I Received System to Become Dragonborn

Sylven opened his eyes. Finally, he could see everything differently. He no longer saw the darkness caused by unimaginable sorrow around him, but he finally saw the real sight again.

Destroyed forests and plants surrounded him, and the rest were just destroyed landscapes. In front of him stood his mother, or more accurately, the manifestation of his mother created by the trial to trick him.

Sylven gritted his teeth as he stared at his mother and realized that he still could not completely eliminate the pain. However, for now, at least it was not paralyzing, even though it was still overwhelming.

Sylven raised his head and started to stand up. That made his mother’s face blurry for a second, and then it came back, showing hatred, sadness, and disappointment once again.

"Sylven, what are you doing?" his mother asked in a cold tone.

Sylven did not answer. To him, right now, answering her questions was useless. She was not real, and whatever she said would only burden him for his actions.

Sylven only stared at his mother’s face in silence. He looked around at the destroyed plants. All of this was not real but all of this could happen if he failed to control his emotions - the Black Rage - and let it control him instead.

The manifestation of what was around him could happen in the real world. He could destroy the plants that had been his friends all this time, he could hurt his mother — the people he loved — and even kill them if he was not careful.

All of this could become real if Sylven refused to acknowledge it and kept running from it, and then later it would come back to him and destroy him at the right moment.

Sylven let out a long breath. His fourteen-year-old face looked very mature now, which presented a strange sight. After all that he experienced, of course, he had gained a lot of lessons and a lot of wisdom.

His mother stood up in front of him and stared at him again with a frown. That frown looked full of anger instead of disappointment like before.

"What are you doing?" The same question came out of his mother’s mouth again. This time it sounded cold.

Sylven paused for a moment, staring at his mother with a gaze still full of pain, his eyes watery, but his jaw clenched. He could not let this illusion control him anymore, or he would get paralyzed again.

"I have decided," Sylven said. "I was wrong and I cannot change the past. But this does not change anything. You are already dead, because of me. I will carry this guilt for the rest of my life."

Now his mother’s expression looked hard and stern. She also clenched her jaw, and then her eyes changed. They still looked like his mother’s eyes as he remembered them but there was something that filled them—hatred and coldness.

Sylven became stiff now. His defense began to waver again because of that look.

But fortunately, his mind managed the situation quickly before he froze again.

"Do you really think that is enough?" his mother asked. "You killed me and now you want to just walk away? Carrying the guilt, you think that is enough? You must die!"

And then his mother jumped at him with a terrifying speed that caught Sylven off guard. The Dragon opened his eyes wide.

His mother’s form began to warp violently. Right before his eyes her human flesh twisted and hardened into a terrifying nightmare. A grotesque fusion of half-plant and half her old self.

Thick and heavy roots split and lengthened into sharp, vicious claws. Her once-familiar eyes turned a glowing and unnatural green color, burning fiercely with absolute madness.

Before Sylven could fully process the gruesome transformation, she attacked with terrifying speed and mercilessly with her root-like claws.

The sudden impact slammed him hard against the ground, instantly leaving him at a severe disadvantage.

A wave of suffocation choked his breath as the horrific sight triggered a devastating memory. This was the exact, haunting form she had taken right before her actual death.

The cruel realization that he was reliving his worst nightmare struck him hard, threatening to paralyze his mind completely again.

Sylven gritted his teeth, his jaw clenching so hard it ached, forcing every ounce of his willpower to fight back the overwhelming wave of panic.

He refused to let the illusion paralyze him again, using his will power as best as he could.

As he struggled to regain his footing on the ground, the memories of her tragic end pressed heavily against his chest again. Even though he knew that this trial was just testing his deepest guilt, his fear of the Black Rage, and his inability to forgive himself for the destruction he had caused.

The half-plant monster let out a chilling sound that echoed across the desolate landscape, her sharp green eyes locking onto him with pure hatred now.

She raised her razor-sharp root claws, preparing for a devastating final strike.

Sylven pushed himself up from the dirt, his fourteen-year-old face etched with a grim maturity. He could not run from the truth anymore. Even as the terrifying creature closed the distance to finish him, Sylven braced himself, determined to face this inner demons and conquer the guilt.

He knew that this won’t be easy.

—

Erend killed his mother and sister because of his rage. There was nothing else more devastating than that. He could not control his rage, and now, he had done the things that he feared the most.

He still curled up on the black sand with loud cries. He did not want to stand up or do anything anymore. He could no longer do anything. He no longer deserved to do anything.

He only wanted to forget the sight of his mother and his sister dying in his hands, because of his hands.

At that moment, a voice broke the chaos in his mind.

"Erend, this is not real."

It was Krono’s voice. A voice that he had not heard for a long time.

—