I Can Copy And Evolve Talents

Northern stood in the embrace of the wide, brown expanse. Everything felt right for once. Oh well, except for the smell.

He'd occasionally pinch his nostrils, but there was no helping it.

'What the hell could be smelling so pungent… or is it just the wind?' He wondered.

One could not really tell with this place. The rift was an anomaly itself; it also had a lot of anomalies in different packages, and this could just be one of them.

Northern turned his head, shifting his gaze from the endless expanse to the incarnate of war that was standing a stone's throw away from him.

Night Terror stood motionlessly, staring forward. But Northern couldn't tell what it was the monster was looking at.

'It's not thinking, is it?'

Northern raised a brow…

'Impossible' He dismissed the thought and decided to get closer to the monster.

As he did, Night Terror's terrifying eyes drifted open with an intense red shine that made Northern's blood curl.

He jumped back instinctively, hands posed to summon a weapon… he did, in fact, summon it, as a few seconds later, the Mortal Blade appeared in his hands.

But by then the fearsome flame in the terror's eyes had calmed down.

Northern released the sword and sent it back into his soul, the blade shattered into sparks as it obeyed the unspoken command.

Then Northern cast a long gaze on Night Terror before looking away.

"He must be very angry about being betrayed," Northern murmured to himself.

Experiencing these things was almost creating a soft spot in him for monsters. It caused him to grit his teeth thinking just about it.

'I want to kill the damn monster, damn it!'

Including Night Terror, the castle lord, and all those monsters consumed by madness and every other monster that threatened his space and safety.

He wanted all of them dead!

And didn't want to feel bad about it.

So Northern was forced to steel himself even harder and look away from the situation.

'Let's think the best of this…' Northern inhaled and exhaled, breathing out his compassion towards monsters and breathing in logical thinking with a little bit of toxicity.

'...I need Night Terror to fight the lord of the castle. I'm sure by now he wants to kill it as much as I do… then I can just propose a temporary alliance till the lord of the castle who tried to kill us both is dead.'

That sounded like a sensible deal… if it was being made to a human.

But a monster?

'Really North, you can do better.'

How do monsters even work? Would it be possible? He was sure that Night Terror was angry, but towards whom?

So far, so good; even with all the facts laid down, all Northern had were merely speculations.

Riding on those speculations felt very risky. It could have made a lot of sense if he was dealing with humans or a weaker monster.

But this was Night Terror.

'I have gotten stronger; I can feel it in my bones, in my whole body; I can tell the difference.'

Northern's eyes slowly shifted towards Night Terror as his thoughts continued:

'And it has gotten a little weaker… but I still don't feel like I'd beat him if I challenge him. Or is it a low confidence issue?'

Night Terror had, after all, overwhelmed him times without number, as a predator and even as an ally.

He had unknowingly developed a few shards of respect for the malevolent evil.

Night Terror is a powerful monster.

'But he's not invincible…' Northern's eyes shone with determination.

'I just have to be very careful and crafty with this… it's a monster. It can't be wiser than I am.'

It was a risk, and Northern was not going to back down from it because of his fears.

In as much as his mantra was survival through it all… that did not mean settling for the norm.

For a walker like him, untrained, uninformed, and untalented, closing a rift was a futile struggle… and that was if this was even a rift to begin with. Hopefully, he wasn't being wrong about it all.

But the addition of Night Terror in his plans increased the possibility of this happening.

Northern looked down at his hands as he folded them into a fist and clenched them hard.

"Let's do this…" He whispered to himself.

Northern, after a couple of seconds of watching from behind, approached Night Terror.

The terror slowly turned its head, glancing at him and turning away to continue its seemingly aimless stare.

Northern scrunched up his eyes, looking at the direction Night Terror's eyes were glued to saying:

"What are you even looking at anyway?"

Night Terror was unresponsive, standing like a cut out from an ancient coal statue.

Northern stood still suspended in the awkwardness brought about by his own stupidity.

'I guess I really am imagining it It's a monster; let's not think too deeply about things.'

As if wanting to prove him wrong, Night Terror averted its forlorn gaze and looked at Northern for a couple of seconds, four eyes blinking briefly.

Northern could feel an intangible weight fall on him without even having to look into its eyes.

Hesitating for a second before turning his head, Northern frowned and asked with a little arrogance in his tone:

"What?"

Night Terror's eyes stayed on him… beginning to become uncomfortable, Northern's frown became deeper.

He stared deep into the eyes of the terror.

"I'm not going to lose in a staring contest you know…" He growled.

The terror's gaze did not waver and indifference tore deep into his soul. Northern also returned the gesture but with fierce unyielding blue eyes.

Then the monster averted its gaze…

"Ha! I won!!"

Northern celebrated but he seemed to be the only one that cared. Night Terror stared at the tunnel they had just come from, then looked back at Northern, before placing its crude talons on his shoulder and looking at the cave; its eyes burning with something between madness and anger.

Northern studied the monster for a moment then looked at the cave. Then he furrowed his brows and looked back at Night Terror's face.

Seeing the fearsome look on the monster's face made his lips curl up.

"Don't tell me… this bastard too…"