My entire status screen had evolved.
And I had no idea how.
It was never mentioned in the original novel—status screens didn't evolve. Not unless you had a cheat-like system like the protagonist. But mine… mine had changed completely.
Maybe it was the core I absorbed. Maybe something inside me shifted. I didn't know.
Now wasn't the time to figure it out.
"Status," I muttered.
The translucent screen floated into view.
---
Status Screen 🞀
Name: Kael Thorne
Title(s): Heir of Darkness
Potential: B+ → S+ (Partially Sealed)
Current Rank: D-
Trait(s): Dual Soul
---
Affinity
→ Darkness
→ Light (Sealed)
---
Attributes
Strength: D
Agility: D-
Endurance: D
Intelligence: D-
Mana Capacity: C-
Luck: ?
---
Primordial Sigils: 3/9
1. Eye of the Origin
2. Mask of the Nameless
3. Crown of the Aural Sovereignty
---
Fighting Style
Imperial Fang of Thorne (Spear Style)
Forms Mastered: 2/8
→ [I] Fang Unleashed
→ [II] Fang Guard
---
I stared at the screen, silent. Then—
"…What the hell?"
My affinity—Darkness—was unlocked. Just like Noctharion said. Light was there too, but still sealed.
A new title appeared—Heir of Darkness. Clearly linked to my affinity.
I'd advanced to D- rank. That explains the impurities I vomited earlier—it was a breakthrough.
But a whole major rank in one go? That shouldn't be possible. I'd barely absorbed a fragment of the core… just a sliver.
If I absorb more, can I grow even stronger?
A flicker of greed crept into my thoughts.
I shook my head. No. I was moments from death before. Touching that power again without preparation would kill me.
I wasn't ready to gamble my life.
Then my eyes fell on my trait: Dual Soul. Just as Noctharion said—two souls inside this body. Mine… and Kael's original.
I hoped he wouldn't try to take control. But now that I knew he was there, I couldn't ignore the doubt creeping in.
My attributes had grown, especially Mana Capacity, now at C-—no doubt due to absorbing that core.
But the strangest part? My skills had vanished. In their place were three unknown symbols—
Primordial Sigils.
I didn't know what they did, but just their names sent a chill down my spine.
Even my technique masteries were gone. Reset.
It was like my entire system had… evolved. No longer following the world's rules.
I tapped the title for more detail.
---
Heir of Darkness
Darkness recognizes you as its rightful heir.
Your control over all forms of darkness has greatly increased.
---
So it wasn't just a title—it was a transformation. My connection to darkness had deepened. My mastery would rise far faster now.
Then there's my trait—
Dual Soul.
Noctharion said it himself.
There are two souls inside me.
Mine… and the original Kael's.
That means he's still here—somewhere deep inside this body.
Dormant, silent… or maybe watching.
I don't know if he's conscious. I don't know if he's sleeping.
But I pray—truly pray—he doesn't wake up with the intent to destroy me.
I shift my gaze back to the screen.
The trait pulses with strange energy.
---
[Trait: Dual Soul]
Your body hosts two distinct souls, perfectly fused yet eternally separate.
All growth—physical, magical, and mental—is doubled compared to others.
You adapt, evolve, and learn at twice the normal speed.
---
It's... an incredible buff.
Double the growth.
My body, my mana, my mind—they all advance twice as fast as any normal person.
Maybe because both souls are developing at the same time.
Like two fires feeding the same furnace.
But that raises a question.
Does this mean my strength is also doubled?
Can I overpower someone at the same rank as me?
That thought lingers. Tempts me.
I'll need to test it—to measure the difference in actual combat.
Still, there's something unsettling about this.
Two souls. One body.
Perfectly fused… but eternally separate.
Like a storm held barely in check.
And I don't know who I'll become when the winds finally break free.
Then my eyes shift to something else.
The Primordial Sigils.
Even the name sends a chill down my spine.
Primordial.
The beginning of all things.
The origin of existence itself.
And now… that same word appears in my status.
I hold my breath and stare at the screen.
Three sigils.
Three powers.
All waiting—for me.
---
1. Eye of the Origin
Allows flawless memorization and instant replication of any observed movement, spell, or technique.
Grants passive analysis of enemy patterns and instinctive adaptation in combat.
