Chapter 28

Adrelo shut the door to his room with trembling hands. The book sat on his desk like an ordinary object, but he knew better now—it was anything but ordinary. His heart raced as he paced the room, running a hand through his hair.

“I can’t keep putting this off,” he muttered, his voice a mix of determination and dread.

“I need to figure this out before the battle. If I don’t…”

He didn’t finish the thought. The idea of facing off against anyone without knowing even the basics of his magic made his stomach churn. He had no choice but to try the Core Resonance Test.

Adrelo sat down and opened the book to the section on resonance. He skimmed the instructions, his fingers nervously drumming on the desk.

“Focus on your core. Feel the flow of magic. Let it surface,” he read aloud, scoffing slightly.

“Sure, easy for people who’ve been using magic their whole lives.”

He didn't even know magic at all ever since he went to this world. He was a normal man in earth without any magical abilities. Surely, it was also normal for him to not know anything about it. Just the feeling of having magic that was made by a person felt weird for him

He closed his eyes and placed his hand on his chest, trying to concentrate. Minutes passed, but all he felt was the steady thump of his heartbeat.

“Come on,” he muttered, clenching his fists.

“There has to be something. Anything.”

Frustration bubbled to the surface, and Adrelo’s eyes snapped open. His gaze fell on the book. He flipped through the pages again, hoping to find a clue he had missed. That was when he saw it—a page filled with strange letters, symbols so twisted and jagged they seemed to writhe on the paper.

“What the hell…?” Adrelo leaned closer, squinting at the letters. They didn’t resemble any language he had ever seen. For a moment, he wondered if they were even letters at all.

“Is this some kind of code?” he murmured. “Or… magic script?”

He flipped to the next page and froze. The same symbols. The exact same layout.

“That’s… weird,” he said, his voice shaking slightly.

“It’s like the page repeated itself.”

Despite the unease creeping up his spine, Adrelo couldn’t resist the pull of curiosity. He stared at the symbols, trying to decipher their meaning. As his eyes traced the final letter on the page, a sharp, searing pain exploded in his head.

“AHHH!”

Adrelo clutched his temples, his chair scraping back as he staggered to his feet.

The pain was unbearable, like a thunderbolt splitting his skull in two. He stumbled, knocking over a stack of books as he tried to steady himself.

“What is this?! What’s happening?!” he shouted, his voice laced with panic.

The world around him began to blur, the colors draining away until only darkness remained. Adrelo’s breath hitched as he found himself in an endless void.

“No, no, no!” he yelled, turning in circles.

“This isn’t real. It can’t be real!”

In the center of the void, the book floated, its pages turning rapidly as if moved by an invisible hand. The sound of the fluttering pages was deafening, drowning out Adrelo’s frantic thoughts.

“Stop! Stop it!” he screamed, his voice echoing in the emptiness.

“What is this?! What’s going on?!”

Suddenly, a deep, guttural voice reverberated through the void.

[«You dare disturb what is forbidden.»]

Adrelo froze, his blood running cold. The voice was dark, eerie, and oppressive. It felt as though it wrapped around him, crushing him under its weight.

“W-Who’s there?!” he stammered, looking around wildly.

[«Foolish child. You pry into what you do not understand. Leave now, or face the consequences.»]

“I didn’t mean to!” Adrelo shouted, his voice cracking.

“I was just trying to—”

[«Silence!»]

The voice boomed, and Adrelo flinched as if struck.

The pages of the book began to glow faintly, their light casting ominous shadows in the void. The symbols on the pages seemed to leap off the paper, swirling around Adrelo like black smoke.

“What are you?!” Adrelo demanded, his hands gripping his head as the pain intensified.

“Why is this happening to me?!”

[«You tamper with what should remain sealed. The curse upon your bloodline is no ordinary burden. You awaken powers that even your ancestors feared.»]

Adrelo’s knees buckled, and he fell to the ground, gasping for air. His chest burned, the pain spreading like fire.

“I didn’t know!” he yelled, tears streaming down his face.

“I didn’t know any of this!”

The voice laughed, a deep, menacing sound that sent shivers down his spine.

[«Ignorance will not save you. The mark has been placed. The price will be paid.»]

Adrelo’s vision blurred, and he clawed at his chest, desperate to understand what was happening. Unbeknownst to him, a black mark was forming on his skin. The lines were jagged and chaotic, spreading outward like cracks in glass. The center of the mark glowed faintly, pulsating as if alive.

“Make it stop!” Adrelo screamed, his voice hoarse.

“Please, make it stop!”

[«You are marked, child. The curse is awakening. Turn back now, or be consumed by it.»]

“I don’t understand!” Adrelo sobbed, his hands trembling.

“What curse? What does this mean?!”

The voice ignored him, its tone growing darker and more ominous.

[«Do not seek what lies beyond. Do not uncover the truths that should remain hidden. To do so will bring ruin—to you and all around you.»]

Adrelo’s mind raced, the voice’s words a whirlwind of fear and confusion. His head pounded, the pain building until he thought it would split him apart.

“Stop it! Stop it! STOP IT!”

