Kai sat hunched in the corner of the cage, his back pressed to cold iron. The air stank of sweat and rust, a soup of hopelessness. His bandages were stiff, crusted with blood and dirt, clinging like a second skin. He didn't look up when a voice broke through the groans and mutters of the other captives.
"Hey, you. You're new here, right? I noticed your bandages… can I heal you?"
The boy's tone carried no malice, and that alone made Kai flinch. Kindness in a place like this was sharper than a knife. His eyes narrowed, one hand curling tight over his knee. Was it a trap?
The boy didn't move closer, didn't push. He simply waited, patient as stone. Kai's body throbbed with its tally of wounds. He couldn't keep ignoring the ache forever. Reluctance gave way to necessity, and he gave a small nod.
The boy crouched with the faintest of smiles. "Alright. Let's see what we're dealing with."
He unwound the first layer of cloth. The flayed arm came into view—raw grooves of missing flesh, swollen purple around the edges. The boy winced but said nothing. His palm glowed faintly as he placed it over the wound. Warmth pulsed, knitting the ragged skin together. Kai hissed when nerves stitched themselves, but the bleeding stopped, replaced by a closed sheath of flesh. The infection remained, dark purple beneath the new layer.
The boy sighed. "Sorry. I can seal it, but I can't cure the sickness under it. It'll hold, but it'll burn for a while yet."
Kai flexed his fingers. The skin no longer split, though the fever pulsed beneath like coals. It was a crude mercy. Better than nothing.
The boy gestured toward Kai's chest. "That burn—let me see."
Kai hesitated, then tugged his shirt aside. Across his ribs sprawled a jagged wound, a scar of blackened and red-raw flesh from when restraints had seared him. The boy drew in a breath, murmuring another apology as he laid his hand gently over it.
Light spread, sinking into the charred tissue. The twisted skin smoothed, tension easing as if uncoiling from a long knot. When the glow faded, the burn was muted to a faint purplish scar, sealed but imperfect.
"Same problem," the boy admitted. "I can't touch infection. I can only stitch flesh together. The fever under it stays. I'm sorry."
Kai let his shirt fall back into place. The throbbing ache dulled, leaving only the fever's smolder. For the first time since he'd been thrown in here, breathing didn't feel like a punishment.
"The rest?" the boy asked, eyeing the smaller cuts and bruises.
"They'll heal," Kai muttered. He wasn't eager to be touched further.
The boy nodded, wiping his brow. "Then I'll stop here."
Kai studied him properly now. Thin, worn frame. Cheeks hollow. But eyes steady, sharp with a healer's stubbornness.
"What's your name?" Kai asked quietly.
"Kyle," he said, offering the word like a coin. "I'm eighteen. Resonant. Healing boon." His mouth twisted in a faint, tired smile. "That's all I've got left."
Kai didn't smile, but he held the name. Kyle. A healer, stuck in a cage that existed only to chew people apart. Maybe not trustworthy. But—for now—Kai owed him air.
---
They sat shoulder to shoulder against the bars, silence between them. Above, guards paced the walkway, boots thudding. Kyle broke it first, voice low so it wouldn't carry.
"This place—they call it the Zoo. Joke's on us. Look around." He tilted his head toward the cages. Rows of human misery, chained and slumped, some barely breathing. "Exhibits, auctions, experiments. That's all we are. Some get shown off. The rest rot until something wants them."
Kai followed his gaze. Across the enclosure, a girl stared blankly through the bars, lips split but silent. The whole room felt curated—like cruelty had been arranged for display.
"Why keep you alive?" Kai asked.
"Healers fetch the highest bids," Kyle said flatly. "They test us first. Make us heal strangers until they're satisfied. If we fail…" His eyes flicked toward the silent girl again. "They throw us back in. Sometimes worse."
"And outside the Zoo?"
"Lawless City." Kyle's mouth twisted on the words. "That's not a nickname. It's branded into the stone. No laws. Only factions. Gangs, clans, companies—they carve out their blocks and defend them like gods. Power here isn't strength—it's what you're willing to lose."
Kai didn't answer. The name itself—Lawless—settled into him like ash. No order. No rules. Just survival, stripped to the bone.
"You'll see soon enough," Kyle said. "Surviving here isn't about winning fights. It's about enduring them."
Kai sat with that thought, listening to the slow rattle of chains.
---
The world stuttered.
A faint vibration passed through the iron bars, the stone beneath, the marrow in every living thing. Kai's vision blurred, and then it wasn't vision anymore—it was something written directly onto his soul.
[SOVEREIGN SYSTEM UPDATE APPLIED]
[Changelog v7.3.1 → v8.0.0]
This update affects all Resonants currently registered within Sovereign jurisdiction. Unauthorized refusal is impossible.
---
Core Revisions
Identity Layer Rewrite:
Alias now treated as cosmetic. No longer foundational to the profile.
