Wrath's Power and Curse

Drew's hands pressed against the white skin of Kull that was exposed from his wounds with desperation.

"Heartbeat... Please let there be a heartbeat!" He prayed out loud as he focused all of his attention on the Half-Giant's wrist.

A dull and faint beating could be felt throughout Kull but it seemed to be getting slower.

"Fuck,"

"He said he had healing potions on him, right?" He said with a false sense of hope.

He fumbled through his clothes in an attempt to find something to help him and only found 2 vials of regular healing potions.

Drew fumbled with the bottle and fed it to Kull as quickly as he could. The red liquid disappeared into the scarred mouth of Kull and his wounds seemed to clear slightly but he was still in dire straights.

'What the hell happened, System?!'

[After activating the skill [Leyline Rampage] the Host's anger became unbearable, causing your mind to lose rationallity]

[You attacked Kull with a combination of the following skills [Dark Hand], [Assassination], [Mana Reaper], [Mana Burn], and [Time Magic Mastery]. You used Dark Hand to slice him in the back with the dagger which triggered Assassination and the Mana Series skills. After he noticed your mental state he attempted to subdue you, leading to a deadly battle. Your Dagger caused his wounds to not be healed quickly by his potions and he became incredibly injured. You used [Acceleration] to increase your speed while using your boosted magical power to cause your body to speed up with Time Magic]

[The host is also injured but none of his injuries are deadly as Kull was hitting non-vital spots to prevent injuring the host seriously]

"FUCK!" He screamed as the System berated him with its mechanical voice.

[The User successfully negated the spell that was attempting to target you and Kull. The spells in question were called [Greater Modify Memory] and [False Phrophet]. They are both Divination magic mixed with a trace of Transcendent magic called 'Fate Magic'. The time element disturbance was caused by a skill known as [Clock of Death] which manipulates time so that the user can view the death of a creature]

Drew beat his fists into the ground over and over again until they began to bleed and he could feel his bones cracking.

"FUCK, FUCK, FUCK, FUCK!!!" He screamed on repeat as the weight of everything kicked in.

His energy began to grow out of control for a few minutes as an aura of mana covered his being. The dirt that was flung up by his flying fists wildly went back and forth as if being manipulated by time.

Drew stared at Kull's dying body with guilt and anger at himself that couldn't be expressed in words.

But as he was almost lost to the creeping insanity that was making itself known to him, the aura of time around him began to grow and affect the things around him.

Not much changed other than Kull. His wounds began rapidly healing and growing worse in the span of seconds.

"NO!!!" Drew screamed as the body neared death only to be brought back to health. It was almost like torture, sending a person on a repeat trip to death's door.

'System, make it heal him!' He commanded.

[...]

[The system lacks the proper-]

"DO IT!" He screamed.

[...]

[The System Can't]

"DO!"

"IT!"

He screamed as he pounded his knees with his fists as a new kind of wrath began to fill his mind and take hold of him. His Wrath was now dedicated to destroying himself for his sin. Only if... he could right this wrong would his mind escape unscathed, and even then the chance was slim.

[Using Ultimate Analysis, Data Collection, and Data Compilation...]

[The time particles are rapidly changing with the User's emotions]

[...]

[Kull is under the effect of Void Tooth. Ending effect]

Tears dripped down Drew's face as he heard the System try and help his impossible situation.

[Activating [Focus] in an attempt to control emotions to control particle manipulation...]

He felt his body lose control of itself as the cool calm took over him and the System begin to attempt to manipulate time to do his bidding, yet his feelings remained as the System took over his body.

[Failed Attempt...]

[Failed Attempt...]

[Failed Attempt...]

...

The system rang out hundreds of times in a row as time magic was just beyond reach. Each passing second led Drew's mind deeper into the path of insanity and the dings of the System felt like hammers striking his very soul.

[...]

The System suddenly stopped its attempts and remained silent for a few seconds in which Drew became more and more berserk, but was stopped from doing anything rash by the System controlling his body.

[The Host's Soul will become irreversibly damaged if The being known as Kull Dies...]

[The Host will become unsavable at that point...]

[Emergency Action Required]

[Emergency Solution Found]

The words of the system went from cold and mechanical to all mighty and powerful as it seemed to calculate the very threads of reality.

Drew felt a massive increase in the System's control over him as he found himself unable to do anything the System wouldn't allow him to do without serious concentration.

[Only solution is evolving the System to tier 2 or in other words, increasing it to level 6]

[Requirment for Evolution is the sacrifice of a Saint-tiered item]

[The highest rarity item that the Host possesses is [Void Tooth] at masterwork level which is two levels below saint]

[Massive sacrifice is required to make up for this gap]

[Will the host allow the System to take full control of your body and mind for this action? Control will be returned to the host after all actions are finished]

The system almost shouted these words out and Drew was about to accept them without hesitation before a strange chiming noise diverted his attention.

[SYSTEM HELP TEAM'S WARNING: Full System Control is dangerous! Only Accept your System's offer if you trust it fully!]

The words wore different than the system's and it was almost as if it was a different entity altogether.

