Strongest vow

-I will become the strongest and protect my family.

That was what he told himself as he watched the frequent smiles on his family's faces.

-I will become the strongest and save my family.

That was what he told himself as he watched his crippled sister shed silent tears in her bed.

-I will become the strongest and bring back my family.

That was what he told himself when his two older brothers vanished without a trace, leaving his family broken and lost.

-I will become the strongest and bring my mother back.

That was what he told himself as he saw his mother lying on her sickbed, never to recover.

'Haven't I lost enough already?' he asked the cruel world, hoping it would be the last.

Not knowing he would have to take another vow.

-I will be the strongest and take revenge.

That was the last vow he swore to himself as he watched them drag his father away like a slave while he hid underneath the house.

...

'Gone… everything.'

Baines still couldn't believe how his entire life had crumbled before him. His happiness, his family, his pride, everything had been taken from him.

Clenching his fists, he gazed up at the remains of his once-glorious home. His voice was steady, but his heart roared with fury.

"I will take it back."

His eyes, once filled with childhood innocence, were now empty of warmth.

"I'll kill them all... and I will take it back."

He wasn't naïve enough to believe that everything had happened by chance. Whether it was a carefully orchestrated plot or the result of a cascading chain of events, he didn't care. He would exact his revenge. He would take back everything and more.

The only reason he had waited until now was to remain by the side of what little family he had left. But now, it was time.

'Just wait for me, everyone. I'll come for you.'

With that final thought, Baines rose from his bed and left his room.

...

His family had once been among the wealthiest in the land. The grand house he walked through was a testament to its vast, elegant, and meticulously crafted. But Baines saw none of its beauty.

To him, the best part of it had already been taken away.

"Young Master…" Several maids greeted him as he passed, but he ignored them. He had no time for pleasantries.

After navigating through various hallways, he arrived at the basement.

The room was well-lit, filled with wooden crates and forgotten artifacts. It was used as a storage space for old materials. But more importantly, it was also a place for something else.

Taking a deep breath, Baines performed a dance.

His feet moved in a carefully practiced pattern, forming intricate symbols on the ground as he danced. It was an ancient dance that required a person to form symbols on the ground with their legs.

These symbols varied depending on the god a tribe worshipped. It was a sacred ritual and a form of entertainment; however, now, it was just a little more than a relic of the past.

The ground trembled.

GIIII…

The floor split open, revealing a passage beneath. It was now used as a security measure to protect the greatest treasures of his merchant family.

Without hesitation, Baines descended the stone staircase leading into the depths below.

TAP… TAP…

With each step, the fire lamps along the walls flickered to life, illuminating the underground chamber.

On either side of the long room were shelves that housed the most prized collections his family had gathered over generations. With the nearest belonging to his imprisoned father and the farthest end of them belonging to their founding ancestor.

Baines made his way to the deepest part of the room. There, sitting atop a pedestal, lay the greatest treasure of them all.

An eyeball.

But it was no ordinary eye.

'No one has ever confirmed its power, but it is said to see the world in its rawest form,' Baines recalled. 'Some called it the All-Seeing Eye.'

In this world of revenge, there was no treasure more fitting.

But the truth was, this was the only item he knew how to use. The other relics' functions were secrets passed only to the next head of the family, and he was the last in line.

'So, how do I…?' He hesitated as he picked up the eyeball. 'Will I have to remove my eye?'

The thought was horrifying, but as he clenched the eyeball in his trembling hand, he knew there was no room for doubt.

His family was suffering. And here he was, hesitating over the loss of a single eye.

Finding a dagger nearby, he grabbed it with sweaty hands. The blade was short, no more than twelve centimeters, with a red tint and intricate carvings along its length. The grip was plain black, unremarkable, yet it was about to change his life forever.

He exhaled sharply. His face was pale, his body tense. But his eyes burned with determination.

Then, with a swift motion—

PSHTCH!

"ARGHHHHH!"

White-hot agony exploded in his skull as the blade plunged into his right eye. Blood poured freely, blinding him in a crimson haze. Instinctively, he raised a hand to cover the wound only to realize it was the same hand holding the dagger.

