Elian didn't need long to decide.
The answer was clear. He had to find another Relic now.
If he didn't gather more before returning to the Citadel, he'd be weaker than he needed to be. Weaker than he could afford to be. He would regret it.
And yes, maybe it was greedy… but wasn't it normal to be greedy when the chance to change your entire life was right in front of you?
He waited for a few more minutes, staying still in the corner until he felt his Aether Pool stir again and growing fuller. When it reached 10, he stood up slowly and turned toward the exit.
As he passed the throne-like chair, he hesitated. A strange feeling stirred in his chest. He didn't know what it meant.
"I'll see you again later."
Sword in hand, Elian stepped outside.
He had abilities now, just like the writing had told him. He could activate them by focusing, by reaching inward. The instinct to do so was already there.
He peered past the door.
The ruins were silent, the ground thick with ash and the wind still. Seeing nothing around, he crept forward with cautious steps.
After a few steps he felt it..A subtle pull from somewhere ahead. It was like a whisper in his chest. A faint vibration in the core of his soul.
His head turned toward the sensation automatically. That had to be it. His Relic-sensing ability had activated on its own.
He moved toward the direction where the pull came from.
The ruin ahead looked empty at first just broken pillars and collapsed stone. But the closer he got, the stronger the feeling grew.
There was something buried there. A presence beneath the rubble.
Elian crouched low, his posture quiet and moving carefully. He closed in on the exact location and scanned the debris.
It wasn't obvious at first. Just a mound of dark stone and ash. But when he brushed his hand against it, his heart jolted.
This was it.
With quiet urgency, he began digging with his bare hands. Dust clung to his fingers.
The blackened stone scraped against his palms. But he kept going until something sharp and cool slid beneath his touch.
He pulled it free from the ash.
It was a dagger. Sleek and elegant. Made of black metal with a smooth edge that shimmered like a mirror. No ornate decorations or symbols. Just clean lethal design. It reflected the red sky above with eerie clarity.
Elian focused on it.
Just like before, the ember-red writing bloomed in his vision, casting faint warmth into his mind.
=====
Name: Mirror Fang.
Grade: Lesser Relic.
Status: Dormant.
Type: Weapon Relic.
Description: A refined blade forged from an unknown fragment. Its surface mirrors the intent of the one holding it.
Effects:
– Slightly enhances agility when drawn.
Abilities:
-Aether Pierce: Ignore normal armor defense, or armor-type Relic defense with lower or the same Grade.
=====
Elian nodded, satisfied.
This Relic wasn't powerful in the grand sense, but it was sharp and precise—perfect for someone like him.
This Mirror Fang would definitely give him an edge in a real fight. Combined with Sleeping Ember's ability to move into the shadow, it gave him more versatility and options.
In this realm more options meant survival.
He crouched low again, the crimson sky overhead still unmoving. The night was far from over. Maybe he had time for one more.
So he pressed forward.
There was no pull this time. No whisper of another Relic nearby. Minutes passed. Ash crunched beneath his steps, ruins loomed in silence. A hint of anxiety crept into his chest, followed by the familiar sting of disappointment.
"Maybe that was all I'd get for now…"
Then he heard it. A shout of panicked that was located not far.
Elian moved instantly, staying low, slipping between broken walls and shattered stone.
He reached a half-collapsed section of the ruins and peered through a gap in the wall.
A boy was fighting.
He couldn't have been more than a couple years younger than Elian—skinny, desperate, covered in ash and bruises.
In front of him loomed a towering armored figure, just like the one Elian had seen before.
Its body was thick with rusted metal plates, its helmet fused to its skull, and in its hands was a massive broken greatsword trailing ash with every swing.
"Was it the same one from before?"
He couldn't be sure. But it didn't matter.
The boy was cornered against a cracked pillar, his back scraping stone as he tried to stay upright.
His weapon—a cheap training blade by the looks of it—was already broken in half.
The monster stepped forward slowly, deliberately, like it was savoring the moment before the kill.
Then the boy shouted with desperation, "I got a Relic! I'm supposed to be strong!"
Elian flinched.
"So even he thought that was enough."
But what he was seeing only confirmed Elian's earlier thoughts.
Getting a Relic didn't mean you were strong enough to survive this place. Not by itself.
Elian stayed hidden and watched. He didn't move to help.
"If I do, I'll just die too. I can't waste what I've gained for someone I don't know."
But the boy didn't give up.
With a shout, he charged. His arm stretched forward, his veins pulsing unnaturally, and from his palm emerged a slithering length of wet crimson flesh.
It twisted and curled unnaturally in the air, then unfolded into a massive gaping maw filled with teeth like jagged knives.
It lunged and bit into the towering monster's chest.
Elian's eyes widened.
"That's… a good Relic."
The fleshy mouth tore through the armor like paper, biting deep.
The monster staggered. Half its torso ripped open, its left arm gone entirely.
But it wasn't enough.
The monstrous maw collapsed suddenly, dissolving into sparks of Aether.
The boy froze. His strength gone, or maybe his Aether spent.
The towering monster didn't hesitate.
It raised its arm that still held the sword and swung.
The blade cleaved through the boy's neck in one swing.
Elian stayed still, watching as the boy's body collapsed to the ground.
The monster stood there, its hollow helm staring down as if trying to understand what had just happened.
Then it slowly began to move again, dragging its broken weapon and scanning the ruins for more prey.
Elian clenched his jaw.
"So that's how it is."
Even a powerful Relic meant nothing if you didn't have the Aether, the control, or the timing to use it.
The monster looks limped as if hurting. A thought flashed inside Elian's mind.
"Maybe I can kill it right now that it has become weak."
—