The black sky wept. Snowflakes fell, one after another, into the red liquid spread across the ground.
Collapsed buildings. Fire burning through debris.
Cars embedded in walls, their drivers' heads crushed against the steering wheel, motionless.
Claw marks on buildings, on the ground... Not from cuts – from dissolution.
The neighborhood was in chaos, like the aftermath left by a hurricane.
A deathly silence weighed down.
In the middle of it all, a presence stood.
A child, barely seven years old, kneeling in the middle of a pool of blood and chunks of flesh that surrounded him.
In his hands, two hands: a man's and a woman's.
His eyes were filled with hatred. An ocean of hatred so seething and dense that it lost its liquid state.
Then his expression suddenly shifted to a calm, as if the surface of that ocean had been frozen by a terrible and very quiet cold.
The child's pupils disappeared, leaving only the whites of his eyes.
Then a silhouette entered his field of vision at the last moment before he collapsed to the ground, unconscious.
A duvet suddenly moved in a bedroom. Remedy woke with a start.
Cold sweat beaded on his forehead.
He was visibly unable to find sleep.
He got up but didn't turn on the light.
As if the darkness of the room was a refuge.
He stretched a bit, then dizziness struck him.
He swayed left and right before regaining his balance.
He shook his head. Accumulated fatigue?
Meanwhile, an eye stood just behind him.
But he didn't seem aware of its presence.
Or rather, it was as if the very existence of the eye seemed false?
[... HOST AWAKENING IN PROGRESS...]
Then Remedy felt his senses slip away from him. As if he were being swallowed by a deep, tenebrous darkness.
Immediately, roots appeared at his neck. Black roots.
They seemed to emerge from deep within him, as if they had always been there, dormant.
Pain mowed Remedy down.
He opened his mouth.
No sound came out.
The pain seemed to come from his very soul.
The roots developed from his neck, passing behind his nape to rise above his head, forming a crown that floated above him.
A black crown, organic, almost alive. Broken horns pointing upward. Fragments floating around.
At the center, an empty space.
Then the vertical violet eye came to lodge itself there.
It wept a black-violet liquid energy that ran through the entire crown, the branches, and Remedy's eyes.
[HOST AWAKENING COMPLETED...]
Then everything disappeared. The crown, the branches, the eye. Leaving only tattoos evoking the shapes of the roots on Remedy's neck.
He didn't understand what had just happened. For him, it had only been a moment of sensory disconnection.
Extreme fatigue overwhelmed him, then he collapsed to the floor, asleep.
An error had just been created in the perfect lines of reality.
And the world was not ready.
— — —
Daylight illuminated Remedy's room. The sun's light beams fell on his face.
He opened his eyes, his hand raised to block the light.
His room: a simple futon on the floor, a rudimentary desk, dumbbells in a corner, a jump rope, boxing gloves...
A small, spartan room.
He got up.
With an instinctive gesture, he passed his hand around his neck.
Immediately, a black interface appeared before him.
His eyes widened in surprise and incomprehension.
He blinked. The interface was still there.
As he brought his finger closer to touch it, a voice resonated within him.
A voice both familiar and foreign. Even though he couldn't have said where that familiarity came from.
Like a reading of what was displayed on the interface.
[HELLO, HOST.]
Huh? It's in my head? he wondered, shocked.
[YES, HOST.]
Who are you? And what are you doing in my head? No, wait, is it normal for there to be something in my head?
[DON'T PANIC, HOST. MY NAME IS... ELY. AND I AM YOUR GUIDE.]
Ely? Guide? You're some kind of guide-system?
[WARNING: I AM NOT A SYSTEM. I AM ELY, YOUR GUIDE. THE SYSTEM YOU SEE WAS GIVEN TO YOU IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE STANDARDS OF THIS WORLD.]
Remedy remained silent for a moment, his face becoming neutral again.
He had just confirmed it. This thing that presented itself as his guide had a plan involving him. So he didn't wait.
