"You can communicate. The Bestiary didn't mention that ability."
Marcus realized aloud.
"Your records are incomplete. We choose when to speak. Rarely worth the effort with ephemeral beings."
Marcus maintained his combat stance, the air pressure blade humming with potential energy.
"Why speak to me now?"
"Curiosity. You were broken before. Now you wield power. Unusual transformation in so short a time."
The Vitality Wraith drifted slightly closer, testing the boundary of the resonance field. Where its form contacted the vibrating air, blue sparks flashed. This confirmed that the field was functioning as intended, forcing the entity to interact more fully with physical reality.
"Interesting technique. Learned from the silver-haired one. Crude implementation, but effective."
"Effective enough to hurt you. Like I did at the training ground."
Marcus replied, tensing for combat.
"Pain is temporary. Knowledge endures."
The Vitality Wraith's ember eyes flared brighter.
"You seek vengeance for the caretaker. Understandable but misguided."
"Misguided?"
Anger flared within Marcus.
"You murdered her!"
"I fed on her, to be precise. As is my nature. As you now feed on destruction to fuel your growth."
The statement hit Marcus like a physical blow. How could the Wraith know about his EP harvesting? About the system that converted destruction into power?
"Your surprise is unnecessary. Energy signatures are visible to those who exist between states. Your consumption method is unusual but not unique."
The Vitality Wraith stated nonchalantly.
Marcus struggled to process this revelation. The Vitality Wraith could perceive his system's function; it could see the fundamental mechanism of his power acquisition. This suggested a level of awareness far beyond what the Bestiary had indicated for spectral entities.
"If you understand what I'm capable of, then you know I can destroy you."
Marcus said, recovering his composure.
"Perhaps. Eventually. But destruction would deny you understanding."
The Vitality Wraith drifted sideways, maintaining its distance from the resonance field.
"You were marked before birth, Marcus Thorne. Your family knew. That is why they abandoned you after the vehicle collision."
Another shock. How did this creature know about his family's rejection? About their superstitious fear of him?
"The mark of the Contract is rare but recognized by those who remember the old ways. Your family carried fragmented knowledge, distorted by generations. They feared what they did not understand."
The Vitality Wraith continued.
"What are you talking about? What mark?"
Marcus demanded, his concentration wavering slightly.
"The capacity to form bonds beyond natural law. To convert endings into beginnings. To harvest existence and redistribute its essence."
The Vitality Wraith's ethereal form rippled, its ember eyes intensifying.
"A power older than your species' civilization. Older than my kind's emergence."
Marcus struggled to maintain his combat readiness as questions flooded his mind.
"Are you saying my contract skill isn't unique to me? That others have had it before?"
"Cycles repeat. Ancient ways reemerge. The last Contract wielder lived four centuries ago. Burned as a witch by those who feared her power."
The Vitality Wraith confirmed cryptically.
This was too much information presented too quickly. Marcus needed time to process, to verify, to understand the implications. But he couldn't afford to lower his guard.
—This could all be a distraction tactic, a way to manipulate him into vulnerability.
"Why tell me this? What do you gain?"
He asked, reinforcing his resonance field. He didn't want to let his guard down in front of the enemy.
"Balance. Equilibrium. Your ignorance threatens stability."
The Vitality Wraith's eyes dimmed slightly as if in thought.
"Vengeance is a poor foundation for power. It blinds you to greater forces, to the natural order of existence."
"Like what?"
The Vitality Wraith did not answer directly.
"The Awakening of your world was not random. The emergence of skills, the appearance of my kind, and others, all of this is part of an ancient design established millennia ago. A cycle of power that rises and falls like tides."
Marcus frowned, his body trembling in response.
"So you're saying all of this, the Transcendents, spectral entities, everything, has happened before?"
"Many times. On many worlds. Terra is not unique in hosting the cycle."
Marcus couldn't believe what he was hearing. The implications were staggering if true. But he remained skeptical. This could also be elaborate deception from a creature trying to save itself from his vengeance.
"Prove it."
He challenged, locking eyes with the creature.
"Tell me something verifiable about this 'cycle' that I couldn't know otherwise."
The Vitality Wraith was silent for a moment, its form rippling thoughtfully. Then it spoke:
"Beneath the central chamber of the Transcendent Authority headquarters lies a sealed vault. Inside rests a crystal unlike any currently known; its surface as black as the void, predating human civilization. It activated with the Awakening after millennia of dormancy. The Authority's leadership knows of its existence but not its true purpose."
