Chapter 1577: The Change

A killer? Yes. Deep down, Erend could not deny it. He had killed countless things throughout his life. Not only people but creatures and beings far beyond what an ordinary human could even imagine.

He had fought and killed so many monsters that he could no longer count them.

Some of them were weak enough to fall with a single strike while others reached a scale that bordered on the cosmic.

The last time he fought a being named Nyssara, he did not kill her, but he pushed her close to death.

So when the illusion of his sister accused him of being a killer, Erend could not simply deny it. But he could look at those words from another perspective now.

He knew what the illusion meant. It showed him that he had killed his own mother and sister. In that context he was not merely a killer. He was someone who had murdered the people closest to him and could never hope for forgiveness.

But Erend was awake now. He knew the truth. None of this was real. Krono’s voice had pulled him back from the Trial’s grasp and allowed him to resist the emotions it forced upon him.

The Trial tried to drown him in guilt and sorrow until he could no longer think and could only blame himself for everything. Those emotions still weighed heavily on his mind and heart, but they no longer overwhelmed him as they had before.

At least for now, he could think a little more clearly.

The most important thing was that Erend knew this was not real.

He stared at the terrible forms of his mother and sister standing before him. Their bodies were mangled beyond recognition and their broken limbs moved in unnatural ways.

Fear, guilt, and anger mixed on Erend’s expression as he looked at them.

He knew that what he saw could become reality if he ever allowed the Black Rage to consume him. If he lost control completely, he might truly do this to them one day.

That possibility frightened him more than anything the Trial could create.

The two mangled creatures suddenly quickened their pace.

Erend refused to think of them as his mother and Arty. They were only creatures created by the Trial. Nothing more.

They soon stood directly in front of him.

Erend drew a long breath and slowly let it out. He clenched his jaw and tightened his fists until his hands trembled. Then he walked toward them.

"Erend... why did you do this...?"

His mother’s voice filled the air. The sound grated against his ears like damaged vocal cords scraping against something sharp.

Erend winced at the sound, but he did not answer.

A part of him wanted to tell her that he would never do this to them. He wanted to tell her that he would never allow the Black Rage to take control of him again.

But he knew answering would accomplish nothing. If he listened to his emotions and tried to explain himself he might break down again.

So Erend remained silent. He kept walking.

Soon, there was almost no distance between them. They stood close enough to touch.

Erend’s jaw tightened even further. His fists trembled at his sides.

Then he attacked.

His fist crashed into one of the creatures with all the strength he could muster.

He struck the other immediately after, refusing to hesitate or distinguish between the one that resembled his mother and the one that resembled his sister.

The force of his blows sent both creatures flying across the black sand. Their already ruined bodies broke apart from the impacts, pieces of flesh and bone scattering across the ground.

Yet they still moved.

Erend did not give them time to recover. He lunged after them and attacked again.

He struck them over and over without caring which one stood before him.

The creatures screamed as he tore into their broken bodies. Their shrill cries had the same voices as their real counterparts, and that similarity made Erend hesitate for a brief moment.

His heart twisted when he heard them.

But Erend forced himself forward.

He continued attacking them with tears running down his face. Every strike felt like an assault against the emotions inside him as much as it was an attack against the creatures.

He did not want to hear their voices anymore. He did not want to see their faces. He did not want the Trial to use his love for his family against him again.

So he kept destroying them.

Erend no longer knew how much time passed. He only knew that he continued until the two creatures could no longer move.

Their bodies lay broken across the black sand and their voices finally fell silent.

Erend stood over them, breathing heavily as tears continued to stream down his face. Then he finally let out a long breath in the middle of his heavy breathing.

His chest rose and fell rapidly but the tension that had gripped his body began to fade.

For the first time since the Trial dragged him into its darkness, everything felt strangely relieving.

The pressure inside his mind had loosened. The overwhelming guilt and sorrow no longer crushed him beneath their weight.

He slowly lifted his head and looked toward the dark sky above him. The endless darkness stretched across his vision as he stood there among the remains of the creatures he had just destroyed.

Erend remained silent for a while as he wondered whether he had finally managed to tame the Black Rage.

Then he felt something change inside him.

It was a subtle sensation. A strange sensation moved through his mind as he became aware of something he had never clearly understood before.

Erend could feel the Black Rage within him. He could recognize its presence and distinguish it from his own emotions. It was no longer an overwhelming force that blended with his anger, fear, and sorrow until he could no longer tell where his own feelings ended and the rage began.

He could see the difference now.

The realization made Erend’s expression soften. He finally understood that the Black Rage was a part of him, but it was not all of him. His emotions belonged to him. The rage was something he carried and something he could confront rather than blindly surrender to.

A small smile finally appeared on Erend’s face.

Perhaps he had not completely mastered the Black Rage yet. But he felt that he could.

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