Chaos 2

The pride of every dwarf is his crafting skill; they won't stop showing off their might in this aspect and that is exactly what Rak, the dwarf who handcrafted this sword, is doing at the moment.

"Amazing, right? Those three active skills were tough to piece together, especially the last of the three passive skills. I doubt any dwarf around would be able to achieve this feat," Rak said proudly.

Arthur wasn't concerned with all the details. Any sword in his hands is already a destructive weapon, but he couldn't help but give the dwarf a mental thumbs up.

"Here, kid," Roman threw something over to Arthur once Rak was done ranting about the great sword and its skills.

He was a bit surprised, though. That sword weighed a ton, but Arthur lifted it like it was nothing. With his strength, he still had to put in a considerable effort.

Arthur caught what he threw over, and to his surprise, it was a ring, Roman's heirloom to be precise.

"That belongs to mother, but I believe it's now yours. Don't fail me, kid," he added.

Arthur held the ring in his hand, admiring the intricate design and the glint of the gemstones. It was clear that this was a precious heirloom, and he could feel the weight of responsibility that came with it.

But aside from that, he could feel a familiar yet distinctive resonance within himself, like his being is reacting to the energy within the ring.

Roman nodded, and he could see the curiosity and seriousness in Arthur's eyes.

He knew that this young man would do everything in his power to keep his promise.

Aria threw over an object, too. Just like Roman's, it was an intricate-looking bracelet.

But unlike the ring, there was no resonance from within Arthur towards it, which further increased Arthur's curiosity towards the ring.

He was still focused on the ring, observing it when he heard the sound of flesh piercing along with a muffled groan.

At the same time, his eyes widened as if they were going to fall out of their sockets.

Though he could most possibly tell what had just happened from the obvious evidence, he still raised his head to check and was stunned.

Roman and Aroa had both ended their lives with their own hands.

Their blood was flowing through the intricate carvings made on the platform, changing the soft glowing light into red.

The blood slowly trailed and filled all the markings as it made its way to the crystal at the center of the platform.

Arthur watched all this with an empty and emotionless face, the gloominess in the air thickening as everyone watched the bodies of their two leaders grow cold.

Instead, his attention was on something else, something he was more worried about.

His gaze was on his status panel, and at the same time, he was struggling to remain conscious.

His death essence points, which were originally 9846 after the battle with slicer, had shot up all of a sudden.

And just like last time, he was about to lose control again.

Arthur's mind raced as he tried to understand what was happening. He hadn't done anything related to this like the last time when he had to empower Luke. But his death essence points had shot up, and he could feel his consciousness slipping away.

He could feel this euphoric feeling urging him to give in and let the power consume him.

But he resisted, using all of his strength to fight against the darkness.

He knew that if he gave in, he would become a monster, and there would be no going back. There was no Elena to bring him back as last time.

While around Arthur, Rak, who had been standing beside him, drew back feeling the surge of power emanating from Arthur's body.

The twelve leaders creased their brows, especially Varg, who had begun ordering everyone to leave immediately.

The great sword in Arthur's hands was resonating with the surge of power within Arthur.

Pulsing with an icy glow, a bone-chill cold spread from it.

Arthur felt the coldness spreading through his body, numbing him and making it difficult to think clearly. He could feel his mind slipping away and the urge growing stronger; it was as if the sword wanted him to go on a rampage.

Arthur, struggling, turned to Varg and the leaders left in the hall as he spoke, "Run." His voice was more of a growl than words, and his blue eyes gave off a mysterious glow, resonating with the icy glow of the sword.

Refusing to give up, he forced himself to think of the people he loved - his sister, Elena, as those two had become an icon in his cold heart.

He thought of all the things he still wanted to do, and finally, he was able to suppress the urge a bit, albeit just for a while.

This little break brought his attention to something else he hadn't noticed in his panel:

User: Arthur Relzar

Race: Mortal Decay

Death Energy: 100/100

Death Essence: 25484

Evolution Possible: Yes/No

It was written at the bottom in tiny words, but it was clear.

The sight of the words "evolution possible" gave Arthur a ray of hope. Could he use this power to change himself, to become something that could resist the dark urges that were threatening to consume him? Could he end up having control over this power after this evolution? He hated the fact of not being in control of his fate; it had been bothering him.

He knew it was a long shot, but it was the only chance he had.

With that thought in mind, he gathered all his strength and willed himself to begin the evolution. His body began to glow a dark, blood-red hue, with a dense, ominous cloud of darkness, and the coldness of the sword seemed to intensify.

His figure was soon consumed by this glow, becoming like a cocoon pulsing with immense power.

The cocoon slowly began to contract, growing smaller until it became as small as a ping pong ball.

