章 4: The Affinity Awakening Ritual
She explained that this was an affinity-awakening ritual—a practice that allowed one to connect with hidden powers within themselves. "But to discover your affinity you must face the parts of yourself that lie buried. This journey will reveal both strength and vulnerability. You must be ready for both."
Theos nodded his resolve strong. He closed his eyes listening to Roseville's voice and letting her words pull him inward. Slowly he felt himself slipping into a trance as if falling into a deep sleep. His mind drifted, sinking into darkness.
Theos awoke in a strange space an empty boundless white void devoid of sound smell or any sense of gravity. He was alone yet he felt a presence, a strange energy surrounding him tugging him forward. Suddenly visions began to flicker before him like scattered shards of glass. He glimpsed pieces of the future scenes of battles yet to come faces of people he hadn't met but instinctively felt he cared for. He tried his hardest to see the images but they remained just out of his grasp. Frustration began to build up until his vision began to wrap twisting illusions that felt unnatural real shadows of fear and doubt began to build up in him. One vision showed him alone in that dark void and another showed him unable to protect those close to him with his strength slowly leaving him.
while the future remains uncertain, he could glimpse it, and while illusions could mislead, he could see through them. Heart pounding, he struggled to push these illusions aside, but the swirling shadows closed in tighter, whispering doubts that gnawed at his resolve. Just as despair threatened to consume him, a different memory surfaced of him having fun playing with rabbits and talking to Roseville. Now grounding himself, he remembered his promise to protect, his desire to make a difference, and his true desire to never go back to that dark void. He reached within, pulling against the illusions and doubts, grounding himself with calm clarity. And in that moment, something clicked. He wasn't just looking at the future or the illusions; he was standing between them, a bridge between what is seen and what lies hidden. Power surged through him, a sense of control over both time's flow and perception's fabric. He felt a quiet mastery over these forces, an understanding that even though the future remained uncertain he could glimpse into it, and while illusions mislead, he could see through them.
As the trance faded and Theos found himself back into the place he called home the cabin Roseville's steady presence beside him watched him her eyes filled with pride and relief Theos took a slow and shaky breath feeling both excited and exhausted "I saw things shadow holding me back and illusions trying to bring me down and I saw glimpses of what's to be" he looked down at the ground feeling the newfound power he had he spoke his voice full of confidence "I know what my affinities are" Roseville smile was soft and wide "you faced yourself tonight Theos you have dual affinities which is rare I know one which is a delusion but I can't seem to figure out the other one you will have to find out your true power" Theos had a idea what his other affinity might be but he needed a way to test it. Theos went outside having the perfect plan. He traveled to the deepest part of the forest where the mid ranked beasts roam.
As theos stepped a single foot in the forest he was attacked by rampaging Beasts. Theos Heart pounding, gripping his blade he was thrilled to grow stronger. Theos dodged the robust attack, he appeared behind the beast with a confident smile on his face. Gripping his blade as he delivered a devastating blow to the beast killing it on the spot. Beast like this wasn't nearly as strong as the minotaur had been as another beast had spotted him and came rushing towards, perfect he thought, feeling the surge of his newly awakened Primal energy. Locking eyes with the creature Theos channeled his power, weaving a subtle illusion that pulsed from his gaze. In an instant, the beast froze mid-stride, its mind ensnared in a twisted vision where it tore Theos limb from limb, reveling in a false victory.
But even as Theos held the creature under his illusion, he sensed another threat, a second beast creeping up from behind. A new idea flickered in his mind, and with a mental command, he turned the entranced beast toward his would-be attacker. As the lurking beast drew close, it swung its massive claws at Theos, only to meet the flesh of its own ally, who roared in rage and pain. A brutal brawl erupted between the two, the entranced beast clawing furiously at its attacker as Theos watched, a glint of dark amusement in his eyes Theos watched with a strange satisfaction, his eyes dark and intense, as the beasts clawed and bit, their attacks laced with desperation. There was a coldness in his gaze, a quiet, calculating cruelty that he kept carefully veiled from the world, but here, in the heat of battle, he allowed himself to indulge it. His power was more than a weapon; it was a means to control, to dominate, to break others on a mental plane before his blade ever touched them.
Each howl, each swipe, fueled something deep and primal within him, an edge of darkness that thrilled in the mastery he held over his enemies. Watching them tear each other apart, he felt an exhilaration unlike any other. It was a reminder of his own strength, his ability to shape reality in ways that could twist even the most savage instincts against themselves.
When the final, bloodied beast staggered to its knees, beaten and broken, Theos strode forward, his steps deliberate and unhurried. He took his time, letting the defeated creature see him approach, watching the flicker of fear and resignation in its eyes as it realized its doom. With one swift, precise stroke, he ended it, the cold satisfaction settling into a calm that replaced the thrill.
He exhaled, letting the darkness within him subside, his expression softening as he wiped his blade clean. The moment was over, and he regained his control, the flicker of cruelty disappearing as quickly as it had come. But a trace of it lingered, a reminder that deep within him lay something both fierce and ruthless, a side of himself that he was beginning to understand, even embrace.
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