Chapter 122 The Essence of Night

When I came out of the shower, Oswald was standing at the kitchen table, his hands clasped behind his back as he studied the potion bottle.

I adjusted the collar of the T-shirt I had formed with Umbrella and walked over. Water dripped from the ends of my hair onto my shoulder.

"Use the door next time," I said.

Oswald turned toward me.

"Of course, Sir Henry."

"And knock before entering my bedroom. The same goes for the bathroom."

The old man nodded solemnly, as though I were handing him command of an army.

Honestly, I wasn’t even sure he could do those things. He had no physical body. I had partly said it to tease him, but I was certain he had missed the joke.

Then again, wouldn’t it be more unsettling if he actually could knock?

I shook my head, pushing those strange thoughts aside. After taking some water from the fridge, I filled a glass. As I reached for a second one, my hand paused in midair.

"...Can you drink anything?"

"Thank you for the offer."

His gaze shifted to the empty glass. The smile on his lips faded a little.

"But there’s no need."

I put the glass back. Sitting down, I pulled the potion closer and raised it to eye level.

My trip to buy this tiny bottle had ended with me bringing a ghost home. And because I had broken the first bottle, I was down two hundred and fifty thousand Veyra.

I pressed my lips together as I looked at the liquid inside.

Oswald’s eyes followed the potion in my hand.

"Did you buy that to get stronger?"

"No, because the color matches my curtains."

Instead of answering, he seriously looked at the curtains.

I sighed.

"Yes. To get stronger."

I set the bottle on the table.

"Speaking of power... You said you would help me."

I opened the system window again. Nothing had changed.

Oswald moved to the other side of the table. As he walked, I saw one of his feet pass straight through a chair leg.

I tried to ignore the strange sight.

"You must first connect with the essence of night," he said.

"I understand that. But how?"

He placed a hand over his chest, then pointed at mine.

"By focusing on the place where our contract lies."

My gaze dropped to the collar of my T-shirt.

"Is it something like Nexus energy?"

"Nexus energy?"

Oswald grimaced slightly.

"No. It has nothing to do with that impure energy. In fact, if you possessed Nexus energy, you would never be able to become one with the night."

"Good. Because I don’t have any."

Oswald closed his eyes.

"But you do possess the essence I speak of, Sir Henry. You simply haven’t awakened it yet."

He opened his eyes and looked at me again.

"Moreover, in your case, there is not one essence, but two."

"Two essences?"

He nodded.

"Yes. Because you have formed a bond with me, you can use my essence to a certain extent as well. Of course, there are limitations."

Without thinking, I touched the spot where the mark lay on my chest.

"But do not worry," he continued. "With my guidance, you will certainly learn to use these powers."

His eyes moved over my face before shifting to the open system window.

"Could you show me a little more of your system?"

I hesitated.

He knew my name and the world I came from. But I wasn’t sure where his knowledge began or ended. I still hadn’t decided how much I could trust him.

On the other hand, trying to rely on his help without finding that out wasn’t particularly smart, either.

I changed the window. After showing him my abilities, I moved on to the quest list.

Oswald read some of the lines carefully. He paused over White Snake and examined Azure Flame. When he reached Marven Voss’s name, his lowered head went still.

It wasn’t difficult to guess what he was looking at.

Failure penalty.

Certain death.

"This..."

His voice had changed.

I supposed he hadn’t expected the system to threaten me with death.

"No need to be surprised," I said. "My system is always this sweet and friendly."

The awkward confusion from earlier was gone from Oswald’s face. After staring at the words for a long time, he slowly clasped his hands behind his back.

"I didn’t know this."

"I thought you knew about the system."

"Knowing of its existence does not mean I know everything it does to you, Sir Henry."

I held the glass between both hands.

I didn’t like that answer, but at least it didn’t contain an unfamiliar title or another new term.

"Then let’s make one thing clear," I said.

Oswald looked at me.

"Do you serve me or the system? Or someone else entirely... A god or something?"

"You."

"What if I don’t want to do something the system wants? What if I choose to live only for myself, without caring about the Eternal Night, the Chosen One, or any of that nonsense?"

"I take orders only from you. My loyalty belongs to you alone."

I tried to weigh his answer. Nothing in his expression seemed meant to convince me. If anything, he looked as though he were trying to understand why I had asked.

I took my fingers off the glass.

"Then stop talking about dying for me. If you see me getting myself into trouble, warn me first. If I don’t know something, explain it. And if I’m doing something stupid, tell me."

Oswald’s brows rose slightly.

"You want me to disagree with you?"

"When necessary, yes."

There was a brief silence.

"I already have enough problems," I added. "I don’t need someone beside me clearing the way when I’m heading in the wrong direction."

Oswald bowed his head.

"Understood, Sir Henry."

