That night I couldn't sleep with the pain in my chest.
Even after performing Instant Heal countless times, the pain still wouldn't fade away.
I stumbled towards the bathroom and splashed my face with some water. When I stared into my reflection, it shattered instantly and the pain in my heart increased.
I fell onto the floor and looked into one of the broken glass on the floor, that's when I saw myself, my past self.
I grit my teeth and punch glass.
"What the hell is happening to me…?"
Ding!
[Notice: Consequences have been delivered]
"C-consequences?"
[Please forgive me for not mentioning this earlier. The chain that holds you down from becoming a monster, in other words, this woman who you hold dear, is the cause of your pain]
"What? So I'm being cursed? But shouldn't-"
[Curses given directly from the Qliphoth cannot be resisted]
[The consequences are dire but it gets worse]
"Wh-what are you talking about?"
[I will now explain the consequences]
[There are five of them and I will only explain once so listen carefully. The first consequence starts when you catch sight of that specific person. Once you catch sight of her, you will feel pain around your heart]
"So that's why my heart's been hurting. How long does it last?"
[Usually one day or two. However, due to you committing two sins, that number will be multiplied, causing you to feel pain for more than a week]
"So this is technically atonement for the sins I've committed?"
[Not exactly]
Shit, looks like I'm going to have to extend how many nights I can stay here.
"So… what's the next consequence?"
[The second consequence begins once you make eye contact with that person]
"So… I can't look her in the eyes?"
[Precisely]
"Damn it, are all of these going to be related preventing me from making contact with Risa!?"
[Yes… and it doesn't matter if she doesn't recognize you or not. However… the chances of the third consequence would increase definitely if she were to know your true identity…]
Damn… just when I finally saw her again.
The pain in my heart was beginning to be unbearable that I was slowly losing consciousness.
"Crap… not yet… hurry and tell me the rest of the consequences…!"
[The second consequence will———————————]
Huh? What is this… her voice is… fading…
[The third consequence begins once you————an———————]
Her voice began to fade away and eventually I lost consciousness.
…
…
…
My eyes fluttered open, however, my vision was too blurry and my eyelids felt heavy, making me want to go back to sleep.
"Master!"
A voice faded in the background and the door opened. I felt a hand lift me up from the ground and the next second I was placed on the bed.
The pain in my heart, it was still there. It hurt… why did it hurt again…? I don't know, but something doesn't feel right.
However… I'm too tired to figure that out…
Eventually, I passed out again.
…
…
…
I slowly opened up my eyes and found myself staring at the wooden ceiling.
Lifting myself up, I realize that the pain in my heart had gone away.
That's… weird. I'm sure that the pain is supposed to last longer than that. Not that I'm complaining about it.
I got on my feet but my legs quickly gave up on me and I dropped to the floor.
What… my body… it feels strange… almost as if it's not mine.
I tried to lift myself off the ground but my arms would respond. My actions… my body isn't registering it.
Damn it…
I heard the door open as I was still on the ground and the girls entered. When they noticed me, they rushed over to my side.
"Master, you're awake."
Kiyomi would lift me up with the help of Akane and place me back on the bed. My body felt sluggish even though I had just woken up.
"How long was I out for?" I asked Kiyomi.
"Almost a week."
A week? So I slept through the entire consequence? How come I didn't wake up from the pain? I'm sure I would've woken up if my heart was hurting.
"I see…"
"I'm glad you are okay, Nero. You know, you had us worried but luckily the Healer Hero was nice enough to come and heal you." Ravyn said.
"I see… wait… what did you just say?"
"Huh? The Healer Hero."
Healer Hero? Risa… came and healed me?
I clenched my hands and swallowed dry saliva.
Remembering what Yukie said last night, if we were to make eye contact, the second consequence would begin.
Wait… but what would happen if we were to make contact? Yukie didn't tell me everything.
Yukie, can you hear me?
[Yes]
Can you tell me the consequences from last night?
[No]
What!? Why!?
[These consequences can only be spoken once. Speaking them again will cause the next consequence to occur]
What!? Bullshit!
[Sadly these are the terms]
Shit, I don't know what happens if I make contact with Risa and I don't even know what the third, fourth, and fifth consequence is.
I could risk it and ask again but that would mean the second consequence would begin.
Crap, I just can't risk it.
A knocking sound could be heard from the door and from the other side, a woman spoke.
"Hey, can I come in?" The voice said.
"Oh, yes," Akane said as she walked to the door and opened it, letting whoever was at the door inside.
My vision was still blurry so I could depict who was at the door. However, I heard familiarity in her voice.
"Thank you."
The woman bowed to Akane before turning her attention towards me.
"Sir, are you okay?"
I rubbed my eyes and my vision slowly began to clear up. Once it did, I was gazing at Risa's eyes who were also gazing back at me.
…s-shit…!
[Notice: Conditions for the second consequence have been met. The consequence will begin soon]
You can't be fucking with me. T-this isn't fair… my vision was… was…
Fuck…
"S-sir, are you alright?"
Risa asked with a worried expression. It seems she doesn't recognize me, well, not that she can since I look completely different, which is a good thing.
"Y-yes, I'm alright," I responded as I took a deep breath before turning away.
The consequence will begin shortly… but what is the consequence? Is my heart going to start hurting again?
I shook my head. It's best not to think about it too much. I just have to be cautious of my actions in order not to trigger the two remaining consequences.
But… just what are they? Recalling the time before I passed out, it involves something with me and Risa… but what is it?
I scratched my head as I slowly turned my attention back to Risa. Then my attention drifted towards the door where a group of demi-humans was watching.
However, when I blinked, there were normal humans in their place.
"A-are they demi-humans?" I asked Risa while pointing to the three humans at the door.
"Huh? How are you able to tell?"
Risa said as she turned. The three humans looked at each other before entering the room and closing the door behind them.
"W-well I don't know, but I thought I saw demi-humans in their place."
"I see, so you just imagined it?"
"Maybe… but she can confirm it."
I said pointing to Ravyn and when they shifted her attention towards her, she nodded.
"Damn… well guess there is no need for disguising." One of them said.
"Looks like we are gonna have to take them out." The other one added.
"You know, there is no need for violence, Cage." The female spoke.
That's when the three changed into demi-humans. The first one was a tall man wearing heavy armor. I noticed he had a lizard tail and scales on his face. He would be… a dragonewt.
The second one was a young man with light armor with a sword strapped to his waist. He had a wolf's tail and two wolf's ears poking from his head. If it wasn't obvious already, he was a wolfman.
The last one was a young girl with a bow on her back. She had the ears and tail of a cat. Obviously, that would mean she was a catgirl.
"This man knows our identity, we should take him out." The wolfman or Cage which was his name said as he put his hand on his sword handle and attempted to draw it out, but Akane was already one step ahead of him.
"I'll slash your head off before you even have the chance!"
Akane had a serious and angry look on her face as she pressed her blade against Cage's throat.
That's when everyone in the room began pointing their weapons at each other. Ravyn had her attention on the dragonewt while Kiyomi exchanged glares from the catgirl.
"Everyone, please calm down!" Risa said but that didn't stop them.
Good grief, even after a week-long coma, I still have to do some work.
I snapped my fingers and from my shadow jumped out my shadow servants.
They quickly pushed everyone away from each other; Risa's group on one side while my group on the other side.
"I suggest you two stay away from each other for now," I said as I took another deep breath.
Crap, my body still feels tired but I need to stay awake just in case they fight again.
Before I passed out again, I commanded my servants to keep the girls from getting into any sort of trouble.
Then I closed my eyes and drifted into another long sleep.
.
.
.