Chapter 117: Star Haven
Calix dread.
An endless darkness stretched before him. A space where no heartbeat or breath could be felt. He drifted through the void, surrendering himself to the flow of the vision.
Rumble.
A torrent of ashen waves surged violently around him. The particles gathered to form specific shapes, and through the gaps, a multitude of sounds ca flooding in.
Sobbing cries, resigned sighs, the murmuring of a crowd. Then, without warning, the silhouette of a woman flickered before his eyes. Her blood-soaked robes billowed as she slowly crumpled to the ground.
What followed was a man's grief-stricken, anguished scream.
AAAAAAHHHHH!!
Calix shared in the other's emotions. A stinging pain spread through his fingertips, and a cold blade scraped against stone. He cut down knights and soldiers—every living thing in his path. Banners broke and snapped, and in the end, nothing remained by his side.
At the end of it all, the man beca one with the darkness.
It was then.
[Calix.]
Without form, like a shadow—a low, cold whisper seeped into him.
It was the Draug.
[I have witnessed a human in the sa circumstances as yourself. What beca of that one in the end?]
True to its nature as a beast that commands nightmares, it had burrowed into Calix's dream.
[You are no different. You will corrupt, fall, and sink at last into shadow. You cannot linger forever between light and darkness.]
As the voice trailed off, 'his own death' unfolded before his eyes.
A jet-black blade pierced through his heart. Blood surged forth, and his core collapsed. Strength drained from his limbs and all sensation vanished.
Even so, the young man did not fall. Instead, he slowly raised both hands and gripped the sword that had run him through.
In the next mont, he wore a smile unlike any he had ever shown before. His expression was eerily serene.
The Draug's presence wavered ever so slightly.
[You…… why aren't you afraid? What you carry within you is chaos. It is the seed of conflict—a force that invites ruin.]
It was a question Calix could not answer himself. The unidentifiable emotion left behind only a faint yet distinct warmth.
But if there was one thing he knew for certain—
"Maybe so. But the possibility still lives within . Which way it will go—nothing has been decided yet."
In that instant, the ashen world collapsed. Every silhouette receded, and the sensations that had weighed down his body began to unravel.
As the dream withdrew, only a long, lingering impression remained.
It was ti to return to reality.
* * *
Calix's consciousness slowly returned. The first thing he perceived was a strange sensation in his chest. Light and darkness swirled and circled around the chaos energy at his core. They churned without fully rging or separating—two polar forces writhing as though each sought to devour the other.
One after another, as if demanding to know why he had only just woken—the Neural Accelerator's alert tones rang in his ears.
[Warning: Core is unstable.]
[Diagnosing…… Neural circuit reconstruction, 95% complete.]
[Internal mana pathway regeneration, 84% complete.]
A brief vibration spread through his entire body. Though he had not fully recovered, he soon beca aware that his physical form had risen several levels.
The sa sweeping transformation he had experienced in the mana stone mine.
His bones still ached, and pain radiated from various points along his arms and legs—but this was not a warning signal. It was a precursor to adaptation.
'This…… Is because the mana in my core has changed. I have to learn to command this power fully.'
And then, his eyes opened.
"……Calix? Calix!"
A familiar face filled his vision. Volga hurled himself forward with the frantic energy of a starved stray dog that had spotted a slab of at.
"You idiot! You were seriously about to die this ti! Do you rember anything from before? I heard you went flying like a goat had ramd into you! Are you okay now?"
"……"
"Huh? Why aren't you saying anything! Answer , I said answer !"
At the cry laced with near-screaming, the Mountain Rabbits began filing into the tent one by one.
Calix hunched his shoulders and forced a tired smile. The exaggerated fussing, oddly enough, breathed reality back into him. The Mountain Rabbits had survived.
That was what mattered.
More than anything, he felt a profound wave of relief at being able to see one man's face again.
"Calix."
"……Vice-captain."
Marik approached slowly, his entire body wrapped in bandages. He could barely move, yet his eyes were clearer and deeper than ever.
"We won, but it was a reckless fight. There is no shortage of things we must reflect on."
The two exchanged words in their own particular way.
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