In a dark cave, a young man's eyes slowly opened. As Nazurak took in his surroundings, he sensed an otherworldly enchantment that heightened his senses. The scents were more vivid, his vision more acute, and he could hear even the slightest sounds from far away.
As he sat up on the cold, hard stone, Nazurak began to inspect his body, starting slowly and then more rapidly as he realized that he felt completely normal. But then he noticed something remarkable. It wasn't just that he had been healed; he felt something more. He felt better than he had ever felt before as if a newfound power was coursing through his veins.
'What is this?' he thought to himself.
A familiar voice echoed in his head.
'Ah... You're finally awake human. You almost died, well you did... You're lucky we made a contract on time' The voice paused for a bit then manifested in front of him.
A blue, icy mist gently left Nazurak's body and coalesced into the shape of a human silhouette. Gradually, the figure took on a more distinct form, until a stunningly beautiful woman stood before him.
'while you were recovering I took the time to study the human language through your memories, I also found this appearance to be the most...suitable' The apparition said while studying its body.
Nazurak stared at the elegant lady in front of him before snapping out of his gaze.
"What? You looked around in my memory? How did I recover? What contract? Who are you?"
The apparition stared at him then smiled.
'Easy now, I will explain everything you need to know, partner.'
Sitting down the apparition continued.
'I am an Augmenter, created by the ultimate beings to assist the Aberrants in their mission for revivification'. Looking at Nazurak's confused face she thought about her explanation and then continued.
'At this moment, there are certain details that are unnecessary for you to know, answers to questions that will only raise more questions even for myself...'
'Each Augmenter possesses a unique element that they can control at will with the aid of life essence. We also possess the ability to heal wounds that would otherwise prove fatal and enhance specific points in your body, granting a significant boost in physical strength, all through the power of essence. However, our abilities aren't limited to offense or healing capabilities, as we are adept at utility as well. From birth, every Augmenter is connected to a sixth sense that allows us to sense the presence of other Augmenters for miles, aiding in our ability to regroup in larger numbers when needed. A crucial advantage to have in war. But for you, it will be even more crucial, as every Augmenter is connected to an Aberrant'.
Nazurak took this all in quite well, he already witnessed being healed from beyond saving so believing her wasn't completely absurd.
His stare turned curious.
"If you're created to host Aberrants why are you helping me?" He said cautiously.
The elegant figure pointed at him and echoed inside his mind.
'It is because of what you can do. For thousands of years, I've roamed this galaxy...I have never seen or heard of a being that is able to manipulate life essence, aside from the ultimate beings.'
The apparition paused for a moment to study Nazurak, then continued.
'You must be protected, you are worth more than you think, human. Which is why, you must help me grow stronger...so you are better protected.'
Nazurak processed this, he heard ultimate beings mentioned twice. According to the lady in front of him, they are the creators of Augmenters and can also manipulate life essence at will. He was curious.
"These ultimate beings you keep mentioning, what are they?" He asked.
The apparition shook its head and then replied.
'It is not time for you to know that information...'
Nazurak scratched his head in disappointment; although he wanted to learn more about these beings, he ultimately decided to prioritize asking more important questions.
"Ok then, how about the contract you were talking about?" He said.
Upon hearing his question, the lady gracefully rose to her feet and walked towards the cave wall placing her finger on it. As she did, her finger emitted a faint, icy blue glow. Nazurak couldn't help but feel an odd force tugging at him.
'looking through your memories I see that you learn better with visuals so I will do just that. A contract is exactly what it is, deep within the Augmenter's core lays ultimate magic that binds us to our host, granting them our powers and achieving absolute synergy needed for the battlefield. This is the contact we had made.'
'My previous partner was killed by your moon soldier some time ago. I was going to wait until another...Aberrant is what you humans call them...I was going to wait for another one of them to come by. But then you came, with your unique ability to transfer life essence. You can make me stronger than all the Augmenters combined. Truly terrifying yet astonishing you are...human'
Nazurak's eye slightly twitched.
"Can you stop calling me human? You know my name. Also, what's a moon soldier?"
