Smile whilst dying

It took a while for the crowd inside the temple to react. It was only when Hex reached the monolith did they explode.

"Excellent kid. That's the spirit."

"Don't be foolish."

"Haha…he thinks he is special."

The reaction of the crowd was a mixture of encouragement, worry and ridicule. There were also some who remained calm.

"The boy sure has guts." In the corner of the temple sat a group of hooded figures. The person in the middle of their little group whispered appreciatively.

The priestess watched with a deep frown. She shook her head and sighed.

"Priestess, shouldn't we stop him?" An old temple clerk stood behind the priestess and whispered. The old man grew agitated when he saw the priestess shake her head.

"Priestess, please. Once he was one of us. He is using an impure crystal. It will cost his life."

He tried to persuade the priestess, but received a cold stare in reply. He helplessly bowed his head and retreated.

The baron was the only person whose reaction remained unchanged. Nothing seemed to affect him.

Hex gritted his teeth when he noticed the baron's expression. 'You still consider me not worthy of this path isn't?'

He grabbed the beast crystal and moved his hands above the monolith.

"Hex, wait."

The priestess, who seemed to have been in deep thought, finally made her mind up and shouted. But it was already too late.

The crystal in Hex' hand barely touched the monolith when the stone seemed to have gone berserk.

Whoosh!

The stone produced a blinding light, engulfing Hex within. The crowd reeled back in shock. The light was so intense, they couldn't even look at it.

Most used their hands to close their eyes.

The hooded figures lowered their hoods.

The priestess turned her head and closed her eyes.

The baron…he looked into the light. His expression remained the same. Only his grip on the hilt of his sword tightened. But no one saw all this.

…

'Aaahhhh!'

Hex screamed in pain. The light was too intense. It would burn him into ashes.

'It's not melting. It just fused.'

No one had noticed, but Hex was too close to miss it. The crystals of the others had melted and gradually been sucked by the monolith.

His crystal however, didn't melt. It had fused. And somehow that released a higher concentration of energy.

Hex started to freak out. He knew if things remained the same, he would burn to ashes. The energy started to enter his body. His innards were on fire.

'What the fuck! Is this how I die?'

Hex cursed the heavens. The beast crystal he considered a blessing, would cause him to die. At this point Hex regretted not selling the crystal and tried to save for next year.

'This is what I get when I let my anger get the best of me.'

Hex had stepped forward out of his will to prove himself to the baron. He didn't want to give that bastard the satisfaction of seeing Hex cower.

"Grrr."

Hex barely withstood the sensation of being burned when he heard a menacing growl. Shocked, he looked at the source of it.

'Where did this guy come from?'

Hex already felt hopeless, but at the sight of the monstrosity in front of him, despair kicked in. Suddenly it moved.

The bear-shaped black phantom pounced towards Hex. It swung its massive paws at Hex. Despite the pain Hex dodged.

Sss!

The movement created a sizzling noise. It was the sound of his hide baking. The pain was beyond anything Hex experienced ever.

"You fucker. You think I will let you have your revenge?"

Strangely, the fight invigorated Hex' will. There was more pain. But he felt less despair.

The phantom didn't hesitate. It turned and swung again. It was the only move it had. But it was fast. Too fast.

Hex dodged left. He dodged right.

Bam!

Yet he couldn't dodge all of it. The phantom seemed to rotate its upper body without turning. It could attack 360 degrees.

"Urgh."

Hex suffered the full brunt of the punch. He vomited blood. He could barely stand. The phantom jumped once again. Hex felt time slow down. He saw the phantom come at him.

But it wasn't time that had slowed down. It was his heart beat that accelerated. The will to survive kicked above anything else.

"You think I will die alone?"

Hex started to laugh loudly. The paw hit him squarely in the chest, piercing it. But Hex didn't scream. He grabbed the phantom and clinged to it. He used all his limbs to grab the phantom.

"Let's go out with a bang, buddy!"

Hex stopped resisting the energy. He let it flow freely into him. The stream into him widened.

Hex was in agony!

He was being burnt alive.

But he didn't let go nor resist. Neither did he close his eyes. He wanted to live as long as he could.

The phantom growled. But somehow it couldn't free itself from Hex. Starting from its paw, pierced in Hex' chest, it was being swallowed. No matter how it struggled, it couldn't get away. It was something it couldn't resist.

Hex' vision blurred. His heart beat slowed. His consciousness was slipping away.

Boom!

'Wh…'

Boom!

'Argh.'

Boom!

A loud vibration occurred inside Hex' chest. Something inside awakened. He tried to feel it. But he was on the verge of collapsing.

Hex couldn't see it, but on the inside his heart was glowing brightly. In fact, the fleshy surface melted, under which a crystalline surface appeared. And it was vibrating.

Swish!

With each vibration a swirl appeared on top of the crystal heart. Each swirl gathered a stream of energy and entered the heart.

The pain subsided. His body relaxed. Hex felt better with each heartbeat.

…

The people in the temple were shocked by the energy released by the monolith. They had never experienced something similar.

The heat coming from the monolith was uncomfortable, but people persisted. They wished to see the event to the end. It might never occur again.

After some time they felt the heat subside. The energy was reducing, disappearing completely after some time.

"Finally."

"What the heck was that?"

"That idiot wanted to die badly."

People shouted in relief. As soon as the light flash disappeared, they turned to look at the monolith.

The monolith glistened in the morning light. The gazes of the crowd however remained stuck on the person leaning weakly onto it.

The person gasped for breath. It seemed even a gust of wind would floor him. His body seemed charred and smelled like burnt meat.

Hex pulled his right arm up. It was slow and weak. But no one laughed. They were too stunned by the glaring, blood red mark on the back of his hand.

"Hehe."