In the blackness that ensued, Donis felt alone. He tried turning his head reflexively and for once, it worked. He couldn't quite tell if he really was turning his head or not, because the darkness that surrounded him didn't allow him for any visual cues.
The same voice that Donis heard speaking to him previously spoke out of from the ether. It boomed and it shook the reality that Donis was occupying.
"Little dragonling magician, I see you watching. That filthy [System] in you, gives you away," spoke Variis.
"You.. you could see me? In my own memories? What the fuck," thought Donis, fear rising to unprecedented levels. The hairs on his back rising as goosebumps ran up and down.
"You've my gift within you, yet you still not understand. I am a god, your concepts of possibility do not apply to me."
"Why do you sneak glances at times that do not belong to you?" Variis continued with a voice that only built pressure on Donis's mind.
"I.. I don't.. the system has told me they're my memories!" stuttered Donis.
"Yours? Ah.. yes. I see you. Broken pieces of all of it's failed attempts. Disgusting. You don't even know what that THING is," a cacophony of hisses radiated from all directions.
'System, where am I? Is this real?' thought Donis quickly.
"Hahah, you try to speak to IT in MY domain? I would never allow for that virus to infect my lands," laughed Variis. Donis's mind feeling like it's going to shatter from the sheer volume.
"Virus? It.. It has helped me!"
"Helped you? You don't know the first thing about it. I'm not going to explain the last billion years to a mortal who can barely walk. You might be my key, or you might be another blip in the infinity of time. If you can make it back here to talk, I'll consider you worthy of my time."
"Begone."
Donis was ripped out of the memory as his corporeal body crumbled into dust right before his own eyes. He awoke with his entire bed drenched in sweat and Striga holding his hand.
"Donis? Donis are you alright? It's just a nightmare, it's okay, stop screaming," pleaded the distressed Striga.
Donis's eyes readjusted to the light in the room. His heart pounding in his ears, Strigas words failing to reach him. He looked around and he was back in the room right before he took the potion. A deep and grateful sigh escaped his lips.
"Str.. Striga. Why are you holding my hand?" mumbled out Donis.
"Wait.. My hand? MY HAND," shouted Donis in delight, momentarily forgetting his fears.
"Donis are you alright? You have been screaming nonstop for the last 3 hours! Who cares about your hand? That wasn't a normal nightmare, what the fuck happened?!" she bellowed out.
"Uh, I just uh.." said Donis quickly trying to think whether or not to tell Striga anything.
"I saw myself being eaten by the Sandracons over and over again, it was horrible! I don't know if the potion did something to me while I slept, but I couldn't get the image out of my mind…" Donis lied.
"I'm so sorry I couldn't protect you when you needed me the most. I'm never letting you get hurt like that again," said Striga, clearly a little worried about her newest member.
"It's okay Striga, it wasn't your fault, you couldn't have known there would be so many. I also got my arm back, there's no issue anymore!" said Donis trying to console her.
Donis's nightmare clearly had an affect on Striga. Prior to it, she felt bad, but she could handle the guilt of another student getting hurt. Yet seeing him scream like he did for so long wore down her nerves. She wasn't an assassin, nor was she made for torture, and seeing him like that with no way to help only put pressure on her already shook mind.
Donis asked for some time alone from Striga to calm down by himself and she offered to make him food, which he gladly accepted. He needed a moment, he needed time to see if what Variis had said to be true. He had no clue how to confirm or deny the claims right now. He wasn't even sure if he should bring it up to the system.
He tried his best to not think about it right now and leave it to base understandings of the situation. He feared that maybe, just MAYBE, what Variis said was true. He didn't want to alert the [System], he didn't know of the possible ramifications just yet.
He'll continue to trust the [System] for now, and act like he saw nothing.
-Donis, I wasn't able to reach your unconscious mind for the last few hours. Is everything okay? What happened.-
'I don't know what happened, I was going to ask you the same thing. Could you not see my nightmare?' thought Donis.
