Albert carried heavy emotions within him.
He walked with grief and a serious face, leaving the Sacred Forest and heading toward the village.
"The Doctor… he is the one I need to—"
Aghhhh!!!
A sudden kick struck his back.
"Young man!!!
Don't let —your emotions control you!!!"
Albert lost his strength. His body shook. His eyes widened with determination to stand, though his mind was clouded.
Night arrived.
Light was engulfed by the darkness.
The wind lifted the leaves from the ground, making them dance in the air.
Albert lay on the ground, staring at the sky.
Beside him, Victor sat with a sword.
"Then what should I do?
I don't really know, aside from blaming others and clearing myself…"
Albert asked with a smirk.
"Hahaha.
Young man…
I was once in that state too—feeling like you can't see anything ahead, losing the sense of moving forward as you dwell on what you've lost.
You try to justify yourself, making a path to forget the guilt you feel.
But I've learned that death is not the answer, nor is wiping your hands clean."
Victor looked at Albert.
"Do you know what I found out?" he asked quietly.
Albert replied,
"Don't ask if you know I don't know what you know."
"Insolent!!" Victor barked, then sighed.
"I've also felt the loss of everything, and I thought about ending my life… but I learned it's far better to live with hope than to be dead with nothing."
Victor's hands clenched as he stared at them.
Albert still lay there, too weak to stand, but his emotions began to ease at Victor's words.
"That's just like what the famous book The Lost King said… Yeah, you might be right. But I can't live without thinking about what I've done."
Victor stood and picked up a leaf.
"This leaf is your hope when it's still on the branch. But when it falls, you lose it.
Yet as long as the tree is alive, it can grow another leaf.
That's why you must keep living and fill the empty space left by loss."
He dropped the leaf, letting it drift to the ground. Albert's eyes followed it as he thought of his losses—Lessa, his parents, the library, and his own mortality.
"So you're telling me to forget about them and live shamelessly?" Albert asked, his voice rising, fists clenched at his waist.
"No!!! You don't understand!!!
I mean… not to waste their worth and how they saw you, just because they're gone.
Find hope, not to replace them, but to honor their lives as part of yours.
You can take revenge, live up to their names, follow what they left for you, and cherish what was important to them.
That's what I mean by having hope because of them."
Victor sat back down beside Albert, holding his sword in the ground.
Albert answered,
"You talk much, do little… yet that little is greater than what I've done."
A mix of grief and peace welled inside him, giving him the strength to stand, leaning on his legs for support.
"Then leave me alone so I can think more."
His face was sad, his eyes hiding the will to cry.
Victor stood, saying nothing, only pointing at a branch before leaving.
When Albert saw he was gone, the heaviness in his heart broke, and he finally let his emotions erupt.
He cried loudly, leaning on a tree, forehead pressed to the bark. Tears fell again and again.
"Pathetic!!!
I'm such a pathetic coward!!
Why am I always crying…?
I haven't even done a single thing!!!"
He turned, wiping his face, then looked up and shouted with determination.
At last, he knew how to call the artifact he'd longed to understand.
"Soul System!!"
The air stilled. Time seemed to stop.
A small blue light appeared, growing larger.
Albert shielded his eyes.
From the light, a sheet of paper materialized.
He read:
---
[The System Is Now Complete!]
[As the holder's soul is now stable]
[Auto Protection — Disabled]
[Auto Operation — Disabled]
[Auto Processing — Disabled]
[Auto Materialization — Disabled]
---
"It's worded in some ancient way… but I can still understand it—more or less."
In truth, he didn't understand fully—not because he was stupid, but because of the disturbance in his heart.
Right now, he felt reborn… yet carried his loss with care.
---
[The Holder May Now Ask Anything]
"That's great."
Desire lit in his eyes. He remembered Victor's advice: learn the rules to control the artifact and stay safe.
"Soul System, I command you—show me your rules!"
The words vanished, replaced letter by letter:
---
[Soul System Rules Introduction]
[The following rules are absolute. Any violation will be considered an act of abandoning the system.
Such an act will bring absolute punishment, which cannot be undone by any means, natural or unnatural.]
[• The holder cannot create a spell that opposes the type of soul it exchanges with.]
[• The holder may ask any question related to the system.]
[• Every soul exchange is irreversible.]
[• The holder is not allowed to create a spell that violates these rules.]
[• When the holder is dying, the system will automatically operate in Auto-Spell mode (if there is no soul stack, it will absorb nearby soul bearers).]
[• The holder is forbidden to exchange or use the soul of a guardian, and forbidden to kill them.]
[• A soul of a non-human may only be used as a system function addition.]
Albert stared at it silently.
He didn't read it all; he just stared at it.
While standing with his head held high, he commanded it.
"Soul System… can you come to my hands?"
The paper—his artifact—floated close to him.
Then he smiled, a desire burning in his heart since he had first called the artifact, and he picked it up.
His gaze fixed on it as if he had caught a pest he desperately wanted to rid from his presence.
He smiled darkly and took it, gripping it tightly.
"This artifact…
This artifact!!!
It's the one that sealed her soul without her consent!"
Rage burned in him. He squeezed it harder, feeling a twisted satisfaction run through his nerves.
The glowing energy seeped through his fingers—until he tightened his grip so much that no light escaped.
"Hahahah-hahaha!!! You sheet of paper!!!"
He dropped it, but he wasn't done. He stared at it.
He lifted his right foot and stomped on it—
not just once,
but as many times as he could.
"You insolent sheet of paper!!!
How dare you use her as you please!?"
His laughter echoed in the silent night.
Meanwhile, deep in the forest, Victor walked with his sword at his waist. He leapt lightly into a massive tree, landing on a thick branch.
"Albert, young man… I envy you.
You found the strength to continue.
I sense you'll choose a better path than I ever did. Am I right?"
A hooded man appeared behind him.
"Master, I was tasked by that doctor I've been investigating since then—to kill Albert.
Also, I have already killed the descendant of that hero."
The night wind blew cold. Leaves rustled softly in the moonlight.
Victor leapt onto a thinner branch, standing with perfect balance.
"My loyal student… do as he says—until you find a cure for that drug.
Then, in two days, carry out your task for him.
Albert has great potential. He could become the strongest—perhaps even rival the Guardians."
The hooded man smiled in excitement.
"I will, Master."
His body dissolved into dark smoke.
"Heh…" Victor muttered.