The Elder Tree stood as a silent, ancient witness to Leonardo's agony. As the [Star-Gate Key] dissolved into the rough, emerald-veined bark, a surge of feedback struck Leonardo like a physical blow to his chest. He fell to the mossy earth, his fingers digging into the damp, cool soil until his nails bled. The air around him suddenly felt heavy, smelling of ozone and rotting leaves.
[System Integration: 100% Complete] [Class Change: Shadow Weaver (Unique Type)]
But there was no golden light of triumph. Instead, the blue screen in front of him flickered with violent static, turning a bruised, angry purple. A cold, oily sensation crawled up his spine, settling in the back of his brain like a hungry insect.
[Warning: The Blue Screen is a Parasite.] [Current Soul Corruption: 7%] [Price of Awakening: One Childhood Memory has been harvested.]
Leonardo gasped, a hollow void opening in his mind. He desperately tried to remember the taste of his mother's fresh-baked bread—the warm, honey-scented crust he used to steal as a child. It was gone. In its place was nothing but a gray, featureless fog. He realized then, with a chilling horror, that the 'System' wasn't helping him for free; it was eating his humanity to fuel his magic.
"Stop... give it back..." he wheezed, his voice cracking. But the only answer was the rustling of the Elder Tree and the rising of his own shadow.
The shadow detached itself from the ground, growing into a tall, jagged silhouette that mirrored his pain with a terrifying, eyeless grin. It wasn't just a reflection anymore; it was a beast made of his own repressed rage and the 'System's' dark mana.
[Combat Quest: Subdue the Inner Void!] [Requirement: Prove you are the Master, not the Vessel.]
Leonardo forced himself to stand, his legs trembling like dry twigs in a storm. He didn't just draw his rusted blade; he felt the darkness from the surrounding forest flow into the metal, extending it into a long, jagged whip of shadow. Every inch of his skin burned with a cold fire as the mana coursed through his veins.
With a roar of defiance that echoed through the silent woods, he lashed out. The shadow whip cracked through the air, leaving a trail of frozen mist behind it. The shadow-beast lunged at him, its claws slicing through his tunic and leaving thin lines of black blood on his chest.
Clang!
The spectral claw met his dark blade. The force of the impact shattered the nearby glowing mushrooms, sending a spray of luminous blue spores into the dark air. Leonardo didn't back down. He focused on the void in his mind, turning his loss into a weapon.
"If you want my soul, you'll have to take it from my cold, dead hands!" Leonardo screamed, driving the tip of his blade into the heart of the jagged shadow.
The beast dissolved into a swarm of dark smoke, rushing back into Leonardo's chest. He felt a sudden surge of cold power, but his heart felt heavier than before. He had won the battle, but the war for his own mind had just begun.
[Quest Completed: Inner Void Subdued] [Reward: Permanent Mastery of 'Shadow Flash'] [New Skill Unlocked: 'Siphon Soul' - Low probability to absorb mana from defeated foes.]
Leonardo didn't celebrate. He looked at his hands, which were now stained with a mixture of dirt and his own black-tinted blood. He felt a phantom pain where his memory used to be—a space in his heart that should have been filled with the warmth of his mother's kitchen, but was now just a cold, biting wind.
"Is this the price for everyone who wakes up?" he whispered to the Elder Tree.
The Tree didn't answer with words this time. Instead, a single, glowing leaf drifted down, landing on his shoulder. As it touched him, a vision flashed in his mind—a thousand other warriors, all with blue screens, all slowly turning into hollow husks of shadow. He wasn't the first, and he wouldn't be the last.
The 'Blue Screen' wasn't a hero's tool. It was a cosmic leash.
"I won't become a puppet," Leonardo growled, his voice sounding deeper, distorted by the shadows within him. He turned away from the Elder Tree, his gaze fixed on the distant, glowing spires of the King's palace.
He had the power now. But as he took his first step out of the clearing, he realized he couldn't remember his mother's name. The more he fought, the more he lost. But he would keep fighting, even if there was nothing left of 'Leonardo' by the time he reached the throne.