79 Dark Hour 1 - Revenge (1/2)

- Inner Word -

As Stigma disappeared right before it's eyes, the Black Imp continued to chuckled in glee as it turned towards one of the red curtains by the large chained door.

But once the Imp got closer, the red curtain started to make way from it presence and revealed a hallway filled with mirror of all shapes and sizes levitating by the walls, and with familiar floating blue fire balls floating inside, the Imp could almost see the end of the hall.

But whether the Demon could see or not, it did not matter, as it saw the endless potential the room held and continued to stretch out a smile.

”Fuffuffuffuffu!! I must admit, Dear Sir, your world is much more complex than I had anticipated. Who knew that you had something like 'this' inside you.”

From where it stood, the Black Imp could tell that each mirror had different designs of unknown origins and the hallway looked no different from the rest of the world with thick red curtains hanging by the walls.

Though the mirrors appeared normal, the Imp knew better as it drew close. Instead of seeing it's own reflection on the surface of the mirrors, it appeared as though the Imp was looking through a window, as it saw a thick cloud of illuminated green smoke.

Before the Imp could even touch the mirror, the smoke suddenly shifted and a set of hands suddenly appeared and slammed violently on the surface with glowing yellow eyes staring at the Demon.

But rather than show concern or worry, the Imp looked rather amused, as it saw that even with each strike the mirror remained intact.

Once the creatures realized that it was impossible to destroy the mirror, they were left with pressing their hands against the surface and stared at the Demon through the mirror with their pale white skin with hollow like eyes.

”Fuffuffuffuffu!! Now gentleman, do not despair over your incarceration and listen well.Rather than continue in your pointless struggle, you should all be grateful that your lives have been given meaning despite your downfall. You will be given a purpose, to be part of a foundation of a greater goal, is it not that glorious? You've gained and sharpened your fangs to prove what exactly? Your superiority? For recognition? For identity? Or is it because of the unspoken desire of your kind, that you crave subjugation? Have you all considered the consequence once those fangs are broken and removed. It's only fitting that all of you accept your individual failure, to start accepting a new goal.”

As the Imp executed its speech, one by one the hands slowly disappeared and the yellow glowing eyes continued to stare at the Demon with burning passion from it's preach. The Imp seemed to have noticed their changes and did not miss the opportunity, as it raised both hands like a messiah and continued with bloodshot eyes.

”I say again, do not despair, as you have been 'cleansed' of all your rationality and fears. Think of this moment as a blessing as a herald of what is to come, the concept of 'pain' is gone and you can only reverent to our cause. Once the times comes, you shall all enter, an endless paradise!!!!!!! Fuffuffuffuffu!!”

After the Imp's laugh echoed in the air, the creatures behind the mirrors followed with howls fanatical joy and caused the entire room to echo under their combine cries.

'Fuffuffuffuffu!! Do not worry Sir, so long as I play my part in being your muse, you shall reach greater heights. Hehehehe, I cannot wait...'

When the creatures saw the Imp turning it's back and walked away, they once again attempted to break the glass, some would even go so far as to slam or press their heads and faces against the surface to break it.

But one must understand, these actions were not out of desperation to escape to freedom, but to follow the Imp before it disappears along with their supposed golden opportunity.

And if Stigma had remained a little longer and saw what was behind those mirrors, he would immediately recognize the creatures. After all, even if each of them had malnourished faces, he would at least recognize that some of them as the Cultivators he had killed and absorbed not long ago.

***

By the time vision had returned to his body, Stigma lifted his head and saw that he was in a dimly lit room.

Due to the sudden absence of light, Stigma needed time to adjust his eyesight. But even with the darkness limiting his ability to see, Stigma did not so much as flinch as he realized that he was leaning against Emily's bed, which would also mean he was still in the private tent owned by Emily.

After making sure that his sense of touch, smell and hearing had also returned, Stigma started to evaluate on what his next move will be.

Although Stigma had experienced a number of shocking events. Such as waking up inside a cave filled with rotting corpses, to discovering huge animals called Heavenly Beast, and finding out that he was supporting a clan that was in the middle of a war.

