"It hurts... doesn't it…?"
The voice slithered in Elijah's skull like nails scraping against bone.
His body convulsed.
The pain seared through his veins, glass grinding against his bones. His heart felt like it was shriveling, drying up into a brittle husk.
"Go on… call my name… and this will all end."
The whispers curled around him like hungry fingers, tightening, waiting for his voice.
Elijah's vision blurred. His thoughts swayed.
And then his vision completely turned to black—
"Go on... Succumb... to... your... fear..."
****
When everything seemed to turn to nothing—
The agony finally vanished.
Elijah gasped, his lungs finally able to breathe. The unbearable pain that had ripped through him was gone, completely erased as if it had never existed.
Slowly… cautiously… he opened his eyes.
"I wonder what kind of nightmare I will dream for today..." he murmured.
The first thing he saw was small feet, standing before a mirror.
Dark blue hair. Ocean-blue eyes.
Elijah's breath hitched. That face.
"The devil, Gaia?" he muttered, then frowned, shaking his head.
On second thought...
No… this wasn't Gaia. This was the real Elijah.
But why… why did they look so much alike?
"Elijah!"
A voice called out like nostalgia.
He turned.
Two figures stood before him.
A man in his thirties—dark blue hair, the same blue eyes as his own. Beside him, a woman cradled a baby in her arms with pure black hair.
Elijah's heart pounded.
"Elijah's… parents."
"Come here," the woman said gently, reaching out.
Without thinking, he moved. As if it were instinct—his hand found hers, his other reaching for his father's.
Warmth. Comfort. Something he had never felt before.
But deep in his chest, an unease stirred.
"Am I missing something…?"
This didn't feel like the nightmare he expected.
It was… too peaceful.
And as if he jinxed it himself, the system interface flickered right before his eyes.
But instead of the usual cool-toned blue, the display bled pitch black, pestering him.
[ System:.... Initiating reboot... in... 10%... 20%... 40%... ERROR... ERROR... ERROR. ]
[ System: Initiating retry... in 5%.... 10%... ERROR... ERROR... ERROR ]
[ System: Error... Error.... Error... Blink ]
"What the fuck is happening?"
The system interface suddenly disappeared as if it just gave up or shut down like a computer.
Then suddenly...
An earthquake happened.
Elijah's world tilted as low as the distorted hum intensified, wrapping the air in suffocating tension.
And then he saw her.
"Jin Chae."
The familiar figure of his 'mother' stood before him, warped and twisted. Her features blurred like melting wax, and her presence corrupted into something more grotesque.
"Mom?..."
The creature smiled—a mockery of the warmth he once knew. Its cold hands reached out for him.
"Why are you here...?"
"What are you doing, Jin-Chae? You don't want to disappoint your mother, do you?"
The words slammed into his chest like a battering ram, echoing inside of Elijah's head.
"Mom?…" he croaked, clutching his head as the voices multiplied.
"You'll never be good enough."
"You were always a mistake."
"STOP IT!" he roared trying to not listen to that familiar voice.
"This is why I've always hoped you died instead."
"Why did I even give birth to you?"
"STOP IT...!"
And then his trembling fingers found the cold steel at his side.
His body moved before his mind caught up.
SLICK.
The knife pierced her stomach.
The creature froze, its warped face contorted into a shock. Its hands shot to the wound, fingers slicked with blood.
"Jin… Chae…?"
But Elijah didn't stop.
He twisted the blade.
The flesh tore and blood poured out in thick rivulets, pooling at his feet.
Her knees buckled, and she staggered, her distorted face truly showed a sign of confusion.
Elijah's voice let out a low growl as his lips curled into a cold, humorless smile.
"Stop pretending to be her."
Another twist. This time harder.
CRUNCH.
The blade scraped against bone. The creature shuddered violently, letting out a gurgled gasp.
"My mother…" he whispered.
SLASH.
The knife tore free, only to plunge in again.
STAB.
Blood sprayed across his face and clothes, the metallic scent filled his nostrils.
"My mother would never say those words."
STAB.
"She was too fragile to hurt anyone."
STAB.
"To EVER turn into something like you... was nothing but a disgrace for using her voice!"
The creature convulsed, its body glitched and continued to distort. The black void where its mouth should be opened wide, let out a chilling, guttural scream.
"Ke… keh… You… aren't human… either… are you?"
Elijah's hand steadied.
He drove the blade deeper.
And deeper...
Slick...
The body seized one last time before collapsing, the void swallowed the form whole. The acrid stench of rust and decay that the dark mist consumed remains.
When it was over, not a drop of blood or a trace of the creature remained.
Elijah stood in the silence.
He wiped his face with the back of his bloodied hand, his lips curled into a smirk.
"You call this a fear?"
Without hesitation, he plunged the knife into the ground one last time as if ensuring the nightmare's absolute erasure.
"Don't make me laugh."
[ System: Congratulations! You obtained a unique skill [ Rare ] Beelzebub. ]
*****
His body snapped back together.
Elijah's consciousness returned.
Flesh rewove itself, layer by layer, sinew knitting back like some horrific reverse butchery. His eyeball slid back into place, the heat in his gut vanished.
The blood that was splattered around the room, completely disappeared, returning back in his body.
Elijah gasped, hands shaking, patting his once-melted face.
He was… fine.
Everything had returned to normal.
A long, shaky exhale escaped his lips.
"Wow... that was crazy... I will never do this again" He jokes, as he finally able to sit in his bed with a relief in his face. "I definitely understimated this route..."
"I almost died there, if just a moment I showed hesitation, I might actually lose my body to a nightmare."
"But still... I never thought to see a part of my past life... Isn't that something like breaking the fourth wall?"
"Anyways... system."
The blue transparent hologram returned flickering right above his sight.
___________________
System:
Elijah Noe Shahrazad.
Mahika rank: F+
Unique Skill:
01: Author (EX)
Description: A story will never exist without an Author finishing it. What kind of tale will you write, knowing you can control everyone's fate?
The author can rewrite all the scenarios in advance. However, this is limited as it is incapable of controlling characters that already existed in the original story. Additionally, the author cannot rewrite the scenario if it's already happening or finished. All plot holes will be overwritten by the system itself.
[ Time left before Chapter 2]
7 days, 19 hours.
02. Beelzebub (Rare)
The user is capable of devouring dead bodies. By doing so, they can change their appearance to match the consumed body and randomly obtain one of its unique skills. However, there is also a chance of inheriting a curse from the deceased.
Special Status: None
_________________
Elijah stared on the system interface before nodding.
"...So I almost died, and all I got was a lousy F+ rank in mahika?" he grumbled. "Not worth it."
At best, he could probably light a candle with that upgrade.
"Although I would say... that Beelzebub skill is worth it for the effort."
Elijah let out a deep sigh and collapsed back onto his bed. His body still ached from the pain.
"Tomorrow..." he muttered, eyes already drifting close, "I promise to treat myself to a better meal for all this hard work…"