Chapter 13 - Corruption

A heavy weight settled in his chest as Erik left the dimly lit room. Meeting Emma had stirred something within him—empathy, a shared pain of betrayal by people who were supposed to care for them.

Just a few minutes ago, before he entered that room, his mind had been engulfed with fury and thoughts of revenge, showing how even seven years later, he still couldn't shake the echoes of his own past as the scars of Edda's betrayal and deception where still etched into his memory.

The haunting atmosphere in that room lingered in his thoughts. The eerie energy that came off those walls had seemed to seep inside him even in those few moments he was in there; he couldn't fathom how Emma had endured for who knew how long without losing her mind.

Then again, perhaps she had lost her mind. It's not like Erik had had a real conversation with the girl.

Thinking about this caused a surge of anger to flare within him, directed at the one responsible for Emma's torment—Emily. The thought that a sister could inflict such treatment on her own flesh and blood ignited a fiery resolve inside him.

A resolve to protect Emma and ensure she found some solace after her years of anguish.

After all, when Edda betrayed him, he had Elora to help pick up the pieces, so perhaps he could do the same thing for Emma.

Besides, when growing up, he had always lamented the fact he didn't have a younger sibling to care for, but since birth rates among shapeshifters were generally lower than that of humans, he never had the opportunity.

That said, his parents gave their best efforts to fulfil his wish, often to Erik's chagrin, as his room had been right next to that of his parents.

Regardless, perhaps he could care for Emma in such a way.

Of course, not entirely in the same way, as he didn't want to exclude the possibility of moving their relationship to a more intimate place. After all, Emma was pretty, and despite Erik's feelings of empathy towards the girl, he was a lustful man and not above moving their relationship in such a direction.

He knew Elora wouldn't care. As long as she remained his one and only Empress, he could have as many women as he liked, especially because Elora would get to have fun with them, too.

Shaking himself free of these thoughts, he knew that, regardless of how his relationship with Emma developed in the future or what her personality was like, he would attempt to be her shield against the darkness. 

He might not be able to erase the scars of her past, but he hoped to be a promise of a future less bleak.

He looked up to see Elora still sitting on an empty-eyed Emily's head as she looked at him with playful curiosity, having felt the many emotions surging through Erik's mind through their bond.

As Erik looked at Emily, he felt fury bubble up again as he suddenly charged at her with a balled-up fist.

Elora just giggled mischievously as she quickly flew up and pretended surprise, "Oh my."

Reaching Emily, he punched her heavily in her stomach as she slid back and hit the wall, where she crumbled down to the floor, but without ever losing the empty look in her eyes.

Erik still panted a little with anger, but seeing Emily's glassy eyes remain the same quickly made him lose interest in continuing, something Elora also reminded him of.

She flew back to Erik and sat herself down on his right shoulder with a chuckle. "I expected you to be angry, but you know you're just beating up an empty doll, right? I have her mind completely locked down; she doesn't even feel it."

He turned his head and looked at Elora, a little annoyed at her indifference towards Emma but used to it by now. He also realised that he probably wouldn't care that much either if it wasn't for his own past.

Even before, he didn't know why Elora thought Emma would die if he just stormed off, and he only cared just enough to take a few moments out of his day and make sure a young innocent wouldn't die needlessly for his revenge.

But now, he felt an empathy he wouldn't usually feel for just another of the many sob stories that existed in the universe, partly because of his past and partly because it was much harder not to care about something so pitiful when it happened right in front of him. 

However, there was this weird feeling in the back of his skull that made him think there was a little more going on.

Were these feelings really only because of his past and proximity?

Deciding to think about this later, he growled and answered Elora, "So give her back her body for a moment. I want to have a conversation with the bitch."

Elora shrugged, "I can do that if you like, but I'm not sure if you could really consider it any different."

Erik looked at Elora with confusion, "How do you mean?"

In response, Elora rolled her eyes at him. She knew he wasn't an idiot, but he sometimes made her feel like he was by letting his emotions overwhelm his critical thinking.

Luckily, she was there to remind him about the importance of thinking things through, "Come on, my love. You know this. Think! Her behaviour, the aetherium infusion sigil in that room, the dark, oppressive feeling you felt there.

I told you she tried to enslave you, right? How do you think she tried to do that? You have all the clues right in front of you."

After Elora mentioned all these things in a row, Erik suddenly realised she was right. How did he not see this before? Sure, these things were rare, but he still should have thought of it.

After all, there weren't many affinities with the power to enslave, but darkness certainly was one of them, and the creepy atmosphere in that room was another clear indicator of Emily's affinity.

He sighed as he looked at Elora with love, "What would I do without you, Elora?"

Elora giggled as she returned his gaze, "I'm sure you'd be fine. Plenty of people out there are living fulfilling lives with only their idiot strength to guide them."

This time, it was Erik's turn to roll his eyes with a bit of annoyance, "You just can't help but make a joke when I'm trying to compliment you, can you?"

Seeing him like this, Elora pouted, flew up, enlarged herself and hugged Erik while looking up at him with big puppy eyes, "I'm sorry, my love! I'm happy to be with you, too!"

A suggestive glint entered her eyes as she smirked a little and continued, "Maybe you can punish me again later?"

Erik sighed as he hugged her back; he could never stay mad at her for long, especially when she used her unfair combination of cuteness and suggestive playfulness.

He redirected his attention to Emily, who was once again standing straight while remaining lifeless like a doll, as the fury in his eyes had been mostly replaced with pity, "So… darkness corruption, huh? I wonder what she used to be like before aetherium came to Earth."

Many affinities had the ability to affect their user's minds, some in a more profound manner than others, especially so for the rarer and more powerful affinities. 

This effect was called corruption, which sounded worse than it really was, as most elements only had a minimum effect on people, and with many of them, the changes were more positive than negative.

For example, while Erik's lightning could increase his recklessness, it could also make him more resilient, adventurous, and energetic.

Unfortunately for Emily, darkness had more negative than positive effects. While it could make her more adaptive and resilient, for the most part, darkness corruption had the nasty habit of twisting positive emotions into something unrecognisable.

Elora let go of Erik and turned back into her smaller self before taking her place on Erik's shoulder again while swinging her legs, "Yep! It's truly rare to see someone like her."

Erik nodded. On Söl, he had only ever heard about such people but never actually met one. Usually, those with darkness affinity, or, really, any rare and powerful affinity, would either be old and powerful or young and heavily protected by their family or teacher.

Neither were people he would have easily met during his time as a mere low-level mercenary. Although Elora supposedly met a few people with rare affinities when she still lived as the beloved daughter of a powerful Obsidian Enclave elder.

A life she gave up when she decided to make her own future together with Erik instead.

He turned his head towards Elora, deciding to inquire about the memories she had seen, "So what was she like before? And how did she end up this way? I know that darkness corruption isn't a sure thing, even for those with that affinity."