Soul essence? Is he talking about the orb I got from that dead man? That might be it or it might be something else entirely. I think I should listen to what he has to say, but this is all really sketchy.
Garret Russo carefully approached the cloaked figure and then stopped several meters away to avoid the bony hands reaching out from his feet. Standing several meters away, he was face to face with the mysterious cloaked being under the fiery rain.
"That distance... is also fine..." the figure spoke hoarsely and dyingly, even though he didn't look like so, "Do not... be afraid. We are... not going to... harm you..."
You say that, but this is actually one of the scariest moments in my life. If I hadn't got this vision, I would have run away no doubt...
Garret looked at what he thought was the face of the cloaked figure while maintaining a safe distance. He occasionally glanced at the boney hands underneath the mysterious entity, ready to jump out the moment they decided to grab him.
"So, what is it that you want from me? You mention 'soul essence'. What do you mean?" his curiosity got the better of him,
The cloaked figure raised both his arms and clasped them tightly under the cloth, looking strange to Garret because he couldn't see what was beneath.
"Hehehe... that is ..."
Why is he speaking like that? He sounds like he is at his last breath.
"The thing... inside your heart... something coming out of... the being that you have... killed," the figure raised his right arm and seemingly pointing at the black, charred spot underneath which his heart lay.
Checking where the figure was pointing at, Garret then noticed that there was a very faint dark red glow on his chest, barely noticeable unless someone was staring right at it for a while. He wouldn't have noticed it either if not for the figure pointing it out.
"This?" Garret touched his burned chest gently, "This is a soul essence?" his voice was calmer now but weaker. The headache had gotten worse since the vision had been active for a long time.
"Yes... but before that... let me... do something about... this..." the figure spoke. There was a hint of amusement in his voice.
The cloaked entity raised his right hand, pointing at Garret's forehead. A cloud of grey smoke was then emanated from under his cloak, dispersing around the two of them like incense smoke.
For some reason, staring at the smoke made Garret feel at peace. There was a kind of soothing effect in it, and the way it was just gently drifting around put his mind at ease. The headache was also disappearing gradually until it was no more, despite the hellish vision still being active.
"Now... whenever you are with me... you will not feel the... backlash of your... vision. I am... very sure we will... meet a lot... in the future... hehehe..." said the figure with a hint of pride, through his harsh breathing and cut off sentences.
"Thank you," replied Garret in genuine gratitude. He was now less wary of the strange being in front of him.
Under the cloak, despite not being able to see it, Garret felt that the figure was smiling.
"So, what can I do with this 'soul essence'?"
The figure placed one hand under his chin.
"You can... exchange it for... power... Right now... you have four... options," he raised three fingers under his cloak using his right hand.
"I can gain power? What kind of power? What are my options?" asked Garret with utmost curiosity. The opportunity presented in front of him felt too good to be true.
The figure lowered his hand.
"The first option... is to very slightly increase your... physical abilities..." the figure paused and took a deep breath. Even listening to him speak made Garret feel exhausted.
"Your second option... is to minutely increase... your mental capacity... and the third one... is to increase the duration of... your vision..."
Garret rubbed his wet forehead with his right hand and wanted to start weighing his options. However, before he did so, he needed to know what the fourth option was.
"And what's the last option?"
"Hehehe..." the figure laughed mildly, "It is... to return your... humanity... only slightly..."
The figure's answer surprised and confused him.
I haven't felt my humanity going away, so why does it need restoring? Although I feel like my bursts of emotions are sometimes repressed slightly, it doesn't make me less human, does it? Then, for now, I can ignore that option. Although, the fact that it's available means in the future I might really lose my humanity one way or another. I'd better watch my conditions closely.
Now, as for the other options. I wonder which one I should take. Physical ability upgrade sounds useful as mine is pretty crappy. Mental capacity might mean my thinking capabilities and the likes, probably. The third option is not half bad either; increasing the duration of this vision is very inviting.
I have a feeling that this person--if I can even call him a person-- will disappear once I make the deal. I'll ask him a few questions while I still have the chance then. Although listening to him speak makes me breathless...
"Before I make my decision, can you tell me about this hellish vision? What is this exactly? And what is this thing latching onto my ankle?" he lifted his security guard pants a little to show the figure the red mole.
Without even giving a glance at what Garret was trying to show him, the cloaked figure shook his head slowly.
"We... cannot tell you... as you are... too weak. I will also... not answer any of your questions... about this matter. Now... please tell me... your decision," he replied. Although there was no malice in the figure's voice, Garret could feel a hint of threat in there, as if warning him not to test the figure's limit.
"Alright, no need to be tense here," Garret raised both hands to show he meant no harm, "So... at least you can tell me how much of an upgrade I'll be getting should I choose one of the options then? Like, say, if I choose the physical upgrade, how much stronger will I get? And will it upgrade all of my physical abilities across the board or just an aspect of it?"