With a deafening crack, the void seemed to shatter, and Adrelo felt as if he were being pulled apart. His vision went white, then black.

The last thing he heard before everything faded was the voice’s final warning:

[«Beware, child of Dierre. The curse is only the beginning.»]

****

The next morning, Adrelo woke up groaning as a sharp pain throbbed in his temples. He pressed a hand to his head, trying to recall the events of the previous night. Something eerie lingered in his mind—a voice. A dark, chilling voice. Yet, no matter how hard he tried to remember its words, it was like chasing smoke.

Dragging himself upright, he caught sight of the book still lying on his desk. The memories came flooding back—the strange symbols, the weird letters, the way the book’s pages had flipped on their own. He reached for it hastily, his hands trembling slightly. Flipping through the pages, his heart sank.

Blank.

“What the...?” he muttered, frantically turning page after page.

“No, no, no! It was here. I saw it. Those letters—they were right here!”

His breathing quickened as panic set in. Am I losing my mind? he thought. He slammed the book shut and leaned back in his chair, clutching his head as another sharp pain tore through his skull.

“Argh!” he groaned, burying his face in his pillow as the pain intensified. It felt like his brain was splitting apart, as if something was clawing its way into his very soul.

What the hell is going on? Why is this happening to me?

As if in response to his frantic thoughts, a deep, velvety voice echoed in his mind.

“Why hello, little child.”

Adrelo froze. His eyes snapped open, and his body went rigid. The voice was unmistakable—it was the same one from last night.

“W-what? Who’s there?” he stammered, his voice shaky.

“Am I going crazy?”

The voice chuckled, low and sinister.

“Crazy? No, no, child. You’re far from crazy. Though I must admit, I expected more from you. Such a fragile mind... and yet, so tempting.”

Adrelo’s heart raced.

“What the heck are you talking about? Who are you? Why can I hear you?”

‘Am I losing it?’ Adrelo thought to himself.

The voice didn’t answer immediately, its eerie laughter filling the silence.

“Who am I? Ah, such a simple question for such a complex answer. But if you must know... I am the curse that resides within your bloodline. I am the shadow that has slumbered for centuries, and now, thanks to you and that little mark on your chest, I’ve awakened.”

Adrelo blinked, his mind spinning.

‘Curse? You mean the one that the original Adrelo had in the novel? The Dierre's curse?’ He wondered.

“Curse? What curse? What mark? What are you even talking about?” He kept asking the voice.

“Tsk, tsk, tsk,” the voice chided, its tone mocking.

“You truly don’t know, do you? How unfortunate for you to be the one occupying this body. Poor little child... utterly clueless.”

“What do you mean? Tell me! What’s going on?” Adrelo demanded, his frustration mounting.

The voice ignored his plea, continuing as if he hadn’t spoken.

“I’ve waited centuries for this moment. Your bloodline’s foolish attempts to suppress me only delayed the inevitable. But now, here we are... and I must say, your soul is quite intriguing. I might just savor it.”

“S-savor it?” Adrelo’s voice wavered.

‘What the- is this thing a monster or what’ Adrelo felt a shiver run down his body. He was starting to get scared of this one.

“What do you mean by that? My soul? What do you want with it?”

The voice’s tone turned cold and calculating.

“Do you wish to survive, little one? To live in this world that is so eager to devour you? Perhaps even avoid the tragic fate that awaits this body you now inhabit?”

Adrelo swallowed hard, unsure of how to respond. The words “tragic fate” echoed ominously in his mind. He stayed silent, his mind a chaotic whirl of questions and fears.

“I can help you,” the voice continued smoothly.

“I can grant you power beyond your wildest dreams. All I ask... is your soul.”

Adrelo’s blood ran cold. His lips parted, but no words came out. Was this voice serious? Was it even real?

“What’s wrong, child?” the voice taunted.

“Afraid? You’ll find that fear is a constant companion in this world. But with my power, you can crush it. You can crush them all.”

Adrelo shook his head.

“I don’t even know who—or what—you are! Why would I agree to something like that?!”

The voice laughed again, a sound that sent chills down Adrelo’s spine.

“Oh, little one, you’ll see. Sooner or later, you’ll come crawling to me. They always do.”

And just like that, the voice was gone.

Adrelo sat there in stunned silence, the absence of the voice somehow more unnerving than its presence. He waited, listening intently, but there was nothing. No mocking laughter, no cryptic words. Just silence.

“Where... where did it go?” he muttered to himself, glancing around the room. He felt foolish, talking to the empty air. Was he truly losing his mind?

Shaking his head, he tried to push the encounter to the back of his mind. He stood up and started getting dressed for his classes, relieved that the headache had finally subsided.

Yet as he buttoned his shirt, a strange sensation prickled at his chest. Pulling the fabric aside, he caught a glimpse of something dark etched into his skin—a swirling, black mark that seemed to pulse faintly.

“What... what is this?” he whispered, his fingers hovering over the mark.

But before he could inspect it further, the faint echo of the voice whispered in the back of his mind, “Quite entertaining, child”

Adrelo froze, his heart pounding in his chest. Whatever this was, it wasn’t over.