The Fallen Death Dog

A thud resounded and sent a crushing pain that weighed down on Cain's heart, the cry of his partner Noir piercing his heart to bleed. Never did he feel like this in his life, never knowing about his parents, losing his grandpa because of his natural occurrence.

Cain grieved, but this phenomenon in front of him was unbearable. His body trembled nonstop, forcing his screaming nerve to move forward to protect Noir whatever it took. His body managed to crawl forward, but the man smiled and brought down the wooden lid once more.

"Hhmm! Hmm! Hmmmmm!".

From behind, the boy, with tears on his face, struggled to break free from the man's clutch, but his efforts did not yield results; he could only lament and curse his own powerlessness.

Cain's eyes blurred, his thoughts gone; the only thing he wanted was to stay near Noir and protect it from danger, even if this had to sacrifice his body. 'Stop, please! Stop, Noir!'.

A sense of accomplishment dyed the leader's face as he pleasantly smiled, looking at the figure of Cain crawling toward his place. 'Hehe, good. I want to see that face more.' He mercilessly raised the wooden lid up and struck Noir once more and again.

Each thud and yelp that resonated within the place broke Cain's shred of consciousness; his eyes had turned hollow, filled with bloody tears. Each breath he took was heavy, and he felt immeasurable pain wash over him before Cain felt numbed over everything, even the pain around his body.

{No, please, Noir. Hide Noir, please get away from them}.

However, instead of answering, the man brought down the wooden lid and struck Noir, following with a yelp that got weaker the more time passed.

Cain's chest tightened, his face aghast, looking at his partner, who was on the verge of dying. He could feel it in his heart that the bond they have as a Resonator and guardian beast dimmed, on the verge of breaking up.

Satisfied with the wooden lid, which showed signs of breaking, the man threw it away and took out the steel stick, which was held by the hyena, who was also enjoying the scene.

"Thanks, bud!".

*Hee-hee

The two personifications of cruelty laugh at the scene where Cain is looking at them in horror. The leader smiled and raised the stick high, and was pretty sure that if that thing landed on Noir's current body, his life would be blown away, and Cain would lose his partner, dream and also hope.

{No, no, no, Noir get away from there, please, Noir, I beg of you! Please…}

{*Hau!}

A weak yelp from Noir that echoed in his mind halted his thought for a second before it broke Cain's emotion, and he desperately crawled forward, trying to stop the man from bringing the stick down.

"Be thankful, Kid! For I will free you from the experience of fighting a strong enemy, some boring duty, and losing your own partner sooner. Trust me, later is the most excruciating experience, after all!"

"NO!".

Cain's vocal cords burst, letting out a blood-curdling scream of pleading to have mercy upon the pitiful Dog.

'Ah! Aaaaaaaahhhh! Noooo! Please no. I beg of you, anyone, please stop that guy from hurting Noir, please! I don't want to see Noir die in front of me; we are just starting to become a family, but why does fate have to be so ruthless? Please, I beg someone, please save Noir, please!'. But of course, there is nothing who would answer his prayer and wait for a miracle to happen.

His internal monologue, 'poof,' disappears as the stick is brought down. Deep down, he wishes that someone would save them from this predicament, but 'Tunk,' the stick, lands on Noir's body, and Cain's world breaks apart like brittle glass.

A moment of stillness happened as Cain entered his own consciousness, asking the world himself why he had to experience any of this. Is it because of his naive thought of helping others? or is it because he is weak? 

No one had the answer to that question besides himself; a dark, murky feeling began to sprout from within Cain; it was so ominous that it dyed his heart black. Intense rage he never knew manifested inside him, his mind shrouded in Darkness, and Cain could only see the world in black.

[Noir condition is in a critical state]

[It needs an immediate help]

[Because of your genuine feelings toward your partner. Your bond with Guardian beast: Noir has strengthened, forming an unbreakable chemistry]

[Acquired skill 'Link']

[Do you want to activate the skill!]

[Yes or No]

Light started to gather around his eyes, seeing a translucent blue panel that showed Noir's condition; he grieved and pondered what sort of skill he acquired at this time.