2. Mask of the Nameless
Completely suppresses emotional fluctuations under pressure.
The user remains unreadable, calm, and immune to psychological manipulation, fear, or despair.
Vulnerabilities are sealed behind an unbreakable mask.
3. Crown of Aural Sovereignty
Allows perfect internal and external aura control.
Grants passive adaptation to all aura types, aura-based combat techniques, and resistance to aura suppression.
The user can manipulate surrounding aura like a natural extension of the body.
---
I was right.
These are broken.
Eye of the Origin—
It's a superior version of Perfect Insight.
And Perfect Insight was already absurd at F-rank.
But this… this doesn't even have a rank.
It could copy the movements of overlords.
Even gods.
Mask of the Nameless—
It's clearly an evolution of Stoic Resolve.
But far more terrifying.
Emotionless. Untouchable. Unreadable.
I would be invulnerable—not just to fear, but to manipulation, torture, despair.
And then…
The one that makes my heart race.
Crown of Aural Sovereignty.
This one... this is what I need.
Aura control—
The thing I've failed to master after months of grinding, training, pushing my body to the limit.
This sigil grants mastery instantly.
Not just over my own aura...
But over all aura types.
Adaptation. Resistance. Suppression immunity.
It turns aura into an extension of my limbs.
Even being near strong aura won't affect me anymore.
Even if a high-ranked knight tries to suppress me... I'll stand tall.
These aren't ordinary abilities.
These are Primordial.
Even protagonists don't get powers like these at the beginning of their stories.
Everything I saw was absurd.
The title.
The sigils.
The trait.
The surge in power that shouldn't be possible.
Each line on the status screen screamed impossibility—each gift more unreal than the last.
And yet, it was all true.
My fingers trembled as I stared at it.
This wasn't some cheat ability. This wasn't like the protagonist's system, bestowed by fate or plot. That was part of the script—he was meant to have it.
But this?
This was outside the script.
Beyond the logic of this world.
And somehow… it had chosen me.
But even with all of it—the sigils, the trait, the power—I didn't feel invincible. Not even close.
Because I knew better.
I had seen the monsters that walked this world. The beings who broke the sky with a thought, shattered nations with a glance, and made even fate kneel in silence. They didn't follow the laws of power.
They were the exception to all rules.
Compared to them, even the protagonist—blessed by the system, armed with every artifact under heaven—could not win.
So what chance did I have?
None… unless I kept climbing.
This power wasn't the end.
It was the start.
Just the first stone in a staircase that led into madness.
"I have to keep going," I muttered. "Train harder. Smarter. Relentlessly."
This was no time to get arrogant. No time to believe I was special. Not yet.
And then—
My eyes fell to the very last part of the status screen.
> [Bounded Entity: Noctharion]
I blinked once.
Then again.
"…What…?"
I read it three more times, but the words didn't change.
Noctharion.
Bounded.
To me.
That wasn't possible. That couldn't be possible.
The dragon—the living embodiment of chaos and void—was bound… to me?
Still reeling, I turned to look at him.
He stood just a few paces away, draped in shadows, the air around him shimmering like broken glass. Ancient. Infinite. Untouchable.
And now… mine?
"…How?" I whispered, the question barely a breath. "How can this be?"
Noctharion's gaze met mine.
He didn't speak at first. Just stared, those endless violet eyes reflecting something I couldn't understand.
Then he answered.
His voice, deep and steady, carried no emotion—only truth.
"Even I do not know."
That alone was terrifying.
"I have never been bound. Not in all my existence. Not by gods, not by monsters, not by kings of old."
He paused.
"But now… I am. And I know only this—something inside you is different."
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"You are not like the others. Not like the mortals I've seen rise and fall, screaming for power they don't deserve. You… are something else."
A breath passed between us.
"Whatever happened," he said, "I can only accept it."
And just like that—he did.
He, the devourer of light and silence, the being older than memory itself—accepted it.
Accepted me.
I stood there, heart pounding, eyes locked with a being no mortal should stand beside. And for the first time… I realized something chilling.
This path I was on—this madness that was unfolding—
It wasn't fate.
It wasn't a blessing.
It was a collision.
Of two souls.
Of two timelines.
Of something broken… becoming whole.
And I had no idea where it would lead.