The apartment's quiet was more stifling than ever.
He felt suffocated, as if the walls were closing in on his mind. He was haunted and tormented by the image of his adoptive mother's simple grave, the lifeless eyes of the villagers after Beleth's brutality, and the Necrofear's aura of death. Grief, rage, and a fear surrounded him all at once.
He was Beleth's target, and the people he loved, especially Sophia, could become the next victims in this hunt. He had tried to hide this from Sophia, not wanting to burden her further with worry and pain. The secret weighed heavily on his chest. He felt he couldn't breathe, collapsing under a weight he was trying to bear alone.
That night, as the city of Aerion fell into a weary sleep after days of reconstruction, Henry couldn't close his eyes. He sat alone in the dark living room. He needed an answer, a way out of the emotional turmoil and the threats that surrounded him.
His hand unconsciously went to his right shoulder. The tattoo of the Sanctuary Enclave, the symbol of their restored connection, was silently there. It was a reminder of the responsibility and the secret he carried.
He closed his eyes, focusing all his will and the warm flow of aether in his body towards that sacred mark. A familiar feeling, a gentle, subtle vibration, spread from his right shoulder, through his chest, and into his soul. He knew that Will, an Enclave member in need, had felt his call. The spiritual domain, with its mystical, colorful streams of light, appeared before Henry. Will's warm, white aura then materialized.
"Welcome back, Henry," Will's spiritual voice resonated in the vast space, holding a rare seriousness. "I feel a profound turmoil in your soul. What has happened to you?"
Henry didn't hesitate, telling him everything he had bottled up over the past few days: his discovery of the serial murders, the culprit's brutality, and the tragic truth of his adoptive mother's death at Beleth's hands.
He also expressed his fear that Beleth was targeting him, specifically his special Mystic Sense, and would stop at nothing to achieve his goal. Will listened to every word, his white light pulsating with a deep concern. The silence was suffocating. Finally, Will spoke, each word resonating with authority in the spiritual domain.
"You are not mistaken. Beleth is close to Aerion, perhaps he has been hiding in the city's shadows, waiting to strike. His target is you, or more precisely, the Mystic Sense you possess, one of the most forbidden and dangerous powers in Tehra."
"Why is my ability so special?" Henry asked, his spiritual voice filled with confusion. " Why would a being like Beleth go to so much trouble, not hesitating to commit countless atrocities, just to hunt me down? It's not just some kind of sixth sense, is it?"
"If Mystic Sense were that simple," Will's thought resonated, "the world of Tehra would not have witnessed so many disasters just because of its existence". Will's white light shifted slightly, and the colorful light ribbons around him seemed to pause, as if listening. "Its origin is not from Tehra, Henry. In ancient, an omnipotent entity from outside this world, perhaps out of curiosity, or maybe as a malicious joke, sowed three seeds of aether into this young land. Three forbidden gifts that should not have existed."
"The first seed," Will said, his voice lowering, "was 'Resurrection', the power to defy death. But Tehra's natural laws would not accept this reversal. They interfered, twisting and warping the ability...".
Henry's blood ran cold. A single, disgusting word he had once heard flashed in his mind. "Necromancy...?" he whispered to Will.
"Correct," Will confirmed. "The pure magic of Resurrection degenerated into a repulsive spell. It could no longer bring souls back whole, but only create soulless puppets that had lost the warmth of pure life, leaving only walking corpses. That is the ancient origin of that cursed magic".
Henry gritted his teeth. He remembered his comrades in Unit 18, who had been turned into such creatures. The rage rose again.
"The second seed," Will continued, not letting Henry sink too deep into his grief, "was 'Creation,' one of 'The Three Sovereign Arts' - the ability to create entirely new creatures at will. But that power broke the balance too much, so it was almost completely erased by the laws of Tehra".
"But... Beleth..." Henry immediately countered, the images of the deformed, patchwork monsters he had created flashing in his mind. "The Primal Undead and... the Frenzied Bastard...".
"That is the proof," Will's thought was heavy. "Through heretical research, inhumane crossbreeding, or dark forbidden arts, some have managed to partially recreate that ability. And Beleth, by creating creatures like the Primal Undead and the Frenzied Bastard, is the clearest proof that he has grasped a part of this forbidden Creation magic."
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Henry fell silent, trying to process the shocking information. Beleth had touched two of the three forbidden powers. So what about the last seed?
"And finally," Will's voice became more serious than ever, "was the strongest seed... 'Invulnerable'".
"Invulnerable?" Henry frowned. "But my Mystic Sense is only a perception...".
"Because Tehra does not allow any perfect entity to exist," Will explained. "That power, in its perfection, was eroded and degenerated by this world, leaving only Mystic Sense as you know it today, the ability to perceive aether flows, killing intent, and emotions...".
