Nikolai frowned as Yuxi entered the cave after him, panting. He turned toward the archer as realization dawned on him. ‘Sergio treated her after I attacked her. That’s when the darkness entered his body.’

His darkness had a certain quality: the Bane of Elements. Sergio wasn’t a genius without reason. He had an inherent element called Harmony, the ultimate catalyst for combining elements; this was why his success rate was higher than an average person.

Since his darkness was harmful to elements, it was no wonder that Sergio ended up this way. If Nikolai’s darkness stayed in his body, it would either harm his element or his life.

Yuxi crouched beside him, looking worried. Nikolai sighed and stood up. She looked at him with confusion as she held Sergio’s hand.

“Take care of him,” Nikolai said to her as he took out his Darkmoon Longbow.

‘You?’ She gestured with one hand.

“I can’t do that, not after this.” Nikolai took out his arrow and nocked it to his longbow. A bright light exploded from the arrow as the cave was washed by divinity.

Nikolai could feel his existence repulse the power in the arrow. However, divinity was the only way he can eradicate his darkness without harming Sergio.

Nikolai grabbed the arrow with his hand instead of released it. His skin began disintegrating as unimaginable pain spread through his body.

“Agh!” Nikolai let out a scream as he stabbed Sergio’s leg with the arrow under Yuxi’s frightened eyes. The divinity exploded in the cave as Nikolai’s skin turned black.

As the light receded, Yuxi opened her eyes to find Sergio breathing normally, washed away by divinity. Nikolai, however, was gone.

***

Nikolai smashed his head against a giant rock on top of the mountain. The rock split in half as his headband came off, but the pain was still tormenting him.

He bit on his lips until they bled just to prevent himself from screaming. The divinity from the arrow was still destroying his body, and it felt like someone was burning away his very soul.

The skin on his arm didn’t recover, even after using the Blood Energy and the darkness. Nikolai looked at his hands before him, and they were filled with cracks and dead skin.

‘Nothing is for free,’ Nikolai let out a laugh as his crimson eyes turned into crescents, his teeth gnashing against each other. ‘As much power as I obtained, I had to suffer.’

He knew that it would be a while before he can come near Sergio. The divinity worked as a blessing, and it enhanced the cells in the body. Thus, they would remain in Sergio’s body for a while.

Nikolai disappeared from the world and appeared above Alias in his pocket dimension. The darkness embraced him, and the pain began disappearing as he huffed on the deck.

‘Dammit,’ Nikolai breathed out as he calmed down. ‘That hurt like hell.’

As he was resting, the dimension began growing unstable. ‘It’s nearing the end of its life.’ Nikolai started to using his mana to fortify the space. After a while, Nikolai stopped and looked at the dimension’s stats.

[Life: 24 hours.]

‘That should be enough.’

He stood up and left his pocket dimension, appearing beside the rock he smashed with his head. He picked up his black headband and wrapped it around his horns and ears.

Nikolai walked back to the cave, which made him nauseous. He found Sergio awake and Yuxi still by his side. Sergio was looking healthy, confused at what Yuxi was trying to tell him.

‘He stabbed you with an arrow, then you were fine.’

“Hm? That sign means food, right?” Sergio furrowed his brows, and realization dawned on him. “Did bossman give me food that made me better? I knew it was that berry!” Yuxi shook her head, but Nikolai stepped forward to interrupt her.

“That’s right. Why are you eating random stuff?” Nikolai frowned.

“Bossman!” Sergio turned to him with a smile, but his eyes widened. “I like the new aesthetic, but what happened to your eyes? Why are they suddenly red?”

“Yes, they’re fine.” Nikolai shooed him away. “I ate something weird in the forest when I was planning how to rescue you.”

“Hehe, we’re not that much different then. Should I get a headband too?” Sergio mumbled to himself as he pulled his blond hair back. “Thank you for saving me.”

“Mm, yeah.” Nikolai nodded. “Rest for now. We leave in an hour.”

Before they could say anything, Nikolai left. He waited on top of the mountain, sitting on the rock he split, as he resumed his Evolution.

‘I choose the Wise Choice talent.’

[Evolution is complete.]

The cube in his dantian resumed spinning as a coin’s symbol appeared on one of the sides. The cube stopped spinning as the darkness exploded and manifested into a coin in Nikolai’s hand.

Nikolai looked at the black and white coin with interest. On one side of the coin was a heart symbol, while the other had a dagger. It was obvious what each side meant: benefit and harm.

[Wise Choice: A Bloodline Talent manifesting as a coin. With each flip, the coin consumes 10 Fate Points to answer a question of yours. Cooldown: one day.]

Nikolai looked at the coin in his hand with frustration. He didn’t have 10 Fate Points, but he did have a question. After knowing that he would harm Sergio or anyone else with his darkness, he wasn’t sure that he could stay with him.

‘What if staying brings me harm? Or harms Sergio?’ Nikolai wondered as he tightened his hand on the coin. It disappeared from the world and appeared beside the cube, floating as well. 

“Bossman, we’re ready!” Sergio walked toward Nikolai, who looked at him silently and nodded.

‘I’ll need to ask that question and see what to do about Sergio.’ Nikolai stood up and began running in the direction of the dwarven land. ‘If it brings me harm, there’s no other choice but to leave. That’s the best for us.’

As much as he wanted to stay, there’s nothing he could do if he needed to leave to avoid a future that harms both of them.