Villain's Second Heart: Trapped in A Fantasy Novel (BL)-Chapter 27: Alcor’s Treasures

Ezra pushed past the notifications, running to the collapsed Nephilim.

"Oberyn!" he cried, sliding on his knees and landing at his friend's side. He lifted him up off the ground, inspecting him frantically.

Oberyn was in rough shape. His exposed torso was covered in cuts, and his head leaked blood. He was conscious, but only just barely.

Rav floated off the couch, suspended by cloudy magic. He rushes to get a closer look alongside Ezra.

"This is the Magician you were looking for, eh? Fancy him landing right on our doorstep."

"We need to help him!" Ezra commanded.

Rav nodded along. "Don't worry. I'm no savant, but I know a little about healing. Let's get him settled in your room and take it from there. Carry him for me, would you?"

Ezra lifted Oberyn off the ground. The dainty Nephilim felt even lighter than the other day when Ezra carried him on his back.

He jogged quickly to his room, watching Oberyn the entire time. His eyes flickered between closed and open, but the Nephilim didn't say a word.

"Don't worry, Oby. We got you."

The nickname slipped out unintentionally - he called the young man 'Oby' (pronounced like the letters, O-B).

They laid him down on the bed, and Oberyn passed out. Rav looked over him carefully, inspecting his torso for injury.

"Lots of cuts," Rav said quietly, checking Oberyn all over. "He's lost a fair bit of blood, but nothing too major that I can see. That head wound he's got will be a problem."

"What can I do?" Ezra fired out, his words tripping over each other. He wanted to help, but he didn't know how.

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Rav was already conjuring magic - a soothing, puffy mixture of cloud that he applied to Oberyn's wounds as a cool compress.

"Calm down," Rav said with a smirk. "And let me focus, hm? Why don't you wait outside, I'll let you know if I need anything."

"I want to stay here!" Ezra argued. "If he wakes up and only sees you..."

Ezra's heart sank. He wanted to be there with Oberyn the moment he woke up. To tell him that everything was okay - that Oberyn was safe, now. He didn't know what the Nephilim had been through, but it was obviously traumatic.

"He'll be fine," Rav smiled. "You're just going to distract me. Shoo, shoo."

Ezra begrudgingly left the room and stood on the walkway just outside, peeking in to the room. Rav was hard at work with his magic swirling it all around Oberyn in a healing mist.

[I see you have some new powers, Ezra.]

He jumped at the sound of the voice in his head. He'd completely forgotten about Alcor in the heat of the moment - he was too worried about Oberyn to think clearly.

[Give it a peek. It'll get your mind off the Nephilim - though if he succumbs to his injuries, you'd only be better off. That boy is destined to end the world, in case you forgot.]

"So you say."

Ezra scowled at the voice inside his head. He didn't want to hear any of that 'Oberyn doomsday' propaganda. Alcor had an agenda - he knew that. How could he ever trust the voice in his head, when that voice had a vested interest in Ezra's downfall?

[Speak the command, 'System Menu'. It's about time you learned how to use your new power.]

Ezra hesitated. Even such a simple bit of advice as that was hard to trust, coming from Alcor. Still, he figured this was relatively low-risk.

"System Menu."

Before him, a brilliant green light flashed as a User Interface appeared in front of him. It looked just like a screen from a video game.

[I thought the same thing when I first saw this. Hard to believe something so technological could exist in a fantasy world as this, isn't it?]

Ezra furrowed his brow. Having Alcor be able to read his thoughts was discomforting - there was nothing he could keep from the slithering presence.

[Menu - Alcor Star (Ezra)

Profile

Equipment

Skills

Quests

Special]

He looked through the different tabs. It really was like a game - an old-school RPG menu.

He clicked on the Quest tab - he vaguely recalled something like that popping up just a moment ago. The window opened again. He had exactly one quest.

[Quest: True Love

Objective: Have someone fall in love with you 0/1]

'Helpful,' Ezra thought to himself, sarcasm evident even in his internal monologue. He exited out of that quickly.

[The 'Special' Tab. A unique power from the Storyteller herself to assist you in what you seek.]

Ezra nodded, but before he clicked it, he glanced back over to Rav and Oberyn. The Nephilim was still sleeping, and the catboy was still hard at work conjuring magic. Rav looked quite a bit more calm than earlier, though - a good sign.

He clicked the 'Special' Tab and was greeted by a new window.

[Desire Meter:

Toggleable. When active, your desires have the ability to shape reality. Gain Fulfillment points (FP) by satisfying the desires of others. Spend FP to influence the world in real-time.

Current: 0/100]

He read over the text at least three times. He couldn't believe it - a System. A totally OP System, just for him. He wondered what the limits of it could possibly be.

[No limits, Ezra. A full Desire Meter can allow you to rewrite your own death if you so wish. And even ten of those points can grant you the power to freeze time for a few moments. Ah, but there are other uses, far beyond the scope of battle. You'll have to figure that out yourself.]

'How do you know so much about this?'

[Heh. I am part of your System, you know. This is where I live while you're piloting around the body you stole from me.]

'Hey, I didn't steal it!'

The snakey voice in his head emitted something akin to a chuckle.

[Steal or not, it's yours...for now. And, lo and behold, the items I had on me seem to have transferred to your Equipment tab as well. Why don't you check it out?]

Ezra's eyes shimmered at the idea. In video games, he always was a collector - he loved gathering rare items. So he didn't need any further convincing - he clicked on the Equipment tab and was greeted by a delightful surprise.

A trove of items.

Ezra's fingers hovered over the list. Outfits, armors, consumables - he had a healthy supply of everything. And then, suddenly - his breath caught in his throat.

One item stood out from the rest, something that sent an icy chill down his spine.

[Alcor's Keepsake - 'The Moonlit Feather.']

Ezra swallowed. The description was short, almost mocking him.

'A feather from the Nephilim you are destined to kill.'