The Kind of Evil

‎Rasmus couldn't believe that his mother had raised such an entity, an error in the world of the living. He couldn't understand what he was seeing still, and no matter how hard he tried to look at its eyes, it only stared back.

‎"Are you a Dark Spirit?" Rasmus asked, looking up at the entity in front of him.

‎"Yes, that's who I am. I was born to this world with nothing but hatred, and I have killed countless of lives, finding joy in it," the Dark Spirit answered. "I was told to wait, to stay, and to endure until the time comes," the Dark Spirit continued, slowly lifting its shadowy and formless head.

‎The dome of smoke was still preventing the outside world from seeing and entering the forest. However, the smoke above the island began to disperse, revealing the bright moonlight.

‎"And is this the time you have been waiting for?" Rasmus asked with his eyes narrowed.

‎"No..." The Dark Spirit answered. "But now that you're here, I feel at ease..." The Dark Spirit revealed.

‎"At ease?" Rasmus furrowed his brows, staring at the Dark Spirit and listened to its vibrating voice, unable to understand the emotion behind its voice.

‎"That Aristoria lives within you," the Dark Spirit answered, staring down at Rasmus.

‎Rasmus remembered when he relived his past during his first awakening process. He remembered that his mother had sacrificed her power to give birth to him. Aristoria was in fact living within his body and making him who he was, an anomaly just like the Dark Spirit in front of him.

‎Rasmus showed a glimpse of his vulnerability, and it made him snap back to reality immediately. However, when he stared into the Dark Spirit's eyes, it also reflected what he felt, showing a moment of vulnerability in its gaze.

‎"My father, he came here a lot. He brought me here once," Rasmus said and glanced at the island. "He said if I got older, I should go to that island," he continued, staring at the dead tree. "Is it perhaps to see you, or is it for something else?" He asked.

‎The Dark Spirit slowly moved aside, giving Rasmus permission to go to the island. Rasmus took a deep breath as he began to walk on the water. Every step he took, the water beneath his feet froze, giving him platforms to walk on.

‎The Dark Spirit floated, walking beside Rasmus, escorting him toward something that he had been waiting for. The Dark Spirit then glanced over its shoulder at Aris, and the way it stared at Aris, there was nothing but mockery and arrogance.

‎"Lady Aris... please don't fight..." Yur muttered wrapping its wings around Aris's neck.

‎"That thing, why do I feel like it's the opposite of Orthias and yet oddly familiar..." Aris said, showing nothing but a cold and stoic expression at the Dark Spirit.

‎Yur tilted its head, staring at Aris's cold expression. Yur carefully nuzzled its puffy and soft head on Aris's neck. Its soft feathers were enough to calm Aris, and she immediately hugged Yur to comfort her thoughts.

‎"One is the seed that will bloom into a True Dragon, and the other is born from a True Dragon. One is predestined to become the ruler and order of the world, and the other is rebellious and chaotic. One who has no attachment to emotions and the other is bound by them," Yur said and hooted as Yur watched Rasmus step his foot on the island.

‎Aris hummed, agreeing with what Yur had just said. Both seemed to be the same coin but on different sides, contradicting each other but coming from the same root.

‎Rasmus walked toward the dead tree, staring at it from up close. The leafless tree with lots of cracks in its bark revealed how old the tree was. When he touched the tree, something went through his fingers and moved rapidly into his body, making his heart race.

‎"This tree..." Rasmus muttered, still with his hand rubbing on the tree's bark. "It feels familiar..." he added.

‎"Yes, this tree I made it myself as my resting place," The Dark Spirit answered. "Aristoria spent nights with me here. She shared her exciting and thrilling stories while I was in this tree, still weak and vulnerable..." The Dark Spirit continued.

‎"This tree absorbed quite a lot of her essence. This tree always gives me comfort and it reminds me of her," The Dark Spirit touched the tree and suddenly the branches began to move to the Dark Spirit's will

‎Rasmus hummed, realizing what he felt was his mother's presence. He then looked at one of the cracks, noticing something was off about it. He narrowed his eyes and noticed there was a book in the crack, and his hand could easily reach it.

‎"That book, it's yours?" Rasmus asked as he pointed at the book in the crack.

‎"No, that's something that Erglade left. He asked me a favor to keep it safe, and he would repay me with whatever I wanted. However, he died before he could even repay his favor," the Dark Spirit answered, staring at the book. "I believe that book is the reason why you came here. It's yours, and I have no reason to prevent you from taking it since it belongs to you," the Dark Spirit said.

Rasmus nodded and slowly put his hand in the crack, reaching out to the book with his fingers. He could barely reach the book, pulling it with his index and middle fingers. When he managed to retrieve the book, he noticed that the book was preserved as if it hadn't aged at all. He wondered if the dead tree had such power to preserve everything inside it.

"You may stay here..." The Dark Spirit said, and began to float toward the lake.

Rasmus hummed as he sat down, leaning his back against the dead tree. He looked at the Dark Spirit, floating across the lake toward Aris. He didn't know why the Dark Spirit had been provoking Aris ever since it woke up. He hoped that those two wouldn't make a scene and endanger Yur and the other spirits.

Rasmus slowly opened the book, it was indeed the journal that Lenin mentioned a while ago. The journal that would turn the world upside down because of the information that it held.

"If you're reading this, Rasmus, that means you have grown strong enough to withstand Rullein's power. You must be shocked when you see her, but you don't have to worry because she's not an Evil Spirit, she's a Dark Spirit. I know you must have so many questions, and I have written everything that might answer some of them."

"First, I must apologize for what you have been through. I know that the chance of you surviving will be close to none, but that's if you're just an ordinary child. Your mother, Aristoria, she gave more than half of her power to bring you into this world. Your chance of survival is guaranteed even if you didn't have anything to eat for months or even years."

"You're an Orthias, Rasmus. You're not like me, not like the rest of us. You're born from the womb of an Orthias, and you will inherit all her power, and you will become someone who will excel in everything. You're unique, and I can imagine how dangerous you are right now when you're reading this journal. You must have gone through a lot of hardship, and I believe that hardship is an understatement."

"However, I believe that should be enough opening before I will tell you everything that I know about this world. Rasmus, use all the information that I have written for you in this book, use it however you want it to be. You can save this world or turn it upside down, both me and your mother, we have left a lot of legacy for you to use. The Black Hands aren't replaceable tools, they're a unit that's worth hundreds of thousands of army. They will topple a kingdom with your will, and they will bury history without everyone knowing it. They're all the best people you will ever meet."

"Your mother has left herself as her legacy to you. She left you Rullein, the Dark Spirit that she has raised from when she was still a tiny spark of calamity. Your mother also lives inside you, and she has something that no other Aristoria has, the seed of a True Dragon. That seed is the key to making her ascend and turn into the sovereign of the world. However, that seed also can be used to destroy the sovereign of the world, the True Dragon's Blood."

"My son. What you're about to read will be enough to cause turmoil within you. I don't know what kind of hardships you have gone through, what kind of death doors you have missed, and how numb and sick of this world you have become. But, son, between us two men, I want you to prepare yourself and don't read it when you think it's not the right time for you to read it. This book will not only be a legacy but also the book that will rewrite Neva's fate."

Rasmus read the last paragraph as he held his breath. He slowly lifted his head, staring at the peaceful scenery and atmosphere. He then slowly closed the book as he exhaled deeply after those few paragraphs of information that were already too much to process. He decided to store the journal in the spatial ring. He slowly got up and looked at Aris and Rullein, who were standing face to face.

"Rullein, so that's your name," Rasmus muttered under his breath as he walked toward Aris and Rullein.