Mercenary System: I can increase innate potential !

"No, no, what is this!?"

A burning glare erupted inside him, as if something foreign and powerful was taking hold of his essence.

But no matter how hard he tried to resist, nothing helped.

All he could feel was pain, as if someone were marking his possession on his soul with a burning iron.

Abruptly, he opened his eyes in the real world.

The air rushed into his lungs and he let out a hoarse, desperate cry, a mixture of agony and rebirth.

He straightened up, his still numb muscles trembling under the effort, as he inhaled again greedily.

Each breath seemed to rip through an invisible barrier as an energy surged through his body.

"Where am I?" he thought, as a shower of sensations washed over him.

A gentle warmth emanated from his chest, where the sword had pierced him. But this warmth was unnatural.

It was too vivid, too present, almost oppressive. His heart, which he had thought destroyed, was beating at a terrifying pace, like a war drum.

Langus brought a trembling hand to his chest. His fingers grazed his wound, where a gaping hole must have been.

Only a scar could be seen. Yet he could still feel the impact of the blade, like a memory etched into his flesh.

Noticing his movements, Maxime reassured him.

"Your skin healed quickly, but your organs are another matter altogether. We'll have to take it easy on your body over the next few days, to give it time to heal."

Her eyes fell on Maxime, who stood there, watching her with a satisfied smile.

"What have you done to me?" growled Langus, his voice hoarse and broken.

But even as he spoke, he felt a new strength invade his being. His aching muscles seemed to awaken with an energy he didn't recognize.

This power was disturbing, foreign, yet deeply rooted in him. A warmth rose from his insides, a warmth he knew was not his own.

Maxime crouched before him, plunging his eyes into Langus's.

"I've given you a new life." he said, his voice calm but heavy with meaning.

"And in return, you belong to me now."

Langus felt a shiver run down his spine. The words resonated within him, as if engraved in his soul. He tried to stand up, but his legs gave way.

A sharp pain shot through his skull, and blurred images assailed his mind. The blade. The blood. The icy sensation of death coming for him. Then, that golden thread, that invisible link, had torn him from the darkness.

"It's not natural." he murmured, his eyes burning with anger and confusion.

"It's not... me."

Maxime raised an eyebrow.

He himself couldn't guess what state Langus must be in after coming back from the dead.

"No, it's not you anymore. You've become a better version of yourself.

"You possess the same strength as before, but your potential has been sublimated."

Langus clenched his fists. He could feel this energy, this power pulsing inside him.

He felt that one energy was healing his body and his hidden wounds, while another was breaking the limits the heavens had imposed on him.

But ironically, he also felt a grip, a new invisible chain binding him to this man.@@novelbin@@

He looked up at Maxime.

"And if I refuse?" he asked, his voice more assured, almost defiant.

Maxime laughed softly.

"Refuse?" he repeated, amused.

"This bond we share cannot be broken."

Langus looked at Maxime with complicated eyes, before sighing.

Then he glanced at the person standing next to him.

It was her.

Kaite stood a few steps behind him, silent but visibly tense.

Langus squinted in disbelief as his memories flooded back.

He remembered her face. That iron gaze she wore in the heat of battle, that almost arrogant assurance she displayed as she cut down her enemies.

But this was different. She seemed... docile. Almost self-effacing. And above all, she was standing next to this man, Maxime, the assassin of her former young master, Perceval.

"Kaite?" he breathed, his husky voice echoing in the silence.

He squinted, as if to make sure it wasn't a hallucination. But no, there she was, motionless, arms folded, staring right at him.

A flash of anger crossed his face.

"You?" He almost growled, trying to straighten up despite his wobbly legs.

"What are you doing beside her? Why are you still alive?"

Kaite swallowed, but she held his gaze. She hesitated for a moment, searching for her words.

"Langus... things have changed. What you think you know is no longer true. If I'm alive, it's because of him. Just like you."

Langus felt an icy chill run through him.

"Thanks to him?" he repeated incredulously.

He looked at Maxime, then at Kaite, searching for an explanation that would make sense. But all he found were pieces of a puzzle he didn't know how to fit together.

"You're standing there, alive, by her side? How could you betray..." His tone was a mixture of anger and incomprehension, but he didn't dare utter the duke's name for fear that Maxime would learn who it was who had ordered the ambush of the mercenary group.

But little did he know, Kaite had already said it all.

Kaite inhaled deeply, his jaw set.

"Do you think I had a choice? Neither do you, Langus. I mean, look at you. You shouldn't even be alive right now."

She pointed at Maxime, a spark of resentment in her eyes.

"What he's capable of doing... it's beyond anything you can imagine. We're tied to him now. Whether we like it or not."

"Bound?" he murmured. He brought a trembling hand to his chest, where he'd felt that strange warmth. He remembered the feeling of death that had invaded him.

He'd never been so close to it.

Cold, empty... And yet, here he was. Alive. And if what she was saying was true, then...

He shook his head, struggling against this truth he refused to see. Continue your journey with My Virtual Library Empire

"No... this isn't possible. It's not you, Kaite. Not you."

Kaite looked away again, clenching his fists.

"It's not a question of what I want to be, Langus. It's about survival. You'll soon understand."

Maxime, who was observing the strange scene, spoke up.

"It's fascinating to see how similar you two are. Always struggling against the inevitable. But in the end, you'll accept it."

Langus glared at Maxime, but deep down he felt this truth. The bond, that golden thread, he felt with every beat of his heart.

His anger, though intense, was stifled by a deeper, more insidious feeling: an involuntary loyalty, imposed by this contract he hadn't chosen to sign.

But he calmed himself as best he could.

At the same time, he had an idea.

"And what about Perceval, since you managed to save me, you should also be able to save Perceval?" asked Langus expectantly.

Maxime looked at Perceval's inert body in the distance without too much emotion.

"He's probably already dead, and I can't revive the dead."

Langus was speechless.

"Why didn't you save him when you could?"

"Because I can't sign contracts ad infinitum, and mostly because the guy was just too weak."