Chapter 69: A Small Piece of Darkness (2)
Let’s think about this.
Erebus split the scales I lent him, the ones under his jaw, creating a powerful explosion that let him escape through the opening it made.
My body is so sturdy that it barely flinches from even substantial impacts, but Erebus managed to create an explosion strong enough to make me feel pain.
If that explosion could hurt me—the toughest creature around—what must it have done to Erebus, the one who set it off right under his own jaw?
He definitely didn’t come out of that unscathed.
But still…
“Even so, to end up in this pathetic state… Tsk, tsk.”
I clicked my tongue while observing the small piece of darkness dangled on my dark fishing hook.
Just a flicker of movement, unable to utter a single word or form a thought—this is all that remains of him.
Was this really worth everything he risked to escape? I can’t help but feel bad for him.
If he was going to smash my scales and bolt like, “I’ll destroy it if I can’t have it!”, he should’ve at least made a graceful exit! This is just sad!
I sighed as I watched that poor little fragment of darkness twist around, unable to shake off the fishing hook.
But I can’t just leave it like this.
I started to channel my magical power into the silent little piece of darkness, and it began to grow a bit as it absorbed the magic coming in.
Looks like the urgent threat has been handled for now. Hmmm.
Maybe I should take a peek into its memories?
I’m curious to know what happened to Erebus, how he ended up like this. I wonder how he got into such a mess.
Though, I am kind of doubtful whether this tiny piece even has any memories left… but hey, can’t hurt to try!
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
After a quick look through the memories, I found there was only a bit of useful info.
The first memory in this fragment was about the immense self-detonation caused by splitting my scales and the backlash from the emergency teleportation that followed, which made Erebus’s body start to disintegrate.
As a result, the eternal darkness that was Erebus’ essence shattered into multiple pieces, and those fragments of eternal darkness began to run wild.
Most of them scattered away, while the rest started devouring one another in their little food fight.
After a while, the only ones left were two big fragments still clutching the split silver scales, and this lonely little fragment.
Despite the chaos of the other fragments gobbling each other up, this one was left untouched.
This fragment held the core and essence of Erebus. Now, it’s just a tiny remnant of darkness.
This was the piece I had been delving into.
Apparently, the other pieces had an instinct about something—they knew that if they ate this fragment, they’d inherit Erebus’s name.
And doing that would make them my next targets.
So, the other fragments left this little piece of darkness behind, letting it chill alone deep underground until I fished it up.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
What should I do with this little guy?
Punishing it in this tiny state might just make it poof out of existence.
As much as it’s done wrong, I really don’t want to just wipe it out.
I was thinking of having it work in the Afterlife non-stop, day and night, until the world ends. But in this sorry state, it’s not capable of anything.
Hmm…
I gazed at the tiny fragment of darkness squirming in my palm.
Even in this sorry state, even after its shenanigans, I can’t bring myself to erase it.
It would feel too much like letting it off the hook without paying for its crimes. Yeah, something like that.
As for punishment… let’s save that for after I gather all the other fragments. That would be the right move.
But how do I round those fragments up? They’re all scattered like confetti.
If they were at least in one or two big chunks, I could just track them down and give them a whack, but they’re all over the place in endless tiny pieces…
For now, I’ll focus on this small fragment first. If I leave it alone, it might just scatter and disappear. Sealing it in something gem-like sounds smart.
I set the fragment of Erebus in my palm and created a diamond around it—the hardest of all gems. The shape? The classic round brilliant cut that pops into your head when you think “diamond.”
I encased the little dark piece within, pumping power into it, making sure it transforms into an indestructible diamond. Now it can absorb some power from outside to help itself grow stronger. I also rigged it up with a one-way exit so I can pull the power out if needed, but the fragment itself can’t sneak out.
Just in case I don’t want to misplace it, I even added a tracking feature. This newly black diamond almost looks fancy.
The sealing seems to have worked well; the fragment of darkness is just lounging inside the diamond, taking it easy. I carefully channeled my magic into it, and the power smoothly flowed in without escaping.
Good. Magic can enter, but it’s tightly controlled and can’t just waltz out. This gem is like an unbreakable jail cell for this little splinter.
Someday, if all his scattered bits manage to come together… that’s when I’ll give him a punishment that will make him cry and beg, swearing he’ll never pull a stunt like that again.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
But for some reason, ever since that day, strange phenomena started popping up in this world.
Creatures that were hardly different from animals on Earth, except for the slimes slithering on the ground, began to change in weird ways.
They became stronger, rougher, and more ferocious.
Growing bigger or sprouting new body parts was just the start, now we’ve got boars breathing fire or wolves with electric claws and fangs.
Even timid rabbits have sprouted horns on their heads, headbutting little trees to make holes.
Not every animal turned into a monster, naturally… but there are horses with horns leaping through the air and creating mists to hide themselves, still trying to live their herbivore lives!
Among these transformed creatures, my biggest concerns are… the dinosaurs that couldn’t become dragons.
Wyverns, Drakes, and Sea Serpents—those dinosaurs that failed to advance to dragonhood. These so-called “lesser dragons” had stronger bodies than average dinosaurs and had been living quietly.
But since that day, these lesser dragons started getting rougher and began to use magic.
Wyverns spitting fire, Drakes causing the earth to erupt, and Sea Serpents stirring up whirlpools—talk about a serious upgrade!
Hmm… Should I take care of these guys? Humans are still pretty weak, so if a single Wyvern rampaged through a city, it would be total chaos.
I really ought to set up some basic defenses. Later, I’ll chat with the kids from the Temple of Life to get them to set up protective barriers around human settlements. Might as well keep those wild beasts out too.
Oh, and a fun note: these changes aren’t just hitting the animals.
Some humans have begun showing innate magical abilities too. They can spew fire from their hands, launch arrows made of light, or even levitate stuff with telekinesis.
It’s only natural that people have started to freak out and shun those with newfound powers.
These gifted folks either hide their skills or band together, trying to figure out how to control their magic.
And just like that, we had the arrival of “monsters” and “mages” in this world.
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