The dagger was gone.

But the pain was too overwhelming for him to process the anomaly. His thoughts were consumed by regret.

'Shit. I shouldn't have…'

No. There was no turning back. Through the blinding pain and fading consciousness, he forced his remaining eye to focus on the treasure in his palm.

'Will it… work?'

No, there was no time for second thoughts. He had to do it. Blood loss was draining his strength, pushing him toward the abyss. If he hesitated any longer, he would die here.

"RAAAARRGH!"

With a final cry of desperation, he shoved the eyeball into the empty socket.

A fresh wave of agony tore through him. His body convulsed as unbearable pain surged through his nerves. The stabbing pain of his eye being pulled out and the feeling of stuffing something to fit that spot wasn't something anyone could bear.

And it certainly wasn't something a child could bear.

Before he could regret any more of what he did,

.His senses dulled. And then—

THUD.

He collapsed. His vision was blurring in and out, his body was getting heavier.

Just before unconsciousness took him, he heard it.

[USER HAS INJECTED 'EYE']

'Ehh?'

He went black.

[USER HAS SUFFERED 'HEMORRHAGE']

[ESTIMATED PERCENTAGE OF BLOOD LOSS: 20%]

[USER IS UNDER PROCESS OF BLOOD CLOTTING]

Immediately it went into effect, the bleeding eye stopped.

The eye repositioned itself and fixed whatever was meant to be fixed.

[USER IS UNDER PROCESS OF HEMATOPOIESIS]

[RECOVERY RATE 10%]

[UNFAMILIAR ENERGY HAS BEEN DETECTED IN USER'S BODY]

[UNFAMILAR ENERGY CONTAINS 70% UNHARMFUL SUBSTANCE, 30% HARMFUL]

[USER'S BODY IS UNDER PROCESS OF DISPELLING HARMFUL SUBSTANCE]

A huge wave of red smoke exuded his body, it was so much one would have to wonder, if this was 30%, what was contained in the 70%.

[USER IS IN PROCESS OF DISPELLING ACCUMULATED IMPURE ENERGY]

[USER IS UNDER PROCESS OF ENGRAVING]

[RECOVERY RATE: 98%... 99%... 100%]

Then, silence.

...

Three hours later,

"Urgh…" Baines eyes flashed open and groaned from the residual pain wracking him. Bringing his hand to his eye, he saw blood on his hand.

Then everything came back to him.

"What?" He immediately got up and saw the pool of blood underneath him.

'I'm alive…Wait, my eye?' He put his hand on his eye and realized he could see.

'How?'

Then like a flash in his memory, he remembered the voice he heard before he collapsed.

"W-Who are you?" He took his stance and looked around sharply, searching for the source of the voice.

It was in that terrible silence he perceived it.

Sniff…Sniff

"Urgh…what is that smell." He took steps away from where he perceived, however the smell followed him.

"Where's this smell-" His voice stopped itself as he looked down on himself. His blue robe was now covered in dried, fresh blood and black liquid around his body.

"I-It was me?" He panicked and quickly looked around in embarrassment. Hoping no one was watching him.

Five minutes later,

"Phew…" He had pulled of his clothes to clean himself and thrown it aside.

Then he finally calmed down and tried to understand the situation.

'I can see now.' He had just done it out of a gamble and it worked out.

'But what were those voices.' He shook his head, admitting he had just heard things.

He then went closer to the place his ancestor's collection was held and bowed.

'I don't know if this was you, but you've helped me in the road to the revenge. I will bring back the family you built and stronger than ever.' Afterwards he turned to leave.

"But I should have some use for these collections, right?" Since no one could use it, couldn't he just use it for his goal. It was just unfortunate he didn't know their uses.

Then he glanced at the empty spot where he took the dagger from,

"Yes, I can take the dagger." With a hopeful face he looked around the ground where the blood was.

"Where's...the dagger?"

This time, there was a reply,

[THE DAGGER HAS BEEN ENGRAVED ON THE BODY OF USER.]