After wondering the upper floor for a while, which was significantly more boring then I expected, I've come to a surprisingly thin, starkly metallic, door.
_To be honest, it's quite easy to miss, as its dark shade and matte tint is similar to that of the walls..._
_However, now I could be wrong, but the three moons, mountains, and rivers engraved upon its surface could be somewhat telling, maybe._
Reaching out, I lightly touched the engraved door.
The stone was sharp-cold, and left a faint lingering pain that ran through my finger and up my arm.
I pulled away with a wince.
_What's up with this door?_
Abruptly, the door dislodged itself from the wall, seemingly now unlocked...
_That was some kind of key mechanism, right? How could it recognise me?_
Pushing aside my slight confusion, I walked forward.
There was a moment of hesitation as I considered how to easily push it open, but an idea quickly popped into my mind.
Raising my tail to around knee height, I intently focused on curling it at the tip before using it to push the door.
It was quite difficult at first, but I got used to it surprisingly fast.
_Ohh, I knew it would be good for balance, but it actually has much more potential than that._
Tiny, almost transparent grey waves rushed across the ground and into my feet—it was the door rumbling and shaking the ground.
_A musky, old scent... How curious._
I scrunched my nose and pushed the sense from my mind, choosing instead to focus visually on the door scratching against the ground.
_How often is this room used?_
Peering inside, that weird feeling started to return.
The room was small and nearly empty, the only unique characteristic being the chalk-white markings on the ground surrounding a small, intricately designed, blue treasure resembling an urn.
One foot was in the door, but a part of me paused.
_Why would there be some lesson in here? Is it the wrong room? or..._
I hesitated and was about to back away when something roughly gripped my arm.
Viciously pulling away, lightning coursed towards my arm and stray charges scattered against the walls, spraying harsh black dust into the air.
_I don't have the strength to pull away..._
A stab of panic shot through my stomach as I was yanked into the room.
I flew forward and stumbled across the ground.
Luckily not losing my balance completely, I immediately turned around to see... nothing.
_Shit, they're invisible?_
The knot in my stomach tightened.
I wanted to refocus my attention on my other senses, but a sudden, colossal weight forcibly pulled me to the ground.
It was like the air had become a solid sludge—like I was trapped in an unseeable bog...
The rings around me began to light up, and that knot unfurled into some alien, frigid pain I couldn't push away.
_I actually can't do anything here..._
That strange blue treasure at my side was suddenly pulled away, and the rapidly forming spell weaned.
A drop of hope diluted into the sea of my thoughts.
It was only a fanciful apparition that vanished as soon as it came.
...
A horrifying pain erupted across my body.
_Is my skin melting away?_
I screamed.
It was like ten thousand needles had been bathed in flame and eegerly pressed into my skin, digging into my flesh.
_It's inside. My blood... is it boiling and sweating from my pores?_
[Ability Gained: [Pain Tolerance lvl1] ]
_...anything- left?_
I couldn't tell; I wasn't thinking straight.
Even breathing felt difficult, like I had been thrown into the maw of a blazing volcano.
[You are being forcefully summoned]
_What!?_
_Did it just speak to me, or am I going insane?_
[Resisting summoning...]
[Failed.]
[Attempting soul dilation...]
[Succeeded.]
[Testing soul elasticity...]
[Inadequate.]
[Testing soul tension...]
[Adequate.]
[System Derived Prerogative: Complete Control...]
[Active.]
Suddenly the pain vanished, but it lingered like a poison in my mind.
_It was so fast. So easy. What was the point?_
_My body left me... Or was it the other way around?_
It was similar to moving into my inner-world, but instead of a graceful glide through the sky, it was a rupturing tumble down a jagged cliff face...
_Am I going to die? Already?_
---
Alark felt disgusted.
He had been waiting for her here after dropping off the letter, but she arrived before he had properly removed the items from the room.
That scream lingered in his mind, and his heart dropped into his stomach.
What had he done? He couldn't help but feel that the pain was perhaps his fault for being too slow.
'But isn't it a choice to be summoned? Is she not alright?'
He looked down at the girl on the floor and something stirred in his stomach.
Her hair was dishevelled, and her eyes were dilute and lifeless.
His mouth tasted like bile, but he had not vomited.
He'd seen far worse, but had never felt such all encompassing glottal guilt.
It was himself that he found disgusting.
Suddenly, he inhaled some air and realised he had not been breathing.
While he was recollecting himself, he heard a foot enter the door.
The shadow cloak spell he had been using had long since been dispelled, and even though he wasn't sure of who had just stepped through, he didn't have the will to cast it again.
Ana's visage entered his gaze as she walked toward the body on the ground.