"Hehehe... the only one... tense here is you," the figure teased him, "As for the... answer... it's just very... slightly. And only... one aspect is upgraded... per soul essence. Gather more... soul essences... if you want to... upgrade more..."
Getting more soul essences... Does that mean I have to kill people? And he said it came from the being that I have killed, which means walking up to a random corpse won't give me any essence. I don't know if I can walk down that path...
Garret rubbed his forehead and then crossed his arms.
He didn't even answer my question clearly. How much is 'very slightly'? I guess there is only one way to find out. Now, which one should I choose? Considering my current situation, the physical upgrade can be very beneficial. The vision is useful, but I can get around the duration by deactivating it and resting for a while. As for my mental capacity, I am confident in my own intelligence.
However, since the upgrade is only very slightly, the physical one would probably make no difference to me, since my starting point is very low. It would benefit me more to improve what I've already got.
Finally making his decision, Garret looked up at the cloaked being in front of him and opened his mouth.
"I've made my choice. Please upgrade my mental capacity," he said confidently.
The cloaked figure nodded very slowly and stretched his right arm, pointing at the red dot on Garret's chest.
Suddenly, there was a sharp pain coming from his chest, like something was forcefully ripped out of it. He felt his nerves breaking as the glowing red orb was being pulled out by the figure's hand, pain coursing through his veins. Luckily, it didn't last very long, otherwise, he might have collapsed from the agony.
"This soul essence... smells terrible. But a soul... is a soul..." the figure muttered, a dark red orb floating above his cloaked hand.
Plop!
The figure dropped the orb, which then fell onto the bony hands underneath him. Sensing the object, the hands suddenly became erratic, scratching and clawing about, fighting for the orb. The splashing sound of bones rubbing against the wet concrete ground emerged, clamoring behind the sound of the heavy rain.
Suddenly, the boney hands were trembling before dispersing, making way for something that was about to arise from the ground. From the point right in front of the cloaked figure, a black surface appeared and spread out quickly. From the black surface, a pair of bloody hands came out, grabbing the red orb quickly before disappearing again. Once the soul essence was taken, everything returned to normal again.
Garret was watching the whole thing with his eyebrows raised the whole time.
Just when I thought things couldn't get any crazier. What the hell was that...?
"Here... is what will boost your... mental capacity," the cloaked figure held up a small solidified drop that was red in color. It looked very close to blood.
The drop was then sent towards Garret, floating gently and mysteriously in the air. The writer grabbed it with his right hand and took a closer look at the object.
It was only the size of his thumb, and very solid to touch. Its surface was smooth but it didn't give off any kind of feeling at all, not even warmth or cold. Trying to sniff the object, Garret couldn't smell anything from it.
"What is this thing called? And what do I do with this?" he asked confusedly.
"It's... an enhancer. You just need... to swallow it." the figure replied, "Now... my job here is done... I'll see you again... when you have more essences..."
"Wait!"
Before Garret could stop him, the figure already clapped his hands, causing the boney limbs underneath him to extend. The skeletal hands then swallowed the figure up before dragging him to the ground, disappearing from sight along with him. There was not even a trace that he had been there in the first place.
"Arghh!!"
The moment the figure left, Garret's headache suddenly returned. His head was pounding very hard like never before. It seemed that the figure had only made him not feel the pain, not got rid of it altogether.
Holding his head tight, he tapped his right foot twice to deactivate the hellish vision. Everything suddenly turned dark while his head felt like it was going to explode. The writer then stumbled to the ground in pain while pressing his hands over his temples to lessen the pain, although only barely.
Drip! Drip! Drip!
The cold rain dripping on his face didn't bother him at all, since he was in so much pain. It was now receding slowly, but his head still felt like it was being sawed in two from the inside. That moment made him hope that he was dead instead, but he knew he couldn't afford to die just yet.
Finally, after a couple of minutes of agony and suffering, the headache was completely gone, leaving no residual pain at all.
"Shit! That was the worse thing I've ever experienced so far. That bloody man didn't warn me about that!" he clenched his fist and complained.
After that, Garret quickly swallowed the solidified drop as instructed, sending the object inside him. The enhancer went down his throat and somehow made his body slightly warm. He then felt a tiny 'explosion' inside his stomach, something akin to popping open a tablet of fish oil inside someone's mouth. The warm pop sent energy throughout his body before disappearing completely.
"I guess that's done. Now let's see..." he muttered.
Concentrating on himself while still lying in the dark with the rain as his company, Garret tried to see if there was any difference with his mind at all. He then felt that his brain would be able to process things minusculely faster than before. It was not an actual feeling, but rather, like a kind of information that was accessible to him in the corner of his mind.
"That is rather underwhelming... Should I have taken the physical boost instead? But then I'm sure it would just be as insipid as this one," he shrugged.
"If I encounter more soul essences and trade more with that guy, I am sure the difference will be more apparent. I just hope I don't have to become a mass murderer for that."
Quickly, Garret got up and tapped his right foot twice, changing the scenery around him. He continued on going to the dark part of the street, hiding away from the police that was looking for him.