Chapter 7: Beloved
Yukeli was afraid. Sincerely, he had never been a man of many adventures. Without a steady job, he took a gig here and there, but nothing that required great physical effort. Except for mining. But that was a separate case.
As far as he knew, Yukeli was an orphan. He had woken up in a hospital about four years ago, without identification, without memories, and no one came looking for him. He didn't remember who he was, where he came from, or what had happened before that awakening in a cold, white bed. But one thing he always knew: he hated pain.
Despite possessing a naturally strong body, he avoided any situation that might cause him suffering, whether physical or emotional. Perhaps that was why he had never had a girlfriend.
'A few professionals here and there were enough', he thought with a humorless smile.
Never in his life had he imagined feeling as much pain as he had experienced moments ago. His body still trembled with the memory, and he doubted he would return to normal anytime soon. That pain hadn't been just physical; it seemed to have pierced through his mind and scraped his soul.
"So I wake up in a strange cave, surrounded by strange people, with strange powers and a strange system that almost kills me. Truly beautiful."
He felt that someone was watching him. Turning toward the center of the cave, he found Tânia staring at him intensely. Yukeli smiled at her.
'At least the view is marvelous', he thought, letting his eyes roam over the woman's figure, whose body seemed sculpted like the Olympic description of a goddess. 'Too bad that strange ability doesn't let me see enough.'
He sighed, half frustrated, half relieved. In the midst of so much pain and chaos, focusing on something mundane was an almost comforting distraction.
"Well… let's see what this system thing has to offer. After causing so much pain, it better be worth it."
Upon opening the system, a flood of notifications appeared. He decided to start with the first ones.
[Congratulations, human.]
You killed a Second Order Evolved Beast: Armored Fire Serpent.
You absorbed its Primordial Essence. Your existence becomes more solid.
[You gained a Mind Absolute Rune]
Rune: [Predatory Intelligence]
Absolute: [Mind]
Rune Description: [Enter a battlefield not as prey, but as a cold and calculating predator.]
"Wow."
The phrase echoed in his mind with a strange weight. It wasn't just a description — it felt like a sentence. A mirror showing something he didn't yet know if he wanted to accept.
**System Note:** Every living being possesses a Primordial Essence — the junction of the Absolutes of Body, Mind, and Soul. Upon killing, there is a chance to absorb this essence completely. However, when the absorption partially fails due to various factors, part of this essence is separated and converted into an Arcane Rune, containing a trait, skill, or attribute of the slain being.
Yukeli frowned.
"Primordial essence… as if we are tearing away fragments of something's identity to mold our own."
The idea was fascinating and terrifying at the same time. He brought his hand to his temple, feeling a slight pulse there, as if the rune were alive, throbbing at some invisible point of his being. Cold. Methodical. A silent echo of the serpent.
"Predatory intelligence…"
He had never considered himself a predator. But during the fight, there was a moment when everything became too clear — the beast's movements, the distances, the rhythm of combat. The serpent moved with precision and absolute instinct. Now that made sense. Or worse: now it was part of him.
[Do you wish to engrave the Rune into your mind?]
Engrave. Like carving that into his very essence. Like accepting that something non-human would become permanent within him. He could do it right now, if he wanted to.
"Better not… for now."
Fortunately, the next notification seemed less threatening.
[You gained a Second Order Artifact]
Artifact: [Heart of Krqwd]
Artifact Order: [Second Order]
Artifact Type: [Accessory]
Artifact Description: [To create a more capable soldier, this being had its body tempered and coated by a second-order flame. Even after its death, some of the benefits it acquired in this process remained in the form of this bracelet.]
Skill 1: [Fire Absorption]
Description: [Allows the absorption of any type of first-order fire and below. The absorbed fire can be transformed into essence or used to attack.]
Skill 2: [Fire's Embrace]
Description: [When activated, grants immunity to first-order burns and enhanced resistance against second-order flames.]
The image of a rustic bracelet, made of interlocking black and gold scales with glowing red lines, appeared in his mind. The artifact seemed to pulse with its own life, as if the heart of the serpent still beat there — weak, but persistent.
System Note: Every creature of First Order or above possesses enough strength and singularity to deserve the recognition of the Genesis Order. Depending on the way the creature was slain — and the luck of the executor — there is a 50% chance of its will and power being converted into a Genesis Artifact.
