Chapter 34 : Options

Chapter 34: Options

The rain had already halted its fall and dim moonlight painted the entire forest and the base of Pabat Mountain range in faint silver. The darkness was eerie with the mix of howls and rustle of trees and bushes around while cold winds sometimes swept across people's skin giving goosebumps. The scent of wet earth mingled with the hard stone of mountains creating an atmosphere of dread.

Possession in black stood there waiting for the target of sacrifice, mighty late Lord Jura's widow. Their faces hidden beneath deep hoods, they formed a circle around the coffin. As the oil soaked Nozomi's entire body, she remembered the face of her young daughter and her first husband who she loved dearly. Their faces swam before her eyes—memories of happier times when laughter echoed through their home. Days spent picking wildflowers with her daughter in meadows far from this cursed place. Nights wrapped in her first husband's embrace, feeling safe and loved.

Edward's heart felt heavy and he wanted to run away with Nozomi. As the eldest son and next heir to Jura state, his greatest desire was to marry his father's new wife who was older than him. But he knew what struggles he would face with a woman like Nozomi with him, so he hardened his heart and followed his mother's order silently. He tightened his grip, he was powerless in the face of his mother's command.

Lady Jura stood tall among the gathering, her wrinkled face stretched into a grim mask of determination. For her, Nozomi had always been an outsider, a beautiful young woman who had ensnared her husband's heart with witchcraft. She believed this sacrifice would cleanse their family name, restore order to a household thrown into chaos by her late husband's infatuation.

Nozomi looked up as the clergyman started to walk towards her with fire in his hands. Her eyes staring at the grand mountain of legends. The God of these lands. She had been a devotee all her life, but even when her husband died, she didn't doubt this great existence. But now, standing in the face of Death, below the mountain, she thought to herself:

You really are a terrible God. You stole my Husband, my daughter, and now you are asking for more. If this is how God feels happy, then in my dying breath I swear I would rather serve the devil than the God.

Her silent rebellion went unnoticed by those around her. The clergyman approached with measured steps, his weathered face set in solemn purpose. The torch in his hand cast dark shadows, making the gathered crowd appear more like demons than humans. Behind him the grandeur mountain of Pabat stood tall.

A strong wind passed through the crowd. The howls created by the wind itself gave chills to everyone present. The clergyman looked around, suddenly uneasy. The torch flickered wildly in the gust, nearly going out.

"What was that?" Edward asked, turning to Lady Jura. His voice cracked with tension, betraying the fear he tried so hard to conceal.

"Something—" the Clergyman was about to say something when his mouth curled into a smile. His eyes closed.

It was a sudden and bizzare event that caught everyone by surprise. There were stories and old legends of such events near the forest but it was never proven with concrete evidence.

The unnatural expression froze on Clergyman’s face, muscles rigid as though seized by an invisible force. One by one, the people around him began to display the same bizarre symptom.

Instantly, fear took place in the present crowd. Lady Jura was a brave old woman. She frowned and asked, "Saint—" before she finished her mouth curled up bizarrely and eyes closed.

"Mother—" the same thing happened to Edward.

Seeing one by one the same thing happening to everyone, people were frightened to their wits. They started to pray to God Pabat, chanting the mantras and running around. People screamed but then stopped and smiled. It's as if they have become smiling live dolls.

Nozomi narrowed her eyes. Even though everything was scary, she felt almost no emotions. She had already accepted death, whether by getting burned alive or getting involved in some incident. It doesn't matter as long as she dies. The oil on her skin felt cold now, a stark contrast to the fire she had expected. She looked at the frozen, smiling faces around her and felt a strange calm wash over her. She smiled faintly.

With deliberate movements, she untied the ropes binding her wrists, surprised at how easily they gave way. The knots seemed to unravel themselves, as though whatever force had taken hold of the crowd had weakened her bindings as well.

Nozomi started to walk slowly towards the dense forest. Common people who visited those forests never returned to tell the stories. In local customs, it was a taboo to enter the forest. Legends spoke of ancient spirits who guarded the borderlands, spirits who did not take kindly to human trespassers. But Nozomi had nothing left to lose.

Splash

The heads of each individual behind her popped one by one. They were still smiling. Blood gushing out of their severed heads. It created a blood rain on a beautiful night. The blood fell on Nozomi as her golden hair got colored with slight crimson.

The horrific scene unfolded with an eerie silence. No screams, no final gasps—just the wet sound of flesh and bone giving way to some invisible force. Bodies crumpled like puppets with cut strings, still wearing those unnatural smiles even as life left them.

Her bare foot felt muddy waters from the rain from before. Her dark clothes hide her existence from this world as she moves forward, but suddenly she stopped completely. Her mind felt confused. Her abilities to think started to disappear. It was getting harder and harder to breathe. She felt heavy in her stomach. It was like something was inside of her. She wanted to vomit; her throat felt it was stuck in between something, it was on fire. Something was taking over her existence, sucking away its life from her body.

