Nameless King

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.

The black orb continued to beat, gradually accelerating and increasing in size. Nicole watched it intently, afraid to miss even a single moment, for her this was perhaps the most important event of her life.

'Will I get a weapon with a mind too, just like Frigus and Wain? Damn... I couldn't even dream of that, but now it looks like it will become a reality...' Nicole muttered inwardly as she got goosebumps.

After a while, the sphere stopped beating as a small white crack appeared on it. Then, from inside there was a muffled sound as if from the thumps while the cracks grew larger and larger as if on the shell of an egg.

"Oh, it looks like you're getting impatient. I'm no expert, but it seems to me that it's trying to get out of the orb much sooner than it should have originally." Abyss Artist grinned as he turned to Wain, "What do you think?"

Wain nodded, "Yeah... It literally destroys the orb, though after a while the orb would just disappears. Well, that's pretty curious."

Crackle. Crackle. Crackle.

Suddenly a piece of the orb flew off to the side as a hand, part of which was covered by a long white sleeve, appeared from within.

'I wonder who it will be? The Girl or the Guy...? What does my weapon's mind look like?' Nicole said to herself with a curious expression.

Gradually out came a silhouette whose appearance was obscured by the vast white sphere. When there was practically nothing left of the black sphere, it disintegrated into small particles and the silhouette stepped forward, emerging from the outer sphere.

"Well, well, I don't know if this is how you imagined it, but this is your weapon." Abyss Artist muttered looking at the silhouette walking in their direction.

It was a tall young man with short hair, one part of which was white, the other black. His eyes were gray and deep and his gaze was sharp as the blade of a dagger.

He wore a long white coat with many black straps on both his belt and his arms, hanging down like dozens of snakes. On his hands were dark gloves with white bones from which emanated a powerful aura.

Nicole stared at the young man with wide eyes for a while, then she nodded slightly and ran straight at him. The young man's eyes were cold, but when he realized what Nicole was about to do, he flinched and tried to step aside, but it was too late.

Crackling.

Nicole jumped on top of him, knocking him off his feet. She hugged him tightly with a wide smile on her face and shining eyes as if she had received the most welcome gift of her life.

"Hey! Leave me alone! I don't like this at all!" The young man tried to break free of Nicole's grip, pushing her aside, but she didn't seem to budge even if she died.

"No! I won't let you go! I was so scared when you disappeared! I thought you had decided to run away from me!" Nicole exclaimed.

The young man didn't give up trying to get rid of Nicole, but after a while he gave up since Nicole seemed to have endless energy.

"Maybe that's enough already? I have to give you something very important..." The young man muttered as he turned away to the side.

"Hmm? What are you talking about?" Nicole asked in confusion as her grip loosened.

The young man was finally able to step away from Nicole. He shook Nicole's black hair off his shoulders and held out his hand, "If it wasn't for that, it would have taken me a lot longer to gain consciousness. That's why I was trying to get out so fast, I wanted to get it back to you as soon as possible."

Whoooooooooooooosh.

A black blob of energy appeared in his palm, Nicole knew immediately what it was.

"It's part of my soul... right, that sly bastard ripped it right out of me!" Nicole frowned as she turned to the Abyss Artist.

"You shouldn't be mad at me. If I hadn't, it would have taken you weeks if not months to first deal with the dragon energy in your weapon and then awaken your consciousness in it." Abyss Artist grinned slowly waving his hand, "My methods may be rather crude, but they are just as effective."

Nicole grimaced, puffing her cheeks, but didn't say anything. She hated to admit it, but she knew Abyss Artist was right.

"Hey, Nicole, you should pick it up as soon as possible." The young man said calmly, pointing at the clot of darkness.

"Ughum!" Nicole nodded vigorously before returning a piece of her soul to its place. She felt a powerful rush of strength as her eyes shone brightly for a moment.

It took her some time to come to her senses and she sighed in relief.

"Agh... Damn, I haven't felt this good in a long time. Today is the best day of my life!" Nicole exclaimed joyfully as she jumped up.

The young man remained silent, he just smiled weakly, sharing with Nicole her boundless joy.

"By the way... You have a mind now, so there must be a name, right? Have you chosen one yet? If not, I can do it for you!" Nicole asked with glowing eyes.

The young man shook his head, "Well, I'll trust you, but I've already chosen a name. Call me Erder."

Nicole was silent as she lowered her head, as she really wanted to name her weapon, but she quickly came to her senses as she realized that it was his full right to choose a name for himself.

"Fine, Erder, I'm glad you became my weapon! I hope you and I can fight together soon!" Nicole said confidently with an excited expression.

"I too." Erder nodded calmly.

Tap.

Wain's hand fell on Nicole's shoulder, "Speaking of battles. Don't you think it's time for us to leave? Nicole, you got your weapon, so it's time to put your powers to the test, isn't it? The dragons should be coming soon enough."