Neo: Awakening: Neo: Vigilante

A night when even the moon was lost in mist.
Camerin, who had been walking by the faint light of the moon, suddenly spoke up.

"Those who fight monsters must be careful not to become monsters themselves."
She cloaked herself in darkness as expertly as a skilled Moon Hunter should,
but her eyes glowed in the darkness
as if she were eager to offer advice to the overzealous newcomers.

Yes, that look in her eyes.

The same look that represented our mission to defend our home and watch for the Maleficents' ascent from the Empty Sea,
even as many of us moved to the safety of Inae,
even as the mages of Inae came and urged us to leave the lake.

We believed in the sincerity in her eyes and stood by her side.

"What if we get consumed by the malefic energy? Should we kill ourselves?"

A young voice, sounding a little frightened in the darkness, asked,
Camerin grinned as if she found the question cute.

"No, no one can force anyone to make that choice.
All I can tell you is to believe in your own existence and accept yourself.
Then, maybe..."

...And then, what did she say?
I can't quite recall, no matter how hard I search my memory, which is as hazy as moonlight.
With those last words, she headed off to Sky of a Thousand Seas to accept her appointment as the Keeper of Gravity Falls.

By the way,
I'm not sure why I'm suddenly remembering these long-forgotten memories
now that I'm in the middle of a malefic energy outburst and my life is in danger.

She was only half right that no one could force anyone to make that choice.
I accepted the malefic energy at the last moment because of my instinct to live after all,
but that half-truth has become my will to keep my sanity.

My unclean emotions mixed with the malefic energy were no longer distinguishable from each other,
and in a life-or-death situation, I decided to take her advice and embrace them.

Midnight.
For those who wield the power of the Malefic Beast, to accept their existence is to become one with the eternal darkness.

In the midst of the never-ending night,
I felt myself shedding the malefic energy that had wrapped around me like a cocoon
and reawakening into something new.

Skills