#Skill description Link: An exclusive skill for a resonator who has a strong bond with its Guardian beast. The skill will let a Resonator and Guardian Beast share their sense, enhancing each other's basic ability and sharing the equal burden of damage received.

Upon reading the description, Cain hurriedly thought of 'Yes' in his mind, and his body glowed in dark light. 'What is this feeling?' he asked. At first, it was strange, but gradually, it turned pleasant because his sense of smell was enhanced, and he could recognize several things with it. His physique is brimming with raw power and also the flexibility of the Dog.

However, a sharp, electrifying and excruciating pain began to awaken Cain from his exhilaration, his nerves screaming and unnerving, cracking bones and tearing flesh plunged his consciousness into the Abyss.

Cain's body convulsed, which alerted the leader and the other people in the place, thinking that the boy had turned mad because of the loss of his Dog.

[Your Body receives half the damaged Noir accumulated]

[Noir feels touched upon by your self-sacrificing nature and begins to force open its seal]

[Opening the Seal]

[Warning: Opening the seal when the vessel is not ready would pose a great risk to both Resonator and Guardian Beast. Would you still be willing to continue?]

[Yes or No]

{*Woff!}

With a resolute yes, Noir's thoughts flow into Cain's mind, encouraging him to endure everything together. The thought of hearing Noir's spirited bark returned Cain's sanity. He could see the world turned to normal, filled with renewed strength they had created.

{...I'm with you, brother!}

{*Woff!}

[Initializing the process]

[Error detected]

[Error…]

[Error…]

…

A flurry of translucent panels began to block Cain's vision. It was also the same for Noir. The two minds resonated as one. A throbbing pain began to split their skulls apart, but Cain and Noir gritted their teeth, followed by an impact that pressed against their consciousness, submitting them to the depth of true absolute power.

[Error…]

[Forcing open the seal succeed(Half)]

[Because of this action, both Resonator and Guardian Beast would receive a penalty]

[Attributes Darkness had been locked for a period of time]

[The condition to unlock, reach Rank 1 star]

[The Fallen Death Dog had give its master a part of its original power]

[Soul Armament unlocked]

[Statistics 'Karma' added to the Status]

While the two of them are on the brink of evolving, the people around them look at them in a weird way because they are convulsing nonstop. This even gives the leader who acted cruelly earlier goosebumps all over his body.

Not only the leader, his subordinates and even the boys were shocked to see the development that had happened.

When the two stopped in their tracks, the whole place dimmed. No, jet-black Darkness trapped the place, submerging them into the hollow of existence. No sound, no emotion, just pure Darkness trapped them, forcing their minds into madness.

The Darkness only lasted for a brief moment, but for those who were trapped, they felt an entire year had passed, turning their minds on the verge of breaking down.

When the place returned, all men in the surrounding dropped on their butts; two of them leaked because of the fear they felt after the unknown Darkness sucked out their mental force.

The leader, awoken by its partner, the hyena, glanced at his front only to see nothing. Before him, there was no dog and Cain's body lying on the ground. Instead, they felt a chill that seeped through their bones. They shuddered and turned to the source.

There stood Cain, his body radiating an ominous black aura, holding the unconscious boy in his hand. When the Darkness trapped them, Noir began its move to save the boy by making him unconscious to prevent him from having a mental breakdown.

*Woff!

Noir barked clearly in rage, its eyes shining in purple colour, picturing its nobility and glorious power to make the world submit under it.

"Rest well, kid!".

Cain crouched down and placed the boy carefully onto the floor, his gaze soft but soon turned cold upon turning his back around, looking at the Resonator pair that had given him a good beating.

His hands clenched before a black cloth swirled around them and tied itself, forming gauntlets that protected his knuckles and enhanced his power.

Feeling a new sensation he still couldn't get used to, Cain inhaled deeply and exhaled in one go. He focused his attention in front, crossing his hands and readying his fighting stance.

"I will make you pay for what you did to me! Hundredfold!".