CH-6: RAVEN MUST CHOOSE

It was already night time yet the town was as lively as in the day. But for now, Axel had no time to waste on visiting the shops and stalls. He needed to get to the little cottage straight away to study Odion's diary and come up with a possible solution to his predicament. Along the way he felt rather nervous, as he sensed someone was following him while lurking in the shadows. His heart skipped a beat but maintaining his composure, he strode towards his shelter with his focus only on the front. As soon as he entered the cottage, he closed the door shut and locked it securely. He even added some wooden logs for extra security.

"DAMN YOU SYSTEM! It's all your FAULT!" - he cursed out loud. Without wasting another second, the system's window appeared in front of him whilst stating- "𝘜𝘴𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘵. 𝘚𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘮 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘰 𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘳'𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘮𝘮𝘢." This statement made Axel even more frustrated. "Ugh! If you hadn't trapped me in this crazy world and let me rest in peace, I wouldn't have to face this terrible situation! HOW THE HECK DO I FIND SOMEONE WHO CAN GIVE ME AN ARTIFICIAL PSIONIC?!" He yelled at the system continuously and kept throwing tantrums. The system perhaps was unable to withstand his audacity and left. But before closing the window, it said- "𝘜𝘴𝘦𝘳 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘣𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘳." "And what is that supposed to mean, genius system?" He let out a grunt. By now, Axel very well knew that the system had no intention to help and he was also too stressed now to read anything, especially that useless diary with zero clues. So he decided to take a nap.

He lay on the bed starfishing, unable to think of a plan. "I shouldn't have lied. I mean, there could be proper way to get on his good side too right?" He regretted. Just as he closed his eyes with a yawn, suddenly a mysterious black smoke appeared in front of him. Axel started coughing really hard as inhaling the smoke was a terrible idea. A black hooded figure emerged from amidst the smoke. It spoke in an eerie female voice- "Oh dear, my my... Looking for a fake psionic aren't you?" The assertion sent a chill in Axel's spine. "Who are you? How do you know? How the hell did you get in?" He yelled at the mysterious figure but suddenly noticed that he wasn't on his bed or in his cottage anymore but in a completely spooky lair covered in mist and smoke. This turn of events paralysed Axel with fear. All he could see of the figure, was her deep amethyst eyes screaming sinister intent.

The woman spoke to him again, but this time in a more gentle voice- "I know you are petrified dear, but this is the opportunity of a lifetime. I'm offering you a great deal...Oh and for the record, I'm a conjurer as in... a witch." Axel responded in panic- "NO! I can't be dealing with a witch right now! THIS DOESN'T MAKE ANY SENSE!" He finally found the strength to stand up. There conversation went:

"It does make sense my dear... But you must listen to me first. I used telepathy to listen to your thoughts. Earlier at the sign-up counter, I was hidden in the shadows there, desperately searching for someone with the need of a fake psionic."

"Wait! Telepathy?" So... you can provide me a fake psionic? I-Is that even possible?"

"Everything is possible with me! I have done my research with the psionic pond water. Using spells and alchemy, I have successfully made artificial psionics" She had a sinister grin on her pale pace. She raised a hand and said- "As you know, that nothing comes for free and there is always a price to pay."

Axel realized that he was actually waiting for the price rather than the product. "I too, desperately need a fake psionic! So tell me, what is the price?"

She paused before speaking, "Your blood..."

Axel's hair stood on end. He stuttered while speaking- " Y-You want me d-dead in exchange f-for the psionic?"

"No!" She reassured. "What will I do with your death? I only need your blood. Let me explain..." She sat down on a nearby wooden chair as Axel listened to her silently.

"After three years from now, on the first full moon night of the Janvier month, the amethyst moon will appear. You must have heard of the blood moon which is associated with dark arts. The amethyst moon however, comes once in ten thousand years. My master, the Crimson Amethyst was sealed off by Avallian spellcasters on that day, 9997 years ago and three years later, it will return. I must free him! And you my dear Odion, must help me."

"H-how?" he questioned in terror.

" I need some of your blood to perform the ritual to bring him back. But by that time you probably won't even be able to walk, for taking the medicine regularly will cause serious damage to your health. So I can't promise that after the sacrifice...you will be alive."

"W-what?"

"So make a choice Odion, whether you want the Dorwine Legion or... your life. Because if you take the psionic from me now, rather than power, you will buy yourself a stopwatch."