When he was in the library of the temple, as soon as the black book revealed phrases as it floated in front of his eyes, while a tornado of strange symbols glowing dark and sinister surrounded Kara like a tornado.
[System Notification: Black Book Detected.]
[Magical Signature: Unknown.]
[Danger Level: High.]
[User Linkage: Pending.]
"Darkness…" a gentle feminine voice was heard.
"Who are you?" Kara asked.
[System Analysis: Vocal Signature Detected — Non-Physical Entity.]
[Emotional Impact: Calm & Manipulative.]
He looked at his surroundings, and he knew this was not the same place as the library of the temple anymore. It was a new and different world, a world encased with darkness and magic.
[System Observation: Spatial Transition Detected.]
[Environment: Dark, Magical, Hostile.]
[Area Level: Unknown.]
When Kara was about to grab the black book, it suddenly dodged and floated a few meters away.
"Seriously, if this book is a girl, she must be pretty annoying." Kara said.
"That's because I am a girl." The gentle feminine voice replied in his mind.
[System Update: Entity Identity Confirmed — Female.]
[Location: Inside Black Book.]
[Mental Link Established: Partial.]
Kara's pupils darted around. He kept looking at all directions, but he could not sense anyone.
"Stop looking around, fufu. I'm here inside the book."
Kara could not feel more stupid than this. This was totally ridiculous! But his face had to admit as he looked at the book with hostile eyes that the voice indeed seemed to be coming from there.
With his eyebrows furrowed, he looked at it.
A voice inside a book? It was indeed not impossible. Although it was not something that was really known to many or experienced, there were stories like this.
It might be that they were cursed or sealed.
One point too was that the current knowledge people have is not the be-all and end-all of the realm.
"I'm glad you don't ask too many questions. I like you."
"Who are you? What do you want of me?" Kara asked the book.
[System Advisory: Interaction with Sentient Artifact.]
[Emotional Stability: Recommended to Maintain.]
But then, the book suddenly manifested an even denser block of shadow nimbus, as though it was a dry ice evaporating to the air at a fast rate, making the book seemingly disappear in a few moments.
Then, the feminine voice replied in his mind, "I am sorry, but I sense that you have business to do first. Be ready for combat. But you could do it. More importantly, our minds are already linked, so we're going to be together now, fufufu. So if you want to learn more about that, let us meet again in a very dark and silent space…"
[System Update: Mind Link Established — User: Kara.]
Companion Entity: Active.]
[Access Level: Limited.]
After that, Kara heard no response. He watched the book turn to less and less amount of shadows until it disappeared.
"I'm going to wait for you." The feminine voice added in a childish tone one last time in his mind.
[System Notification: Companion Entity Standby Mode — Active.]
[Emotional Synchronization: Pending.]
Kara's crimson eyes stared blankly that time, unable to comprehend what just happened.
"KwAK!"
Kara and Chris were moving at a great pace. Inside the big caves underground, they met goblins on the way. The path they chose was a goblin's lair. And since these monsters were not really powerful, and clearly they stood way more superior than them, their pace went undisturbed.
[System Alert: Hostile Entities Detected — Goblins.]
[Level: Low.]
[Recommended Action: Minimal Force.]
"Dark Javelin."
Chris generated a big needle of shadows in his hands from time to time, and used it as javelins to destroy the goblins as soon as they went near them. To be honest, he was even using more power than necessary.
[System Assessment: Skill Efficiency — Chris.]
[Excess Power Used: Minor.]
[Energy Consumption: Moderate.]
But with Kara and Chris' real powers, they did not really have the luxury to choose from a weak arsenal of skills.
"Shadow Flame."
A ball of black flames shot out of Kara's hands, and it silently zipped through a goblin's chest, and left an agape hole. The shadow flame went past through the goblin easily and killed more.
[System Combat Log: Kara Skill Used — Shadow Flame.]
[Target Neutralized: Goblin Horde.]
[Efficiency: Maximum.]
This was followed by more "shadow flames" killing all the goblins as they all started to run away in fear. Yet Kara and Chris kept easily darting away their magic attacks as if they were merely playing "lazy darts" targeting all the targets with great speed and accuracy.
[System Combat Advisory: Precision Targeting — Optimal.
[Movement Efficiency — High.]
[Risk Assessment: Minimal.]
As they moved forward, all the goblins, one after another, simultaneously, turned to particles of light before they all disappeared. For a moment, it made the place look like a lair of fairy dust.