Arthur's mind was a blur of colors and shapes, swirling around him like a tornado. He could feel himself being pulled apart and put back together, piece by piece.

The process was terrifying; that torturing and tormenting feeling of dying over and over again showed up, and this time it was more intensified.

He had no idea of the passage of time as time seemed not to exist in this state.

Finally, the swirling stopped, and everything went black. For a moment, Arthur knew this wasn't the end; just then he felt a strange sensation of being pulled forward, like he was moving through space and time.

And with it came an even stronger pain mentally and otherwise.

While all this was going on inside, the ping pong-sized energy glow was undergoing a drastic change.

The color of the energy glow was becoming black so deep it was nearly indescribable, while pulsating inky blackness aura.

At that moment, the sword floating alongside the orb, encased in the energy glow, gave out a piercing humming sound like a whinny engine roaring to life.

And with it came a burst of dark icy blue beam that shot into the sky above.

Immediately, that beam hit the cloud, lighting up the sky to an extent it could be seen from miles away.

A pair of eyes shot open within a very dark space, darker than the night sky itself.

These eyes were also dark, but they seemed to have a darkness that defied the darkness around them.

They had a questioning and curious look, with glints flashing through them when all of a sudden a twisted, cruel smile could be felt from the owner of these eyes.

A smile that would send chills down the bones of anyone who sees it.

At another place, a figure with a well-built body frame, long, falling dark hair, dressed in ancient royal fashion clothing.

He sat on a throne made of bones, carrying a great sword having a skull on its guard and intricate but ancient making on its blade.

An ominous air surrounded this figure as he sat still like a statue, but all of a sudden, his eyes shot open, revealing deep purple pupils.

His gaze focused on the horizon, after which his lips arced into a wicked grin.

The chaos going on wasn't just happening in unknown places because currently at a secret lab of Morphis, there was a state of emergency.

The scientists working for Morphis on a secret project were all panicking.

On a containment energy field, two objects could be seen floating, giving off the same ominous energy and humming sound, threatening to break through the containment.

One of these objects is a ring very similar to that Roman had given to Arthur while the other was a sword.

The very sword Arthur had used to battle the Slicer, the one he stole from under the nose of the other leaders.

When he saw that sword then, he felt an energy he was familiar with, the energy he sensed from the sword is almost identical to the one he felt from the ring he got long ago.

And having tested the powers of the ring, he couldn't let go of the sword, hence the reason he stole it and now was researching the connection between them.

The scientists gathered around the containment field, frantically trying to keep the objects inside from escaping. But it was no use - the objects were too powerful, and they were breaking through the energy barrier.

One of the scientists turned to the others, panic evident in his voice. "What are we going to do? If those things get out there is no telling what level of destruction they would cause."

Another scientist spoke up, her voice trembling. "We can shut down the system too. If we can't contain them, we are left with one choice and that's to get him down here."

Just as she said that, a figure rushed in, it was none other than Morphis. To his utmost surprise, he was astounded by the sight before him.

News had just reached him about an unusual occurrence going off in a desert area outside the living settlements known.

He rushed over to grab the ring, and most like the sword but was shocked silly with the sight he found both items.

Morphis stood frozen in shock, unable to comprehend what he was seeing. The two objects - the ring and the sword - were pulsating with energy, but it wasn't just any energy. It was the same energy that had been detected in the heart of the Aterix storm. The same energy that had caused so much chaos.

He had to do something, but what? If he tried to take the objects, he could be harmed by the energy. And if he left them alone, they could continue to grow in power and pose an even greater threat. He was at a loss, unsure of what to do.

Thinking it through for a long time, he made a desperate decision especially when he thought of what the others would say if what they all fear had to come from him.

Bracing him and coating his body with his solar energy, he drew closer to the containment force field.

Ordering the scientists to open the energy field once his is within an arm's length, with each step he took, he expended more energy to renew the solar energy on his body as they were continuously burnt away by the ominous dark energy.

The scientists hesitated, knowing that this was a dangerous idea. But they had no other options, and they knew that Morphis was determined to do whatever it took to stop the objects. So, with a heavy heart, they followed his orders and opened the energy field.

Morphis was immediately hit by a blast of energy, and he felt himself being sucked in towards the objects. He struggled to resist, but the pull was too strong.

Giving up on resisting, he let go of himself to be pulled and with a quick motion, swiped the ring when he got close.

He closed his eyes expecting the worst but instead something unexpected happened.

The energy from the ring which was similar to that of the sword but distinctively different began to wrap around his body, encasing him, going into every open pore of his body, his orifices and any inlet it could find.

Morphis's painful scream filled the air, spooking the scientists as they ran away from the lab as Morphis cried like one been ripped apart from within.