Emilio kept staring at the green Monolith with an empty look in his face, he couldn’t believe she really did it. She had touched the thing and she just… disappeared.

  He had already asked around and every person who touched the Monolith vanished into empty air with no one coming back. Of course, it had only been a few minutes at most since the thing appeared with the earthquake, so they might still come back. But there were no guarantees.

  Emilio waited for less than a minute, with the guilt and worry eating him from the inside, until he decided he had to follow the girl into the unknown. He couldn’t leave her 13 year old niece by herself somewhere where she apparently needs a weapon. He would have to do whatever it takes to take care of her.

  With that in mind he touched the Monolith expecting to find the place where all of the people had vanished to. Well, he also expected that he might also die, but if it was like that, everyone else would be dead too. Also, if he were to die, we wouldn’t have any story, so maybe they were not dead.

  Emilio didn’t even blink, but by the time he realized, he was somewhere else. There was no one around, not his niece nor anyone else. He was in a white room. Well, room in a broad sense, as where he was might not even be able to fit into the description of a room. There didn't seem to be a beginning or end to the place. There was also no ceiling, roof or sky. It was all white all around, without any sign with there being a boundary. There might have been one, but if there was it was painted in white, the same color as everything else in the place.

  The environment itself seemed to be illuminated but there was no visible source of light. It was just all white everywhere with just one exception. There was an empty wooden stand a few meters away from where he stood with the word ‘Shop’ written on it. It didn’t look like it had the best craftsmanship. It almost seemed shabby, but was the only thing in the room that proved he was actually somewhere at all and not just in a space of emptiness.

  Well, at least she shouldn’t be in danger, Emilio concluded as he received another System message.

  Ok, more System stuff, I get it. ‘Let’s open the rewards.’

  ‘I want to claim the weapon.’

  Emilio was surprised by that message, apparently the System was way more interactive than what he initially thought. Just what kind of technology was this? Unfortunately he had no one to ask, so he just did what any person from earth would do. ‘I want a gun.’

  “Hold on memories? Can you read my mind?” Emilio spurted out loud, but sadly he was completely ignored.

  Emilio almost accepted the gun, but before he made an impulsive choice, he realized a problem. The System had said that his Energy Stat was just 1. What did that mean? It was the lowest possible! From what he heard from the people outside of the Monolith, 0 points didn’t seem possible. Why would he choose a weapon that used his lowest Stat as a munition? It might actually be better to forget it and use a traditional weapon. A sword maybe… Yeah sure, if he wanted to cut his arm off. The only sharp thing he had ever used were cooking knives!

  What is the closest thing to a kitchen knife I can get? Maybe a dagger? It might not be a knife, but it was a proper weapon. It is better than a sword for sure. Also, isn’t it a normal thing to use double daggers?

  It is worth trying this out and see if I can abuse loopholes. ‘System, I want a double dagger.’

  Two pitch black daggers appeared in front of Emilio. The moment he laid eyes on the weapons, Emilio was completely satisfied with his choice. They were beautiful. As black as they could be. The blades were quite big, but not bigger than a big knife. They were inside of pitch black sheaths that were held together by a black belt.

  As he grabbed them he realized that the handles were perfectly made for his hands, and that also meant that they were not interchangeable, there was clearly a left dagger and a right dagger.

  He unsheathed one of them, they were perfectly sharp and without any imperfections. It even had handguards that protected his hands surprisingly well for a dagger.

  Emilio thought he might not be able to handle daggers, but with the blade length that was about the same as a kitchen knife he felt much more comfortable in his ability to handle them, at least the right one. Maybe he could use the left one with some practice.

  Emilio decided to try his new toy… not toy. Definitely not a toy, weapons are not toys! As he was starting to move his right dagger trying to get used to it, the system decided to stop him.

  After that message, Emilio felt the heaviness in the air start moving and condensing inside the daggers. It was the same heaviness that he started feeling the moment the first System message had appeared and had never disappeared. That substance was moving like if there was a mini tornado focused on the daggers. Even as he could clearly feel the moving thing, the air was still. The weapons started glowing and it was evident that something was changing inside of them. Even the sheaths and belt shined a little, showing they were also impacted.

  After a few seconds, the heavy substance in the air, that was obviously some kind of energy, stopped moving and the Daggers stopped shining.

  They looked the same. All black, spotless and completely perfect. But there was something more, they seemed better. Emilio just couldn’t point out in which way they had improved, but he could feel they were different.

  Either way, Emilio was stuck with a smile on his face while looking at his new weapons, they seemed just perfect. He sheathed back the dagger in his hand and put on his new dagger belt to take his daggers with him.

  Once he wore the belt, Emilio decided to take out both of his daggers at once, surprising himself on how easily they seemed to fit into his hands.

  Emilio kept appreciating the perfect craftsmanship of the weapons. Even if he never had to use them, they were beyond perfect and he was going to display them as a decoration.

  As he kept staring at the daggers, Emilio soon realized that they lacked something.

  The weapons were going to be with him for a long time. He was either going to use them or put them on display. For such a perfect item that was going to be with him for the long term, they needed something.

  After he made a decision he decided to make a proclamation out loud.

  “You are pitch black, darker than anything I have seen. Even the sheath and belt are as black as it can be. Black is the lack of light, as such you will be the lack of matter. From now on you shall be named the Void Twin Daggers.”

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