Attributes introduced as the primary identity marker. Attributes describe core truths of the user that cannot be unequipped or hidden.
Transition period: Alias will still appear but be subordinate to Attribute display.
Soulprint Expansion:
Added Taboo Registry. New chamber within every soulprint where forbidden traits are stored.
Taboos are non-removable. They alter pathways permanently.
slot unlocked by committing taboo. More may surface under extreme conditions.
Guardian Protocol Update:
Quest distribution rerouted.
Fateless-class Resonants can now view and receive quests directly, optional
All tasks and rewards must now pass through their Guardian, who is granted interpretive authority.
---
[New Systems]
Attributes:
Immutable descriptors reflecting existential states.
Examples recorded in early adopters: Fateless, Threaded, Rift-Touched, Hollow, Void-Born, Conduit.
Attributes can influence: resistance to Burdens, access to Boons, visibility to higher entities.
Attribute assignment is retroactive and compulsory.
Taboo Mechanics:
Definition: A power earned by breaking the rules of body, mind, or morality.
Source: triggered by acts that cross the threshold of Resonant tolerance.
Effects: grant raw abilities at the cost of permanent corruption.
All Taboos are branded into the soulprint and visible to higher entities.
Warning: stacking Taboos accelerates destabilization and may cause permanent Guardian dissonance.
Resonant Synchronization:
Global recalibration of resonance pressure across all Ranks.
Ripple effect: weaker Resonants feel heavier, stronger Resonants burn brighter.
Synchronization confirmed to disturb certain rift entities.
---
Adjustments / Balance Changes
Healing-type Boons clarified: infection healing restricted unless user carries purification resonance.
Soul Item durability added: repeated use will degrade structural stability; Sovereign reserves the right to reclaim collapsed items.
Rift anomalies will now escalate faster if left unsealed. (Threshold timer reduced by 12%.)
Guardian Workshops updated with new crafting menus; additional security locks placed to prevent cross-user tampering.
Burden/Boons taxonomy reclassified; mislabeling errors corrected.
---
Resolved Errors
Fixed: Users reporting "phantom voices" after prolonged Dream Trial exposure.
Fixed: Soulprints collapsing when multiple Guardians attempted co-forging.
Fixed: Rift bleedthrough showing visions of unrelated Realms.
Fixed: Minor issue where deceased Resonants retained partial Sovereign access post-mortem.
Fixed: Hidden attributes failing to surface under stress.
---
Known Issues
Certain Taboo unlock conditions remain unstable; Sovereign acknowledges inconsistent triggers.
Guardians may resist new quest-routing protocols, causing delays or refusals.
Fateless users occasionally generate paradox loops; advisory: avoid recursive decision-making.
Rift-sealed sectors may misinterpret updated resonance thresholds, creating false positives.
---
Closing Notes
[This update was necessary.]
[This update cannot be undone.]
[Your survival is mandatory. Sovereign thanks you for your compliance.]
---
The text dissolved, but the echo didn't. It clung to Kai's ribs, every word a weight. A changelog. Not rumor, not prophecy. Cold release notes for existence itself.
His jaw tightened. "Attributes." "Taboos." Words he'd only heard recently now lived in his blood. And his sheet—he could feel it—had already shifted.
"Huh another update, damn it's been a while" Kyle laughs
"This happens often?" Kai questions
"Once every year give or take"
Interesting ...
---
Kai was shocked but he was also curious he asked Kyle to watch his body.
Kyle agrees.
Kai enters his soulprint.
Sitting against the wall.
Kai's awareness slipped inward. The cage dissolved, replaced by crystalline white. His soulprint chamber spread before him, veins of silver light breathing with each heartbeat.
The Spirit Guardian Workshop hung suspended—shelves of shards, tools that hummed faintly with Velnix's unseen presence. But something new scarred the chamber wall.
Taboos.
Letters glowed, carved deep into the architecture of his soul.
[You have one taboo. Choose a path.]
Option One: Bone Strength
Option Two: Blood Mend
Option Three: Dual Mind
Kai frowned. The word "taboo" carried no context. No teachings, no warnings. Just raw choice.
He pulled up his sheet.
[Name: Malakai Apolix]
[Alias: Sloth]
[Attributes: Fateless – User cannot receive quests; guardian receives quest]
[Alone: you never needed anyone but yourself you refuse to believe in the concept of friends]
[Weak:Your strength has failed you more than once]
Fateless. A curse and a freedom all at once. Quests couldn't reach him. The system had cut him from the usual chain.
The options pulsed. Bone. Blood. Mind. He didn't understand them—but instinct tugged sharpest at one.
He reached forward, tapped.
Dual Mind.
The word reverberated like a bell, splitting through him. Two threads stirred inside, coiling together yet separate. He shivered. Something new had awoken.