Essence Reborn

Chapter 5

Without hesitation, the monstrous figure was in front of Kenji in a swift flash, sneering a dark, mocking grin at its prey.

Kenji was already at the verge of death, sprawled beneath the monster like a discarded rag doll. With blurring, half-blind vision, he managed to move enough to stare at himself. He was not surprised his left arm was gone and both his legs were severed, with red blood pooling all around him.

After all, it was Doomsday. There was nowhere he could run, even if he still had the legs to do so. Not that he could have done anything; he was the least-ranked among all the dead members the unknown monster had killed. And what he least expected: the commander, a C-rank class, was also killed with ease within a matter of seconds.

Kenji looked at himself once more, letting out a terrifying, agonizing laugh filled with sorrow and something he couldn't grasp.

"....Ahhh hah! Always the weak. No, Father, I couldn't carry your legacy. I couldn't carry your name... More! More!" he continued with the terrified laughter as tears streamed non-stop from his eyes.

"Don't ever forgive me, failure."

Just as the last word slipped past his mouth, the monster's claws pierced through his chest, bursting through the broken wall behind him. A squirt of blood followed as Kenji squirmed violently with wide eyes.

Amidst the chaos, the corner of his mouth managed to twitch helplessly into a deadly smile. As if that was not enough, the monster raised him upward with its claws still inserted through his chest, causing an excruciatingly swift death as blood gushed out of his mouth, shakingly.

The final blow then smashed Kenji onto the tattered wall, breaking even more rock and surface behind it.

A predatory victory flashed in the eyes of the appendaged monster as it screeched, low, across the vast cave. The sound was so terrifying that it rattled like a grinding howl through the entire chamber.

Kenji lay broken, already in the phase of death, as his eyes dimmed slowly, struggling to catch the last light of life and the monstrous figure as it walked amidst the dark shadows, leaving only dead silence and the evidence of a sickening pressure—its true, ruthless Aura.

***

Meanwhile, at the cave front...

Lyhan had already reached the entrance, intending to get the cart sack, as expected of the members.

It had been a few hours since all the party members went into the cave, which normally didn't happen. At least two or perhaps three hours was enough for them to gather the few essence and crystals they had received.

Since the members had been in the cave for nearly twice the time they were supposed to be out, that could only mean one thing—a rare occurrence. It meant they had hit a big win deep inside the caves, securing more raw essence and crystals worth more than enough.

A smile crept across the face of a young-looking man holding a large booklet, a sort of attendance file used to record the miners, names, and the treasures they brought back.

"It seems your party must have hit a big win today within the cave. It has been several hours since your team members went in, I figured that out sooner." He drew out his voice in a surprised smile, knowing well this perhaps meant a handsome benefit for him, too. "Am I right...?"

Lyhan, standing beside him, batted his comment off with a wave of a hand, offering no reply. She was cold and silent as she picked up a quill pen at the counter beside the man to sign, before going to collect the cart sack nearby.

"You know, I've honestly seen lots of girls but their presence is unlike yours. There are quite a few rumors about you among other team members..." the young man continued with a calm smile.

She stopped at the front, unwavering even by the words, her eyes trailing him for quite a while...

Just then, a sharp, squirming sound that vibrated like air pressure beneath the cave tore out, unrelenting, breaking the long, silent moment that passed between them.

The sound was grinding, suffocating, and rattling through bones and skin. Lyhan went pale for a moment, unable to move or make a sound. The sensation washed through her like a massive burden. Only she, as a C-rank member, understood this feeling. "What is this Aura I'm feeling?" she thought to herself as confusion and disbelief sank through her.

Meanwhile, the young-looking man, an E-rank member of course with no ability, who could not sense this immense pressure, snapped his head back and burst into laughter. "Oh, I thought so... you never wish to tell me, I knew it's a big win! Seems the rest of the members had done the job down there already."

He was clueless. Lyhan, however, was terrified. This was not the sound of a mining success; it was the roar of something immense she once experienced, something linked to the Cataclysm.

Moments passed down to Kenji in the inner cave, already in the presence of death. The killing monster who had delivered the whole devastating scene had left into the dark shadow without a trace, leaving only the evidence of its devastating Aura and ruthlessness.

As Kenji's eyes slowly dimmed, coming in shocks and unable to hold the whole weight anymore... a blue-emitting crystal, raw like none had ever seen before, lay cold across the floor just nearby. It had caught his attention, sitting where the monstrous figure had once smashed him in a final thud into the wall.

The impact had eventually broken rocks and the smooth surface of the cave wall into dust, trailing scattered essence and raw crystals sprawled onto the floor. But this one, one of a kind, felt different entirely—more like a Hexagon shape, but emitting a shard of beam blue light.

Kenji managed a horrified smile. "Essence and Crystals we tried to fight for, but here we are. This one feels so different from the rest. I know it would probably be worth more than enough if sold. But after all, what more? I am already at the point of death. My whole life, trying to perfect things for myself, but it ended me here."

He screamed in pain as he managed to reach nearby to at least hold the last worth of what they had been grinding for so far. His eyes were bloodshot, and with the sudden, last turn he made, his eyes immediately went numb as he fell dead with only a hand left touching the emitting crystal beside him.

[#CRITICAL ERROR: USER BIOLOGICAL SYSTEMS FAILURE.]

[#INITIATING EMERGENCY PROTOCOL: ESSENCE REBIRTH.]

Chum

[SYSTEM REBOOT SUCCESSFUL]

[REBIRTH ASHRA'S TRUE LIFE FORM]

[ESSENCE REBORN: DO YOU WISH TO PROCEED FURTHER?]

[ACCEPT] / [DECLINE]

At first, everywhere looked like a dark space, an endless void with nothing in sight. Only the floated panel that hovered above, reflecting a light blue through the shadows.

Kenji opened his eyes, caught in demise by the sudden floating panel hovering above his eye level in shimmering light. He soon realized where he stood amidst the dark.

Many questions swirled up in his head which, of course, he couldn't comprehend. His last memory was touching a mystery crystal in the cave before his death. But now, it somehow seemed he was teleported into an unknown place, dark and strange. He thought to himself, there were questions he needed to ask but first, he wished to get out from the dark void, no matter the cost.

Without hesitation, he said, "Accept." He was ready to do anything at first to get out of this unknown place before he could pour out all his questions. Now waiting for the reply from the mystery panel, nothing changed.

He raised a brow slightly, "Hey, Accept!" but still nothing changed.

He glanced over the shimmering panel all over again, then suddenly came up with the decision to touch the hovering panel and see what happens after that.

Clicked [ACCEPT].