Victory

A young teenager entered a massive clearing adorned in thick-plated armour and a large claymore.

Darkness was emanating from his body. Like wisps of steam rising.

His eyes were cold and focused.

[Clear Mind]

With his attribute ready, he ignored all the mutterings in his ear. This was not the time for distraction. 

He could see the beast resting on the ceiling in a web. Unaware of the intruder.

Inhale 

Exhale

The darkness from his body travelled down to his sword. Coating the edge of the blade in deep black.

'Dark Slash'

A wide arc of darkness travelled from his blade towards the ceiling. 

The arc was much larger and stronger compared to his first fight. It was a testament to his increased reserves and skill.

The solidified amalgamation of darkness cut through the air swiftly and met the spider's body.

The slash cut through the armour of the beast. It was not large or strong enough to bisect the beast fully. Creating a deep gash on its torso.

Aldric followed through with 3 more slashes as fast as he could. Aiming for the back and head of the spider. 

"SCREEE"

The beast was severely injured and rabidly tried to counterattack. 

It fell to the ground and charged a jet of silk to kill the attacker.

The jet was the size of Aldric's head and would pulverise his body if it landed.

Aldric swiftly dodged the attack with ease and pushed forward to finish it off.

In a sprint, he directed darkness to his palm in the shape of a ball. Given the increase in sprites he accumulated, the ball was twice the size of his head. It also allowed him more control of the darkness after leaving his body.

'Compress'

He compressed the ball as much as he could.

It was now the size of a golf ball.

While still being attacked and dodging, he threw the condensed orb towards the front mouth of the beast.

'Black Sun'

The concentration of the abyss travelled towards the beast slowly like a spirit.

"BOOM"

An explosion of darkness erupted from the body of the beast. Completely broken, chunks of the spider were sent flying across the space.

Green blood splattered everywhere.

[You have slain an Awakened Demon, Queen Spinner.]

[You have gained a Memory.]

Aldric didn't pay any attention to the runes and focused on the large stone statue in the room. 

Now seeing it for a second time, its beauty still outstanded him. 

He noticed something he didn't see last time. A layer of bones littered the floor in a circle around the statue.

"MURMUR"

"MURMUR"

The sounds were getting louder as he stayed in the statue's presence.

Yes, it was the statue.

Aldric was certain that the statue was the trigger for his flaw.

[Insight] warned him of the rank and class of the beast. Signalling it was a higher rank than the Queen Spinner.

The more he looked at it, the more it felt it was staring back at him.

It was as if it was beckoning him closer. Closer to take a glimpse at its divine visage.

Aldric took no chance and stayed where he was. He could remember the statue had an enthralling effect when he was close to it. Feeling it for the first time in conjunction with his flaw was what caused his debilitating mental state during first fight.

"It's time for some payback" Aldric spoke coldly.

With five consecutive dark slashes, all aimed at the stone statue. The stone figure shattered into pieces. Bits and pieces refused to break as if it there was actual flesh connecting the stone.

After being attacked, the fallen monster would not take this lying down. It sent a stone appendage from the back of the statue at blinding speeds towards the attacker.

Noticing the attack, Aldric dashed towards the stone arm and pressed forward.

'Dark Blade'

Aldric sent a fully charged slash that took 30 percent of his reserves from a closer distance, nearly depleting his reserves. 

Finally, the stone statue was completely shattered.

[You have slain a Fallen Demon, Stone Mimic.]

[You have received a Memory.]

What happened next shocked Aldric.

Where he was just aiming, an ebony statue stood still. Made of a glossy reflective marble-like material, the statue was in the same pose as before with its hand reaching forward. 

As if attempting to touch someone.

The beauty of it shocked Aldric. As if its previous rendition was just a cheap copy. 

Unconsciously, Aldric got close to the statue one step at a time until he was right in front of it. 

[Insight] was acting up. 

The thing about his most trusted attribute was that it was not just a danger-sense ability. It was described as being able to guide him "with the subtle sense of the unseen".

This was one of those times. 

Aldric did not even think. He just did as his instincts told him to do unconsciously.

Reaching towards the offered hand of the statue, Aldric gripped it firmly.

It was very cold to the touch.

The statue resonated with the darkness inside of Aldric. As if it could feel something familiar. Something it was longing for.

So Aldric let go.

Pouring out all the darkness he had available inside of him, Aldric channelled it through his body into the statue. 

Nothing seemed to change as he did so.

10 seconds passed.

At the 20th second, just as Aldric was about to completely run out of energy, the statue broke apart into specks of darkness.

Floating in the air like little pockets of space.

It was a beautiful sight to witness.

The specks coalesced into a small shape. Like a black hole attracting all the darkness. It spiraled into a small shape and burst towards Aldric.

Having no time to react, the black shape metaphysically entered his chest.

[You have received a Memory]

Just as he heard the voice, Aldric's body exploded in a world of pain and agony.

**********

Thank you for reading once again.

I've been getting a lot of engagement in the comments of my last few chapters so thank you very much. It feels good that my story can be a source of discussion. 

A lot of talk about where he is. Perhaps the next few chapters will shed some light on that.

As for timeline-related stuff, don't worry too much.

I read a comment about having a system for memories and such. Thanks to greenman for the suggestion. I will make a random number generator for it. I won't show the numbers in the story itself but maybe in the author's note if you are curious. Let me know.

See you next time.