I wasn’t entirely sure about that. But this time, his answer reassured me a little.

I closed the system window and got up from the chair.

"All right. Now show me how to feel this essence."

---

I sat cross-legged on the living room rug. After straightening my back, I brought my hands together in front of my stomach.

Oswald studied my posture for several seconds.

"Sir Henry, I don’t think sitting like that will be of much use."

I raised my head.

"I’m sorry, but that sort of thing only works in manhwa."

"Oi... I thought I was going to do some kind of cultivation and awaken a core or something."

Oswald continued as though he hadn’t heard me.

"Please sit or stand naturally, in whatever position feels comfortable."

Comfortable and natural...

My first thought was to lie down on my bed. Then my eyes moved to the inflatable cushion.

Yes. There was no need to overthink this.

I stood, walked over, and dropped onto it. As the cushion sank beneath my weight, I settled back and stretched out my legs.

"What do I do now?"

"Close your eyes. Imagine yourself in the place where you feel most at peace."

I didn’t know how that would help, but I did as he said.

Somewhere I felt at peace...

My home?

I thought of the comfortable moments I had spent with Eris. Eating together, playing games, or simply spending time doing nothing... It was easy to smile at those memories.

But there had also been moments in that home when I felt helpless. As I remembered my broken belongings and the shredded wedding dress, the image in my mind fell apart.

The Arclight mansion?

It was safe there. I remembered Miranda’s voice and the clatter of dishes from downstairs. I liked waking up knowing there were other people in the house.

Even so, I was still a guest.

I thought of the park.

A cold shiver spread through my chest, and I immediately pushed that image away.

No. Not there, either.

Perhaps somewhere from my old life...

My parents’ house came to mind.

Once, I had felt comfortable there. Then my mother and father had died, and the rooms had stayed the same. Their belongings were still in place, but the people who used them were gone.

After a while, even the thought of setting foot in that house had begun to make my chest tighten.

I didn’t want to remember the loneliness I had felt there.

"Breathe out slowly."

I heard Oswald’s voice. Doing as he said, I searched my thoughts for somewhere else.

My grandmother’s garden...

I remembered the flowers and the smell of freshly baked pies. A chair warmed by the sun, steam rising from my plate... It was a good memory.

For a few seconds, I tried to stay there.

But I couldn’t quite find the feeling I was looking for.

Other places passed through my mind. Some were familiar; others were places I hadn’t remembered in a long time. I couldn’t stay in any of them for long enough.

Then a face appeared.

Snow-white hair.

Blue eyes full of joy.

That beautiful face smiling at me.

The faint smile on my lips disappeared.

Aria...

Why am I thinking of her now?

Had I forgotten how hard I had tried not to remember that face?

Aria had been my first love.

After my parents died, she had been my only reason to keep living. Knowing I would see her during the day was enough to get me out of bed each morning.

Back then, I often visited her home.

Sometimes we cooked together. Sometimes we played games, and sometimes we bent over our books and studied. It didn’t really matter what we were doing. Being in the same room, able to see her whenever I looked up, was enough.

I remembered the expression she wore when she lost a game. How she would get bored while studying and try to change the subject... The ordinary evenings we spent sitting side by side...

Back then, I hadn’t thought about how precious those moments were.

I had assumed every day would be like that.

Looking back now, she had left her mark on most of my hobbies, including cooking and gaming. Even after she was gone, I had kept doing the things I loved doing with her.

I had believed we would get married one day.

We would attend the same university, live together, and never be apart again. Whenever I thought about the future, I never questioned where she would fit into it.

She was already beside me.

But in the end, she had left me, too.

A faint pain stirred in my chest.

One day, she had disappeared without a word.

The only thing she left behind was a note with a single word written on it.

"Sorry."

I had read that word so many times that I could see her handwriting even with my eyes closed.

Why was she apologizing?

Because she had to leave? Because she was leaving me behind? Or was there something else she couldn’t tell me?

I didn’t know.

No matter how hard I tried, I hadn’t been able to find her.

I had even checked the university we had dreamed of attending together. Clinging to the possibility that she might be there, I had gone through the students one by one, hoping somehow to find her name or face.

But she wasn’t there, either.

It was as though she had left the world.

But I hadn’t been able to go anywhere. I had kept asking myself the same questions, waiting and hoping that one day I would find an answer.

What had I done wrong?

What had I said to hurt her?

If there was a problem, why hadn’t she told me?

The pain in my chest grew. The warm memories I had just recalled were hurting me now. I gritted my teeth, feeling the wound I had thought was closed still lying there.

If she had told me she didn’t want me, I would have listened.

At least I would have known why.

But she hadn’t even given me that chance.

Keeping my eyes closed, I tried to look at her face. The Aria in my mind was still smiling just as I remembered.

Why did you leave me...

Aria!