บท 2: Chapter 2- You Are Mine
Chapter 2- You Are Mine
People were running around as they cried for help, their eyes filled with terror that had no bounds. What was chasing them were entities that Talon had never seen before. Things that should've only existed in legends and fiction.
They were completely dim-black in appearance. The type of black that sucks all light and makes the entity appear like a moving black hole. On its lightless body were countless sparkling dots akin to the stars in the sky.
They were the height of an average human and the size of one. They had rather long arms with sharp fingers. As for their faces, they had huge gaping mouths and a rather particularly big sparkling dot akin to a big star right in the middle of their faces. Other than that, they had no noses, no ears, and no expression for that matter.
"No!!! No!! Help me!!!"
Near Talon was a woman who got chased till she stumbled down and was finally caught by the entity. Immediately, the monster bit down on her neck as she shrieked in pain. The moment the monster did that, something changed. Her cries stopped and her body froze as if she was covered in ice. However, Talon could see her muscles spasming visibly as the monster let her go and started walking away.
Meanwhile, terrifying changes were starting to happen to the woman. Dark matter formed over her skin, completely covering it. It was akin to a slimy liquid that slowly crawled up her body and ate her flesh hungrily. Her dying eyes were submerged completely as she turned into an entity, similar to the one that killed her.
Then, the creature let go of the girl who was no longer the same. A few seconds later, she slowly started standing up and running as if she was one of them and ran after other people. Everything started and ended in less than 10 seconds.
Meanwhile, Talon, who watched that unfold right in front of him, felt his heart sink in as fear welled inside him. All around him, in and outside the apartment complex, tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of these creatures were running rampant everywhere. Many people were caught while others were simply running around unable to even fight back because of the sheer number.
As he was like that, Talon felt a presence right behind him. Looking back, his face paled as he noticed one of those abominations targeting him. Its arms were stretched forward ready to pounce on him. Talon quickly retreated back as the monster continued closing down on him. His first instinct was to run, but the next moment, he changed his mind.
"Don't you dare!!"
So, without any hesitation, Talon grabbed a stone that fell right next to him and quickly threw it into the monster's face. The hit was direct and strong, making it stumble back. Then, Talon stood up and quickly attacked the monster with all his strength.
He didn't even know if attacking it was the best idea but also knew that he wouldn't be able to run away for long considering the situation. His best chance was to actually try defending himself rather than running and the best way to defend is to attack.
Using both of his arms, he pushed the monster down using all his strength and quickly started squeezing its neck. The monster resisted and resisted hard. It tried to grab Talon and pull him down.
Luckily, it didn't seem to possess the strength to do that. But, their struggle only grew harsher and harsher. The young man tried everything he could to crack its neck.
'Is this even going to kill it?!' He asked himself.
Yet, he really didn't know. There was really nothing he could do other than this. But, as time passed, he realized that the monster wasn't even getting affected. its arms were still fidgeting as it resisted with all of its strength.
'I'm gonna lose my grip!! Hnnng!!!' Talon's face was glistening with sweat as he wrestled with the monster. The creature's mouth kept opening and closing as if it was trying to clasp his arm. He had seen what would happen if its sharp black teeth were to bite him, he was as good as dead.
"COME ON!!! AGHHH!!" Growling loudly, Talon pushed the monster down with one hand and grabbed its arm with the other. At this point, any living creature should've already suffocated to death and died. However, it was clear that this monster wasn't alive or at least didn't require oxygen to live.
'What could kill it? I need to find a weak point!'
Talon didn't believe that these things didn't have any weak points. They were simply too physically weak to be unkillable.
As Talon stared down at the monster, his eyes squinted. Right in the middle of its face, he noticed the shining star-like orb. Its appearance was very eye-catching.
'Is it...'
It only took him a few seconds before he finally realized how dumb he was. So, he didn't waste time and immediately pulled his right arm away, and then he shoved it down, grabbing the monster by the face before he started squeezing with every ounce of his strength.
His arm flexed as the veins running through it pulsed and expanded. The boy's teeth clenched tightly and his face tensed up as he started shuddering. Talon's finger slowly dug deeper into the monster, penetrating its liquid flesh.
That continued for a few moments until. Talon finally reached the creature's orb and then pulled it out with all his strength. The moment he did, the creature's movements finally stopped and its limbs fell to the ground.
All the stars in its body dimmed and turned into grayish remains as if those stars died and whatever was left of them were the few strands of light that didn't end yet.
Heaving up and down with a shocked look, Talon ran his hand across his forehead. He was relieved that this worked as he really didn't know what to do if this orb turned out to be useless.