Alark found himself at a loss; there was a part of him that wished Elech had seen him here instead...
He looked up and overtook Ana.
"I'll take her."
He said as resolutely as he could, while unfolding a blanket he had placed in a small bag around his waist.
She looked at him with a faint questioning look in her eyes; it was apparently a feeling she did not care enough to act on, for she said nothing in response, only backing away slightly.
The blanket drifted down, and Alark carefully used his hands to tuck it behind her back before gently lifting her from below with both arms.
They began walking, and he couldn't help but ask:
"Why did that happen? Are they all like that?"
His voice contained little energy, but Ana had still heard him—he had seen her pause for a moment.
"I said she would not be able to resist. The Angels are quite adept at forceful summoning, and you need a strong enough soul to resist it, which is why Elech trains there, and also why he rarely leaves."
A vile bitterness welled up his throat. Even the Contractor class was just another prison. Just a larger cell.
He wanted to reply, but she spoke with an energy he did not have, and it only made him more tired. His voice felt stagnant; he was undeserving of speech.
'Why am I only thinking of myself? She... she's dead. I don't deserve to face Karin ever again...'
The gravity of what happened grew in his mind, and he felt as if his world was sinking into the ground.
For a moment, Ana glanced behind, and their eyes met.
"You're too kind. You won't make a very good curator like that, Alark."
She spoke harshly—almost humorously—but Alark didn't miss the hint of bitterness in her tone, but he didn't care what she felt.
There was a violent urge to attack her.
Perhaps he just wanted to die.
However, he would easily be overpowered, and she wouldn't spare Karin after the fact.
He only sighed, feeling like his life had been a pointless one.
He had only ever wanted the freedom of the strong, but now he felt more trapped than ever.
"You're right."
Finally, he mustered some words.
---
"What!? "
"Hahahaha, is this real!?"
"That bitch will never beat me again! This must be the hand of fate."
"I... am a chosen."
An obnoxious voice filled my mind.
At first, I had no idea what he was saying; but even after I adjusted, I still had no idea, but could at least understand.
_Just what is going on?_
I tried to move, to push up from a non-existent ground...
_But... wait, I can't see._
I wanted to breathe—to expel my anxiety—but the reflex never came, and the feedback of my body never reached me.
"I'll turn you into a weapon."
_What?_
I wanted to cover my ears, but the voice was not heard, it was felt.
Somehow, I almost wished for that pain to return. But not really.
[Aphantic Mana Sense lvl4 --> lvl5]
[Condition Satisfied: Exyin > 15]
[Aphantic Mana Sense lvl5] --> [Phantic Mana Sense lvl1]
At the sound of the system, the world unexpectedly opened up around me.
_Shades of grey, it's all shades of grey._
It looked as if it had been roughly sketched with a pencil by an artist with rudimentary talent.
Sharp, ever-changing strokes ran across the walls and the chaotic array of items dotting the room.
_It's difficult to discern anything._
The sensation was similar to sensing gazes across my skin, except inverted, and I was the one gazing at everything around me and feeling the vague nature of what was around me.
I tried to focus my attention on myself, like rotating my vision outside of myself around.
_This is giving me a splitting headache._
Hah, at least that pain is gone, but my mind keeps flitting to those memories like there was something to search for. However, each time, the details became less and less discernible... I'm not going to complain about that.
I continued to stick with this new mana sense.
Most of the room faded into a smooth white texture, whereas my focus gradually grew more refined.
_Huh?_
A man, whose face maybe put him around early adulthood, had a wicked grin on his face. It did not suit him at all.
His body was quite bulky, though that might mostly be his armour.
However, the moment his image began to form colour, something changed.
"Wha..."
I watched his expression contort into one of horror. His eyes were wide, yet there was nothing else around us.
_What is he seeing? His visage is- quivering..._
Only the faintest semblance of a word touched his lips before he fell to the ground without a word.
It was so fast.
[...
Completed]
_The words... it was my voice in an emotionless tone._
_Is it the system hijacking my synesthesic title or something?_
Rapidly, my vision dissolved, but feeling returned in kind. It was a little claustrophobic.
I pushed myself up from the ground.
The tilt of my body felt... strange, but I oddly felt much lighter despite the strange pressure against my body.
Opening my eyes, an emerald screen shone in my face.
[Gained: Angel Soul]
[Warning: Your soul is under extreme tension.
Due to the tenuous nature of a forced contract, you must fulfil the angel's implied contract—his desire—and gain a minimum of five levels to relieve this tension.]
[Request: Kill Adrian's fellow apprentice, Rita.
The system will be rendered inoperable until a soul is obtained.]