Requiem Of A Failed Hero



Raith opened his eyes to a familiar darkness. The place had now become a waiting room for him every time he dies. He was beginning to get into the actual use of his attribute, even though it was still on a surface level.

Before now, all that he had enjoyed was the effect of his attributes rubbing off on his status, but there was no way he would know that because he wasn't knowledgeable and so much resisted the darkness of the abyss.

He sat in the darkness crossed-legged, deep in thoughts.

He spaced out for a few minutes before speaking.

"How? How do I defeat this wyvern? I have the skills required for me to do magic but I don't have any magic skills. I don't know how it works. Thard-Harl's brother made this ruler of greed thing sound like a big deal but all it can do is steal skills, isn't it basically a degraded version of devourer?" Raith was frustrated.

He was even more angry with the silence that ensued after he let out his rant.

"Why aren't you even saying anything?! Talk to me?! I have embraced the darkness. I am ready to abandon what makes me human to host you and yet you still think it is okay to continue to put me in the dark like this?!!" Raith shouted. The cords on his neck for the first were almost popping out.

"If I had [Way Of The Swors] this would have been a better fight, I have endured and been able to keep up this much because of [Multiple Cognitive Resonance] and all of its sub-skills. But I need a destructive power, I need magic!"

[YOU DO NOT NEED MORE THAN YOU ALREADY HAVE NOW]

Raith lifted his head to see the white holographic tab amidst the thick darkness, it was the first time he was seeing a white tab.

"So you finally decide to reply."

[YOU RATHER ARE OBLIVIOUS AND IDIOTIC]

[UNINTELLIGENT ENOUGH TO DRAW OUT YOUR OWN POWER]

[PROUD TO SEEK FOR HELP]

[WATCHING YOUR ENDLESS SUFFERING DELIGHTS US]

"Ah, ah... is that you. Abyss? Finally, you decide to talk and the first shit you spit at me is abuse."

[I MERELY STATE A FACT]

"Yes, that is abuse. You are abusing me, well it's fine. I guess you can do the rest on your own and let me die in peace." Raith said with a smile and laid on the ground with his hands on his chest.

There was no response from either him or the abyss and silence dominated for a while.

[YOU HAVE A PATH TO CROSS]

[WILL YOU CONTINUE TO BE INSENSIBLE]

"Yes, you can keep saying stuff like that and expect me to stand the fuck up."

The silence continued again. It was as if the abyss itself was confused by what Raith was doing.

[WHAT ARE YOU DOING?]

Raith opened his eyes and smiled, "Well, you see if there is anything I have learned after working with you. It is that you need me, and you can't have what you need of me unless I walk through this perilous training.

There was something I realized after accepting you. You are a void that needs somewhere to be held in and carried, you need a container to hold your powers, now I don't know what you want to do with me at the end of all this... but I do know that you need me."

[SO?]

"So going forward you are going to have to learn to be partners, not servants. You don't keep me in the dark, I do all you want wholeheartedly and with all my best"

[IT SEEMS YOU HAVE BEEN DELUSIONAL TO THINK YOU HAVE A SAY]

"I know I don't, which is why I am trying to be reasonable with you. Else I'll just live life as I deem fit. Now that I have let go of the only thing that made me live, my mother. I am not afraid to die, even if you take all you have given me, I am not scared to return to nothing. I will not be blindsided."

With a frown, he laid back his slightly raised head and closed his eyes. The abyss knew him best– erasing his mother's memory and his emotions for her was its biggest mistake because that was the only thing that made Raith human.

And now, with the abyss already within him, he could feel it, the vastness of it‐ how it is he that completes and compose the abyss. He could read its memories although not deep. He could sense so many mysteries that needed explanation– all that he could feel the moment he accepted darkness.

And for Raith to grow stronger the way he wanted to, he and the abyss had to be on the same page.

That was the conclusion he had come to as he watched Jarvis, Kortopi, and Crimson fight and wondered how to defeat the wyvern, it wasn't just the wyvern. Even future opponents.

He is very very unsatisfied with his skills, especially whenever he watched Jarvis, he feels like shit.

And he had to get this out of the abyss.

