3150 Fractured Mind (Part 2)

The black sphere of the Abomination had swallowed the other two life forces to keep them alive. The Divine Beast side, in turn, had wrapped itself around what was left of the human body to shield it from the deathly touch of the Abomination and hasten its recovery.

Yet the fracturings of the Tiamat's life force had affected Lith's psyche so much that the human side had shut itself down to preserve what little strength it had left. Also, the Voidfeather was almost cut off from the Abomination.

With the human life force in shambles, the Voidfeather lacked the necessary strength to fully contain the Abomination and needed to keep his distance. The problem was that doing that limited his ability to communicate with the Void.

'The situation is not good. If I can't talk with him, I can't explain what has happened to George. If I do establish a full connection, however, there's the risk that our life forces will merge again before the wounds we have suffered have fully healed.

'If that happens, we'll die. We'd be back in our human form, with an almost severed neck, two holes in the chest, and unconscious. Unless I find someone capable of using Invigoration, I must keep the life forces split.

'At the moment my only option is to buy time to let the psychic trauma ease and let the physical damage of the human side heal enough so that fusing back into one body and mind won't kill us.

'At the same time, if I let George run rampant, he'll make a massacre. He has no idea where we are and how hard we've worked to build our life and reputation. Heck, even Mom would never forgive me for the most basic shit I would have done back on Earth if I ever had this kind of power.

'Heisenberg's beard, what can I do?' While the Voidfeather Dragon tried to figure out how to have his cake and eat it too, the Abomination emerged from the crater in the mountain's side and stared at the landscape.

"I'm hungry like I've never been my whole life, I'm on an alien planet, and my only companion is a talking sword. This day couldn't get any worse." He grunted and his eyes went wide in surprise at the realization.

"Wait a second, I understood the tiger guy but he didn't understand me. If this really is an alien planet, how can you speak English?" Derek asked.

"I don't. Blood bond." Ragnarök took in and out the metal spikes on its hilt, making them pass through the Abomination harmlessly like when it had pinned Strider to the Void.

The contact with the spikes and the words "Blood bond" triggered the memory of the time Orion had gifted War to Lith. The Abomination fell to his knees while holding his head, feeling like it was seconds away from bursting open.

He witnessed the secret chamber in the Ernas Mansion, Raaz and Orion talking about something he didn't understand, and then the unveiling of a bastard sword. It was similar to Ragnarök, yet different.

Amid the fits of pain and the flashes of light, Derek heard the following words echoing in his mind.

'Ragnarök is a cursed blade that cannot be sheathed back without spilling blood. Yet its aim is always true and its loyalty to me is unbreakable.'

"Who's talking? Who's me?" Derek felt his head explode as one memory after the other flooded his mind, bringing him closer and closer to reconnecting with the human side.'Oh, no you don't!' The Voidfeather stepped in before the sudden influx of Lith's thought forced the Void to shapeshift back into human form.

The Voidfeather Dragon couldn't deliver information to the Void directly but he could control the flow of memories from the human side to the Abomination and stop the merging process.

With the Voidfeather's intervention, the pain lessened and the Void had no recollection of his life as Lith again, ensuring that the barrier between the life forces would hold.

'I can't let George focus too much on what he has just seen. I need to keep him busy. Feed him enough information to protect himself and maybe think twice before going on a murder spree.

'Here goes everything!' The Voidfeather contacted the angry blade and gave it a precise sequence of instructions.

Even Ragnarök's semi-consciousness found those orders ridiculous but it enforced them nonetheless.lightsnovel

Derek was still holding his head, fighting back the pain he suffered while trying to make sense of what he had just witnessed when the silver gem on Ragnarök's fuller projected a hologram with Light Mastery.

It was a golden slate filled with black letters forming what looked like the status window of one of his video games back on Earth.

'There. This is a cheap shot and the timing is awfully convenient, but I've always been nerd enough to buy this crap.'

"What is this?" Derek was flabbergasted. "It looks like some sort of character sheet. The design is so cheap that it looks like something I would put together in a rush and the timing of its appearance is awfully convenient."

'Shut the fuck up!' The Voidfeather thought while he instructed Ragnarök to give the hologram more flair. 'This is already hard as it is. I can't deal with your whining right now.'

"Oh, well." Derek shrugged. "I've died twice and reincarnated as many times. I'm in a world with elves, talking humanoid tigers, and even swords. I guess this is believable. Kind of."

The golden window mentioned nothing about a system or Derek's current predicament. It read:Derek McCoy. Current race: Abomination.

Under the first line, there was what looked like a progress bar but instead of experience requirements, it carried two names. On the far-left side, where the minimum level was supposed to be, it just said "Derek McCoy".

On the far-right side, instead, there was the word "Lith Verhen".

"Verhen." The Void said out loud. "Why does this name sound familiar? I remember the knife ears and the tiger man mentioning it but I have no idea what it means and what relation it has with me."

Under the bar, there were lots of words. Some made sense, but most didn't. All of them were greyed out and surrounded by stylized chains.

lightsΝοvεl ƈοm "What's a Kami?" Derek asked while reading the word several times to make sure his vision wasn't still blurred from the landing.

"Wife." Ragnarök replied.

"You have a wife?" Derek was flabbergasted.

"No. Master's wife."

"Tell me another." The Void scoffed. "I've just gotten here, how can I have a wife? Do you have any idea what an Elysia is? Or a Solus? They must be as important as the Kami because these three words are the biggest here."

Ragnarök could feel that its master wasn't ready to accept the answer so it remained silent.

Derek tried to interact with the various names, but nothing happened until he touched Solus'. A second hologram appeared, reading:

"Main Quest: find the missing pieces of your heart…"

"My heart?" Derek burst into a deranged laughter, forcing the Voidfeather Dragon to apply a quick fix.

"The missing pieces of your soul." The text blurred and changed, making Derek rub his eyes in disbelief. "They have been stolen after your reincarnation. Establish friendly relationships with the people of this world. Without their help, you'll be never whole again."