Neraxis groggily opened his eyes. Just a moment ago, his head had felt as though it was being crushed by a boulder, but now he felt strangely at ease.
Before him was a strange black bed frame—one that was definitely not his—as well as white walls embroidered with all kinds of golden designs.
It reminded him of some romance comic he had accidentally read back in the academy; the designs and general architecture seemed the same, at least.
But before he could take another look around, he felt a stinging pain in his right arm and, upon looking down, saw a red line spanning from his palm all the way to his shoulder.
The line went straight through his tattoo, but it still seemed perfectly intact—the bond was as strong as ever.
Evangeline? Neraxis called out nonetheless, and she immediately responded:
[You are an idiot, you know that?]
I know... He lied back down, there was no point reminiscing about his choices.
However, she did not stop nagging. [All of that could have been avoided had you considered unknown variables.]
I can only say I'm sorry. I tried doing it the safe way, I really did. There were just too many irregularities. But I can assure you... it won't happen again.
[You're hopeless...] Evangeline let out a sigh before continuing, [Make me a different promise.]
He tilted his head. Like what?
[Promise me you'll get strong enough to survive through these types of situations. How does that sound?]
Neraxis widened his eyes. He had been expecting something along the lines of being more careful next time, or perhaps not even going near dangerous areas.
But this particular promise worked around his faults and even gave him motivation to continue. All he had to do in return was use his accumulated experience to survive.
It was doable.
I promise, Evangeline. This one I will keep. Neraxis smiled at his sword tattoo as silence once again descended.
However, now he had to sort through his current predicament. After all, this was neither his room nor his bed.
There was also the red line that looked very concerning.
Neraxis tried tapping on it, and besides a small ripple that was sent along his entire arm, nothing seemed to happen.
When did this happen? He decided to raise the question to Evangeline, who, after a moment, replied in a soft yet low voice:
[Shortly after Amara took you away, the skill began assimilating within your body. I am not sure when it will be done, but I'd bet 3 hours is a good estimate? Probably?]
He took in that information before a glum expression appeared on his face. Right, how long has it been since the auction?
[4 hours, give or take a few minutes. Unless...]
His head was starting to hurt at the prospect that he might actually be late. Disappointing his mother twice in two days would not be ideal.
A shiver went down his spine as he thought that; Evangeline's suspense was not helping either.
[Heh... I'm just kidding.] She suddenly burst out laughing, earning a glare from Neraxis.
However, she quickly continued, [You've been out for 30 minutes. You were transported pretty fast, I'd say. She used that strange sword of hers to take you to this place.]
I... Don't do that again, please... He let out a sigh before continuing, Do you know where this place is?
[Nope.]
Ah... I see.
Just as he found himself growing more and more comfortable, he suddenly heard footsteps on the other side of the door, and they were approaching fast.
Neraxis summoned his sword and went into the corner of the room, preparing to strike if necessary.
However, when the doors opened, what greeted him was something he did not expect to see.
"Greetings, Veiled One, I have brought you your dinner," a soft feminine voice spoke out.
It was a being with two horns on its head and the body of a little girl. The key characteristic was the miniature scales on her arms, scales that seemingly belonged to a lizard.
Neraxis was unsure of how to react. His instinct was telling him to kill the monster before him, but his gut said otherwise.
[Ohh... Yeah, don't touch her, she's a sweetie. I can assure you she's not here to harm you.] Evangeline's warm voice rang out, stopping his earlier train of thought.
Taking a weary step forward, he sheathed his sword. "Hey there... What's your name?"
She glanced at him for a moment before placing the tray of food on a nearby table and performing a deep bow before speaking. "You may address me as Delta, Veiled One."
"It's nice to meet you, Delta—but what do you mean, Veiled One?" Neraxis replied politely while asking a question of his own.
"You have joined The Obscura, therefore you have become a Veiled One. The miss will explain everything to you at a later date. For now, please eat. I will come back shortly." Delta bowed once more before exiting and closing the door behind her.
Obscura huh. Never heard of it. He proceeded to put that to the back of his mind before approaching the plate of food. In just a few moments, he completely inhaled everything there was.
Soon, Neraxis decided to take a closer look around the room. It was spacious, as though it was made for a king. But at the same time, it felt like a prison.
There was light; however, no windows were in sight. It was as though the light of the sun was shining down at him straight through the ceiling.
He found it odd but decided to ignore it. Taking another glance around, he spotted a desk with an unusual-looking lantern on top of it.
His curiosity got the better of him, so he walked up to it and stared directly into it.
There was a small flicker of light that kept getting more pronounced each time he blinked.
Eventually, he decided to reach out his hand and touch it. However, the moment he did so, the lantern shattered, and the small flickers of light that had been there previously now turned into a raging fire that circled all around him.
One that was a deep red color—resembling blood.
However, the strangest part was no matter how close to the fire he got, it was not burning him—he didn't even feel warm.
Evangeline, what is this? Neraxis wondered as he put his hand through the fire, which fully enveloped it but did not burn him.
[Looks like fire made of mana from whatever this place is. Looks like it doesn't have a property.]
Property? You mean an affinity? He raised his brow and continued playing around with the fire until a set of footsteps resounded in the distance.
[It's similar. You can have the affinity of fire, but if your fire doesn't have the heat or burning property, then that's what comes out.] Evangeline explained as she summoned herself and began putting out the flames.
Oh... That sounds interesting. He nodded before taking the shards of the broken lantern and stuffing them into a nearby trash bin before walking back to his bed.
After a few short moments, his door was opened, and Delta greeted him like earlier and spoke: "Veiled One, the miss is calling for you."
"Amara, right?" He asked, just to be sure.
However, Delta's reply was cold. "Don't refer to the First Veil as Amara. She does not use that name here."
Before he could apologize, Delta suddenly twisted her body, and the plate of food that had been right next to his bed turned into dust.
The only thing he could see was a flash of green light. That was all.
"Come, Veiled One. We are going to meet the First Veil."