บท 19: Ego
The exact instant he slipped on the mask, his body went rigid with shock as a primal rage flooded his thoughts. This rage wasn't coming from him, but its storm swept through his mind with wanton abandon, attempting to burn his sense of self to the ground.
Like an ancient beast challenged in its home territory, Lokus bristled at the emotions recklessly rampaging through his mind, and with an audible growl of displeasure, he gathered himself and beat back the entity.
What occurred next could best be described as a battle of wills, as both minds attempted to assert dominance over the other through sheer force of will. Each time the rage stomped forward, slashing out at his sense of self, Lokus would respond with a harsh retort, his will stabbing out like a blade at that formless being of rage and forcing it backward.
Eventually, Lokus proved to be the superior combatant, and sent that rage scampering into a small corner with its tail tucked between its legs, where it simmered down into a growling mess of half-hearted anger and tense expectation.
Expecting what, it was impossible to tell.
Lokus sighed deeply when it was over, wiping sweat from his forehead with an arm so filthy that he just smeared dirt over himself, causing him to sigh again.
[Severed Ego obtained. Would you like to assume the role of Ego for this creature?]
'Hm?' What was this system of his on about?
[Severed Ego obtained. Would you like to assume the role of Ego for this creature?]
'I heard you the first time,' Lokus growled inwardly. 'Now are you going to explain what the hell an Ego is or are you just going to repeat the same damn thing over and over again like when I asked you about Majesty?'
[The Majesty statistic is a measure of the strength of your Majesty.]
Lokus just stared blankly at that floating screen that showed up even though the mask was covering his eyes. After literally fighting against anger itself for the past several minutes, he was all fury'd out. After a full minute had passed, he could only muster a disappointed shake of his head.
[Would you like to assume the role of Ego for this creature?]
'Yes,' he thought somewhat tiredly, imagining a nice long nap after the mental war he had just partaken in. 'Not like it can make my current situation worse, right?'
[Ego subsumed. Please see the Subsumed Egos menu for your new Egone.]
'Subsumed Egos.'
[Subsumed Egos
>Ibmund: Demon (Masked). Rank: Prince (Major).
*Condition: Injured, Serious (Left arm)]
Lokus' eyes narrowed the moment he saw that this new "Egone" of his was a masked demon with an injured left arm, immediately putting two and two together.
And now that he wasn't focused on the anger, which had mysteriously vanished, or the notifications of his system, he realized that he could now see the demon he had been fighting earlier.
It was a very disconcerting feeling. According to his Domain, the demon was still gone, intangible, and yet…
Lokus turned to the demon, who was standing perfectly still save for the steady rise and fall of its mouthed chest. His eyes saw nothing but endless darkness, his ears heard no noise, his Domain felt nothing, and yet he knew that the demon was there, and could practically see it breathing slowly within his mind's eye.
'Ibmund,' he called mentally.
The demon stiffened, as if preparing for the worst. Now that Lokus had a mental image of it, he could 'see' the large, vertical mouth where its face would be, and how its edges grew taut at his call.
'So, you have a name,' Lokus thought. It seemed… wrong, somehow. Like giving such a bloodthirsty monster a name like it was any other human assigned its life a value equal to his own. As if it had a life, a family, loved ones, instead of being a demon that snatched such things away from others.
The demon visibly quivered, very obviously having heard Lokus' thoughts, which only made him wonder why he couldn't hear the thoughts of the demon in return. Due to this, it was hard to tell if that was a quiver of indignant rage or submissive fear.
'This is going to take some adjusting to.'
Having the demon loom over him like some sort of guardian angel was an unexpected change from his lonely wandering through these caverns, but considering it could fight, it was a welcome one.
Lokus could tell instinctively that the demon would follow his every command, a side effect of mantling the role of its Ego. And he would be more than happy to turn those claws onto any would-be attackers.
'No, it's intangible,' Lokus corrected himself. It was practically useless to him now that he had taken its mask. And speaking of which, why was he still wearing it?
He put a hand on the face of the mask, only to pause as he felt a pulse enter his body through the object. It tugged at the Sovereign Gateway tucked in his spine, as if requesting access to it.
Warily, he granted the request.
It had recuperated a few drops of Majesty in the interim between the end of the fight and now, drops which quickly evaporated as the mask drank from it.
Under the astonished sight of his Domain, the demon appeared abruptly, flexing its claws and running a few of its tongues over its teeth as if to confirm that Lokus could see it.
'I see. Seems you won't be so useless after all,' Lokus said with a light smirk. 'I don't suppose you know where I can find people down here?'
The demon flicked its serpentine tail before pointing with a long claw in a certain direction. That was all it could do before Lokus' Majesty ran out and it lost its physical form once more.
'That way, eh? All right. Follow me, and don't get lost.'
After picking up his discarded axe, he set off.
Lokus couldn't hear the demon's thoughts, but that was probably for the best. Right now, it was seething with rage at its current situation as it slithered after its new master, but more than that…
Ibmund? Get lost? Who was the one who had fallen down here and spent the past several hours wandering around aimlessly, again?
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