The invisible presence sat at her insides, making home in the very core of her being. It spoke no words yet communicated clearly—it wanted her, all of her. The sensation was like drowning on dry land, pressure building in her, her body, no her existence was rejected, something veiled and corrupted but she was unable to shake it off.

Surrounded by many bodies, she fell to the ground in the muddy water near the forest. The earth seemed to pull her down, mud seeping into her clothes, weighing her further. Her vision began to fade, darkness creeping in from the edges.

As she lost consciousness, she heard faint words of some young man. Her vision saw deep blue eyes staring at her, standing tall with dark clothes. Through the haze of her fading awareness, she thought she saw a figure that seemed both human and something more—something ancient and powerful.

"Can we save all of them?" Conrad asked, his voice cutting through the silence of the massacre. He surveyed the scene with clinical detachment, taking in the headless bodies and the lone survivor at the forest's edge.

"Their Brahman has been sucked away by Pret, my lord. They are lucky the Pret is not that strong. But it is currently inside this girl's body, slowly taking control over her," Anira responded, standing beside Conrad. Her corset dress was a manifestation of the night itself as darkness trembled around her.

Conrad knelt beside Nozomi, studying her face. Despite the blood and mud, he could see she had once been beautiful. More importantly, she was still alive—a rarity among Pret victims.

"So there is a chance we can save her, right? We need some information about where we are, and it seems like she is our current choice." Conrad's eyes glowed faintly in the moonlight.

"My lord, it is not easy to survive a pret possession; if she survives, she will become an Essentia," Anira cautioned. Her voice carried the weight of ancient knowledge, wisdom accumulated through centuries.

"Let's give it a try then," Conrad looked at Anira with a slight smile. There was curiosity in his expression, the kind that had driven him every time.

"As you wish, my Lord." Anira bowed her head slightly, deferring to his judgment as she had always.

It's time for some performance.

Conrad pulled Nozomi and carried her towards a nearby tree. He sat her up against the trunk, her head lolling limply. The bark was rough against her oil-soaked clothes, but she showed no signs of discomfort.

"Anira, can we temporarily wake her up?" Conrad asked, brushing a strand of blood-soaked hair from Nozomi's face.

"Yes, my lord. I can give you two minutes," Anira stepped forward, her movements fluid and graceful despite the grim surroundings.

"That would be enough," Conrad gave Anira a nod.

Ability: Entity possession

Using Entity possession, Anira could possess any low-tier beings, but if the being has some force pushing her, she gets pushed outward. She had altered the script of the ability to just interfere with the current possession. Her essence flowed into Nozomi, creating a temporary barrier between the woman's consciousness and the Pret trying to consume it.

Nozomi felt her consciousness coming back. She opened her eyes. Standing in front of her was a young man wearing a mask that seemed alive. A mist surrounded him as if following his command. The night itself felt like accompanying only this man alone. He was a mystery in itself. To Nozomi, he felt like some kind of Devil who came out to pleasure himself in human suffering.

The mask shifted subtly with his expressions, revealing hints of a face both beautiful and terrifying. The mist curled around his fingers like loyal pets, responding to unspoken commands.

"Who…are…you?" Nozomi asked, her voice barely above a whisper. Each word felt heavy, requiring immense effort.

Conrad's lips curled up slightly, an evil smirk appeared. It was as if he had been anticipating the question. He can see every move of all the beings around him; that's how Nozomi saw him.

His presence radiated power—not the kind wielded by kings or warriors, but something more fundamental, as though he could rewrite the very rules of existence.

"I am The Observer," Conrad said in a deep voice. Before Nozomi asked anything further, he continued, his words measured and deliberate.

"This era is full of suffering; the world needs purpose. The Observer will play the game, but I need my pieces. You have two options now: you can die without a purpose in your life, or you can live for me, a Devil in disguise."

Nozomi felt she was hearing the words of the devil, but all she wanted to do was die. The prospect of serving another, even one as powerful as this mysterious figure, held no appeal. Death promised release—from pain, from obligation, from the cruelty of a god who had taken everything from her.

"I want to die," she whispered, her words carrying finality despite their softness.

"In that case..." Conrad smiled as he touched Nozomi's head with his finger.

Nozomi immediately felt her consciousness disappear, pulled back into the darkness that had nearly claimed her before. The brief respite granted by Anira's intervention faded, leaving her once again at the mercy of the Pret.

Anira came out of her mind again as a mist. "My lord, she might not survive..."

Conrad looked thoughtful, his fingers tapping against his thigh as he considered the woman's fate. "Anira, I want to do an experiment. What will happen if I inject her with my Brahman?" Conrad asked.

"..." Anira thought for a moment, then she replied, "Usually, my lord, if the Brahman of both entities are similar, then it can be transferred, but overall, Brahman remains constant, and the receiver usually felt some entropy backlash."

