2025-10-14 22:08:41Moonlight poured over a wide clearing, and there—lying in the center like a fallen deity—was a creature Lith had only ever seen in the illustrations of old tomes.
A dragon. Its scales shimmered faintly under the pale glow, dark as the abyss yet veined with streaks of indigo light. Shadows clung to its form like mist, bending unnaturally with every ragged breath it took. Blood pooled beneath its enormous body, a deep gash tearing across it flank as if it had been struck by a blade sharper than anything human hands could forge. Lith stood froze, his heart pounding in his chest. A...a dragon? No. That's impossible... But if I'm seeing this right...this is really...a dragon. Oh gods, I can't believe it. I'm looking at a dragon... His throat ran dry. The fireflies had brought him here, to this dying, majestic being. And despite the suffocating pressure pressing down on his chest, Lith noticed it—her breathing. Ragged, shallow, and almost...human. "... She's dying," he whispered. Lith knees shook, yet his instincts—the healer's instinct—pushed him forward. He lifted both hands, trembling, and spoke softly as if to a wounded child. "Calm down... I won't hurt you. I just... I just want to try. To help you." The dragon's violet eyes fluttered open, glowing faintly as they looked into him. Lith swallowed hard. Fear coiled in his gut, yet he stepped closer and pressed his hands against the edge of the wound. "Please...just hang in here." He summoned his gift. Light flickered between his palms—faint, fragile. It sank into the wound...and fizzled out. "... No..." Lith's voice broke. He tried again, and again. Each time, the glow faded, as if mocking him. Blood welled fresh from the dragon's wound, soaking the ground. "No, no, no... Please... Just this once. God, I beg you—give me strength, even just tonight. Let me heal her...just this once!" His power flickered, then fading again. Then the dragon let out a roar. BOOM! The air split apart, a wave of force blasting him off his feet. Lith crashed into a jagged rock, blood spilling from his lips. "Ghk—!" He crumpled, coughing up red into the dirt. The dragon's tail lashed, shadows screaming with it. Lith struggled to his feet, his ribs aching and his vision blurring. I... can't...stop here... It struck again. WHAM! The impact sent him slamming into the ground, pain tearing through his body. He could barely breathe, yet his trembling legs forced him up once more. He remembered Father Aldric's words. ( "Your healing is not for yourself, child. Use it for those who need it—Whethere they are your enemy, rich or poor, human or beast. Your gift belongs to the suffering." ) — Lith spat blood, tears stinging his eyes. His voice cracked as he staggered closer. "I won't... I won't give on you!" The dragon's tail swept again, and Lith grabbed it—both arms locking tight around the scaled limb. The force swung hum side to side, his body smashing against the ground, but he clung on with every ounce of strength he had left. "P-please! Please, let me help you! Even if my healing is weak...even if I can't save you fully—let me do something! Trust me, just this once!" His cry tore through the clearing, desperate and raw. The dragon shuddered. Its roar faltered, turning into a painted, guttural groan. Shadows hissed, then stilled. Lith held tighter, trembling. The beast's body quaked under the strain, violet eyes dimming. She's fading. I... I need to do more...but how? And then—he suddenly remembered... —— Flashback. Lith stood in the chapel library, broom in hand, dust swirling around him. His eyes caught a half-burned tome hidden between the shelves. Its pages spoke of something forbidden. A Bonding Rite... "The human will bleed, the beast will burn. If they end up, they will be one." He lhad laughed then. "Like I'd ever meet a majestic beast..." —— But now— "This is it," Lith muttered, his chest heaving. "The only way left..." He pressed a hand against the dragon's wound, his voice shaking as he prayed. "I couldn't save a rabbit...but please...let me save you." He bit into his palm, blood dripping freely, and smeared it across her torn scales. A circle erupted beneath them—half light, half shadow—sigils spiraling outward. They crawled up his arm, burning into his veins, searing his chest. "Ahhh—!" Lith screamed, blood spilling from his mouth as his body convulsed. His soul felt as if it were tearing apart. The dragon roared, her dark-blue flames bursting to life—but instead of consuming him, they coiled into his chest, branding him with searing heat. His black hair shimmered pale for a fleeting moment, his eyes flashing gold before dimming again. Lith barely noticed, his voice raw. "Live... Please..." Then, darkness swallowed him. —— He found himself standing in a void. Silent. Empty. Where am I? And why is there nothing but darkness around me? Lith stopped, glancing down at his hands. He realized he was the only source of light in this endless void. Then, faintly, he hear it—the sound of someone crying. A child's voice. Crying? He looked ahead—and there she was. Not the towering dragon he had expected, but a small, trembling hatchling. A baby dragon, her violet eyes glimmering with fear, blood seeping from her wounds. She whimpered, utterly alone. Lith knelt, lowering himself to her level. He reached out gently. "... It's alright. You don't have to be alone anymore." His voice was calm, steady despite the tears in his eyes. "Come with me. I'll take care of you, I swear... I'll never let you suffer again." The hatchling blinked, trembling...then nuzzled into his hand. Lith burst. The void shattered. —— Lith collapsed back into the forest clearing, drenched in sweat, his chest glowing faintly with intertwined sigils of light and shadow. His vision swam, but he saw it— The dragon's form dissolving, shadows peeling away... shrinking. Until, in her place, a girl knelt before him. Long black hair, shimmered under the moonlight, her violet eyes casting a gently glow. Her pale skin was bare, unmarked, her body quivering yet very much alive. She reached out for his bloodied hand, lifting it with care. "... Master." Lith blinked, feeling dazed. "... Huh?" She lowered her head, her voice calm and unwavering. "From this night onward, my life is yours. I am Nyx, Shadow of the Eternal Flame. Command me, Maste Lith Solis." Lith's thoughts whirled, still reeling the pain, barely conscious. His lips moved just a fraction. "... What...have I done?" And in the stillness of the clearing, the shadows twisted around them, forging a bond neither could break.
