Chapter 50: Book of Hope, Despair, and Everything Unfair

[MEMORY FRAGMENT: 1/12]

Zayn walked deeper into the cave, each footstep sending an echo through the narrow passage. He wasn’t alone; another set of footsteps overlapped with his own, creating an uneven rhythm. The darkness made the cave difficult to navigate, especially with only a small torch illuminating the path ahead.

"Over here, Zayn!"

Teivel, his companion, called from somewhere ahead.

Keeping one hand on the wall to avoid losing his way, Zayn rounded a corner, guided by the light of Teivel’s torch.

Carefully watching his footing on the uneven ground, Zayn called back:

"What is it?"

"I think I found it... You said it was some sort of book, right?"

Zayn raised his torch and illuminated the object in Teivel’s hands.

His eyes widened.

"I can’t believe we found it, just like that old man said we would. Let’s take it outside so we can see it properly."

’Why did he want me to find this book? It’s suspicious, but after rewinding time for me, I owe him everything.’

Having traversed the cave before, Teivel and Zayn quickly resurfaced, emerging into the welcome relief of daylight.

"Ah, finally... light. That cave was draining to be in."

Teivel chuckled.

"No kidding. Now let’s see what that old coot was making such a fuss about."

Teivel held up the book for a moment before placing it on the ground.

The book bore only a cryptic symbol on its cover. Aside from it, there was no writing or decoration. For some reason, however, each page seemed unusually thick. At a glance, the book appeared to contain hundreds of pages, but there were only sixteen.

Greed flickered across Teivel’s face.

"Let’s open it..."

Teivel lifted the front cover, and dark miasma immediately spilled from between the pages, sending a chill down Zayn’s spine.

Zayn leaped backward, but tendrils of miasma lashed around his limbs and dragged him to the ground.

"What the hell?! Close the book!"

Zayn screamed at Teivel, but when he looked over, Teivel’s situation was even worse. The miasma had completely enveloped him, binding his entire body in place.

More of it crawled across the ground and coiled around Zayn.

Zayn tried to scream, but something between slimy liquid and mist poured down his throat, robbing him of his voice. Next, it took his vision, followed by the rest of his senses. With nothing left to feel, he drifted weightlessly through an endless void.

Then, a voice rang out in his head, reminiscent of the angel from the day he was summoned to the trials:

"Do you desire power?"

Its voice was calm and strangely reassuring. Hearing it filled Zayn with an overwhelming sense of trust.

It continued:

"Accept my power and use it."

"No! I don’t know what you are, but get away from me!"

Zayn tried to yell, but he couldn’t even hear his own words, leaving him uncertain whether he had produced any sound at all.

The calm voice whispered inside his head:

"Get away? Afraid I can’t. Hahahaha. Now or later, you will accept me. Whether it will be of your own volition, I do not know... Just remember, I’ll always be with you from now on... Don’t be afraid to cultivate and use my power."

The moment the voice fell silent, all of Zayn’s senses returned.

He found himself sprawled on the ground outside the cave.

Zayn quickly scrambled to his feet and searched frantically for Teivel and the book.

He spotted Teivel nearby, lying on his side and clutching his head.

"Are you okay?!"

Dark miasma seeping from between his fingers, Teivel answered groggily:

"What is this feeling?"

Zayn stared at the energy in horror.

"What have you done? Did you accept that cursed book’s power?!"

Teivel clutched his head for a few more moments before pushing himself upright. He stretched his arms and shoulders as though testing his body, then replied with unsettling calmness:

"And what if I did? We need power. Haven’t you seen how many people have died around us? If another event like that happens, we’ll just be fodder for the strong. What if storm-man comes back? We’re lucky you got the power of that sickle, but what about the rest of us... Weaklings like me need any strength we can get our hands on."

Zayn yelled:

"Does it matter if we obtain it by selling our souls to some evil force?"

Teivel held out his hand. Dark-purple miasma flickered above his palm, occasionally popping like a dying flame.

"It’s better to sell our souls to an evil entity and live than to act righteous and die a pitiful death. Besides, we don’t even know if this power is evil."

’I can’t believe this guy...’

They had opened a mysterious black leather book with a cryptic icon on the front, and an unknown entity had offered them power... yet Teivel was claiming it might not be evil?

"We must have experienced the same thing! Any being that promises power like that is almost certainly evil! Especially when its energy is dark purple!"

Teivel dismissed Zayn’s pleas with a laugh.

"Ha! You’ve watched too many shows. Don’t read too much into it. Just accept the power."

Zayn growled:

"Still! Evil or not, this book is dangerous!"

"Does it matter?"

An uncharacteristic expression settled over Teivel’s face. He turned toward the distant town, such desperate longing filling his eyes that Zayn thought he might begin to cry.

Teivel Continued:

"...I just want to live. This power could be the tool that lets me do that. I suggest you accept it too."

Teivel shrugged, looked up at the sky, and added:

"Besides, I’m sure you’ve realized it by now. Even though you rejected it, you are still a vessel for this energy. It won’t go away. I don’t know what this power will do to us, but refusing to use it could be just as foolish as using it. So, what’s your choice?"

His words were convincing.

Would it matter whether Zayn’s power was good or evil if he lay bleeding to death on the ground?

Death awaited them all eventually.

If this power could help them survive even a little longer, perhaps it was worth the risk.

Zayn contemplated the offer, then spoke slowly:

"...I still won’t use it."

Teivel smirked.

"You sound hesitant."

’This ass.’

Zayn ignored his foolish friend.

"Let’s just go back to the town. I’ll carry the book so you don’t spread this mysterious power to anyone else, and we’ll keep what happened here a secret."

Teivel sighed but nodded.

"Fine, fine. It’s a Relic, so I’m a bit sad to part ways with it. However, I’ll keep encouraging you to accept this power."

Zayn retorted:

"And I’ll keep ignoring you."

[You have acquired Divine Relic: ???]

Zayn stared at the notification before yelping in surprise:

"Divine?! No wonder you were convinced to use its power! But there are question marks! This is definitely evil!"

With that, they headed back toward the ruined town of Adsagsona.