Chapter 26 - 26 - A Painful Tale (Part 1)

A long, contented sigh escaped through Lucien's lips as he leaned back on his chair. With the magical breakfast finished, he felt much better, he could feel as the newly regained energy inside him coursed through his veins, revitalizing his depleted body.

Focusing his mind, he brought back the dark, semi-transparent floating window and watched with a thin smile as the messages appeared one after another.

[…::: Holy Essence absorbed! Damages are being slowly healed. :::…]

[…::: Health and Energy are being slowly restored. :::…]

[…::: Health and Energy are being slowly restored. :::…]

Dismissing the long queue of repeated messages, his smile curved slightly higher with a mixture of surprise as a new message was revealed.

[…::: Energy restored to 2.50. The Trait: Viral Regeneration (Rank 1) has been permanently unlocked. :::…]

After it, yet another surprise awaited Lucien. With the creation of the first skill, the system has unveiled a new feature, the Skills section.

[…::: The Skills feature has been unlocked! :::…]

Below that, this new skill could be seen in full detail.

[…::: Skill Page - Viral Regeneration

Category: Traits - Rank: 1 - Progress: 0 EP - єฬг - ??? (comment: depth)

Description: A skill that has been the result of the successful initial fusion between the Host and ђภгєเєฬ. As long as there is available energy, the skill will passively restore the host's health, by replacing the damaged or dead cells within his body. Once the host drops below 25% Energy, the skill will automatically deactivate.

Mechanics: Converts 0.01% Energy to 0.01% Health every ten seconds passively.

Note: Traits are a special category of skill that requires no initial EP investment to materialize and create. :::…]

Reading through the details, Lucien was quite surprised. If what was written on the screen was true then he had to admit, it was quite a handy skill to have. Also, by the skill's wording, it seemed that he had this ability for a while now, it was just that now the system has recognized it as a bona fide skill and provided a description for him.

'Could I be having other skills still hidden from me? What do I need to do to get them unveiled?' He lamented as he dismissed the current text and brought up his Status Screen.

A moment later the bloodied, eerie text reformed, bringing forth his current details, with the new section, the skills being features as well.

[...::: ℭ???????????????????????????????? ???????????????????????? ::: ???????????????????????? ????????????????????????????: 01 - 0% :::...]

[…:::

????????????????: ???????????????????????? ????????????????

????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????: 11.03% - ????????????????????????????????????

???????????????????? ????????????????????: ???????????????????????????? ::: ℜ????????k: 1 ::: 1%

?҉?҉?҉?҉?҉:҉ ҉?҉?҉?҉?҉?҉

????????:: 5

****

????????????????????????:4.94 / 10 (ℭ???????????????????????? ℜ????????????: +0.01 / 10 ????????????????????????????)

????????????????????????:7.43 / 10 (ℭ???????????????????????? ℜ????????????: -0.01 / 10 ????????????????????????????)

****

:ђгɭ ฬﻮєฬгɭรภאɭ๔ ђภคɭ ภเ קฬєן קเ. ๓๓ςɭן รгєเɭן єןɭ

????????????????????????????????: 2.01

????????????????????????????: 1.12

????????????????????????????: 2.25

ฬ๔гɭร: ????

ђ๓รг๓ς: ????

****

????????????????????????:

???????????????????? ℜ???????????????????????????????????????????? (???????????????????? - ℜ????????????: 1)

:::…]

Just as the skill description said, he was now continuously regenerating at the pace of 0.01% every ten seconds. Although this may seem too slow, too weak at a first glance, one must keep in mind, that the skill was passive, meaning it required no interaction from Lucien, and its low energy usage was something that could be almost ignored.

Lucien revealed a contented smile as he read through the details on the screen. There were still many lingering questions and cryptic, runic texts that remained unresolved, but at the very least, he was walking in the right direction.

Stretching his limbs, a loud, healthy yawn escaped his lips as he finally felt ready to tackle the day's challenges.

After the long-awaited discussion with this blonde woman that seemed to be adamant in assisting him, and learning where on Earth they actually were, he wanted to finally work on and hopefully complete the system's task as well.

"So…" Opening his eyes, he looked at the smiling woman patiently waiting and looking at him all the while he regained his healthy colors.