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Chapter 14: Rumors & Consequences
CRACKThe first ember of gossip always starts small. A whisper at the well. A drunk's confession by the fire. A child repeating what they half-heard from frightening parents. By dawn, the story had already grown wings."They say the cursed village was saved.""A healer did it. A boy—no older than sixteen.""Golden light, they said. Like mercy itself touched the earth."No one mentioned the as.No one dared.The villagers remembered Nyx's violet eyes, the quiet promise that silenced their tongues. But gratitude has a way of slipping loose, and by the time traders passed through the Lunaris border road, the tale had changed again—brighter, cleaner, safer to tell.A miracle had bloomed in the ruins.A nameless healer restored a dying land.Some swore they saw the sigil of drawn burning in his hand.And far from that humble village, within the marble halls of Eirvale's Cathedral, rumor turned into report."Lith Solis," murmured a scribe in white, tasting the name as though it were forbidd
Chapter 13: Reversal Grace
The forest was quiet again. Only the faint hum of insects and rustle of leaves kept Lith company as he sat on a moss-covered rock, staring blankly at the trees. His coat, torn and stained with dried blood, hung loosely from his shoulders. He exhaled, leaning forward, elbows resting on his knees. "...She's taking too long." Nyx had gone to return Lee back to the nearby village, promise to come back once the boy was safe. Lith tried not to think about how pale Lee's face had been before they parted—the boy's eyes wide with fear, not of the monsters, but of him. The memory stung. Lith clenched his jaw, lowering his gaze to his hands. His palms were still faintly warm, and the sigils beneath his skin pulsed with a dim, golden light. He could still remember it—the way his wounds had sealed shut in an instant, how the pain vanished all at once. It was the first time he's ever healed himself. But he hadn't even realized it back then—too dazed, too desperate. He reached awkwardly behind him
Chapter 12: The Day Mercy Became My Sin
Ash drifted in the air like fading snow. Lith stared at the withered corpse before him, his breath trembling. "W-What...what just happened?"The ground around him had turned gray and lifeless. Even the grass near Lee's feet had dried to ash. The Fiend's body, once massive and writhing, was now hollow—like something had drained its very soul. Lith's thoughts blurred. The last thing he remembered was channeling Nyx's mana...then everything went white. He looked down at his hand. No pain."I...healed myself?" He had never done that before. Back then, when he accidentally cut his hand on broken glass, he tried to heal himself. But, no matter how hard he focused, the light would never flow inward. His gift could mend others, but never himself. So he learned to live carefully, quietly, knowing that every wound could be his last. But now—Now the impossible had happened. A flicker of joy broke through his confusion. He placed a hand over his chest, his lips trembling with disbelief. He could
Chapter 11: Life To Life
Nyx dropped to her knees, clutching her throat as pain ripped throat as pain ripped through her veins, mana flaring, collapsing, flaring again in wild spasms."Master...?"The forest wind howled. Her eyes widened—something had gone terribly wrong.——Forest—Moments Earlier.Thud. Thud. Thud.Lith's boots slammed against the dirt trail, the forest blurring past in streaks of gold and green. Dew scattered with Avery step, glinting in the early light.He should've been gasping by now—heart pounding, lungs burning. But instead...nothing. His breathing stayed steady. Each step felt effortless, almost weightless."What...is this?" He muttered, brushing his fingers against his chest. His heartbeat was calm. Every stride felt natural, like his body had finally caught up with the world. Back then, in the orphanage courtyard, he could barely run halfway before collapsing. Now he was Sprint I through rough terrain withouts even breaking a sweat.A faint pulse ran beneath his skin—Bzzt... Like st
Chapter 10: When the Bond Burns Red
The morning air was unnaturally still.Lith stood where she had vanished, sunlight spilling through drifting mist. "Nyx?" He called again, voice low but uncertain. Only wind answered, sighing through broken shutters.Realization sank slow and cold. Just say the word."Oh no..." He pressed a trembling hand to his forehead. "She took that as permission."He looked up again—but the space she occupied was nothing but dust and sunlight. A strange unease coiled in his gut, through it was fear. He couldn't even name what it was—worry, disbelief, something deeper. He turned, searching the faces of the villagers still gathered behind him, but found only confusion and whispering. The silence pressed closer, thick and uncertain. Then memories flooded his mind—of earlier that morning, when Nyx had saved him and the mother and child from that monster. How easily she had cut the creature down. How calm she had been. How those violet eyes had looked upon death as if it were a trivial thing—something
Chapter 9: A Promise Misheard
The monster's corpse still twitched, split cleanly from crown to spine. A green ichor hissed as it spilled over the broken ground, acrid steam curling upward with a pungent SSHHHSSKHHK!Lith staggered back, chest heaving. His eyes darted to the figure standing over the beast's carcass."...N-Nyx," Lith's voice crackled, disbelief tightening his throat.Her violet eyes glowed faintly in the mist, cold and sharp as polished amethyst. One boot pressed against the slain creature's chest, the other planted firmly on the stone path, anchoring her like an obsidian statue. In her hand gleamed a weapon that did not belong to this world—A black blade.It pulsed with a sinister life of its own, shadows writing like living steel over one another. The edge caught the wan sunlight and gleamed unnaturally, drinking the light rather than reflect it. Every shimmer whispered of something ancient, something predatory.Lith's throat locked. A...sword? No...that's—The severed head of the monster rolled n
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