***
Grimoire Type: Weapon
Element: Divine Light
Base Form:Enkidu, Chains of the Broken Heaven
Max Ring Potential: 7 Rings
Current Ring: 2nd (Initial)
Mastery: 10.05%
Inherited Skill: —
Ability Card:
→ Card of Heavenly Vow
→ [Empty]
***
As for the inherited ability, I had none. These abilities were skills of the spirit cards that a person gained as the card progressed.
Normally, even a single ring card had two to three skills. Yet here I was with zero inherited skills at the second ring.
Well, since I had two hearts, my body had the constitution of a second-ring user, but my grimoires worked differently.
The summoning grimoire could only exert the strength of a first ring, while my weapon grimoire matched a proper second ring.
Finally, my eyes fell on the section of the ability card. I willed to see more information about it.
The grimoire flipped its page on my command, and a new page came into my view. Beautiful golden text started to appear on it in italics.
"Even the grimoire is artistic." I whistled as I waited for the page to be filled. It was quite a slow process, not gonna lie.
Sigh~
With a sigh, I decided to pass the time by being an absolute menace to my perverted son.
I turned to look for him.
"Nyx?"
Silence.
I took a quick glance around and there he was, two feet away from me. He had sprawled himself out like royalty, basking in the sun like this was his private beach.
I reached over and gave his tail a playful tug.
"MEOW!"
He shot up like he'd been electrocuted with his fur raised.
I leaned back with a smirk.
"Good morning, sunshine."
"You absolute demon," he hissed in his sleepy voice. He looked kinda cute.
I grinned and pulled his tail again. "Congratulations. That's the most emotion you've shown in three days. Truly, a miracle."
"You pulled my tail," he growled with his tail lashing behind him like a whip. "Do you realize how undignified that is?"
I nodded solemnly. "Of course. That's why I did it, my lord."
He narrowed his eyes. "You're going to die in your sleep one day. I will make sure of it."
"Probably true," I said cheerfully. "But I'll haunt you specifically. Imagine it, ghost Loki pulling your tail for eternity."
His face turned white as I let out a chuckle. Thank god, at least I wasn't alone in this world.
The grimoire was also done with its filling process. Nyx also came and sat in my lap as I turned my attention back to the glowing page.
***
Name:Card of Heavenly Vow
Ability:
Grants the user the power to forge sacred oaths binding their intent into reality. For every vow declared, an equal and opposite condition must be offered in return. The stricter or riskier the condition, the greater the divine amplification of strength, speed, durability, or supernatural effect granted.
Each vow is written into the soul and enforced by the chains of Enkidu. Breaking a vow results in immediate backlash, ranging from loss of abilities to fatal damage, depending on the vow's weight.
Examples of Vows:
"I vow not to dodge any attack for 30 seconds." → Gains immense counterforce amplification for thirty seconds.
"I vow to fight alone." → All grimoire effects are multiplied while allies remain uninvolved.
"I vow to die if I fail to protect [X]." → Gains heightened defense while defending the target.
Cooldown Between Each Vow Creation: 1 Month
***
I read through the information once, carefully. I mean, it was pretty simple.
It worked on the law of equivalent exchange. It meant you can't gain anything without first giving something in return.
"So we went through all that trouble for this suicide bomb?" Nyx asked as he tilted his head up and looked at my chin.
"Yes, it's a double-edged sword, but since when was anything in this world free?"I replied with half a mind.
My mind was already running through dozens of ways I could use this card. First, I needed it to hide my second heart.
Now the question arises: Which heart should I hide?
If I hid the unnatural heart on the right side linked to Enkidu, I wouldn't even be able to take the entrance test for the Imperial Academy. As the minimum requirement was fourth ring potential.
But if I hid the summoning grimoire, people would hear a heartbeat on the wrong side of my chest.
After giving it some thought, I decided to hide my left heart. The one linked to the summoning grimoire.
"It was nice knowing you, my son. May you have a better father in the next life," I said to Nyx while making a serious face.
Then, just to complete the drama, I contorted my face like I was mourning his impending funeral.
It was a ridiculous expression. Mouth twisted, brows shaking like some sad cartoon dad preparing to abandon his kid on a rainy church doorstep.
Nyx took my joke seriously. Seeing my face, he cried out aloud, "N..o, please no. Don't seal me, please."
He shook his head violently with eyes shimmering with fear.
His voice cracked like a child's on the verge of a tantrum, and his claws swiped at the empty air, like he was trying to hold on to something that wasn't even there.
"I swear I'll burn your socks while you sleep!
Please... Loki don't abandon me."
His words were petty, but his voice wasn't. There was a wobble in it. A tremble that didn't match his usual bravado.
"You won't leave me… right?"
His small hands gripped my collar as if letting go meant losing something he couldn't afford to lose.
His eyes. Damn it. Those stupid eyes…
They reminded me of something I hadn't thought about in a while...
Of someone.
Of me.
Of a boy in ragged clothes barely covering his body, running barefoot across a cold cobblestone road with a dented metal bowl clutched in both hands.
His ribs poked out of his skin, as if he were a skeleton. His knees were scraped raw, and his stomach was so empty that it hadn't seen food in two days.
That boy would shuffle from person to person with extended arms and a barely audible voice:
"Sir... a coin. Just one... I haven't eaten in two days."
And what did he get?
Not a coin.
A kick.
A slap.
A shove.
A curse.
A joke.
A boot in the gut that made him curl over, yet his clutch on the bowl didn't loosen.
Then what did that boy do?
He got up.
He got up and walked to the next person.
Because he had no choice. Because that was all that little boy could do.
Because hope is the cruelest chain of all. It keeps you moving even when your bones beg for rest.
"Some food... even stale bread would do," he would ask again.
And now here I was, staring into Nyx's desperate eyes, and it all came back.
That same look. Trying to survive every day.
My chest ached.
The clever remark died on my lips, and I dropped the act.