Advent of the Three Calamities

’Wait, what?’

I stared at Tharvek in confusion, my stomach still churning at the sight of the hand. The longer I stared at it, the more unsettled I became as Tharvek casually fiddled with it. I tried my best to push the feeling down, but as if hypnotized, my eyes kept drifting toward the hand, making the boiling in my chest grow more intense.

’Relax. I need to relax.’

"Do you know what this is?"

His tone was calm as he spoke to me.

It took everything within my power to remain calm as he flayed the arm around.

"I... do not."

Even my words came out slower than usual.

It wasn’t by much, but enough for him to pick up.

"Oh?"

He stopped moving the hand, his gaze shifting closer to me.

"Is something bothering you? Are you perhaps...?"

My heart thumped as he raised the hand in front of me and dangled it right before my very eyes.

"Coveting this?"

A heavy silence fell between the two of us.

It was a silence that felt suffocating, my jaw subconsciously tightening in the process as every part of my body tensed.

"I’m not."

This time, I didn’t pause.

"I’m just a little surprised."

My tone was clear from the start, a surprising sense of composure taking over me.

"You don’t? Hmm."

Tharvek gave me a smile. It was an ambiguous smile. One that made it seem as though he didn’t believe me at all.

But from the start, I could never get a good read on him.

"This here is the elixir~"

Tharvek’s tone was light, almost casual, as though he hadn’t just dropped a massive bomb on me. I immediately feigned surprise.

"That’s the elixir...?"

I made sure to alternate my gaze between Tharvek and the hand.

Tharvek’s brows furrowed, somewhat confused. His head tilted as he mumbled to himself, ’So he really doesn’t know?’

No, I do.

I’m just a great actor.

An award-winning one, if I had to add.

"Well, it doesn’t matter."

Tharvek continued to flay the hand, my chest constricting every time he did.

"Yes, this is the source of the elixir. To be more precise, the blood belonging to this hand is the source of the elixir. Everything that you’ve seen so far is just a diluted version of this blood. Isn’t that amazing?" His pitch rose by the end, unable to contain his excitement.

Extending his finger, Tharvek casually traced it across the hand.

A viscous red line trailed behind his nail, oozing fervently from the fresh wound. My Adam’s apple moved ever so slightly as the scent of iron permeated the air.

Dangling the hand above his mouth, a drop fell on his extended tongue.

Drip!

A faint tingle ran through the back of my mind, my stomach twisting in itself as I tried my best to restrain myself.

But it was hard.

Really hard.

"Haaa!"

With a refreshed look on his face, Tharvek wiped his mouth before casually flinging his hand into the air.

"Now that’s what I call fresh!"

He grinned at me, his eyes glinting as he raised the hand.

"Want some?"

"...I can have it?"

"No."

Tharvek burst out laughing.

"Of course, you can’t. You’ve got to show me that you’re worth it before I’ll give you some of the elixir. Especially for something as fresh as this."

Reaching for the wooden box, he carefully placed the hand inside before closing the lid. I watched him in silence, doing my best to restrain myself.

To be honest, I was still confused about the entire situation. Just who was the man who had appeared not long ago?

’He said something about the great sun. He must be referring to Atlas...’

My thoughts drifted back to the massive second sun that hung in the sky, and I had a sinking feeling that I was close to the truth. In fact, there was nothing to say that Atlas wasn’t already aware of my presence and was just observing me from somewhere.

The thought made the back of my spine tingle.

’Judging from what I’ve heard, the Tharvek and Atlas have some sort of cooperative deal with one another. At least to some extent, but it’s clear that Tharvek has become extremely greedy and wants to take more.’

This much I understood. Or at least, what was happening on the surface. In reality, I knew that things were far more complicated than that. There was no doubt in my mind that Tharvek had something else up his sleeve.

He didn’t strike me as someone who was purely blinded by greed.

There was more to him than he was showing.

But what...?

What exactly was he planning?

And what gave him such confidence...?

What gives him the confidence to steal from Atlas?

’What is your goal?’

...And why were they giving away so much blood?

"Judging from your face, it looks like you have a lot of questions for me. Too bad I won’t answer them."

Coming closer to me, he reached for my face and slapped it a couple of times.

"This is the nature of our relationship."