Note: Your achievement was not individual; therefore, the benefits were divided among the four participants.
"Four?" he repeated in a low voice, knitting his brows. "But... there were three of us."
Him, Maeron, and Tânia. They were the only ones who had directly faced the serpent. He was sure of it. The thought wedged itself like a splinter in his mind. Someone else had participated... but invisibly? Yukeli felt a shiver down his spine. The presence of a fourth involved party, hidden during the combat, was an uncomfortable shadow — and perhaps even a danger.
"Who is watching us?" he thought, instinctively looking around.
The broken eggshells and confused survivors still rose in the midst of that colossal cave. But now, there was a new mystery, more silent and unsettling than any beast's roar. Yukeli remembered the male voice that, in the midst of that confusion, had whispered something decisive — "Just think about accessing the system and you will see it."
At the time, it seemed like just any piece of advice, lost among so many voices and questions, but now it made sense. He couldn't identify who had said it. The voice was deep, firm, with an intonation too grave for that situation. It was as if the man behind it were one step ahead of everyone.
"Who were you?" he murmured, his gaze wandering through the groups that were beginning to form in the back of the cave. No one seemed to stand out. Without his advice, perhaps it would have taken longer to discover how to access the system, which could have been fatal.
"If he knew how to access the system before everyone else… what else does he know?"
[Congratulations, you have awakened an Attribute]
Attribute: [Beloved of ????]
Attribute Description: [Witches were not born. They were discarded. In the primordial stages of reality, when certain entities sought absolute perfection, they tore from themselves everything they judged flawed — desire, attachment, tenderness, obsession, love. These "defects" did not disappear. They were rejected. And that which is rejected by eternity does not die.
Thus arose the Witches — conscious vestiges, divine stains, emotional fragments expelled by beings who wished to become impeccable. Condemned to exist as the error that made their creators "pure," they inherited immortality, impossible beauty, breathtaking power… and a gap that could never be filled by themselves. They were complete in strength, but incomplete in essence. Then they learned something their creators despised: To love.
Love was not weakness. It was integration. By loving, the witch reconstructs that which was denied to her. By bonding, she creates a nucleus. By choosing someone… she ceases to be just a fragment. You were chosen. You are the Beloved. Not a servant. Not a toy. Not a sacrifice. You are the half that anchors her eternity to concrete existence. The emotional anchor that allows her incomplete nature to evolve into something greater. And as such, you share in her ascension.
You flourish under her gaze — like life nurtured in the warmth of a womb. Your essence is warmed by the devotion the witch cannot contain. Your growth accelerates when the bond strengthens. As long as there is a Beloved… the Witch will evolve. And as long as she evolves… you will never be an ordinary being.
But remember: the love of an eternal creature is not gentle. It is absolute.]
Yukeli's soul trembled. And this time, it was fear. Not the instinctive fear of being crushed by a beast, but a slow, deep fear. The description did not sound like a blessing; it felt like a contract of possession signed without his consent.
"Who wouldn't feel fear after reading something like that…?"
He tried to rationalize. "Ok. She loves me. It strengthens me. I grow with it." But the system didn't write like someone delivering gifts. It wrote like someone recording consequences. "As long as there is a Beloved, the Witch will evolve."
He closed his eyes. This meant dependency — not a fragile dependency, but a structural one. Yukeli had always been alone. But if he was now the emotional anchor of an eternal being, his existence was no longer just his own. He was a piece. A vital component for the evolution of something he didn't even understand.
'What happens if I die?'
The question wasn't heroic. It was terrifying. He didn't just fear the end of his own life, but what his absence would cause. Something that has already been abandoned once cannot bear to be abandoned twice. Yukeli's chest tightened. He understood abandonment. And this entity... the memories Yukeli had recently were torn away, but echoes remained. Immortal creatures don't break like humans. They distort the world when they break.
He felt the bond: a subtle warmth, almost delicate, like a distant touch. It wasn't possessive or violent. It was needy. Ancient. Sad. This frightened him even more than a direct threat. Loneliness he understood. Eternal loneliness and the responsibility of being the only remedy for it? No.
"I didn't ask for this…", he whispered.
His life, which before was mediocre and disposable, was now the anchor of a rejected goddess. The weight of this importance was suffocating. He wasn't free; he was essential. And for Yukeli, being essential felt like the cruelest form of slavery.
And that weighed more than any sword.