[WARNING CONT.: Help team may not arrive in time for your soul to be saved if the System in question is malicious. Use at your own risk!]

'Malicious System?' Drew thought weakly as the anger still threatened to collapse his rationality.

[The System Help Team is correct, Host. The Peasant's System is not currently [CORRUPTED] but please be wary of any signs of future corruption]

[But this promise cannot fully be trusted for a [CORRUPTED] system would say the same thing to get you to accept]

[Trust your instincts]

[The System will not try and sway you]

The two entities seemed to be affirming each other, but the System itself blatantly warned Drew about itself and the possibility of its corruption.

Drew: "..."

Drew felt like this information was outside his expectation but he gritted his teeth as he came up with a conclusion.

"I can't afford to lose him! If he dies... Then I will truly be a monster, just like my parents," He said with regret and guilt.

[Please confirm]

[Yes] [No]

"Yes," He muttered as he felt his mind and soul being forcibly shunted out of his own body.

All was dark.

---

Outside of the forsaken tunnels beneath the city of Nickten, an invisible wave of energy travels through space at breakneck speed.

From the now unconscious Drew to the northern tip of The Kingdom of The Sea, the energy traveled in a matter of moments.

It passed by thousands of islands surrounded by a sea that shined like sapphires but disregarded these beautiful sights without a second of hesitation.

Cities and towns were just a blur as it moved to a darker and choppier sea than that of The Gallant Sea, to a sea where the air was frigid and the water ice cold.

The sky in this frozen sea was dark and ominous but there was no malice in this darkness, it was just the nature of this place. Though if a human were to see this place they would surely be overwhelmed with fear at the sight of this icy blue hellscape.

However, this was a place not many humans had been to and survived to tell the tale. The only one to record his findings of this place was the one who named this place after the innate fear this place brought to him and his sailor's hearts.

'Hell is filled with Fire and Sin and is feared by all, but if men were asked what the opposite of the Underworld was they would surely say the realm of the gods,'

'This may be true to some... but if you faced this sea that I have come to know well... You would find it to be a place both equal and opposite of Hell,'

'While Hell may burn a sinners soul and fill them with eternal pain, this place will freeze their souls and show them the true meaning of despair,'

'They are both places of suffering... but each is vastly different from the other. One of ice and the other of fire. One of blatant torture and the other of subtle isolation and dread,'

'You may be stuck with hellfire day in and day out but rest at ease that you have not suffered what I have in this frigid sea,'

'Those who come to this place that I can only call The Sea of Frigid Decay will first be met with the frigid air that tears at your body and claws at your mind,'

'Then comes Isolation. You may look at all sides of the sea and find not another vessel traveling for weeks on end, you will come to find that you are alone and that brings to your mind that if you are to perish in this frozen sea, not a soul will know your fate except those that have succumbed to the relief of death here,'

'After the isolation sets, you will be assaulted with unending hunger and thirst. You may try to fish to help your diminishing rations, but from hours to weeks you will come to realize that no creatures besides you follow these place's currents,'

'Finally comes true despair. Your bodies will become exhausted and malnourished, your minds will become dull and hopeless, and your soul will come to peace that this sea will be its last resting place. You will find that you don't have the strength or supplies to retreat from this frozen prison and you will know why I call this place The Sea of Frigid Decay,'

'It whittles you down to the bone. The voyage through this place cannot be described as a journey through the sea, but instead can only be known as an eternal battle of attrition. It is as if I was fighting against the current of a raging river that would eventually lead to the depths of hell, a futile battle that batters and beats your body and mind to a bloody pulp until you finally give in to its relentless grasp,'

'None have lived long enough to tell the world of this place... But I made it through to the lands beyond this frozen hell,'

'And all I can say... is that it wasn't worth it,'

'Stay away from The Sea of Frigid Decay unless you seek a fate worse than death,'

'I was prepared and my men were experienced, but only lady luck was what decided my fate in the end and it isn't likely that she will show you the same favor as she did me,'

'Sincerely, Borus Lock, Friend of Spirits and Grand Scholar of The Kingdom of Thunder,'

The scholar suffered many hardships and only made it across the sea after a great deal of sacrifice and the help of a healthy dose of luck. But traveling the Sea changed his soul forever...

The energy traveled across this Sea of Decay with ease and it approached the land that lay beyond it.

It soared across a land filled with mountains and ice, a land that seldom sees the likes of humans and the other races of Lyre.

From the heights of the sky, this land looked like a crooked spine of an impossible large beast that was thrown to the ground without a second thought, creating the strangely placed mountains that pierced through the clouds above.

It is not home to the loved but instead home to the forsaken.

No greenery could be seen among the steep valleys and ridges that lined this cracked and crooked place. And the beasts that stalked the mountains at night had teeth sharper than steel and hide tougher than rock.

It was not a place meant to be called home but instead, a place meant to make people suffer.

It is Improst, Land of The Cursed Giants.

And this energy soared towards a strange village in the heart of Improst with no hesitation.

It was nearing the end of its journey as it finally began to slow down...