"I was scared shitless…" Sitting down on the ground next to the dead thing, Talon's eyes wandered around, scared that one of these things would sneak up on him.
However, apparently, there were plenty of humans running around that Talon didn't seem that desirable to them.
'I need to leave this place as soon as possible. It's too dangerous…'
However, as he was about to stand up, he suddenly heard a weird sound. "God! What no-"
The moment he was about to curse, his eyes fell on the origin of the sound. Right in front of him, a holographic image, floating silently in the air presented itself.
[Ding!]
[You have killed level 1 Dimension Walker. +3 Strength, +3 Agility.]
[Ding!]
[Dimension Link has been created with earth. You can now feel the link between you and the Core Dimension. You can open your status window for more details.]
"... I don't… I… What… What the fuck is even this?!" Talon blinked in shock. Things keep getting weirder and weirder endlessly.
[Talon Everhart-
Level: 0
Dimension: Low-D (Access to other dimensions restricted. Reach level 25 to unlock.)
Class: None
Skills: None
Strength: 15 (+3)- Agility: 13 (+3)- Stamina: 11- Health: 10- Aetheris: 95]
Talon read the long list of information carefully as he tried to accept them as they are. He had no other choice but to do that since he was seriously at a loss of words. Things keep getting ridiculously over the top by the second so trying to understand everything was nigh impossible.
"... Aetheris?" He read that last word with clear confusion in his eyes.
Everything in the window was understandable except for the last part. 'Is that some kind of magic-like energy? Because this is awfully similar to those books I keep seeing on the internet.'
Talon had read fantasy novels before and stumbled across stories with power systems similar to the one he was seeing in front of him. However, those had Mana in them, while this one had something completely different.
He never heard of that thing before so he could only wonder to himself. But, other than that particular detail, everything else made sense. His status numbers were very good assuming the fact that the average was 10.
'Mm, I kinda felt that increase in strength. My arms feel less tired and more energized too. I feel lighter and faster too… This is the real deal… I can't believe this is actually happening.' Clenching and unclenching his fist, Talon nodded his head in understanding.
As he was deep into his own thoughts, he didn't notice someone slowly moving near him.
"Hm?"
Looking to the side, Talon was surprised to see the girl that has been unconscious the whole time finally wake up. His attention immediately went away from the panel and to the girl.
When she fully stood up, Talon realized another detail about the girl. She was very tall, almost reaching Talon's chin which was rare to see in Korea. Her closed eyes slowly opened, revealing a pair of the most beautiful irises the young man had ever seen.
Just a mere glance at them and he found himself completely lost in them, unable to look away for a second.
They were a faint red color that was so profound, they almost radiated the feeling of a boundless universe.
Her unfocused gems finally lit up as they immediately landed on Talon. The latter squinted his eyes too and finally opened his mouth.
"... Who are you?"
He chose to speak in English instead of Korean since the girl didn't seem Korean to him.
'Come to think of it, she doesn't even look like a human. Why would she understand English?'
Considering what he had seen, the chances this girl wasn't even from this world were very high.
On the other hand, the girl didn't respond to his question and instead took a step forward. Her body swayed slightly as she slowly walked forward, toward the flabbergasted young man.
The young man didn't know how to react at that moment. Should he retreat back? Should he take a fighting stance?
'But… Why am I not feeling intimidated by her?' He realized the weird sensation that the girl gave him.
Every step she took toward him made him more and more relaxed. As if who was approaching him was the closest thing to his soul. Someone that he completely trusted and yet at the same time, didn't even know at all!
They were two contradicting thoughts that somehow blended well together.
'I need to run away… This isn't sitting well with me.'
However, by the time he made up his mind, the girl was already standing right in front of him, barely a few inches away. Her face, which was awfully close, made Talon's eyes widen slightly. The two stared at each other in silence, neither speaking, and neither averting their eyes.
Eventually, the girl's lips slowly moved as she exhaled a small breath. The hot air caressed Talon's skin and made him flinch. However, he still didn't move. He was either hypnotized or simply unable to rationally think under this mysterious aura exuding from the girl.
The girl noticed that and slowly lifted her hand up till it reached Talon's face and rested on his left cheek. He felt her soft touch on his face and the feeling of her cold, smooth skin that made his heart rate increase greatly. This was the first time a girl touched Talon's face apart from his own mother.
"You…" She faintly said under her breath.
"... You?" Talon's ears perked up when he heard her whisper.
"You…" The girl lifted her head even higher and continued. "You are mine."
Then, before Talon could even react, she grabbed him by the collar and pulled him down, sealing his lips with hers. Immediately, the whole world froze for him.
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