The ride back to the Valencrest Estate was much longer. Malthus had discovered a Cain unconscious around the execution arena. The soldiers were ordered by Malthus to prepare for departure right away, instead of the plan to stay the night at the capital.
Cain woke up in the carriage. He was alone.
The journey to the capital was much different.
He had his ideals. He had willpower. He had hope for the future.
Now?
He was alone.
Nothing truly affected him anymore.
His eyes should have hurt from not blinking. His mouth must have felt dry.
He didn't notice.
He just sat there for hours, until the moon was sky high and it was time to set camp.
He didn't eat. He just went into his tent and sat there.
This was the first day that Cain did not train since he had awoken.
The soldiers knew something was wrong, but nobody really managed to talk to him. To be exact, he didn't respond.
Malthus poked his head through the tent.
"You must be hungry."
Cain looked at him.
His eyes were no longer sapphire. They were more of a faded blue now. The shine of a jewel was no longer visible.
He stared at his face for a minute, then responded-
"...No."
"Well, I won't force you to eat, but I'll leave a plate out just incase."
Two hours passed.
His stomach gurgled. That's what woke Cain up from his daze.
He was hungry. Yet, he didn't feel like eating.
He came out of the tent, looking for the plate of food he was promised.
A bowl of cold soup lay near the once lively campfire. Now it was just a small flame. One which could be blown out any second.
*Sluuurp*
He ate.
Some tears fell in the soup.
But he ate.
A knight showing such a pathetic side would be laughed at. It was good that nobody could see him.
He ate till his stomach allowed him to. It had been a long day.
Right...
It had been a long day.
The need to vomit appeared when he thought of all that happened.
He stepped off the path, hand over his mouth.
Yet nothing came out.
He just looked at how green the grass was.
Cain sat there, looking down. He could have thought about what he could have done differently.
But he didn't.
It wouldn't matter what he thought now. The dead won't come back. Nothing felt real.
A soft crunch.
Footsteps.
Malthus sat next to him.
"The guys brought some good liquor from the capital. Care to share a glass with me?"
"...No."
"I guess I'll just drink alone then."
He sat by Cain, a glass in his hand.
How do you comfort someone whose pain you don't understand?
Malthus didn't know.
He just sat there.
They didn't speak. But he was there.
The fire burned low.
The night grew colder.
And still—
he didn't move.
(One Week Later)
Elias sat on his chair with a look of worry.
"He's getting worse..."
"…I didn't… I didn't mean for this..."
Cain has locked himself in his room and has been staying here since he has returned. He even ignored the Duke's summons.
No food. No training.
The room smelled faintly of stale food.
Untouched plates lined the corner.
Servants hesitated to talk to him, afraid he might get angry.
They simply left food in his room, hoping he won't starve himself.
|You have assumed control|
With what little time he got, Elias stuffed his mouth with bread and gulped water quickly to force it down.
"mmf—… damn it…"
|Insufficient mana|
|You have lost control|
Sometimes, he would try to choke himself out.
|Using Partial Control|
"W-Why is he so s-strong?!"
It was taking everything out of Elias just to make Cain live.
Something had to be done.
Now.
...
"There has to be something I can do..."
"Since I cannot talk to him directly, I'll leave notes for him."
"If we can just start communicating, maybe I can help him."
|You have assumed control|
Fifteen seconds.
That's all the time Elias gets before Cain takes back the reins.
Thankfully, a quill and a book rested beside the bed.
"Alright... What to write... Ah! This should work..."
"Wait NO, NOT YET!"
|Insufficient mana|
|You have lost control|
Elias blacked out, as he usually did once he lost control.
Cain opened his eyes. A note was in front of him. A quill in his hands. He had obviously been writing it. But he didn't remember ever doing that.
Strange letters were on the note.
Wake up, Knight of
...
He couldn't read them.
It wasn't that he was illiterate. He had learnt the official language of the Valentia Empire, like every other knight.
But these weren't Oris letters.
"This..."
"...must be the incantation of the demon living inside of me..."
All those forced feedings. The random parts of his body he would sometimes lose control of. They were definitely the doing of a demon.
