Chapter 95: The Rewards

Chapter 95: The Rewards The last thing I saw before my vision faded to black was Cecilia, her own face a mask of terror and a dawning, unwilling concern, rushing to my side. The quest was complete. The world didn’t return with a soft whisper or a gentle breeze. It came crashing back in a broken, agonizing series of sensations that hit me one after another like waves in a storm. The first was the pain: white-hot, blinding, and centered in my shoulder where the Chimera’s venomous fangs had sunk deep into my flesh. It pulsed with my frantic, uneven heartbeat, a venomous fire that felt less like a liquid and more like molten glass grinding through my veins. Every throb sent another surge of agony through my system, a cruel reminder that I was still alive. The second was exhaustion. Not the kind that followed a long day, but something deeper and far more unforgiving. It reached down to the marrow of my bones, a profound weariness that felt ancient. My limbs were lead, my nerves raw and frayed, like exposed wires ready to spark at the slightest touch. And then came the third sensation. The most unexpected. A cool touch. Gentle, steady, human. A hand pressed against my burning forehead, fingers light as silk. It radiated a profound calm, a fragile lifeline in the violent storm I was drowning in. I clung to that touch, anchoring my fractured consciousness to it. With monumental effort, I forced my eyes open. Light stabbed into my skull. My vision swam and blurred, the world a dizzying watercolor painting. The forest around me was cloaked in a deepening gloom, shadows hanging thick between the twisted, skeletal trees. Everything felt distant, yet oppressively close. I remembered light. Brilliant, searing light from the Chimera’s final, explosive death. Now there was only smoke, an echoing silence, and the heavy stench of aftermath. The air was thick with ozone, burnt flesh, and the metallic tang of dissipated magic. It was the smell of victory, a foul perfume of scorched earth and sundered life that clawed at the back of my throat. It made me sick. Beside me, Cecilia Thorne knelt. Her face was pale and drawn with exhaustion. Sweat and blood had plastered her silver-blond hair to her forehead. Her armor, once immaculate silver steel, was dented and scorched black in places. A thin line of blood ran from a cut above her brow, trailing down her cheek like a single, stark mark of war. Still, she looked beautiful. Terrifying. Untouchable. But her eyes were different. Those glacial blue eyes, usually so cold and distant, were now locked onto me with a strange, consuming intensity. It was more than shock or concern. It was something tangled, something fierce and raw. "You’re an idiot," she whispered. Her voice cracked and broke, hoarse from screaming, chanting, or both. I coughed, the sound closer to a death rattle than a laugh. "Tell me something I don’t know." My voice was thin and broken, barely louder than the wind rustling through the dead leaves. But she heard me. In the distance, I heard movement. Leaves rustled. Branches shifted. One by one, the others stepped into view, emerging from the gloom like ghosts. Layla appeared first, limping heavily. Her silken robes were torn and stained, the regal poise she always wore now reduced to a grim, heavy silence. Eren followed, his golden armor dulled and battered. He supported Liora, who looked barely conscious. Her skin was ashen, her hands limp. The divine light that usually danced in her eyes had flickered out completely. Aurelia and Nyx came last. The two opposites—one radiant, one shadowed—walked together, leaning on each other for support. Their steps were slow, measured. Every movement looked painful. They saw it. The crater. A black, smoking wound carved into the earth where the Chimera had made its final stand. The ground had been melted and twisted into grotesque sculptures of ruin, the air above it still shimmering with leftover magic. And then they saw me. A collective, silent gasp seemed to pass through them, a shared understanding of the cost. "Ashen," Layla whispered. Her violet eyes widened, her voice trembling with realization. She understood what it had cost us. What it had cost me. I tried to move, to sit up, to reclaim some shred of dignity. My body refused. The venom was still inside me, crawling through my veins like living fire. Every breath felt heavier than the last, a mountain crushing my chest. [System Alert: WARNING. Host’s vitality is at a critical low. The Chimera’s venom is beginning to overwhelm your natural resistance. Immediate countermeasures are required.] No surprise there. My thoughts spun as dizziness washed over me again. Cecilia pressed a hand to my chest, keeping me down with surprising strength. "Stay still," she said. Her voice was soft but firm, almost gentle. "You’ll kill yourself." She raised both hands. Pale blue light gathered between her fingers, pulsing with icy magic. She whispered the beginning of a spell. It was intricate, layered, shaped by desperation and discipline. A wave of cold spread across my chest. It seeped into the wound, a welcome shock against the inferno raging within me. For a moment, the burning lessened, the frost chilling the fire but unable to extinguish its source. It was like trying to put out a volcano with a single block of ice. It wasn’t enough. She was giving me everything she had. I could feel it. Her strength was nearly gone, her own body trembling with effort, but she didn’t stop. Not for a second. Then, as my vision swam and the darkness crept in, the familiar blue screens returned. [System Alert: Main Quest ’The Sovereign’s Test’ has been successfully completed.] ▸ Objective: Slay the S-Rank Corrupted Chimera. [COMPLETE] [Calculating Rewards...] [Factoring in Host’s near-death state, tactical brilliance, and reckless stupidity...] [Calculation complete.] [USER STATUS PANEL – UPDATED] Name: Ashen Crimson Title: The Sovereign of Shadows and Flame Rank: B- Attributes: ▸ Strength: $B$ ▸ Mana: $SS+$ ▸ Agility: $B$ ▸ Intelligence: $S+$ ▸ Charisma: $S$ ▸ Luck: $E+$ Affinities: ▸ Shadow (Master – $75\%$) ▸ Lightning (Adept – $35\%$) ▸ Phoenix Flame (Adept – $25\%$) Skills & Summons: ▸ [All Previous Skills] ▸ [New Skill Unlocked: Shadow Dominion (Master-Class)] Allows for the temporary creation of a localized domain of pure shadow. Enhances all shadow-based abilities and weakens all light-based magic within its borders. *A useful tool for someone who enjoys fighting holy knights in the dark.* I stared at the panel, barely able to process the words. Then I laughed. Or tried to. It came out broken, barely more than a rattling cough. But it was still a laugh. We had won. I had won. But the taste of victory was bitter in my mouth, coppery like blood. Everything hurt. My body was broken. The venom still lingered. And what good were titles or new skills if I was going to die in a cursed forest, far from any help? The blue panels flickered and faded. My vision dimmed. Cecilia’s hands were still glowing, still trying to keep me here, to hold the life inside me just a little longer. The last thing I saw before darkness swallowed me was her face. Not cold. Not distant. Her eyes burned with something fierce and bright. Desperation. Fear. Something dangerously close to love, a terrifying and beautiful emotion I had only ever seen in her when she thought I was about to be permanently erased. The quest was complete, the rewards tallied in some cold, cosmic ledger. But my fate still hung in the balance.