he red clouds of the morning took over the sky. Cold morning air drifted through the air. Blood dripped from Lux's shoulder onto the ground. Lux could barely lift it anymore and had to let it hang loosely. The "prince" helped Lux up and grinned.
"Night hounds, they're really dangerous, especially because of their ability!"
Lux looked around and ignored the slightly older young man in front of him. He searched for Fie, and after several panicked glances, he found her lying on the ground. Blood was pooling in front of her. Both shoulders were covered in bite wounds.
"Fie!! …there she is, please help her, please!"
Lux turned toward the prince. He was wearing golden armor, and at the side of his arms was a large blue crystal symbol. So there were inhabitants in this castle after all. Lux's vision slowly went black. He could still say a few sentences before he collapsed, so he staggered slightly and said,
"we need water please! pl-....."
Lux fell. His vision went black, and the last thing he heard was the armor of the prince.
Lux did not wake up immediately, but then he opened his eyes. Lux found himself lying on a cold, large stone.
"h-huh? where am I?"
Lux stood up. Immediately, he looked at his shoulder. The bite was gone. No trace of the wound.
"t-there was a… what?"
Lux looked into the air, and everything was explained. The red sky seemed a bit redder than usual. Lux understood everything. He was back where the system was at home, his own world.
The system immediately presented a message in front of him, and at the side, large chains shot out again. They seemed infinitely long, crossing over each other, but Lux ignored that and looked at the system.
[explanation of your additional ability: white eyes! collect the essence of your enemies and create your own guardian!]
"white eyes? I have white eyes? I have to take this damn blindfold off, I have to!"
Lux's hands moved to the band at the back of his head. The knot was there. His fingers immediately grabbed it, but when Lux pulled the knot, it seemed to instantly tie itself again.
"w-what the…?"
[not possible yet!]
The system left him with that. Lux looked up. Indeed, several system texts could be seen, but Lux focused on the first one.
"not possible yet, what? I have to ask mother! what is this all about?!"
Then Lux remembered the conversation with his mother. Her words echoed in his head again.
"survive and I will tell you!"
Lux looked up.
"fine, then you really have to tell me!"
Lux's gaze wandered from letter to letter.
"my own ability to extract essences? does it work with humans?"
Then Lux saw the letters tremble and shatter, rebuilding themselves.
[white eyesmay the light bless you forever!level: 1/10]
[create slime monster?]
Lux hesitated, but after his defeat against the night hounds, Lux felt ready to take the risk. After all, he would either survive and gain a huge advantage or be torn apart immediately by the rank 5 slime monster. So he pressed (yes!).
The chains in the air crossed faster and made squeaking noises. Immediately, a white light formed above Lux. The three essences he had collected appeared and rotated beside the white light in a circle. They moved closer and closer together, and the three brown auras merged. At once, the white light shone brighter, so bright that Lux raised one hand protectively over his eyes.
When the light faded, a huge brown mass with tentacles hanging from it was floating in the air. Its mouth at the front was closed, and only the slit of the mouth could be seen. Lux looked at it. The monster had no eyes. Lux's assumption was that it scanned its path and surroundings with its tentacles, but Lux had the feeling that the monster knew about Lux's presence. So Lux waited, ready to run away immediately and leave his own world.
Then black text appeared above the monster.
[it has remained loyal to you and did not betray you! the chains wrap tightly around the monster!]
When the text shattered, Lux was simply relieved that he had not ended up as the monster's food and breathed in and out deeply. Lux watched the spectacle. The chains in the air shot toward the monster without any warning and wrapped tightly around it. Then the chains coiled up and down around the brown skin, and after that, they disappeared into nothing.
Then the chains at the side stopped clashing and came to a halt. Immediately, Lux felt a wavering sensation, as if he were traveling from world to world. Then his eyes opened and.....
Lux opened his eyes. A glaring light surrounded his eye sockets. It was sunlight looking in through a window. So it was daytime. Lux immediately sat up and scanned his surroundings. He was lying in a bed. Lux looked beside him. There was a row of beds, and there. On one of them lay Fie. She was also sleeping deeply and peacefully.
"Was she also in her own world?" Lux asked himself. After all, it was not only Lux who had an own world. Almost everyone had one. It was the anchor point between the chains and humans.
Lux examined the room they were in. It had white walls and a large door in the middle. Clearly a rehabilitation room. Was there some kind of doctor here? Lux lay back down, resting his head on the soft bed, enjoying the freedom of laziness and trying to go through the morning once more. So he listed everything he could remember.
"The night hounds, the fight, the prince and... and the castle!"
Lux immediately shot upright, lifting his head, and spoke loudly to Fie.
"We are in the castle. We made it. Fie, we did i--"
She did not react. Lux had to admit that in the few days, he and Fie had become close friends. That meant much more to Lux than it should have. After all, he had never had real friends before. So Fie would be his first real friend. She was something special to him.
Then a girl stepped inside. She had white hair and brown eyes. Her skin was pale. She held a green kind of pill in her hand. Then she smiled when she saw Lux.
"Oh, you are awake. I assume you have many questions, right?"
That was exactly the case, and Lux actually wanted to start immediately and begin asking questions. But then the white haired girl stopped Lux and spoke.
"But first, take this. It will speed up the regeneration of your wounds."
She smiled. Lux stretched out a hand and took the green pill, bringing it to his mouth. With one motion, Lux threw the pill into his mouth and swallowed it. Lux smiled.
"What was it made of?"
Lux rested his head on the pillow and tried to spare his side. Then the doctor smiled.
"It was many herbs. If you allow me, I will now get the prince. He wishes to see you."
Lux remembered his savior. The prince of what was it, Crystal? Lux nodded and waited. Then, after about two minutes, a boy maybe two years older stepped inside.