He was still far behind in terms of skills and how to use them. Although he truly hopes the abyss falls for it and does not decide to kill him and find another host, even though he didn't care– and wasn't truly scared of dying. He was beginning to enjoy the power he holds.

[THE RULER OF GREED]

Raith opened one eye and looked at the white tab floating before his eyes. He sat up.

"Hm, hm, what is it about that?"

[THE RULER OF GREED IS NOT JUST ANY TITLE]

[IT IS ONE GIVEN TO HUMANITY WHO HAVE COMMITTED THE TABOO, HENCE ACTIVATING AN ERROR CODE]

Raith squinted his eyes, "Continue"

[PRIDE]

[GLUTTONY]

[LUST]

[SLOTH]

[GREED]

[WRATH]

[ENVY]

[WHEN ONW CONQUERS ANY OF THESE SINS, THEY ARE GRANTED THE RULER TITLE]

[AND ARE GIVEN TREMENDOUS AUTHORITY SUCH AS BEING ABLE TO BLOCK APPRAISAL ATTEMPTS, ACQUIRE SKILL OR PREVENT ACQUISITION OF SKILLS FROM ANOTHER TARGET]

[ACCORDING TO EACH RULER'S TITLE, THERE ARE EFFECTS, AND THERE ARE SKILLS THAT COME WITH EACH]

[AND YOU HAVE NOT BEEN MAKING USE OF THOSE]

"Uh? The only skill being the ruler of greed has given me is appraisal! What am I supposed to do with an appraisal? Appraise my enemy to death?!"

[APPRAISAL IS THE FIRST SKILL]

[WHEN YOUR AUTHORITY INCREASES MORE SKILLS WILL BE UNLOCKED]

[HOWEVER, THE AUTHORITY EFFECTS ARE MORE IMPORTANT]

[BEFORE NOW, YOU HAVE BEEN FIGHTING AS A HUMAN]

Raith let out a light chuckle. "So you want me to fight as a god? Do you forget I am human? it is only sensible I fight as a human."

[YOU BELITTLE ME FAR TOO MUCH]

[A GOD? THAT IS BENEATH ME!]

[I DIDN'T COME THIS FAR SO YOU CAN FIGHT LIKE A GOD]

[...WHEN YOU CAN BE MORE]

[I AM THE VOID BEFORE THE BEGINNING, I AM TIMELESS, I AM THE COMPOSITION OF DARKNESS AND THE ENDLESS POSSIBILITIES IT ENTAILS]

[GIVE ME SOME CREDITS NOW WILL YOU? A GOD? HOW NONSENSICAL]

Raith was frozen. The abyss looked like it took a great deal of offense from what he just said.

"I apologize but how am I supposed to know when you have never really talked to me about you or about what you want me to do? You just put me in the dark."

[I REQUIRE YOU TO KNOW THAT ONLY WHICH YOU CAN BEAR]

"Tsk," Raith smacked his lips and looked at the white tab. "What I can bear this, what I can bear that, have you actually tried me, how I can show promising results when I actually have a clear view of what I want to do?

There are two ways to make a man focus, feed him enough information to fuel his desire for a certain purpose or feed him with trials to a certain course toward his desire. But the latter only works when such a man is already inclined with the desires.

I do not enjoy one shit of what we have been doing so far, no! I don't. I have to do this and that with so little information. Maybe, just maybe... this will get a little bit easier when you actually talk to me."

Raith was heaving at the end of the statement, he indeed had let out a great deal of words from his heart. Makes one wonder if he had always thought like this or because he just got the wisdom stat.

Silence again ensued but that abyss responded.

[YOUR ARGUMENT FOR SOME UNKNOWN REASONS SEEMS REASONABLE]

[I SHALL CONSIDER PUTTING ACCESS TO CERTAIN PIECES OF INFORMATION AS REWARDS TO SOME TRIAL]

Raith slapped his face, 'That is not even what I mean

[WHAT? IS THIS NOT STILL TO YOUR LIKENING]

"Ha ha ha..." '...when have you ever given a shit about my likening'

[YOU DO KNOW WE EXIST WITHIN YOU]

"I know now..." He closed his eyes and smile, but the corner of his lips was twitching hard.

[I WILL START BY TELLING YOU THE DETAILS OF HOW TO PUT YOUR AUTHORITY AS A RULER INTO EFFECT]