While he still wasn't completely certain about her true goals, Lucien now accepted that she meant no harm to him. With a lowered alertness, but still remaining slightly vigilant, he looked at the woman with a calm expression and spoke.

"So, now that the breakfast is done… I'm eagerly awaiting to hear your tale, Miss. Sera. Most importantly, I want to know the answers to three questions. Who are you, where are we, and most importantly: What do you want from me?"

"Right… I did promise that, didn't I?" Sera chuckled as she leaned back on his chair and her arms to support her ample bosom.

She took a moment to gather her thoughts before she leaned forward and placed her arms atop the table. The smile faded from her face, replaced by a solemn, slightly pained look.

"What I will tell you, will be painful. Still, I ask you to try to listen and understand everything before you make your decision."

With that, she finally began.

"Let's go through them in order. As I mentioned previously, I am called Sera De'Angelis, A devoted servant and follower of the previous Chosen…" A painful look flashed through her face for a brief moment before it vanished with a heavy sigh. "… Your predecessor, actually. Before he…"

Sera tried to be strong, but when she thought back to the moment of her departure, her voice cracked. She grabbed onto the edge of the table and sighed a few times before she could continue.

"Before he left, he made sure his legacy will not die with him. He made sure that humanity will have a standing chance and will not succumb to the same fate. With his great sacrifice he made sure that with you, this world will be able to fight back the Great Disaster that will soon befall on this unsuspecting world."

Listening to the woman, Lucien frowned.

"I don't understand anything you are saying…" He commented. "What fate? What Great Disaster? What predecessor? Was he my family… my father?"

With a woeful, pained look on her face, Sera nodded.

"Yes… In a way, I guess it was fair to say that he was your father. Although he wasn't your birth father, you were the one he chose, his legacy continues to live through you."

Seeing the rising anger on Lucien's face, Sera hurriedly continued.

"I know you feel hurt due to the long, torturous years of your childhood. Even though it may seem like it, he didn't abandon you willingly. His choice was a necessity. He left not just you, but everyone…"

A loud clap reverberated in the small room, Lucien's hand hit the wooden surface of the table.

"Enough!" He yelled with visible anger on his face. "He didn't leave 'willingly'? HE THREW ME AWAY! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT I HAD TO GO THROUGH?! EVERYONE HATED ME!"

"I know… I was watching your progress… keeping you safe." Sera meekly tried to argue, only to further fuel the fire in Lucien's heart.

"YOU KNEW?!" Another loud hit echoed in the room. This time his knuckles clashed against the wooden boards. His face further contorted, as all the pent-up emotion that he kept stored away throughout the years was released at the same time.

"YOU KNEW?! AND YOU LET ME SUFFER?! Where were you when I was beaten? When I was crying alone? When I needed a friend, a shoulder to cry upon?!"

Tears began to swell and escape through the corners of his eyes as he continued to lash out at the poor blonde woman.

Sera didn't even try to argue, she just listened with blurred, teary eyes as the boy finally vented all the hurt, he had to suffer through.

"Where… Where were you when they took me to the facility? When they experimented on me… when they… when they…" He couldn't finish, he broke down and powerlessly plopped back on the seat. He hid his face between his arms on top of the table as he continued to cry his heart out.

For several minutes only his sobbing could be heard in the room. Sera remained silent throughout and patiently waited till the boy was ready. She was well-aware of his woes and the injustice he had to suffer through.

Eventually, Lucien managed to calm down sufficiently to regain some of his composure. He slowly raised his head, looking at Sera's pained, woeful expression, and amidst his sobs, he asked the question that he so desperately wanted to understand.

"Why? If you were watching, why did you never help? Why did you never take me away? Why did you let me suffer?"

Sera could only sigh and respond with a wry expression on her face.

"I… I couldn't. I had to wait for you to awaken to your power, to accept your inheritance. Master explained that there is a trial you have to go through yourself before I was allowed to step in."

She heaved a sigh before she continued with the previously visible pained look on her face.

"I had to allow fate to take its course even if it was painful to watch at times. Still, know that if it ever would have come to the point that your life was threatened, I would have come without a second thought and saved you."

Tense silence ensued between the two figures sitting around the dining table.. Lucien looked at the blonde woman with an unreadable, conflicted expression for several, arduously long seconds before he coldly spoke.