If something goes wrong in your plans one day, will you harm me, Ely?
[...]
Do you wish me harm?
[NO.]
But could you harm me one day, if it served your plans?
[...]
Are you my enemy?
[NO.]
Will you involve my loved ones in your plans?
[NO.]
What are your objectives?
[...]
You say I'm your host. Can I get rid of you if I want?
[NO.]
The silence hung heavy.
Remedy sighed, his face returning to its usual expression.
He stepped into the shower.
You say you're my guide. Are you going to give me powers, then?
[NO. I AM HERE TO HELP YOU UNDERSTAND AND USE YOUR OWN POWERS.]
Remedy, who was brushing his teeth, panicked. The brush rubbed too hard, the foam tinged slightly red.
Me? I have powers?
[YES.]
This was news Remedy had never hoped to hear.
What are they for? And how can I use them?
[THE HOST IS STILL TOO WEAK, AND THE OTHER CONDITIONS ARE NOT MET. THE HOST IS NOT YET READY TO ASSUME HIS POWERS... NOR HIS RESPONSIBILITIES. THE HOST'S MAIN CLASS IS THEREFORE SEALED FOR NOW.]
Remedy's eyes slid towards the interface, suspicious.
I can't use my powers and I can't grow. What can I do, in that case?
[CORRECTION: THE HOST CAN NOW GROW. ANOTHER CLASS WILL BE GIVEN TO YOU.]
Then the status interface appeared before his eyes.
═══ STAT WINDOW ═══
Name: Remedy
Lineage: Human
Tier: 0 — Ordinary Human
Level: 1
EXP: 0% (Next level)
Health: 100%
Energies:
• Mana: 100%
═══ CLASS ═══
• Main Path: Sealed
═══ SKILLS ═══
• None
═══ TALENTS ═══
• ???
═══════════════════════════
Remedy swept his gaze over the interface with a simple glance, without paying it too much attention.
There was something that already occupied his entire mind: "THE HOST CAN NOW GROW."
As if he were beside himself, he spoke no further word.
He put on his clothes as quickly as he could and rushed out, leaving just a note on the living room table.
— — —
On the road, his overly serious face displayed only one goal. He crossed the street; a car braked suddenly.
"Hey, watch the road before crossing!" the driver shouted.
But he hadn't even heard him. Phone in hand, he went to the guild's website. With all the savings he had, he reserved a dungeon.
He didn't even bother to check if his supplies were there, if his strong alcohol was.
Arriving in front of the guards, he was already presenting the guild approval.
"Alright, you can enter...?"
The guard hadn't even finished his sentence when Remedy had already entered.
"What's gotten into him today?" his colleague asked.
"Uh... How do you expect me to know? Maybe he forgot something in the dungeon."
He stopped before the rift. His breathing? Calm. Not a drop of sweat on his forehead. His fingers, as he drew his daggers, did not tremble. As if he had just taken a few steps, not run across the entire city.
He entered the dungeon and, as soon as he got in, immediately set down his bag.
With the two daggers in hand, he immediately rushed forward.
The first monster hadn't even had time to come meet him before it had already received a dagger embedded in its body.
The monsters were attacking too slowly today. Apparently.
Before the monster's body hit the ground, Remedy was already there to retrieve his dagger.
He heard the sound of experience gained.
[DING...]
But that wasn't what he was looking for.
Two other monsters flew at his sides. He spun on himself like a tornado, cutting them down with his daggers.
He was even more efficient today.
Then he threw a dagger into the air towards the monster flying above his head.
Blood spurted. The monster's body fell back onto his head as he remained frozen, motionless.
His body shone. He felt his muscles improve, as if receiving the result of months of training in a single instant.
[DING! LEVEL 1 → LEVEL 2]
He dropped to his knees.
His shoulders trembled. His free hand came to cover his eyes. When he lowered it, his eyelashes glistened, damp.
"Finally..." he murmured in a choked voice.
"Finally, I too... can grow."
The End