VIP System

Leo and Ai materialized within the familiar walls of the guild building, the faint glow of their teleportation dissolving into the dim, flickering light of the room. The usual bustle of adventurers was eerily subdued, their lively chatter replaced by the quiet murmur of anxious whispers. The air itself seemed thicker, pressing down on Leo’s chest like a leaden weight. Every face he passed was tight with unease, their eyes darting away from his as if they were afraid to confront the truth lurking beneath the surface.

Something was off.

His eyes swept across the room, searching for Amanda. She should have been here, waiting with that half-smile she always wore, teasing him about the next big adventure. But there was no sign of her, only the uneasy faces of fellow guild members avoiding his gaze.

A knot of worry tightened in his chest, but Leo pushed it aside. He approached the quest counter, trying to keep his mind focused on routine. The line moved slowly, and as he waited his turn, he found himself glancing around the room again, hoping to catch a glimpse of Amanda or at least hear some news about her.

When he finally reached the front of the line, he handed over the completed quest documentation to the attendant, his thoughts still divided between the task at hand and the nagging feeling that something was terribly wrong.

As the attendant processed his quests, the familiar chime of the system’s interface echoed in his mind as a message box appeared before him.

Weekly quest completed!

Receive weekly quest rewards?

He tapped "Yes" without hesitation, barely registering the cascade of notifications that followed.

27,098.2 EXP received.

Congratulations! You have leveled up to Level 13.

Congratulations! You have leveled up to Level 14.

Congratulations! You have leveled up to Level 15.

5,000 gold coins received.

Achievement unlocked: Shadow's Embrace.

1 Mask of Eternal Dusk received.

The rewards appeared in his inventory, each one more enticing than the last. But the weight of the notifications couldn’t lift the gnawing dread that was settling in his gut. Something wasn’t right, and the rewards felt hollow in the face of it.

He took a step forward, his heart pounding louder with each beat. The air felt thick, like wading through fog. Elois was the first to approach, her face pale and eyes wide, as if she had seen a ghost. She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out at first, only a choked sob.

“Leo…” Her voice broke the silence like a fragile whisper, trembling on the edge of control. Her lips moved as if struggling to form the words, her eyes wide with a sorrow that cut through the air.

“Something happened…” The words came slowly, painfully, as if each one tore at her insides.

“Amanda… she… she’s gone.”

Gone. The word hung in the air, impossible to grasp. Leo’s mind raced, trying to make sense of it.

“What do you mean, gone?” His voice was strained, barely holding back the storm of emotions rising within him.

Elois shook her head, tears spilling down her cheeks. “The elves… they took her. It all happened so fast… We couldn’t—” Her voice faltered, the rest of her words lost in a flood of grief.

Leo felt the ground tilt beneath him, the world narrowing to a single point of focus: Amanda was gone. He tried to piece together what Elois was saying, but it felt like trying to catch smoke. The shock hit him in waves, each one harder than the last, until he could barely breathe.

His breath caught in his throat as Elois, her words almost incoherent through her sobs, tried to explain what had happened. "An elf took her," she managed, the words tumbling out in a desperate rush. "Everything happened so fast… she—she wanted me to tell you something, but… but then she was just gone, Leo. She was teleported away before she could finish." Elois’s voice cracked under the weight of her guilt, her tears falling faster. "I’m so sorry… I couldn’t do anything. If I was just stronger… if I was just stronger, none of this would have happened."

The world around Leo seemed to blur, the edges of his vision darkening as his breath grew ragged. Each inhale felt like a sharp stab, each exhale an unbearable weight on his chest. He tried to focus on Elois, on her words, but everything was slipping away, the sounds of the guild fading into an indistinct murmur.

Talia approached them, her face pale with concern, her lips moving as she spoke, but none of her words reached Leo. It was as if he were underwater, the world around him muffled and distant. He slowly let go of Elois, who remained frozen, her grief and guilt keeping her rooted to the spot.

But the phrase "If I was just stronger" echoed in his mind, reverberating with a haunting clarity. It crept through his thoughts, each slow beat of his heart like a tremor shaking the very foundations of his being.

His dark past, the memories he had buried so deep, clawed their way back, tearing through the fragile walls he had built. He was a child again, standing before two caskets, his hands trembling as he gripped the edges, staring down at his parents—gone, just like that. The weight of his promise to protect his younger sister, spoken with a child’s fragile conviction, twisted like a knife in his chest.

Then the memory shifted—he was older now, standing over the body of a girl whose lifeless eyes stared into nothingness. He had failed her too, just like he had failed before. The horror, the guilt, the crushing sense of powerlessness—it all came rushing back, engulfing him like a wave of cold water.

In the midst of his spiraling thoughts, he heard a voice—a familiar, serene yet sinister voice, one that sent a shiver down his spine. The words wrapping around his thoughts like a whisper in the dark.

"I can make you stronger." The voice slid into his mind like a serpent, wrapping itself around his thoughts, squeezing tighter with each word.

"Use me."

The temptation was dark, insidious, a whisper that promised everything he had ever wanted—to protect, to be strong enough, to never feel helpless again. But a part of him recoiled, knowing the cost. Could he really walk that path? Could he truly become the monster he feared, just to gain the strength to protect what was dear to him?

Yet the voice was so soothing, so easy to listen to. "You have no choice," it purred. "They will keep taking, and you will keep failing unless you accept my power."

The memories flashed before him in rapid succession, as if someone had hit fast forward on his life. The motorcycle accident, the searing pain of Silva’s punch, the gut-wrenching sight of Roxanne being taken away, and now Elois’s desperate tears, all played out in a dizzying blur. And through it all, the voice repeated, "Use me."

The temptation was there, a dark, coiling presence that beckoned him to give in, to take the power being offered and use it to right the wrongs, to protect those he cared about, to never feel helpless again. But at what cost? The question lingered, even as the darkness edged closer, threatening to consume him entirely.

Leo's heart pounded in his ears, the thrum of blood drowning out everything else. His resolve wavered, caught between the desperate need for strength and the fear of what that strength might require of him. The voice whispered again, and this time, it sounded almost like a caress, like the answer to every question, every doubt he had ever had.

"Use me," it urged, and for a moment, Leo’s vision darkened, his thoughts swirling in a maelstrom of rage, grief, and temptation. He stood on the cliff of a decision that could change everything—one that could either save or damn him.