[System Analysis: Hostiles Eliminated — Transformation Confirmed.]
[Magic Residue: Low.]
After a few moments, they finally arrived at the exit. They jumped through a big hole where they could see the stars and the moon hanging brightly in the sky like an ocean of jewels.
[System Observation: Surface Area Detected.]
[Environmental Scan — Nighttime, Clear Sky.]
[Visibility: Optimal.]
They leaped and went out of the hole, landing atop footholds, and finally arrived at the surface.
Rustle.
They stepped on the grass and heard the rustling sound. When they looked around, it felt like the world just expanded and broadened.
[System Environmental Scan: Flora — Sparse & Dry.]
[Terrain Stability — Moderate.]
[Magic Saturation — Low.]
Kara swallowed smoothly, and had to admit the surface felt really different than the enchanted village down below. He felt the fresh wind blowing from the distance, ruffling the air, and the sound of cicadas ringing from all directions.
A cute warm smile blossomed on Chris's childlike face.
It was currently nighttime. If a normal person was here, they would not see anything. But it was fine for them.
Chris felt really amazed at the sight…but after looking around, he saw how it was still different.
Kara stepped on the ground, and could feel and see that the ground was thick, and had a lot of cracks. There was clearly no water here, and the plants that had grown were all brown and dry. There were hardly any trees around too, and all of them had hardly two or three leaves.
[System Terrain Analysis: Soil Fertility — Zero.]
[Flora Viability — Critical.]
[Water Sources — Absent.]
The two boys found themselves staring at the full moon shining down the sky, gleaming down a broken castle and capital of the Zephyr Kingdom, located a thousand meters away from them. Faint glows of light came from the remnants of the buildings that could be seen beyond the destroyed walls.
Bump!
Chris jumped to the top of a large boulder and gazed at the land's night scenery.
The fields were not tilled, and the plants were not even growing healthy. Everything was just full of wild grasses, some long, big, small, but all of them were brown and dry.
Chris expressed his remorse in his face. That was right. This "place" was not their destination. It should be something filled with color and vibrancy. If he had to describe the place now compared to the shadow clan's territory, it was like looking at brown instead of black.
[System Environmental Status: Post-War Ruins. Structural Integrity: Low. Magic Saturation: Depleted.]
"Where are you going now?" Chris asked. His gaze remained fixed on the broken-down kingdom.
"You really grieve for this devastated place." Kara said, as he shot a glance at Chris standing on the boulder for a moment.
The boy didn't say anything. Kara followed his gaze and looked at the broken kingdom too but he just stared.
"I had once lived in that place when I was still a child, even younger than you. I have to say this place is not the same anymore."
Kara remembered how the people and the scenery were always vibrant and lively. Compared to now, most people in the Capital had died and that was only going to increase. The economy had died out, and the military had abandoned the citizens. Plague and poverty were looming everywhere along with all kinds of diseases.
[System Historical Scan: Zephyr Capital — Decline Confirmed.
[Population Mortality Rate — Extreme.]
[Economic Activity — Null.]
The Zephyr Capital was not the same place anymore. It hasn't been for decades. It changed. Even the landscape had changed. He had visited the kingdom at close proximity many times. Everywhere was a pile of rubble. The castle was dropping debris every time. People were dying of hunger and disease. It was like a city in the apocalypse.
The land in this place had also turned infertile. Healthy water could not exist naturally here for many generations. It was due to all the effects of magic battles.
[System Environmental Analysis: Long-Term Magic Damage — Severe. Habitability Index — Near Zero.]
'This place is as good as gone…' Kara coldly said inwardly, before looking at the direction of the north again. Then he explained his plans, "The Southern Continent is a great mess right now. There are too many wars here. But our current location is near the border crossing to another Continent. That's where I am going, the main continent."
[System Navigation Log: Destination Set — Main Continent.]
[Route Viability: Moderate.]
[Risk Level: High.]
Just then, Chris leapt from the border and landed near Kara. The younger boy's head rose, and he said to Kara, "I would not go with you anymore."
Kara just stared to the north as he replied;
"I see."
[System Analysis: Companion Status — Voluntary Departure.]
[Morale: Neutral.]
[Decision Impact — Minor.]
Chris was a smart kid for his age. He stood above shoulders among his peers, and even the adults of the clan. His physical coordination was top-notch and his great aptitude with the shadow magic allowed him to enter the ranks of the second main force.
Thus, he must have a plan.