The concept of Brahman—the essential energy that composed all conscious beings—was complex. Transferring it was rarely attempted, and backlash was a known phenomena among experts on the field. Transferring it during the Pret possession was considered just plain stupid.

"I feel like I can inject some of my Brahman into her to help her fight against the Pret. Remember when I touched you when we first met? You said I saved you. Actually, I thought I did the same thing back then without knowing," Conrad wasn't sure, but he was willing to try.

"My lord, it's better to try new things. In the world of Essentia, only by applying and learning can one discover their true potential and abilities. So please go ahead with your plan," Anira reassured. Her confidence in Conrad was absolute—she trusted her master's judgment.

"Okay..." Conrad focused his eyes on Nozomi as he concentrated to manifest some Brahman. A small glow appeared in front of him as Conrad controlled it to push it toward Nozomi. The light was gentle yet intense, like concentrated moonlight. It hovered above his palm for a moment before snaking toward the unconscious woman.

The Brahman entered through her eye, creating ripples of light beneath her skin that traveled down to her core. For a moment, her body convulsed, fighting the foreign energy, before settling into an uneasy stillness.

"Do you think it will work?" Conrad asked, uncertainty creeping into his voice for the first time. Despite his power, this was uncharted territory for him.

"I trust you, my lord, it is not possible to survive the pret possession entirely but it will at least give her a fighting chance" Anira said with utter confidence. Her faith was not blind. To her even though Conrad was tier 0, she had noticed his brilliance in strategy and thinking.

Conrad watched Nozomi's face carefully, looking for signs of change. The struggle happening within her was invisible to normal eyes, but to Essentia like Conrad and Anira, faint auras of conflicting energies could be seen battling beneath her skin.

"Today it will be difficult to understand where we are. We don't even know if we will be able to return here. I want to explore more, but it will be morning after a few hours. Let's finish our exploration today and return home for tonight." Conrad stood, brushing dirt from his clothes with an absent gesture.

"As you wish, my lord," Anira was going to use teleportation to get back to the Genesis tree, but suddenly she had an idea.

"My lord, I also want to do some experiments." Her voice carried a rare note of excitement.

"Huh?" Conrad tilted his head in confusion. Anira rarely took initiative in such matters, preferring to follow his lead.

Anira wrote something on a piece of paper she conjured and left it with Nozomi. The parchment seemed to glow faintly in the darkness under the moonlight.

"Let's return, my lord," Anira said, her task complete.

"What did you write?" Conrad asked curiously. He respected Anira's wisdom but found himself intrigued by her sudden secretiveness.

"I will tell you once it works; it's my experiment," Anira didn't say anything further. The Actions of Anira always surprised Conrad as she had much more knowledge and experience than him. He always trusted her regarding these matters.

Secrets? Now I am more curious.

The thought brought a small smile to Conrad's lips.

After a few teleportations, they got back to the Genesis tree. The ancient tree stood silent as behind it Comere tree sometimes produced sounds of waves that ripped through the night. Necroxi plants were still digging holes and singing their tunes.

"Now what should we do? Any idea?" Conrad ran his finger through his hair, trying to think something when he heard the ethereal voice of Anira chanting.

"By mine lord's will,

A world that none should ken,

A world cloaked in nameless mist,

A world governed by The Eye,

A world yclept Arcane Veil."

Her voice resonated with power, each word carrying the weight of creation itself. The air around them began to shimmer, reality bending to the will of Anira’s words.

A dense mist started to surround them. It covered the duo. They instantly disappear from the spot and appear in a dark space without any time or sense of scale. It was eternal and infinite. A place where no one set foot forever.

The void welcomed them like old friends, its darkness comfortable rather than threatening. For beings like Conrad and Anira, this place existed beyond conventional understanding.

"We are back? Just like that?" Conrad felt surprised how easy it was. He had expected a more complicated process, perhaps a ritual or the opening of a portal. The simplicity of their return was almost anticlimactic.

"I had a feeling, my lord. After all, I am connected to this place," Anira replied to Conrad's puzzlement.

The dark space shifted around them, responding to their presence. It felt alive in a way different from the world they had just left—consciousness without form, existence without limitation.

Enough surprise for today, I feel like sleeping.

Conrad returned to his room. Anira was also there, she went to the bathroom to take a bath. The sound of the shower oddly felt comforting to Conrad's mind as he already lay down on the bed. Gray walls loomed over him, moonlight slipped through the window.

As he settled into bed, he wondered about Nozomi—whether she would survive the night, whether the Brahman he had gifted her would be enough to fend off the Pret. Something about her had caught his interest. Perhaps it was her defiance in the face of death, or perhaps it was simply that she was an anomaly—a survivor when all others had perished.

There were many things to do But for now, even The Observer needed rest.

Meanwhile, back in the forest, Nozomi's body lay still against the tree. The battle within her raged on. In her unconscious state, Nozomi dreamed of blue eyes and a masked figure offering her a choice. Die without purpose or live for the devil.