A few images from the vision of the road made of bones and the onyx chariot fshed through his mind, but they disappear almost immediately.

  His sight cleared soon after that.

  Erik found himself standing in a clearing painted in a macabre sight. Two human corpses were on the ground. One was violently mutited, and the other's head was pletely smashed while the body was covered in bck ruhat were smoking.

  And that wasn't everything. o them was the torn corpse of some monstrosity.

  There was blood all over the clearing.

  Erik just barely mahem as two of the guards that were apanying the noble s in front of the library. They were the two that hadn't spoken at the time.

  There was a small part of him that wao smirk at their misfortune, because of how they all treated him, but the sight disturbed him, it was too ghastly.

  Wha-What happeo them? he thought with rising panic. Would the same fate befall him?

  Before he could figure things out he felt a burniion on the back of his hands, and saw the skin was reddening in the shape of a strange runes. And he felt the same around the middle of chest.

  He could also feel his medallioing up, he gnced down and it was glowih his shirt.

  The pain quickly intensified until he colpsed on his knees. With effort he took out his waterskin and poured some water over his hands and chest.

  It did not help.

  He realized that this had to be the Talent Awakening.

  His gaze swept through the surroundings. The ground was muddy and dark, shallow puddles of water interwove it in a poor man's patchwork. The enviro was somethiween a forest and a s. Rotting, rees were all around him, barring him from seeing anything beyond the clearing. But he found what he was looking for—shelter.

  Despite his vision blurring he spotted that one of the rger trees had a hollow in it. He crawled towards it with every ounce of his strength trying not to succumb to the pain and fall unscious. He was too exposed out here in the open and didn't know what could e for him.

  Slowing, Erik made his way to it and squeezed through the small hole ihe trunk. The damp and rotting guts of the deg tree could not faze him at the moment.

  Not wanting to make any loud noises he took off his belt and bit into it.

  Finally, he allowed the pain to overtake him. And a muffled scream tore through his being until his throat was raw. It was worse than the pain he went through when he bonded with Gravesight.

  In a state between wakefulness and dream, he saw glimpses of the same vision. He was riding the onyx chariot through dark mist over a road made entirely of bones. And he just kept going through the unknown.

  He didn't know how long had passed, but eventually the pain subsided. He y there curled up into a ball, embraced by the darkness of the hollow. In time his breathing normalized, and he pulled some dried meat from his backpack. He had used it to cover the entrance of the hollow, and it wasn't too much effort for him to find the food he needed.

  Moment by moment he was starting to feel better aer. Actually, all of his pain was subsiding. The chest pain, and the headache as well.

  As if a cool breeze on a hot day, crity returo Erik. A sliver of light had made its way inside, and as he lifted his hands he saw pale, half-formed Blood Ruhere on the back of them.

  Erik frozen. Had he actually do?

  These runes although they took shape from the blood of the person, and were called Blood Runes, were only visible to the Talent Holders themselves. If another persoo look at them, they would only see bare skin.

  What was signifit about them was that the ones on the backs of the hands were the Ability Rune and Skill Rune, which were deeply ected and governed by the main Talent Rune. All of these—any ruhat a being wielded—were known as Blood Runes.

  That said, each Blood Rune was unique and only the person to whom they beloo truly uood them. It was an intuitive uanding, akin to one uanding how to move their own limb. But like a newborn child uo trol them properly, true mastery took a long time. True uanding took practid time.

  Thus when a person first looked at their own Blood Ruhey would get a vague instinctual feeling of what they indicated.

  When Erik saw his, he knew he wasn't quite there yet. His intuition was telling him that these Blood Runes o absorb essence over time in order for him to truly Awaken his Talent.

  It seems like Freya was right.

  He pulled his shirt up and examihe Power and Talent Runes on the middle of his chest, like the others they were pale and inplete so he didn't know what his Talent did, but he did get a sense for its name.

  "Draugr Weaver?" Erik whispered.

  Does it have something to do with the Undead?

  He had no idea what it meant. He had never heard of any such Talents.

  But that was alright, because he would find out in time and because he felt incredible. His headache and chest pain were pletely gone. And he felt full of energy and strength.

  Erik cluded that his soul had grown stronger—not quite at the First-Rank, but no longer purely that of a mundane human. It was now just strong enough to bear his Gift.

  In the darkness of the deg tree, Erik finally mao take the actual first step oh of Refi. It would be a long journey, and he was yet to even reach the First-Rank—called Enkindled.

  Still he couldn't help but smile.

  Squeezing his hands into fists, determination burned in his eyes. He was getting closer to his goal. Now he only o survive. Survive a deadly Whisper...

  Erik took a deep breath and was about to pn his move when he realized his throat arched. He remembered that he had dropped his waterskin in the middle of the clearing where he first appeared.

  Sighing, he moved his backpack out of the way, and crawled out of the hollow.

  Although the sky was cloudy and the light diffused, his eyes blirying to adjust. But in the moment, he halted.

  In the middle of the clearing, there was the ghastly form of a Nilgrim, feasting on one of the corpses.

  Erik couldn't see the Nilgrim's maw as its back was turo him, but he could hear the horrendous, tearing made, as it fed on one of the dead guard.

