Agony

Trigger Warning: Discussion of Suicide

…

Cain was gloomy, depressing to be around, and all around disliked.

When he was 15, the kid was diagnosed with lung cancer. Life pretty much ended after that doctor's visit.

He contemplated whether it was worth living at that point. Up until then, Cain was bright, well liked by his friends, and had a hopeful future.

After that visit, though, it all fell apart. 3 years pass dreadfully, and he graduates high school. Barely.

He spent all day in his room, living with his parents. The treatment was only keeping him alive, and he only left for treatment.

His parents could pay for it all, and he saw a therapist whenever he could, but it only got worse. There was no breakthrough, no remission, no cure.

Day after day, Cain would open his closet, stare at death, and shut the closet like a coward.

He was scared of death. Everyone is.

Life was unfair. It ended before it could start.

He spent every night in frustrated, agonizing tears, coughing himself nearly to death, and sleeping only because he was too exhausted to stay awake any longer.

"Life wasn't worth living. It would be less painful to just get it over with." He thought, and each night he opened his closet, tied his noose, untied it, and put it back.

"But I'm scared… I'm scared.." he thought again and again.

There was no end to his suffering.

He cries himself to sleep, tears staining his cheeks and pillow, his coughs racketing the house, drowned out only by his loud ceiling fan.

When his eyes next open, it was blinding.

He sat up, rubbing his tear-stained cheeks, wiping his eyes. "What.." he muttered, seeing that he was no longer in his home. He thought he was dreaming.

Beside him was a cute girl, panicking. She seemed to frantically look around as if she didn't belong.

'She's.. cute… is she in the same situation as me?' He reached out, about to speak, only for his words to be drowned by the booming declaration of a man in front of them:

"I greet the saints! We welcome you to the palace of Light, O' Saints of Light." It was a priest speaking. He seemed to be in his early 50s, his hair a mix of black and grey, a well trimmed beard on his face. He dressed extravagantly in a white robe with gold trimming and runes.

Just then, a black panel with purple lining appears in front of him. Cain instantly recognized it from his reading habits that it was a "system"

It usually displays information about its "user" or the things around it.

Cairn's hypothesis was instantly proven correct as he read it.

"Saint of Darkness System.." Cain read to himself, cringing a bit at the "darkness" in its title. He continues to read nonetheless.

<Congratulations, Cain! You have been chosen by the most ancient of Gods, the God of Darkness! You have been blessed with the following:

-Frame of the Ancients (Divine)

-Sword of Permafrost (Rare)

-Saint's smart-clothes (Uncommon)

-1 summoning slot

-The Necronomicon (God)

Saint Cain may already be able to guess item ranks, however here is a proper list in order from the lowest rank, to the highest:

-Common

-Uncommon

-Rare

-Unique

-Legendary.

-Divine

-God

More information will be provided when prompted! There will be no information limits so long as the information requested is older than a month.>

Cain's eyes dilated seeing the final object on his blessings. THE Necronomicon!? Does that mean he's an actual necromancer!?!

In the midst of his panic, his attention was brought back to the priest. "Saints, allow me to guide you to your chambers!"

Cain wasn't allowed to think very much about the information, as he had to comply with the priest.

"System… is this a dream?" He muttered to himself, or more specifically the system.

<Answer: No Cain. This is not a dream. Bonus: All previous ailments have been cured.>

Cain read the text, a smile gradually forming on his face. One emotionless sentence from his system seemed to cure all of his depression momentarily. His lungs felt clean, the air was pure.

He inhaled deeply, and let out a satisfied exhale. "Ah… it's over.." a tear rolls down his cheek, one of joy. Melody looked at him funny, but didn't judge too hard.

The two were introduced to their room, one which they will be sharing for the time being.

Cain shuffled inside, sat down, and awkwardly glanced at melody. He felt too nervous to speak.

Luckily, she spoke first: "You're not a saint of light, are you?"

The question caught him off guard, but he didn't bother lying. "Ah!? Uh- oh-… n-no I'm- im not.. uh- I'm not the saint of uh- of light.. it says that I'm the Saint of Darkness."

He realized after the fact that he probably shouldn't have said so much, but soon relaxed seeing Melody's expression. "Ah.. that's good."

He didn't quite understand her peculiar answer, instead opening his system once more. It felt natural to do so, as if he could've done so his whole life.

The main menu for the system was a stat page.

<User Information: Cain Darkness

Stats

Strength: 4

Stamina: 2

Mana: 10

Remaining stats: irrelevant.

Inventory:

-Necronomicon (expand)

-Sword of Permafrost (expand)

-Saint's Smart-Clothes (Expand)>

Out of curiosity, Cain pressed "expand" on the necronomicon.

<Necronomicon, general information:

The very first magical grimoire created by the God of Darkness, it is part of a twin set alongside the Goddess of Light that was to bless *Gaia* with land.

The necronomicon has the ability to raise the souls of corpses into vessels. These vessels will either remain static in power or have the potential to grow, depending on the strength of the raised soul, how long it's been since it died, and the state of its body.

Corpses without a soul cannot be raised.

Raised souls require summoning slots, which will grow alongside the mana stat.>

Gaia was highlighted in the description, however Cain could guess that it's the name of the world he's in, though he expands it's information anyways.

<Gaia General Information:

Gaia was the very first creation by the two gods, and is considered by the God of Darkness to be His favorite.>

Cain shrugged. "H-hey.." He spoke up to Melody, sitting up in bed. "Do you also have a grimoire?" his question piqued the interest of Melody, who looked at him strangely. "A Grimoire? Ah- yea- mine is called 'The Beasts of the Otherworlds" what's yours?"

Cain froze for a bit. It's name was unwieldy, and Melody clearly knew he had one too. "Ah… uh- it's.. it's the necronomicon."

Melody's face curled back in disgust. "Vile.." she muttered, crushing Cain under her words.

Maybe it was just the opinion of Melody…

Maybe.

Hopefully.