My Soul card is a Reaper

The two continued in companionable silence, the distant sounds of the Aeni fading into the background.

After walking several hours without any stop, they reached the edge of the forest, revealing a hidden path that led to Tosva's village.

The village, nestled in a clearing, exuded an air of quiet resilience. A palisade of sturdy wood surrounded the settlement, and the inhabitants moved with purpose.

As Elias entered the village, he felt a mixture of curiosity and trepidation.

Tosva guided Elias through the village, introducing him to the wary but welcoming inhabitants.

A sense of camaraderie pervaded the air, a stark contrast to the chaos he had left behind in Eldora. The villagers exchanged cautious glances, but Tosva's presence seemed to reassure them.

As they approached the village center, Tosva spoke to Elias in a hushed tone. "We have a council that leads our village. They'll want to meet you and understand your abilities. Don't worry; they mean no harm."

Tosva left his side briefly and returned, informing him that they would be entering the hall of the elders.

Elias nodded, steeling himself for the upcoming encounter. The council, comprised of elders and skilled warriors, gathered in a circular hut adorned with symbols that hinted at a rich history. They scrutinized Elias with a mix of curiosity and wariness.

One elder, a wise-looking female with silver hair, stepped forward. "Welcome to Yume village. Tosva speaks highly of your strength, Elias. We need every able fighter to join our cause."

Elias, meeting the elder's gaze, spoke resolutely, "I'll be honored to join your cause."

The elder gave a glance at Tosva, who gestured with a nod and smiled at Elias. "We will give you the chance to prove yourself. In the meantime, rest and recover. Tomorrow, we discuss our plans against the Aeni nest we recently discovered."

Elias was pleasantly surprised by how they planned on deploying him directly to the battlefield, instead of training him.

Didn't Tosva tell him that each one would go through mandatory training to become a warrior class?

Why is the reality different from what he imagined?

Elias didn't understand what was going on and he planned to ask Tosva. However, once he settled in a new residence, the latter disappeared. Elias was informed by a warrior that Tosva left for another mission.

The only person he knew was no longer beside him, and Elias couldn't help but become more nervous as that feeling of being watched never disappeared.

Due to these suspicious glances and wariness from the villagers, who seemed to be avoiding him, he couldn't make any conversation.

Since he was too tired from all the fights and subsequently walking for hours, Elias washed himself and slept on the cold stone bed.

As lunchtime arrived, the silver-haired wise-looking elder, who first welcomed him, entered the house with a tray of food in her hands.

Elias was taken aback by her hospitality. "Elder Kasol, this…"

This woman was supposed to be an elder, one of the important people in the village.

With a smile on her face, she placed it on the side, "Tosva told me to look after you while he was gone. First, eat your fill, and then we talk."

"Thank you," Feeling elated that there was someone who was befriending him when there was no one on his side, Elias felt thankful for her generosity and accepted the food.

At first bite, his eyes lit up in delight, and looked at the elder, "It is good. Never thought Sage grass and Blue tarber would taste like this."

"It's due to our homegrown special spices," The Elder continued to keep her amiable smile.

Elias, being hungry, gobbled up the food like a glutton.

He didn't sense anything amiss until he was halfway done with eating as a sudden dizziness washed over him.

"What's going on?"

The room blurred, and his limbs felt heavy. The food bowl slipped his hand and fell on the floor, spilling the food.

Panic set in as he struggled to maintain consciousness.

Elder Kasol, her amiable smile now replaced by a mysterious glint, spoke in a hushed tone, "It's for the greater good, Elias. You are the key to our survival."

"You…" Elias felt like all of his limbs were paralyzed. After ten seconds of struggling, he couldn't even speak.

But, he somehow managed to stay conscious.

"Oh, that's surprising." Elder Kasol's eyes widened a bit and her lips curled, staring at him in disgust, "You managed to put up a fight against the poison that could knock out even our high-tier warriors. I guess it's that filthy Aeni's blood in your body. Regardless, you won't be able to move for the next 36 to 48 hours."

"Filthy?" Elias didn't even understand what was going on. "Why… are… you… doing… this… to… me?" He forced out the words, feeling a deep sense of betrayal. This one hurt him more than the gazes he received from his fellow villagers from the Eldora he saved.

Taking a seat, Kasol answered, "Fine, I'll entertain you until you are done fighting. Warrior Tosva lied to you that we are hybrids and outcasts. You see, you have been under the radar for quite a while. We just didn't act against you because we need to see if you are capable of transforming into an Aeni for a lengthy period or not.

Your blood will serve as the catalyst to create the barrier over our village so that we won't be sensed by Aeni. As our whole village will be smelled as an Aeni territory, with our invisible barrier cast on it, our village will be completely safe.

But, how should we capture you without alerting the regional lord? So, we told an Aeni army about your village, had them launch an attack on Eldora, forced you to transform, and saved you in a timely manner to win your trust."

Unsurprisingly, Elias was stunned by the revelation. "You… killed… so… many… people… just… to… win… my… trust? They… were… also… Yers… like… you, aren't they?"

Elias replied calmly, "When it comes to survival, things like ethics and morals cannot stand in our way. If it saves my friends and family, I would unhesitatingly sacrifice thousands of lives."

"monster…" It was the last thing Elias uttered before Kasol snapped at his remark gave a kick to his face and knocked him out, "someone with the filthy blood of an Aeni like you aren't qualified to call us monsters."

Soon, two armored warriors entered the house and carried him away.

More than half a day later;

By the time of midnight, the entire village gathered at a large open space filled with strange markings and mystical symbols drawn on the ground, using the blood drawn from Elias.

Almost disfigured Elias, near to his death and in an unconscious state, was placed in the circle and the elders started manipulating natural energy in their surroundings.

Meanwhile, Elias' consciousness found itself in a strange place. It was a plain white room with a pitch-black humanoid creature chained in the center.

"Free me and I shall grant you the power, Elias…" "Why hesitate when you are on the brink of death?" "Don't you want to destroy this cursed world?" "If you to live, then, you should kill everyone who wants to kill you…"

Influenced by its words, his spirit walked to the creature.

Back to the outside, the ritual was at its peak.

A scarlet translucent barrier was slowly forming over the village as Elias' life force was being slipped away at a rapid rate.

Half a minute more, the barrier would have been completed, but something happened.

Elias, who was unconscious, for several hours, suddenly had a layer of black energy covering him.

The cuts and wounds were recovered instantly before his appearance changed. It wasn't Aeni he transformed into.

It was something else entirely, something sinister.

The village elders, alarmed by the halt of their ritual and the sudden transformation of Elias, conjured weapons out of natural energy.

"Gashhhaaaaa…"

The creature started going on a rampage, killing every elder, each with a single strike, before going on massacring the rest of the villagers.

The warriors fought but they were no match for the creature.

In the end, except for the warriors like Tosva who were away, every single villager including children became a victim.

But, the creature wasn't done yet.

Filled with rage, fueled by Elias' hatred for Tosva who deceived him and the surviving villagers of Eldora who were ungrateful, the creature went on its way to destroy the survivors.

Back to the present;

Roughly a few minutes after it was done with the rest of the survivors, Elias' former villagers, and rushed away into the forest to look for Tosva, Azzy arrived there to see the dead bodies on the streets, "Damn it. I was late." He clenched his fist and set his sights on the forest. "I need to kill it at all costs. A Protos being cannot roam in these lands."

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