: All enemies within the dome suffer:
-50% to all stats
Continuous corruption damage (scales with your total corruption)
Visibility reduced to 5 meters
Sanity loss (for entities with sanity meters)
WARNING:
This ability is EXTREMELY dangerous to the user. The corruption gained while active can push you toward maximum corruption (100/100). High corruption has severe consequences. Use with extreme caution.