Nothing could compare Stigma's current bafflement, as he started to recall the Imp's request.

It was not that Stigma found the task too difficult to handle, but he was told that some materials and a number of procedure were needed, as it would 'maximize the results'.

Preparations aside, the specifics on how to obtain some of items were never given, hence Stigma was at a lost on where he should start finding them.

Fortunately some of the items were already in Stigma's space ring and he may be able to find the rest in the market, but he was not arrogant enough to believe that he could find the remaining items so easily.

Thankfully no time limit was given, which meant Stigma could take his time, but if necessary, he would ask for Felix and the assassins for assistance. There was also the option of Stigma going to a merchant to purchase them, which was possible as he already knew one - Emily.

'Unfortunately, the later choice was unlikely, as Emily was facing some issue that can't be avoided.' - Stigma

From what Stigma recalled about his earlier conversation with Lara, Emily's situation would be summarized in the following words.

'Despite being provided with a variety of educational materials and connections among foreign merchants that befits her talent and potential, Emily was not very welcomed in her family.'

Before the death of her parent's, Emily was given a space ring that kept a journal, a letter with a set of instructions and her father's personal seal.

In that journal, Emily found out that through her father, she was related to the House of Four Lotus and if anything were to happen to him or her mother, she was instructed to go there and seek refuge from her grandfather - Albert Album Aurum.

But once she arrived there, it caused a stir of problems for her.

Due to the lack of evidence and testimonies to what happened to Emily's parents, dubbing it as an 'accident', many were rather skeptical of her origins and believed that she was from a nameless woman who claimed to be her father's lover/wife and wanted access to the fortunes of the family after the journal was discovered.

But once Albert Album Aurum discovered that her features were similar to his late son along with the familiar handwriting on the letter and the personal seal, he immediately believed that Emily was his granddaughter and would not allow her to be abandoned without reason and became her legal guardian.

Since then, none have openly harassed her because of his protection, yet many still scorned Emily in secret as the bastard child who did not belong and was only after the family fortune.

Emily, however, did not cave in from the countless derision aimed at her and decided to study diligently to earn a merchants license - a type of credential that can only be gained after passing a special exam from any merchants guild such the House of Four Lotus.

Like in Stigma's previous life, one must possess a license as it acts as both a form of identification, as well as a legal requirement to start and own a business, or practice a specialized profession.

Owning a license means any individual is recognized as a trusted member of an organization of their respected field of work, and are protected by their rules and regulations in case of disasters.

However, owning such privileges and succeeding ones, must also mean certain to difficult requirements must be met.

For merchants, one of the known requirement was that one should at least be the age of twenty. But in cases of geniuses like Emily, so long as a letter of recommendation was provided by a senior member of ten years, then they were exempted by the first rule and can participate in the early age.

With Emily's precocious nature and prodigy like intelligence in mind, the grandfather - being her legal guardian and a merchant with over thirty years on record, could not deny the possibility of success and would only recommend Emily for the exams after she accomplished his fair challenge.

To start from the bottom and handle a business with her own money then provide results, to which Emily agreed.

With the fortune left behind by her late parents, Emily had the means to start or invest in a medium sized business, so there was little the grandfather could say to stop, much less discourage her means of motivation.

Besides her close aids - Lara and Roger accompanying her of their own free will, Emily had used her own fortune to finance their transportation, inventory, along with necessities such as their rations and water.

Emily also included the guards individual salary in her budget, which was meant to be handled by her grandfather. Further emphasizing that the young heiress has taken such responsibilities into consideration, and was serious in proving her worth.

At the same time, it would also mean that if Emily were to fail in the slave market financially, all the effort and fortune she had invested in would be wasted.

'But losing money was not going to discourage Emily's true motivation to prove to everyone that she was raised as a proper successor and was not someone to be ignored. But with her 'Seniors' being uncooperative and the mountain of troublesome task that was pushed on to her, describing Emily's situation to reach her goal as stressful or bad would just be a poor choice of words.' - Stigma thought in a solemn tone, as he found his option in relying on Emily to be very slim.