His grip over my face tightened. I could feel my bones squeaking under the pressure.

If I wanted to, I could’ve easily escaped his grip, but I didn’t. With news of Noel being so close, I simply couldn’t allow myself to slip up. Even if I had the means to put him in his place, I still didn’t do so.

He was too important for my goal.

"You do what I ask you to do, or you simply die. If it’s not that, I’ll give you some rewards. You’re pretty strong, but at the end of the day, within the Land of Fire, only one is stronger than me."

He let go of my face, cackling to himself as he moved back toward the wooden box and carefully placed the hand inside.

He paused as he did.

"...Well, at least for now."

At least for now...?

Was he talking about possibly surpassing Atlas?

I tried to keep my expression straight. I was more than keenly aware of Atlas—No, Dawn’s true strength. He wasn’t someone that Tharvek could possibly challenge.

But looking at him, I could see a certain confidence hidden within his gaze.

’What gives you the confidence?’

Curiosity ignited within my heart. I grew curious to know what exactly he was talking about, but I held myself back as I traced his every movement and watched him close down the box before patting it a couple of times.

"Well, back to what we were talking about a moment prior."

Click!

A soft click echoed from the box as he grabbed it and tucked it beneath his arm.

"I’m sure you understand that I didn’t show you all of this because I wanted to entertain you, right? I wanted to show you this because there’s something that I need you to do."

"You want me to find the source of the blood, correct?"

Tharvek’s lips cracked into a smile.

"Looks like you’ve been paying attention. I’m happy."

Something about his smile made the feeling in my chest burn even more, but I held myself back. This was exactly what I wanted. I desperately wanted to find Noel, and the fact that he had a way to do so was all I needed to hear.

’Right, I need to bear with it for now.’

Only then...

My fists tightened subconsciously.

But I quickly loosened them.

I was getting too emotional. I wasn’t sure if it was because of the situation with Toren, Leon, or Noel, but I was starting to lose my grip on myself.

This wasn’t like me.

I needed to calm myself down.

"Seems like you can’t wait either. I like the spirit. Come here."

Tharvek beckoned me over, and I moved without hesitation, stopping just before him as we stood eye to eye, his gaze slowly bearing down on me. Staring into his eyes, I found myself lost inside of them for the briefest of moments. They just felt... so empty.

The more I stared into them, the emptier they felt to me.

As if the man standing before me was nothing more than a shell of what one would call a ’human’.

’...I haven’t seen anything like this from anyone else. Not even the other gods.’

In a way, it felt creepy.

The thoughts didn’t linger for much longer as Tharvek’s hand reached forward, pressing against my forehead.

"Don’t resist."

I didn’t resist. Not because I trusted him, but because my mind was the strongest part of me.

Even if he tried something, I was confident in protecting myself.

In fact, this distance was good enough for me to do something to him.

’Should I?’

Maybe I...

No.

I held myself back.

Along with the strange tingle, I felt an unknown power enter my mind. It was an odd sensation, and for a moment, I almost instinctively rejected it.

And yet—

"You’ll die if you resist."

I complied.

I let the strange energy enter my mind, settling inside as the tingling sensation continued. It lingered for several seconds even after he pulled his hand away, and as he took a step back, his smile widened.

"How is it?"

Tharvek’s soft voice echoed in the surroundings as I stared at the red that lingered in the air before me.

It was like a soft veil, but I could trace its direction as I slowly turned my head back.

"You can see it, right? This is a special skill of mine that I’ve obtained a while back from a rather troublesome Destroyer Rank. I think you might’ve encountered it, right?"

My eyelids blinked slowly.

"Sand Titan?"

He didn’t elaborate.

I looked back at him, who stared back at me with his empty eyes.

"Follow it, and you’ll find the source."

I licked my lips slowly, my expression even as I tried my best to calm my raging heartbeat. The veil of red continued to linger across my vision, other colors drifting into my vision with each passing second.

"You’ll find the elixir if you follow the path. Don’t waste too much time, though. There’s a time limit to this skill."

I had already turned to face away.

"...Come back alive. If you can."

His words went from one ear to the next as I followed the veil of red within my vision.

Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel...

My steps quickened before I knew it.

By the time I was out of the area, I was running.

Noel...

My heart thumped against my chest.

Finally...

I’ve found you.

***

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