Chapter 1952: Little Obsidian
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"Pygu..."
Obsidian waddled toward Elayne and nestled between her legs. She caressed him gently as he drifted off into a cute, peaceful sleep.
"Hm, what an annoying little creature. Master, why don’t you just eat it instead? I’m sure you would become much stronger! It’s packed with rich Imaginarium Essence!" the Fragment of the Original Nightmare Curse said.
"Huh? It seems someone is forgetting their place," Elayne replied, narrowing her eyes at him.
"Hyeeee! Forgive meeee!" he cried, dropping to his knees instantly.
"Stop crying," Elayne sighed. "Anyway, you’ve barely told me anything about the Nightmare Realm. I visited it once and encountered some truly nasty individuals. Have you heard of the Black Hand? It’s an organization of assassins that came after me for some bizarre reason."
"The Black Hand?" The fragment narrowed his single red eye. "Hmm... I am merely a fragment of my true form that awakened a couple thousand years ago, but I have commanded countless Nightmares. I remember interacting with some lowly humans. They knelt before me and begged to be cursed with even greater power. After they offered me plenty of tasty human souls, I granted their wish and forgot about them."
"So you’ve already devoured human souls..." Elayne nodded. "Maybe I should eat you. Grilled octopus with sweet sauce sounds like a good dinner option."
"Eeek! Please don’t eat me! I am far more valuable as your eternal slave!" he wailed.
"Hmph. If you barely know anything, then what use are you to me?" Elayne asked. She could be ruthless with her enemies, despite her usual kindness.
"I-I can teach you special Cultivation Methods! Even that useless paintbrush can evolve if we gather enough materials! Dream Weapons can evolve—did you know that?!" the fragment pleaded desperately. "If it seems ordinary now, I bet it holds immense potential!"
"Huh, I guess that might be true," Elayne nodded.
"I can also teach you several Cultivation Methods! Or even create them for you! We just need some time to study how your abilities work, and I can craft them!" he added, nodding frantically.
"Okay..." said Elayne. "Also, what do you have on you? Are you truly alone?"
"..." He fell silent for a moment. "Uh, well... I have a Pocket Inner Nightmare Realm. It’s a fragment of the territory I was expanding in the Nightmare Plane."
"Oh? Let me see what’s inside," Elayne said. "Come, Obsidian."
"Pigyu!"
Obsidian leaped onto Elayne’s head and settled there comfortably, as if she were his personal throne. The little guy still carried the pride of a giant three-headed dragon kaiju.
"Ugh... Please, you’re invited inside."
The Fragment of the Original Nightmare Curse let out a heavy sigh and opened a pitch-black portal. Elayne stepped through with Obsidian, the fragment following close behind.
"Oh? Wow."
She gazed across the vast pocket realm. A purple-pink-black sky stretched overhead, cracked by bright red and yellow stars. Giant fragments of land floated in the eerie expanse, formed of black and purple stone and studded with glowing dark purple and pink crystals.
Strange forests covered parts of the terrain—some with clear brown bark and soft pink leaves, others dark and sinister, bearing red and purple foliage with watchful eyes embedded in their trunks. Mountains, volcanoes, deserts, and grasslands all existed here, each twisted in unnatural, dreamlike ways.
Living beings roamed the land as well. Monsters that resembled the Dream Beasts and Nightmare Beasts she had encountered before.
"It’s vast," Elayne said. "And it even has monsters to hunt... I assume this is all mine now, correct?"
"Y-Yes... of course..." the fragment sighed deeply. "All of its resources belong to you, Master..."
"You look quite unhappy about it," Elayne noted, glancing at him with a hint of pity. "It’s unfortunate for you, but this is how it must be. You need to repay the damage you’ve caused."
"I know..." he muttered. Elayne could tell he wasn’t truly remorseful, but losing everything clearly pained him.
"See? That pain you feel right now—it is only a fraction of the pain you have inflicted on others. Reflect on it deeply and repent," Elayne said, her voice carrying the serene weight of Gaia. "I have taken many evildoers under my wing and taught them humility, respect, and humanity. You are neither the first nor the last. Learn the meaning of pain. It is the path to true empathy and a deeper understanding of the world around you."
"...!" The fragment’s eye widened. Elayne’s words struck him like divine thunder. His mind, heart, and emotions churned in a violent inner storm as doubt flooded him—doubt about his actions, his very existence, and everything he once believed. "I-I will... I will think and ponder it deeply, Master. Thank you."
"Now, I suppose I could try leveling up the traditional way. But if I only paint, cook, and give massages, I’ll need months to reach Level 100," Elayne sighed. "With the Holy War still raging and countless enemies ahead, I cannot afford to relax. But first..."
She looked at little Obsidian and focused her mind on her System and the intricate circuits within her soul.
"Frank’s crystallized circuits are like a seed for a new system... right?" she wondered. "The System inside me is like a vast, sentient web of divine and cosmic circuits. There’s a clear pattern. If I use my Divinity to... reproduce it... what could I achieve?"
She concentrated, drawing in ambient energy and slowly crystallizing copies of her own system’s circuits into a single small crystal.
After nearly an hour, she finished.
"I did it... I can’t believe it was easier than I expected."
She had successfully copied everything needed to awaken a new System status within another soul.
"Here, take this, Obsidian."
She fed the crystal to the little slime. He devoured it happily and began glowing with mysterious light.
FLASH!
The slime absorbed energy at a rapid pace. Circuits spread across his surface before concentrating deep within his core. Slowly, a new aura bloomed around him. The small mass of sentient Living Ink—Imaginarium, as they called this energy—had awakened as a far more independent being.
And above all, he was now truly bonded to Elayne.
"Pyguuu!"
He bounced joyfully, leaping onto her and wrapping long, slimy tentacles around her in a warm hug.
"Hahaha! Are you happy, little one? I’m so glad!"
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