Even if Emily's decision to stay was made out of stubbornness, there was not much Stigma could say as Lara informed him that even when backed against a corner, Emily would not easily throw away her decision.

”....Because that is the type of girl her parents raised and loved....*sigh*....What a complicated life she must live in and I thought my old life was difficult...I guess there's no escaping a harsh life in whatever type of situation one lives in or experiencing their darkest hours[2].”

After looking at the situation in whole, Stigma could only speculate the hardships and failures Emily had faced, so it was not his place to judge her decision.[3]

Seeing that he had other options in mind, Stigma sighed and tried to plan his next move, only to realize a small problem - he had received a stiff neck.

*Crack!* ”What the hell...” *Crack!* ”Damn, is this how most Cultivators go through when they end their meditation.....this sucks...”

As Stigma continued to exercise his shoulder muscles, he eventually realized that it was either a sign that most Cultivators have met the same issue at some point of their lives.

Or that Stigma needed to prioritize a better environment that not only protected him, but also had a means of comfort to lay down his body and let him sleep in peace once his Cultivation ended.

Before he could stand up to stretch, Stigma was suddenly greeted by the sound of barking, along with a gentle voice that may have took notice of his presence when he had cracked his neck.

*Arf!* *Arf!*

”Welcome back, Master.”

The barking naturally belonged to his pet Wolf Heavenly Beast familiar - Kirin, while it took Stigma a few moments to realized that the voice belonged to Hilda - his Demon Sword familiar,

Before their conversation even began, Kirin suddenly landed on his lap and nuzzled its head to his stomach for his attention; causing Stigma to laugh and respond by repeatedly grooming the baby blue wolf's fur with affection.

Stigma also saw Dusk - the invisible Wraith, standing by the corner of the tent, so he felt assured of his safety with their presence and relaxed as he turned to greet Hilda with a smile.

”...I'm back Hilda, Kirin, Dusk. How are you guys? Did anything happen when I was gone?”

”Thank you very much for your concern Master, we are fine. As to Master's next question, there have been none concerning this tent. But I must inform that during Master's absences, the festivities are still underway and some guards had appeared to perform a routine check to verify our presence, as there have been a recent case of kidnappings. But not one person has entered the tent's vicinity as of yet, so please be at ease. I also happen to overhear a conversation that because of the gambling event in the proceeding morning, majority of the guards are being pushed overtime with another investigation underway. Hence, I advise Master to not go near any of them in a later date as they might be unapproachable mood. On that note, there will be a sales on.....”

”.....”

Although Stigma asked out of reflex, he had not expected Hilda to actually respond to his question in a detailed manner, which means to say that he had clearly underestimated the living weapon's capabilities to adapt and collect information.

Be that as it may, with the Demon Sword's inability to move or change location, what was there to expect other than hearing nothing but hearsay.

Yet after his prolong stay in the Inner World to 'train' with the Imp's hellish trials and going through new found discovery one after another.

Stigma felt that he had experienced enough surprises for today and continued to listen to Hilda's report as he played with Kirin's ears.

Compared to his time living alone in seclusion, so long as he had somebody to rely on, being in a bizarre but dangerous world was fine.

Although Dusk remained motionless by the side line and only responded to his orders, it's presence gave Stigma a sense of security, while Hilda and Kirin gave him emotional support to quell his insecurities.

Both forms of happiness he had lost after the passing of his parents, so Stigma truly treasured the moments he interacted with them as he had a number of issues to deal with in the future.

One of them being the Grudge Soul - the collected resentment and blood lust of all the deceased soul Stigma had absorbed involuntarily.

From what the Demon Imp had told him, until Stigma finds a way to quell their supposed desire for revenge and submit to him, Stigma may likely suffer backlashes in the future and he will likely be plagued by a series of random outburst in his everyday life.

The only way to lessen the degree of the danger was by solving past issues of the deceased, and the only lead Stigma has is the name Jaculas Fel, so he really needed information and Emily's help to end future troubles and to find out about the Original Stigma's origins.