  The monster's fur was a dull blend of faded grays and bcks. It had a simir shape to a massive rat, but far rger and far mrotesque. It was closer in size te wolf. It had a long tail and its limbs were gaunt and disproportionate, as though some had grown lohan they should have. And on each of them there were dark metal shackles, that had partially merged with the skin. It looked as if it could barely stay upright, forced down by the weight.

  Even though he could not see all of it, he knew for a fact it was a Nilgrim by the bck mist oozing out of it.

  This was Erik's first time seeing one up close—it made his skin crawl with deep primal fear. But for some reason, perhaps it was his new found strength or his regained crity, he could still think clearly. It gave him ce.

  He still khat he could not face the monster in a fight. But he had to get his waterskin back. In this unknown enviro, he couldn't risk bei without water.

  He gulped quietly, and slowly made his way forward, careful not to step on any twigs or make any loud noises. His waterskin was a half a doze behind the monster.

  Step by step, Erik made his way. He had to hurry because the Nilgrim was dev its way through the corpse at a fast pace. He o get to his waterskin before it was done.

  The closer he got the more the iron-like stench of blood y thicker in the air.

  As he he Nilgrim, he saw that there was another massive shackled around its neck, pulling its head down and t its spine in an unnatural mahere was also a long gash across its frht leg.

  Then he saw the top of its head—there was a single Blood Ruhat rested on it. The rune gave off a slight sense of power.

  Finally reag his waterskin, he quickly stashed it away as quietly as possible. He then turned around and made his way back towards the hollow, where he had left his backpack. Hoping to just leave the clearing as quickly as possible.

  Almost back at the tree-line, he was starting to rex. He was almost out of there. But he celebrated too early...

  As Erik was about to pass the first tree, his coat caught on a dry brand s off. He had been so focus on his footing that he fot to pay attention to the trees.

  The siing mung stopped abruptly, and a heavy siletled for a moment.

  Erik's heart started beating wildly. He turned his head around, hoping that he hadn't attracted the attention of the monster.

  But he had.

  At that moment, it turned around and fixed its bck eyes on him. There was only madness in its gaze.

  It took only a heartbeat, but the monster bellowed out a roar and dashed for Erik. Even though it was clearly weighted down by the shackles, it was still too fast. He wouldn't be able to outrun it.

  He fumbled for his hatchet and just barely took out in time.

  Erik swung for the abomination just as it collided with him. The hatched sliced through one of its eyes and broke its momentum a bit as it recoiled from the pain. But it still tackled him and send him flying backwards into the mud.

  The monster belloained roar.

  Erik groa his own pain, but pushed through it, and got back up before it pounced on him again. He evaded to the best of his ability, but it bit into the hemp of his clothing, missing his skin by a hair. It swung its head, and viciously threw him down to the ground.

  Mud and water flew everywhere.

  A moment before it pounced for his throat, Erik maed Gravesight. The little vulture dove towards the mo lightning speed. The devious, little bird caught it off guard, and tore out its other eye.

  The Nilgrim reared bad roared, trashing about wildly. For a few heartbeats, Gravesight harassed the abomination as it flew around it.

  Just as Erik was about to jump in and help out, the Nilgrim khe side of its head against the bird. It had just barely grazed it, but it was enough to send Gravesight crashing into the trunk of a tree.

  He dissolved into mist.

  "NO!" Erik shouted wide eyed.

  He looked down at his forearm in a hurry, the Blood Rune of his Gift was there—dim and warn out, but it was still there.

  He had survived.

  Gritting his teeth he got up, and unched for the Nilgrim, trying to split it apart. The monster heard his approad dove out the way.

  They went bad forth. Erik tried his best to kill it, but despite the Nilgrim being slowed down by its injuries, it still mao evade most of his attacks. He only left a few shallow cuts on it, while it left a gash on the left side of his torso.

  The mo one point tried to jump on Erik, but it missed him by the width of a feather. That left the abomination open, and Erik sliced its side leaving a deeper cut. It wasn't enough.

  Still, enced by this he lu it trying to cleave its head open.

  As if sensing his approaaybe by ce, it move to the side i moment. Erik lost band toppled forward. He fell right on top of the corpse the monster had beeing at the beginning, mostly just the bo this point.

  Somewhere along the scuffle, they had moved back to the middle of the clearing.

  His hands—now covered in blood and guts—scrambled over the bones as he tried to shuffle over them, and away from the Nilgrim.

  Teal mist emerged among the remains. Thinking that the Nilgrim was doing something, he began to panic.

  e on, Erik! Move, move, MOVE!

  He crawled for a doze forward, before turning around. The beast had just stopped trashing and was sniffing the air. A mome turned in his dire, and slowly made its way over to him, probably guided by his st.

  Its maw full of bloody, sharp, and crooked teeth dripped with saliva as it searched for him.

  Erik couldn’t take it anymore.

  As the creature crossed over the skeletal remains, he shouted, "Just die already!"

  And hurled the hatchet at its head.

  He missed.

  Cursing himself for his stupidity, he was about to make a run for it.

  Then, out of nowhere, a skeletal hand holding a broken sword rose up from the ground and stabbed the Nilgrim right through the throat and brain.

  Everyone froze.

  The abomination with an open maw, ready to pound with a bde stig out of its brain. Erik still with an outstretched hand.

  A heartbeat ter, the creature colpsed. It was dead.

  Too fbbergasted, Erik just stood there with his mouth open.

  "Wh-What?"

  He followed the skeletal arm down, and saw that it beloo the corpse of the dead guard.