Specific, detailed, and potentially verifiable, though not easily. Marcus would need to infiltrate one of the most secure facilities in the city or gain the trust of someone with access.
—An almost impossible task.
"Even if that's true."
Marcus began and continued:
"It doesn't excuse what you did to Mrs. Abernathy. To others like her."
"Excuse? No. Explain? Perhaps."
The Vitality Wraith drifted further back away from Marcus.
"I feed on life energy to exist, as you consume food. The caretaker's connection to you made her energy particularly nourishing. She was saturated with the resonance of your contract potential."
"So you targeted her because of me."
Marcus murmured, guilt twisting in his chest. Although he had suspected as much, hearing the creature confirm it hit him with unexpected force in his heart.
"Proximity creates resonance. Resonance attracts attention. This is the nature of existence."
The Vitality Wraith's form began to fade slightly.
"Consider this exchange a gift, Contract-bearer. Knowledge in place of ignorance. Context for your power."
"Wait!"
Marcus called, sensing the creature was preparing to depart.
"Why not kill me now? Why talk instead of attack?"
The Vitality Wraith paused, its form solidifying again momentarily.
"Your death would waste potential. Your growth is... interesting to observe. And..."
Its ember eyes flared once more.
"...you are not the only one seeking understanding rather than mere survival."
With that cryptic statement, the Vitality Wraith dissolved into wisps of translucent energy that dispersed through the factory's broken windows and walls, leaving Marcus alone with his resonance field still humming around him.
He maintained the field for several minutes, ensuring the Vitality Wraith had truly departed rather than simply hiding. When his enhanced senses detected no further disturbances, he finally allowed the technique to dissipate, slumping slightly in his wheelchair as mental fatigue caught up with him.
"That was too close…"
Marcus muttered with a weary face.
The encounter had gone nothing like he had anticipated. Instead of a battle to the death, his nemesis had chosen to communicate and reveal disturbing truths. The Vitality Wraith had offered revelatory information instead of attacking, which still puzzled Marcus.
—No one would help their enemy under normal circumstances.
Most troubling was the creature's knowledge of his Lord of Contracts Origin skill and EP harvesting method. If the Wraith could perceive these mechanisms, could others? Was Voss's interest in him truly based solely on his apparent sensitivity to spectral entities, or had she somehow detected his unique system as well?
And what of the Wraith's claims about cycles of power, about Contract-bearers throughout history, about the sealed vault beneath the Authority headquarters? Verification of such claims would be challenging, but seemed essential if he wanted to discover the source of his powers. He couldn't trust the word of the creature that had killed Mrs. Abernathy, yet dismissing its claims entirely seemed equally unwise.
Marcus opened the system interface, seeking confirmation or context for what he had learned.
"Can you search historical records for contract skills or similar abilities throughout human history?"
He requested.
[SEARCHING CONTRACTED KNOWLEDGE...]
[LIMITED HISTORICAL DATA AVAILABLE]
[REFERENCES DETECTED TO SIMILAR ABILITIES IN HISTORICAL RECORDS]
[EXAMPLES: "SOUL BINDING" (MESOPOTAMIAN TEXTS), "ESSENCE PACTS" (MEDIEVAL GRIMOIRES), "LIFE THREAD WEAVING" (EAST ASIAN SCROLLS)]
[CORRELATION WITH PERSECUTED INDIVIDUALS IN MULTIPLE HISTORICAL WITCH HUNTS AND PURGES]
[INSUFFICIENT DATA FOR COMPREHENSIVE HISTORICAL ANALYSIS]
The system's response was frustratingly vague but did suggest there might be truth to the Wraith's claim about previous Contract wielders. If others had possessed similar abilities throughout history, their persecution would explain the scarcity of records.
"Then, can you find information about a black crystal beneath the Transcendent Authority headquarters?"
He tried next, expectantly.
[NO DATA AVAILABLE]
[SYSTEM KNOWLEDGE LIMITED TO INFORMATION ACCESSIBLE THROUGH CONTRACTED SKILLS AND USER EXPERIENCE]
[SUGGESTION: EXTERNAL VERIFICATION REQUIRED]
As expected. The system couldn't secure information it had no access to. Marcus would need to investigate through other means, perhaps through Voss, if he decided to accept her offer.