Artifact of Divinity

"I must run, I need to run!"

"Why is this happening?"

Tears swelled up in Mina's eyes as she remembered the events a few moments prior.

"My lady... you must live! Go and find your parents; they're hiding in the dungeon!" Mina's butler screamed before being pounced on by clockwork soldiers. 

Her memories stung, but soon it was almost over. She was about to reach her parents, escape, and live happily ever after. She went into her parent's bedroom through the portrait with the hidden tunnel, crawling her way into the dungeon. "Papa said this was our secret spot... no one should be able to find us here!"

As she rushed down the dungeon steps, she was met with a horrifying sight. Clockwork soldiers and a man with an intimidating presence surrounded Mina's parents. "So... you must be Arnold Sylvet and Christine Sylvet, correct? I never could've guessed you would be here." he waved his saber at both of them as he spoke. Arnold stepping forward, still shivering in fear, answered. "S-So what if I-I am?!" 

"My name is Nox Vulisphere; it is a pleasure to meet you both. I am searching for a divine-human that was in this territory."

His knowledge took aback Arnold. "How did you know-"

Cutting him off, Nox yells over his voice. "Yeah, yeah! Just tell me who is the divine-human! Is it you two, or?" Nox turns his head back, grinning. "Is it her?" 

"M-Mina, run!" Arnold screamed, prompting Mina to shudder in fear. After the orders, Nox raised his blade against Arnold's throat. "Brat, if you take another step, I'll slice off his head. Now, Arnold, tell me where the goddamn divine-human is!"

"P-Please, just let my daughter live..." Arnold pleaded, not answering Nox's question.

Nox grabbed his face in frustration. "You all are so fuckin' annoying! YOU SHOULD'VE JUST ANSWERED MY QUESTION!" Then, pulling his head down, he had a devious, unhinged grin. "You want your daughter to live, right? I'll grant your wish! I'll make her live with something she'll remember for the rest of her life!" Nox snapped his fingers, making the clockwork soldiers pin Mina down. "What are you doing?!" Arnold asked in horror.

"I KNOW YOUR TYPE OF PERSON! YOU GUYS ALWAYS TRY TO BE THE HERO AND MAKE MY LIFE MORE DIFFICULT! WELL, I'LL SHOW YOU WHAT THAT DOES!" Nox takes out his hand, and dark energy forms within his palm, condensing into a ball. Arnold and Christine saw the dark energy, pitch black, like an empty void. Muddled in despair and terrors, it was something that they couldn't believe. Arnold's lips quivered as the dark energy inched closer to his face. "N-No way, thats-" 

Smudging the dark energy into his face, Arnold's eyes grew pitch black, and he began to scream. The agonizing scream echoed in the dungeon, horrifying Mina and Christine. Mina, witnessing the horrific sight, cried out for her dad who is currently suffering. She can't close her eyes, nor even turn her head away, as the strong grip of the clockwork soldiers restrains her. One of the clockwork soldiers forcibly kept her eyelids up, making it impossible for Mina to shut her eyes. "Yeah... keep her eyelids WIDE open. I want her to see all of this!" Nox laughed in a petty pleasure, happy to make Arnold's daughter witness the sight. 

Arnold's screams turned more slurred and raggedy, gargling up something in his throat. Then, splurging from his mouth was a black goo, dripping endlessly. "Now it's your turn!" Nox said joyfully, grabbing Christine's face with his hand, pulsing the same dark energy he used earlier into her face. The palm of his hand muffled Christine's screams, only seconds later she grew insane, just like her husband. Their eyes were pitch black, mouths oozing with black goo; Mina's parents had turned corrupt.

"Mama, papa!" Mina screamed, her voice not reaching them at all. Arnold and Christine see each other, tensing up before lunging at one another. They proceed to fight to the death, biting and ripping each other apart. Their blood splatters everywhere, and agonizing feral screams emit from their bloodshed. "STOP IT!" Mina screamed, only to no avail. The sight pained Mina, making her tear up. Her loving mother and father were reduced to monsters, fighting to the death. Despite their grievous wounds, they continue their bloody fight. Arnold gouges out Christine's eyes as Christine chews out Arnold's neck. Nox sat next to Mina, grabbing her by the hair. "I promised to keep you alive, so I will! I'll let you live with this in memory for the rest of your life!" Nox laughed, petty laughter, the laughter of a demon.

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Mina woke up from her small nap, shivering. "M-Mama, papa..."

"Nope, it's just me." Harold replied.

Mina let out a high-pitched scream, not expecting Harold to be there. Harold covered his ears and sighed. "Jeez, you just woke up; why are you screaming?"

She analyzed her surroundings. It was a scrapyard, cold and barren. You could see the outskirts of Argon City miles away from where they stood. "W-Where are we? Don't tell me you brought me here to violate me!?"

"No! Why do you keep going on about me violating you?!" Harold replied with embarrassment.

She balled up, staring down at the ground. "Cause Mr. Greyson told me all about it..."

"Well, that isn't the case! I'm just going to train you! Whoever this Mr. Greyson guy told you is not what I will do to you!"

Before Mina could say anything else, Harold held out a pouch. "Now, let's get you started on this." He dumped the contents of the pouch onto the ground, revealing it all to be Artifact stones. "This is my collection of unique Artifact stones, so pick wisely. I have no clue what their tiers are, so you're gonna have to just pick by random."

