The voices of the others had died down by now, but there was a tension in the air—a tension in everyone's eyes, like that of a child seeing the sky for the first time.
There was wonder and bewilderment, but not estranged from fear. It was uncertainty; the unknown.
As the electric awe subsided, the drum-like beating of her heart became apparent in her ears.
Sucking in a breath, Karin looked away and calmed herself down.
'Just what in the fold?!'
She didn't know what to think anymore.
At first, she believed this girl was an estranged noble, even if she couldn't recognise the scales.
'Is it a secret art within the ritual?'
She could only imagine the others were assuming noble lineage and lending her... act, to this fact alone.
Most were ignorant of the matter.
She, on the other hand, had born witness to noble demons absorbing evolution stones into themselves. They did it no differently than the imps, and it was scarcely believable that they would waste so much potential. The value of the stones grow increasingly exponential; it would be an incalculable waste of resources just to keep the majority of demons in the dark...
From the corner of her vision, Karin noticed some were being knocked from their stupor.
She looked up in response and began to see the swirling energies subside.
Some of it appeared to have solidified into sheaths of glass thinner than a hair and drifted to the ground.
Quickly, a form revealed itself through the waning obfuscation in the air. It was a young girl; she appeared no older than 11.
What first caught her eye was the crimson hair that had grown barely past her shoulders, still fluttering within the confounding energies fighting to resolve themselves.
As she straightened her back, the night-black dress fell against her body. She looked up, and, as if staring into a space beyond them all, her amber-gold eyes peered across the world.
She was like a bleeding sun, partially eclipsed by a golden moon, with the light never reaching the world below.
The sky itself fostered a twilight iridescence—the ethereal purple hues caressing the world and the moon alike.
That is what they saw in her, and they stood in its shadow.
The sides of her eyes were marked, or grooved, or perhaps embedded with bone; they could not tell, for it held an unyielding violet luster—a lustre that had nearly distracted them from the barely protruding horn on one side of her head.
Her skin was smooth and fairly tanned; when a light passed over it, they could see that it held a faint reddish tint.
She had not yet turned around, so Alark could see from the side.
During their awe, a dragon-like scaled tail had fallen through the dress's opening. They were still charcoal black and still retained the flowing purple engravings from before.
He looked over to Karin, who appeared in a daze. He couldn't see her face, but he was sure she wasn't even blinking; she was never that still.
'Hmm.'
Alark casually looked around the room, passing his gaze from demon to demon.
They had all but forgotten the ceremony; it almost seemed they had forgotten themselves. This was the first time any of them had been faced with the true absurdity of this world; they were nothing more than frogs in a well.
They had all known it, but after getting on with their secluded lives, that sentiment may as well have been fantasy.
All the other demons were staring at he...
Alark suddenly froze.
His eyes had locked with one of the elders.
'Is that Ana?'
Her eyes bore into him even through the veil; he almost felt naked before her.
She didn't even appear surprised by the girl; in fact, she looked more surprised at his behaviour than anything else.
His mouth opened, and he felt compelled to speak, but he quickly remembered the situation.
Before he could turn away and hide how startled he was, a voice echoed directly against his ear.
"You will come and see me after this."
It was like her lips were barely pressed against his ear; her soft words contained a piercing undertone that struck fear into his heart.
A dry sweat formed on his back, and he quickly turned away, no longer able to meet her gaze.
A short moment later, a long exhale broke the silence and distracted the room.
They had not realised just how quiet they had been until the little demon's breath relaxed the air.
The clear light of clarity entered her eyes, and her newfound awareness became apparent.
---
_I felt strange, but free._
_I suppose I was right; it was similar to the time I had been born from that amber cocoon._
The room seemed to hold such immense clarity.
_It's like I had been deaf before, yet it's not all that different; only my impression of it is... new instincts?_
_From one shell to another—I guess it will feel like this every time._
Flicking my eyes to the side, I stretched my fingers outward and the interface opened to me.
