Chapter 39: There is light at the end of the tunnel, Draven.

Chapter 39: Chapter 39: There is light at the end of the tunnel, Draven.

Besides all those rules, there was something else, and that was that Eje had closed off the most obvious paths to break the balance.

Draven could not deliberately kill himself with the intention of taking Elfin with him, and Elfin could not provoke situations to force a manifestation either.

Any action meant to exploit the contract was limited by Eje, and that applied to both of them.

Draven could not get rid of Elfin in any simple way, and Elfin could not take over Draven’s body through traps.

It seemed fair, but Draven hated that word.

’Fair.’

He looked toward Taliah, who was paying attention to Calenne’s speech, and Draven felt the tension.

’I have three years before Elfin takes full control of my body.’

He did not know if it would happen exactly that way, but it was the worst-case scenario and he had to prepare for it.

After that, Taliah would have to face the god of destruction and probably him as well.

Draven slightly clenched his hands.

’No.’

He was not going to allow it, but there was another problem.

Greydarn had not been alone in the original story. There were people, individuals interested in bringing about Elfin’s complete return.

Sam had found several clues during the game.

Some wanted to use the god’s power, others worshipped him, and others simply sought to destroy the political balance between the kingdoms.

In the original story, all of them ended up approaching Greydarn, but now Greydarn was dead and Draven knew what that meant.

’If they find out that Elfin is inside me...’

They would come looking for him and try to do the same thing.

Force a complete manifestation, break the conditions, and find a way to turn him into the new definitive vessel.

Draven looked around.

There were hundreds of people who did not even know that the god of destruction was already inside the campus.

’Great.’

Calenne finished part of her speech, so the students applauded and Draven did the same by reflex while his mind kept working.

He needed a solution. He could not just wait three years. He had to eliminate Elfin sooner, and that was where his knowledge of the game came in.

There was a side quest that Sam had found after completing an especially long route related to Greydarn.

It was not necessary to finish the game, and most players had probably never seen it.

He still remembered the exact name.

’The Empty Vessel.’

Draven felt a small reaction.

’There it is.’

The quest began after finding hidden documents related to ancient studies on divine vessels.

There were notes, research, testimonies, fragments of rituals, nothing definitive, but everything pointed toward a possibility.

It was possible to separate a deity from its vessel without necessarily killing either of them, but it had never been proven, since the quest did not end with a demonstration.

There was no scene where Greydarn freed himself, nor any definitive confirmation, only clues, theory, and possibilities.

Sam had thought it was a quest chain left incomplete during the game’s development.

Now he was not so sure. Maybe that information had always been intentionally ambiguous.

There was another detail.

Greydarn never tried to use it. At the time Sam had thought it was strange, but now he understood.

Greydarn wanted to be Elfin’s vessel, so he was not looking to free himself and did not consider it a curse.

He had spent years preparing his body, strengthening it, becoming someone capable of withstanding the god of destruction, and in the end Elfin had abandoned him.

Draven felt an unexpected discomfort.

He had hated Greydarn as an enemy, but now he could understand something he had never considered before.

Greydarn had dedicated a large part of his life to becoming the perfect vessel, and Elfin had replaced him the moment he found something better.

’I...’

Draven looked at his hands.

Elfin had said he could feel it in his blood, though he still did not know what that meant.

That would have to be investigated as well, but for the first time he felt something like pity for Greydarn.

Not enough to forgive him, not after what he had done, but enough to understand that he had probably been used too.

Draven raised his gaze toward the stage. Calenne was still speaking, but the speech was nearly over.

Around him, everyone seemed focused on the start of the academic year, while he was thinking about how to avoid bringing the god of destruction within three years.

’The quest.’

He had to find it, or rather, find in the real world whatever had originated the quest.

Taliah looked at him.

"You’re looking really serious."

Draven reacted.

"What?"

"You’ve been serious for a while now."

"I’m thinking."

"About Calenne?"

Draven looked at her.

"What?"

Taliah smiled.

"It was a joke."

Draven sighed.

"One day you’re going to cause a problem."

"Me?"

"Yes. Who else am I talking to?"

"That’s pretty hypocritical coming from you."

Draven did not answer. Taliah turned back to the stage and Draven did the same, but now his mind was clearer.

He had come to the academy for many reasons, but now there was a priority above all the others.

’I have to separate Elfin from my body.’

He had three years, maybe less if his enemies found him first.

Draven looked at Taliah, who was still listening to the speech without knowing any of this, and he slightly clenched his teeth.

’I’m not going to let you fight him.’

Calenne’s voice reached the end of the speech.

"I hope we can all take advantage of this opportunity and become people worthy of the place that welcomes us today."

The students began to applaud, but Draven barely reacted and breathed slowly.

’I’m going to find that way.’

He looked toward the academy buildings.

Libraries, archives, professors, secret places, people he still did not know, any of it could hold part of the answer.

The first day had barely begun and Draven already had a mission.

To keep Taliah from having to face the god of destruction, he would have to remove Elfin from his body before those three years were up.