-No, I wasn't able to access you after viewing the corrupted memory.-
'Strange. If I upgrade you, would there be a way for you to gain more information about what happened?' thought Donis, trying to change the subject away from the "gap" in his memory.
-Potentially. The next upgrade is [2,000 SP]. We may be able to gain answers then.-
Knowing this now was of great use. Distrust growing in the heart of Donis towards the [System] made him reconsider whether or not he should upgrade it at all. What if by upgrading, the [System] would see Variis and what Donis was told. He didn't know if he wanted to take the chance.
Remembering that Donis actually survived the ordeal with the Sandracons, he now had 1 stat point to allocate. Thinking about it, Donis placed it into Agility. If he was slightly faster, he may not have lost his arm in the first place, or there might have been better options for him to take. Even he knew this may have been a fear-based stat allocation, but he didn't care. Losing an arm was too much for him.
He had [360SP] right now, which was prime time for opening up the [Skill Shop] once again.
He perused the options before him, and wondered what he could use right now. Was it another Dragon based skill, or would a spell suit him better? Did he want to augment his body? Did he need an emergency skill which could protect him in case of danger.
He first went through the Dragon skills, and found a few that tickled his fancy. [Inner Capacity], [Bolster], [Beastly Instincts], [Void Frame].
[Inner Capacity] [350SP] – Allows the [User] to store their organs, except the brain and the heart, in a separate pocket space. Allows the [User] to gain new organs.
Requirements: Void Mana Control type skill maxed.
[Bolster] [150SP] – Allows the [User] to increase their stats by 20%. Levels increase the effect of [Bolster].
[Beastly Instincts][220SP] – Gives the [User] 25% heightened instincts, rerouting the nervous system to more efficiently react to outside stimulus. Levels increase the effect of [Beastly Instincts].
[Void Frame][350SP] – Reinforces the [Users] skeletal frame with Void Charged Mana. Allows for more strain before breaking or severing, and can be repaired by infusing Void Charged Mana.
Requirements: Void Mana Control type skill maxed.
Going through the other skill lists, Donis ended up finding nothing that really suited his new paranoia of losing limbs. There were some really nice skills that either gave him more battle prowess, or more capability to escape.
The thought of not being able to die to a stab wound into his stomach, or being disemboweled really pleased him. He never even thought of getting new organs, nor what they could possibly be. Yet he relished the idea of further increasing his power in unseen ways.
The potential of that skill wasn't obscenely apparent to Donis, but costing a whopping [350SP] it must have great strengths.
Acquiring the skill gave him a brand new euphoria. Where as before he would gain pseudo memories on how the skill works, and how to use it, this one gave him an innate sense and a connection to a pocket dimension where his organs would be. It was like it was a part of him, and quickly faded into the back of his mind.
Knowing that he would safe from skewering, or at least he hoped so, Donis got up and looked for Striga. He wanted to continue the mission he was on, and no amount of moping, nor crying is going to change what had happened to him. He needed to keep moving forward, and to stop faltering. He needed so many answers to so many questions that keep piling on him, and staying put is not going to answer a single one of them.
Though he knew this, the idea of the [System] being something else made him lose a little confidence in himself. He needed to push past the fear, he needed to be more once again. Even though it wasn't conscious, Donis's will slowly grew with each struggle. His mind being shaped by the already seedling of a Will he had begun building with [Immolate].
Walking out of the room, Striga was situated beside one of the tables reading something her Monster Logger was displaying.
"Hey, Striga, I'm sick of being here. I want to go find Dr. Gilbert," Donis said resolutely.
"Fucking finally, I'm so sick of this stupid town. Come on, it's still day time, and while you were busy regenerating your arm, I went out and found where this guy normally is," said Striga closing the Monster Logger and getting up.
"Someone's been busy!" laughed Donis.
"Not all of us can spend a whole day laying in bed Donis, now get your ass in gear and lets move."