Noah POV
Ah… how did I ever get involved with that Entity?
I should've refused him.
My name is Noah Anderson, a scientist.
Once, I was an elf — respected, known throughout Sylvarion for my work.
My field was biology.
My research… my pride.
I had a family I loved deeply — my wife, Anna, and my son, Oliver.
Those days were good.
But life… life has a cruel way of reminding you of reality when you least expect it.
Because my son was sick.
So rare was his disease that I had to give it a name myself.
"Do something, Noah! Save Oliver!"Anna screamed, throwing things at me in despair.
But I had no answer — only silence.
All my research, all my intellect, all my faith in science… couldn't save him.
I did everything I could.
Our marriage began to crumble.
And then I thought… perhaps the gods might help.
I turned first to the Catholic Church, praying for a miracle.
The priest there told me not to lose hope in God, but no miracle came.
Day by day, my son faded away before my eyes.
Then, word spread across the world — rumors of a godlike being called "The Entity."
It was said, he grants wishes… in exchange for souls.
I asked him to take mine, but there was no answer.
I'm sure he laughed at me back then.
My son… my dear Oliver.
My wife grew distant, her voice filled only with complaints.
She said I was no longer a father — that I had failed.
In my desperation, I turned to human experimentation.
I had done such things before — in secret.
No one ever knew.
Many of my "successes" had come from those hidden experiments.
For progress, sacrifices were necessary.
We elves considered humans an inferior race, after all.
I begged the gods and continued my research.
So many gods… yet none answered.
Still, I wanted the truth.
Damn that day.
My research was finally complete.
The cure "my masterpiece" was ready.
But when I returned home… I saw Anna's empty eyes.
I ran upstairs.
My son was gone.
My little boy… my only son.
That day, I wept.
I cursed every god I had ever known.
None of them answered.
The day I completed my cure, my son died.
A tragic comedy, if there ever was one.
After Oliver's death, Anna and I were nothing.
She left me, leaving only a letter: "Don't look for me."
I became obsessed.
Obsessed with truth.
I used every connection to access forbidden texts.
The more I read, the closer I came to madness.
Until one winter day.
Rain fell outside, and I sat by my door, watching the drops hit the ground.
Then, the rain stopped. Everything stopped.
"Noah Anderson," a voice said, "poor soul… I've come with an offer."
It was him — the Entity.
That bastard had finally come.
I ran toward him — all I remember is his smile beneath the black form, no eyes or ears, he is like a demon god.
I grabbed him by the shoulders.
"Why didn't you help me?! I was willing to give you my soul!" I shouted, my voice breaking.
The Entity laughed softly."Ah, Noah Anderson… I never come when I'm called. I come when one reaches true despair. You were about to end your life, weren't you?"
I froze. He was right.
I had planned to kill myself that night.
"So," I asked, trembling, "you always offer deals… how will you take my soul?"
"Noah, foolish Noah. Look outside — see those raindrops? They hang in the air because of my power. I froze the time. Beings like me can always take souls… but where's the fun in that?"
He smiled.
And I hated that I understood him.
"I have nothing left to give," I said quietly.
"Then I'll take your soul," he replied, "and in return, I'll give you truth. But I won't take it right away. You'll spread the truth and help others. Yet if one day, anyone ever calls you a fool or madman… your soul will be mine."
He was playing with me, convincing me that refusal would make me the fool.
I accepted.
I wanted the truth more than salvation.
He conjured a parchment — a contract — and told me to sign with my blood.
I did.
I still hate myself for that moment.
Then it happened — a library appeared in my mind.
Every answer I sought was within it.
An endless archive of knowledge.
It felt like a blessing at first.
But within it… were names that should never be spoken, truths that break the mind.
I used that knowledge to help others.
Healed the sick.
Saved lives.
Then I learned Anna had remarried.
I cursed them both, his husband and Anna.
They died soon after.
That's when I learned the power of words.
My words could control life itself.
I grew stronger and stronger.
But the Entity never appeared again.
I kept helping others as he'd told me to.
People called me blessed — a saint.
They said my intellect was a gift from God.
I smiled… but inside, I knew they were fools.
Then one day, I was called to a village near the capital, Nocthral.
Demons there sought my help.
A mad old demon had dropped his "stone" into a well and demanded help retrieving it.
No one cared at first — until he attacked them.
When I met him, he was dancing by the well, singing nonsense.
I looked at him, then at myself — one mad with ignorance, one sane but broken.
"Hey, brother! You here to get the stone too?" he laughed.
I nodded. "Listen to me. Don't speak while I work."
"Hohohoho! Thirty-nine tried before you. None succeeded. How will you?" he grinned.
Something felt off.
I tried using telekinesis — nothing.
The well blocked the mana flow.
Still, I had to help… I couldn't let the Entity take my soul.
I finally lifted the stone — barely — my body bleeding from the backlash.
The old demon laughed."Hahahaha! They call me mad, but look at you, you are more fool than I, you struggled so hard just to lift a fool's stone!"
That "stone" was divine copper.
"Shut up," I hissed.
But then time stopped.
No… he came again.
"Ah, Noah Anderson. The madman of madmen.
This reminds me of a saying — a fool once threw a stone into a well, and forty wise men couldn't pull it out."
"Don't mock me. This was your plan all along, wasn't it?" I tried to gain time, to find a way to escape.
He grinned."Do not try to leave. Time is frozen. The deal is over. It's time to collect."
He appeared before me, gripping my shoulders.
My body burned.
In my last breath, I shouted a forbidden name:
"Cthulhu, OAncient God! Bless me with your grace!"
The last thing I saw was a monstrous figure emerging behind the Entity.
It looked at him — then at me — and he vanished.
I knew who Raul Von Vance, or rather, the Entity, truly was.
A merchant who appears not when you want him, but when you need him most.
Don't believe his honeyed words or that gentle smile.
They're all part of the trap.
Noah Anderson met a tragic end.
His body turned to dust as the Entity claimed his soul.
And as always, Raul — or the so-called Entity — disappeared, whistling a familiar tune:
His laugh rings like dawn on a meadow in May,
He lures you with honeyed words, bright as the day.
Each dream that you breathe, he swears he'll make true,
Crowns you with rubies and rivers of blue.
But debts have their season, and seasons must turn,
He'll stride through the dark when the last embers burn.
No mercy, no laughter—just iron and flame,
To flay every promise and brand you with shame.
And with that song echoing through the empty night, The Entity vanished once more, holding a skull in his hand
(Guys, I just opened a new Discord server. You can ask me your questions there, and if you have any ideas, I can try to incorporate them into the novel. Don't forget to leave comments because I lose a lot of motivation when people don't comment.)