Mina had heard from her parents that picking an Artifact is a big choice, one that sticks for the rest of your life. So, seeing this, she looked up at Harold. "B-But, aren't Artifacts permanent? Shouldn't I find a good one before picking?" Harold sighed, raising his voice as he spoke to her. "Listen, I'm too broke to give these all to an appraiser! This is all we can get, just pick one and get on with it!" An irritated demeanor he held, he shot a glare at Mina, as if he was telling her to hurry up. Frantically, she began searching the pile for an Artifact of her choosing. "O-Okay, I'll begin looking right now!"

As she picked, Harold told her, "We only have a week of training until you have to go through the admissions test. Either you drop out for your safety, or you get stronger and come along with me. I'd preferred if you dropped out, but my father wanted a better future for you, so I'll do my best to make you stronger." Finishing his speech, Mina had finally come up with a choice. In her hands were two Artifact stones, one that glowed in a dark purple hue, and the other in a crimson red. "I can't decide which one I'll choose..." 

"And why did you pick those two in particular?" They did not stand out from the rest; rather, Harold considered the most intriguing one was the perfectly round Artifact stone. "That one looked really goofy..." he thought, looking back on the time when he bought it.

Mina looked down at the two stones in her hands. "I chose them because they are the most pretty. But I can't decide because they're both too pretty!" Tired of waiting, he lightly bonked her head with his fist. "Just pick, dummy." 

Wincing her head as a reaction, she clinched onto her stones. "Uehhhh... that hurt Harold." As she clinched the Artifacts, both of them began to glow, making her hands heavy. "W-What's going on?!" Mina asked, seeing the sudden reaction the Artifacts gave. "The Artifacts are merging with you?! But you can only merge with one!"

As the Artifacts dissipated in her hands, Harold was stunned in awe. "Oh, but you're wrong about that." Konge inputted. Konge had suddenly appeared on Harold's shoulder, scaring him. "Don't just appear like that!" Harold yelled. 

"Then how am I supposed to come out?" Konge asked, crossing his wings.

"I dunno... just don't do something like that."

"Back to topic; the only way people can use multiple is if they're part of a special race. That could be the reason why she's able to merge with both."

"And how would you know that?" 

Konge scratched the top of his head. "Eh, I guess from memory. Though it feels like my memory had been chopped up."

"Well, are you able to explain why this brat can use two Artifacts?" Harold asked, pulling Mina's cheek. "Uwehh, that hurts, Harold..." Mina said, trying to stop his hand. 

 Konge fluttered to Mina's head, looking down upon her. "Young lady, can you explain what your parents were like?"

"My mama and papa were the nicest people around; they loved me as much as I loved them!" Mina responded, happy to talk about her parents. 

"Did any of your parents have wings?"

"Nope, they didn't have any wings."

"Hmmm... that's strange. I thought one of your parents could've been an angel." Konge stated, observing Mina. 

"Oh, but my mama and papa said that they adopted me as they found me stranded in a forest. I have no clue who my biological parents are."

"Then it could be the possibility that she's a divine-human!" Konge's voice was thrilled upon announcing her race. Harold on the other hand did not have a clue what a divine-human was. "Konge, what the hell is a divine-human? What makes them any different from a normal human?" 

"A divine-human is when a human and an angel create a child. These special humans are gifted with a blessing that allows them to use multiple Artifacts! Though they are super rare; I've only seen one my entire lifetime!"

"Cool, so that means I can shove as many Artifacts as I want into Mina?" Harold asked, picking up as many Artifact stones as possible. Mina quivered, seeing Harold's menacing grin as he got closer. Konge flew in front of Harold and began pecking him. "No, you buffoon! They still have a limit! The amount they can hold is random, and if you force more than their intended limit, it has fatal consequences! Let her intake the Artifacts slowly until she feels like she can no longer absorb any more."

"Geez, such a buzzkill..." Harold dropped the stones, coming up to Mina. "Mina, can you absorb this stone?" he asked, handing her another Artifact stone. Taking the stone, she focused hard, feeling the same sensation as she did earlier when absorbing the two Artifacts. As the sensation brushed over her, blood began to drip from her nose as she pushed hard. Her eyes swelled up, having to endure the intense pain. The pain intensified, but she insisted to herself that it was fine; she could continue further. The sense of urgency to get stronger and the sense of pride she feels as she intakes another Artifact drowns out the pain. Harold, seeing this, quickly slapped the stone out of her hand. "Ah-" Mina said as the stone went a great distance.

Angrily, Harold raised his voice. "You idiot, what do you think you were doing?!"

"I-I was just absorbing the stone..." Blood dripped from her nose, and her eyes were bloodshot red.

"You were trying to force it, weren't you?!" 

"Uhm- yes, I was..." Mina held a face of shame, not trying to look Harold in the eyes. 

"Didn't you hear Konge earlier? If you go beyond your limit, you could die!"

"I know..."

Harold wiped Mina's blood and let out a deep sigh. "Listen, just stick with two Artifacts for now, okay?" Mina, feeling his touch, closed her eyes. "Okay... I'm sorry." Harold stood up and stretched. "Alrighty, let's test out your Artifacts!"