He thought for a bit then added before the apparition could reply.
"You know never mind forget about it, please continue."
The lady's finger ceased glowing as she stopped drawing. She turned to him and said in her elegant tone.
'That leads me to our deal, it's quite simple... Nazurak. I will lend you the power you need to survive against the Aberrants, in exchange you'll give me life essence to grow'.
Shifting to a relaxed position, Nazurak asked her a question.
"Right...seems like a fair deal, and if I wanted to cancel this contract, could I?"
The apparition shook her head once again.
'We are bound together by ultimate magic, death will be the only option to terminate the contract' she said firmly.
Nazurak stood up with a sigh. He had gathered enough information and was ready to move on from the conversation. With the relief of knowing he wasn't in immediate danger, he decided to assess his surroundings.
The cave entrance was still nearby, in fact, the sunlight was seeping through the thorns that covered the entrance.
'It's still day, or perhaps it's the next day. How long have I been out?' He thought to himself.
Then an elegant voice popped up in his head.
'You've been asleep for 12 hours 35 minutes and 12 seconds'
Surprised Nazurak turned around to look at the apparition, but noticed the icy mist returning to his body.
"Wow, can you also wake me up in the morning at exactly 8am?" He chuckled jokingly.
'Yes...I will have to learn and convert the time betwe-'
Nazurak stopped her there.
"I was joking, but good to know."
After gazing at the entrance for a while, he turned away and ventured deeper into the cave, realizing that attempting to move the thorns would only put his life in jeopardy once again.
As Nazurak found himself with nothing else to do, he took a moment to reflect on the time when he had managed to break free from the thorn's grip. He attempted to recreate that moment by channeling his emotions of anger, fear, and sorrow into a powerful force, but to no avail. He wondered if his failure was due to the fact that his life wasn't in immediate danger this time. It was then that Nazurak realized how much he still had to learn about this newfound energy, and how his Soul Trait held even greater depths than he had ever imagined
As he pressed on into the depths of the cave, the natural light from the entrance slowly dissipated. Retrieving his threat scanner, he enabled the night vision feature, allowing him to navigate the darkness with ease. Peering into the viewfinder, he noticed a new icon at the top right corner, resembling a satellite with a slash cutting through it. On the far left were the icon boxes for Dylan and Sora, displaying their current health status. However, due to the lack of signal, their icons were all static and marked as unavailable.
Upon seeing this, he felt a twinge of sadness. However, he quickly realized that dwelling on that feeling would not be productive, as there was nothing he could do to change it now. Maybe he simply hadn't known them long enough to feel a deeper sense of their absence. While they were together, he had valued their companionship and understood the benefits of safety in numbers. But now that he was alone, he had to rely solely on himself.
Pushing aside those thoughts he focused on making productive use of his time.
"Well, no better time to practice with your abilities" Nazurak called out.
A voice elegantly echoed in his head.
'You can't...'
Nazurak raised an eyebrow in curiosity, then extended his hand in front of him, attempting to imitate the graceful movements of the elegant lady as she drew on the wall of the cave.
As he mimicked the lady's hand movements, his eyes widened in shock, and he suddenly collapsed to the floor, clutching his chest and groaning as his breathing became labored. Slowly, he began to recover and sat up, the sensation he had just experienced was unlike anything he had ever felt before. It felt as if an unpleasant force had attempted to wrench his soul from his body.
Nazurak narrowed his eyes, deep in thought for a moment, before hastily checking his life essence to assess any changes.
[Life essence: 0/100]
A familiar voice popped into his head.
'Most of your life essence was used to heal you...'
An Icy blue mist left Nazurak's body and soon a graceful lady appeared in front of him.
'Do not fret, taking this form does not require life essence' she assured him.
Nazurak stared at the lady then replied hastily.
"Where's the rest of my essence? That took a lot of effort to collect you know!"
The lady stared at him with a confused face then said indifferently.
'I used the rest to draw the pictures on the wall...for your better understanding'
A long silence took over the air until Nazurak sighed.
"Visual learner...right. it seems that our absolute synergy is not absolute yet."