[ [Health: 98 --> 128]
[Mana: 38 --> 53]
[Bloodline: Imp --> λ-Pride Demon]
[Contractor class now active]
[Gained: [Principle of Pride]]
[Stat Points: 0 --> 10]
[Strength: 7 --> 12]
[Agility: 13 --> 18]
[Mind: 5 --> 10]
[Enyin: 21 --> 31]
[Exyin: 15 --> 25]
[Abilities:
[Scratch lvl3] --> [Martial Arts (Bloodletting Style) lvl2]
[Aphantic Mana Sense lvl3 --> lvl4]
+[Dark Magic lvl1]]
[Titles:
+[λ-Pride] ]
_Ooo, that's quite the boost, though at first glance it isn't actually as much as I was expecting... That said, I have no idea what the title does, nor the principle of pride._
_It could be extremely crucial..._
_Let me see the main screen again._
[Remnant of the One: System Interface
[Name: Syrin] [Level: 1/20 (0/100 exp)]
[Health: 128/128] [Mana: 53/53]
[Bloodline: λ-Pride Demon]
[Soul-type: Inner-world (Grade I: Garden)]
[Class: Choose]
[Special Class: [Contractor (Active)]
[Stat Points: 10 + (principle of pride (choose))
[Strength: 12]
[Agility: 18]
[Mind: 10]
[Enyin: 31]
[Exyin: 25]]
[Abilities:
[Scale-cast lvl4] [Aphantic Mana Sense lvl4] [Stealth lvl3] [Ambidextrous Manoeuvring lvl3] [Spatial Awareness lvl3]
[Lightning Magic lvl3]
[Dark Magic lvl1]
[Martial Arts (Bloodletting Style) lvl2]]
[Titles:
[Synesthesic] [One Against Many] [Monster Slaughterer] [λ-Pride] ]]
_The exp requirement went down?_
_How elating! But wait... what if it doubles again?_
_Oh gods, have mercy on my soul; I don't think I could possibly increase my En-stats enough to keep up with it..._
I had to let out a small sigh.
_At least the martial arts sound pretty majestic. It was probably derived from my scratch skill since that's gone, and I probably only got it because of my high En-stats._
_I'm going to have to look at all of this when I have some time alone._
"What in the face of the Elioi?"
"What should she be named?"
"That's your first thought?"
"Why do you care? She's a freak, maybe even a spy. Just look at those eyes."
..
_Voices._
Voices met my ears, and they were intelligible.
I could understand them.
_This is... surprising somehow... Strangely unnerving, yet relieving all at the same time._
'fold?'
'spy, freak, and eyes'
_So it is my eyes... I wondered what those looks meant._
_But I'm more interested in this fold; I don't really care for what a few cave-dwelling peons think._
_Hmm..._
_Do I feel mor- a little more aggressive?_
_New instincts, and 'pride demon'. Sounds pretty rude to me—I'm actually extremely humble._
_But if it's been forced on me, then maybe it has something to do with it... My emotions definitely seem more intense, but it doesn't seem like something I can't reign in, at least for this level of insult anyway._
_Oh? While I was thinking, they seem to have begun muttering to themselves. Are they considering names then?_
_Hmph, I already have a name._
Opening my mouth, I went to speak but found it hard to form the words properly.
...
I took some time to move around the muscles in my throat and jaw while mulling it over in my head.
"ah, ah, oh, ee, eh, se..."
A cough welled up, but I held most of it back.
_The room had gone silent, and they had all begun facing me again._
_I actually feel a little sheepish now. It would be a bit awkward if I couldn't talk after this._
"si, sa, nu, ne, rie, rol, has..."
I had to go silent for a moment, and I found myself looking at the ground in contemplation.
_I think I can do it._
...
Slow and acutely enunciated, I spoke.
"Syrin. I want to be called Syrin, not that there's any room for argument."