"...It must have possessed me after I was stabbed by that dagger."
Cain looked in the mirror.
What he was staring at wasn't the Knight of Light anymore.
Dark circles inhabited his usually pale face. A glow normally surrounded his being. But it was gone. His hair were messy. His expression looked pitiful.
Elias was still deep asleep. He didn't know that he had become a demon, atleast according to the pitiful paladin.
The next day, nothing changed. In fact, Cain seemed to be doing worse than before. Elias was worried.
"Did he not see the note?"
|You have assumed control|
He had to try again.
This time, he knew where the quill was. He knew where the paper was.
He was finished writing the note in ten seconds.
|Control relinquished|
|Host has regained control|
This time, Elias didn't black out.
He witnessed Cain's reaction.
"Oh. Shit."
Since this wasn't a detail that was in the game, and the fact that Elias understood what the inhabitants of this world spoke, made him assume that they must also speak English.
He was wrong.
"They... Don't speak English."
It was the system that had been auto translating Oris to English for him.
A pause.
His expression tightened.
"…Of course they don't."
His gaze shifted to Cain.
The paper trembled slightly in his hand.
Cain wasn't confused.
He was staring at it like it was something unnatural.
Something wrong.
"…Yeah."
"…I made it worse."
The next day—
Nothing changed.
The day after—
It got worse.
Food piled up in the corner.
Untouched.
Water sat still.
The room felt heavier with each passing hour.
Cain didn't move.
Didn't speak.
Didn't react.
"…There has to be something…"
Elias clenched his jaw.
"…Think."
His eyes shifted.
The system window flickered faintly in his vision.
Text.
Clean.
Structured.
Readable.
"…Wait."
|You have assumed control|
Time moved again.
Brief.
Limited.
Elias' gaze locked onto the system text.
Then—
to the paper.
"…If I can't write my language…"
"…I'll use theirs."
His hand moved.
Slow.
Unfamiliar.
He looked back at the system.
Then down again.
Copying.
Letter by letter.
Without understanding.
Scratch.
Pause.
Scratch.
His grip faltered once.
Then steadied.
"…This should work…"
|Control relinquished voluntarily|
|Host control restored|
No blackout.
Elias remained.
Watching.
Cain's eyes lowered.
To the paper.
The letters were uneven.
Crooked.
Some slightly off.
You ar teh Kinght Of Lgiht
Silence.
His fingers tightened.
The paper crumpled slightly.
"…So it learned."
His voice was hoarse.
Empty.
"…It's trying to imitate us now."
Elias froze.
"…No—"
Cain stood.
Slow.
Unsteady.
But deliberate.
"…It wants me alive."
A pause.
"…So it can take everything."
"That's not—"
Elias tried to speak.
No sound reached him.
Cain reached for his sword.
"…Wait."
The blade slid free.
Cold.
Clean.
"…No…"
|You have assumed control|
|High resistance detected|
|Control unstable|
Elias forced movement.
Barely.
His arm trembled—
fighting itself.
"S—stop…"
His voice broke.
"…Just listen—"
For a moment—
The blade stopped.
"…I'll take the demon with me."
|Control lost|
"…FUCK—"
The sword lifted.
Higher.
Steady.
No hesitation.
No doubt.
This time—
He meant it.
|You have assumed control|
|High resistance detected|
|Control unstable|
Elias forced everything into that one moment.
The arm—
shook.
Paused.
"STOP—!"
A crack.
A fracture in movement.
Cain hesitated.
Just—
for a second.
"…What… was that…"
Elias gasped.
"…You can hear me—?"
|Control lost|
"…No—!"
The blade shifted.
Angle corrected.
Straight toward his chest.
Panic.
Pure.
Unfiltered.
"…System—"
His voice broke.
"…do something—"
"…ANYTHING—"
Silence.
Then—
|Partial Conditions Unlocked|
|Innate Trait "???" partially revealed|
|Innate Trait: Soul Link (Incomplete)|
|Available Targets: 1 [Cain, The Knight of Light]|
|Proceed?|