As for the Wrath soul, it was unlikely that Stigma would absorb it, as intuition told him that it would only lead him to unwanted trouble.

As Stigma's mind started to wandered off, Hilda suddenly gave a question that caught him of guard.

”By the way Master, how was your Cultivation? You took longer than last time to awaken, did something happen?”

”....”

After being hit by such a question, Stigma was reminded of the Demon along with it's request, so he was at a loss of words on how to respond.

It wasn't that Stigma did not want to reveal its existence, it was just that he had no idea on how to determine if the Demon Imp was an ally that wanted to support him or a foe that wanted to use him.

Up until now, the Imp had remained an enigmatic figure that annoyed Stigma during their interactions and had tormented him in every possible way to amuse itself in a form of 'combat' practice.

Stigma still could not bring himself to think that the Imp was an enemy or deny that it was also his comrade as he gained something in the end.

As for the Imp's request, time and preparation was needed, but the outcome was summarized to strengthen Stigma's level of safety and survival in future conflicts. Which further proves that the Imp had plans for him in the future and had no intentions of straying from it's goal.

Given that the Imp had obvious combat experience, an abundance otherworldly knowledge and actual power, there was no denying that it was beyond any mortal means and could it easily subdue Stigma whenever it pleased or end his life on a whim and control his body rather than train him to grow stronger.

With that in mind, Stigma was rather vexed on how he should approach the subject when it correlates to his cultivation training and his relation to the Demon.

Stigma did want to get even with the Imp at some point, but with the obvious gap between them, he might as well jump directly in an active volcano and expect to live then swim in it[4].

And if the Demon did have plans in mind to use him in the future, then Stigma could only blame himself and accept his fate from being gullible enough to be tempted by its deals.

'...Action's alone do not define a person's future, but the choices they made will pave the path..... That's right, whatever happens will be my decision....'

After dismissing his troubles, Stigma choose to summarize his answer as vaguely as possible, with the exception on the Imp's existence as to not worry his familiar, as it cared for his safety.

”....Nothing but a fruitful experience.....you could say I went through a few....inspirations during my Cultivation, so it took longer than expected.”

”Oh!!!!!! As expected of my Master!!!! Despite Cultivating in such a young age, no one could be your match under the heaven in terms of quality!!!”

”...Thank you for the compliment Hilda...”

”Your welcome Master. If there is something on your mind, please ask me for advice.”

”....I'll keep that in mind....”

Though Stigma managed to avoid the subject, he still did not know how he should explain it to Hilda.

It must be noted that as Stigma conversed with Hilda, no trace of anxiety, fear or paranoia could be heard from the Demon Sword's voice.

Making it clear that the familiar wanted to avoid revealing any sign of weakness, appearing as though it was reliable and was not useless before Stigma's presence.

Nonetheless, whether it was because of Stigma's presence that Hilda regained its calm demeanor or that Hilda had gained a split personality born out of it's obsession, one could only guess.

”By the way Hilda.....How is Emily's condition? Any better?”

”?.....The child is still a sleep, but based on the aura she is producing, the ailment of fatigue and exhaustion had yet to subside completely. It is more a less a 'minor problem' for a Cultivator of her level.....Might I ask Master, is there a reason for you to be worried about her?”

”....I more or less had went through similar hardships she is facing. So I feel that unlike me, who had no one to rely on, she at least deserves someone looking out for her health when her sister is not around. Plus, you should remember I come from a place where the rules and responsibilities are different, which means I don't known much about different customs and I need people to trust like you to help me..... Understand.”

”.....I see, your trying to make friends...I understand...”

After providing his answer, Hilda also replied in an unwilling tone to drop the subject like it something else in mind. But understood that what it's Master's says goes, making Stigma feel awkward when the conversation ended with a sour mood.

'.....Although I said all that, Emily does remind me of my spirited junior who I once took interest.....oh well....'

After giving his explanation to Hilda, Stigma had time on his hands, so he decided to perform some experiments with his new found inspirations from his trials. But when Stigma heard someone from behind him suddenly coughed, so he turned around to investigate and felt that his plans will have to be delayed.