Will paused, his white light seeming to look directly into Henry, planting a final truth in it, a truth that was both hope and a burden. "However, it is not unchangeable. It can still evolve. Based on the owner's power and will, it can once again approach its initial, perfect, invincible form. You have faced the Dark Reaper, felt its power and the despair of fighting it. But history has recorded another creature that possessed an ability far beyond what that Undead ever showed."
Will paused, as if to give Henry time to prepare for the name that was about to be mentioned, a name that carried the terror of an entire era.
"That was the Dragon King, Dracologia."
Even just a name in the spiritual domain carried a weight so immense it made the space around Henry freeze. The legend of Dracologia, of the great cataclysm in the Fourth Epoch that almost wiped out all life in Tehra, was a supreme terror ingrained in the consciousness of every sentient being in this world.
Will seemed to feel the shock in Henry's mind. "Yes, the Dragon King Dracologia, who was called the Supreme Tyrant Dragon, also possessed a form of Mystic Sense that had evolved to the extreme. That ability made him almost immortal, unable to be harmed by any magic or weapon of other races, except for one thing: the damage caused by his own kind, other dragons".
A heavy silence enveloped the spiritual domain. After remembering the historical records of Tehra's disasters, Henry finally spoke. "Is that why he massacred his own race?"
"Yes," Will's thought was filled with the deep sadness of someone who had witnessed too many tragedies. "In order to achieve absolute immortality, to eliminate his only weakness, Dracologia launched a bloody purge. He destroyed all the other dragons, from the majestic ancient dragons to even the eggs that hadn't hatched yet. He wanted to ensure that no one in this world could ever threaten his eternal rule".
Henry seemed to understand the reason behind Dracologia's end. In the historical records of Tehra, the leader of the Guardians performed a ritual, bathing in the blood of millions of fallen dragons. From there, he turned himself into a true dragon to defeat Dracologia.
Before, the records said he did it to increase his power. But Now, after learning from Will, Henry understood it was a sacrifice to save Tehra. Will's story, though calm, still sent a shiver of fear through Henry. The power of Mystic Sense, when pushed to its limits and wielded by a brutal individual, could cause horrifying disasters.
Henry's mind was reeling from these shocking secrets. Mystic Sense, Necromancy, the art of creating life... all these abilities, which seemed unrelated, even contradictory, had the same origin. They were all "forbidden gifts" from an entity outside this world, an entity that held the power of a god of creation, or maybe a devil.
"So Beleth," he tried to piece together all the information he had just learned, a unsettling truth beginning to form in his mind, "he wants my Mystic Sense... to combine all three of these forbidden powers? To become an existence like that ancient entity, one who can challenge even the gods?"
"That is his ambition," Will confirmed, his white light pulsating like a stern warning. "Beleth believes that if he can seize all three power seeds, he will become a supreme, invincible entity, surpassing the limits of even the Demigods and able to challenge the Trinities who hold Tehra's fate. Your Mystic Sense is the final piece, the most important key he is missing to complete his plan for world domination".
Now Henry truly understood the dangerousness of the situation. He was not just facing a Necrofear, a commander of a large Undead army, but a person with an ambition to dominate the world, a person who was trying to recreate the extraordinary power of an ancient entity.
"What can I do?"
he asked with the spirit of a soldier trying to find a real solution to this difficult problem. "How can I face someone who holds two of the three forbidden powers, when I have only just begun to discover the true potential of my Mystic Sense? How can I hide my ability from his ruthless hunt?"
Will's light pulsed with a complex, contemplative pattern. "Mystic Sense, once it has awakened and reached a level of sensitivity like yours, is almost impossible to hide from someone with a special connection to its origin, like Beleth. He may not be able to pinpoint your exact location immediately if you don't reveal your ability. But he can feel its presence within a certain range, like a predator smelling its prey from a great distance."
Will continued with more certainty in his spiritual voice: "The most effective advice I can give you in this critical time is to stay within Aerion. Here, you have the protection of the Sanctuary Enclave. At least you will be much safer than facing him alone in the wild, unpopulated lands."
Henry pondered Will's every word. "Protection"... He didn't know what that meant, magic barriers, ancient divine artifacts, or the presence of Demigods. But when Will said it, Henry knew for sure that he had made his own arrangements and calculations to protect him, at least for a certain amount of time.
"Thank you for your valuable guidance, Will. I understand now." Henry said, though his heart was still heavy with worry and countless unanswered questions.
He knew the war with Beleth would be a long, dangerous one that might cost him dearly. But he had no way back. He had to become stronger, he had to learn to control and develop his Mystic Sense as quickly as possible.
Not just to protect himself, but to avenge his adoptive mother, the kind woman who had sacrificed her life for him. And most importantly, to protect Sophia, his friends, and his remaining comrades from the claws of the monster Beleth.
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