It was night time when Theon finally left his mother's grave.
The moon was covered by the clouds as he sat cross-legged on the simple stone bed in his room.
The excitement from his S-rank awakening had faded slightly
But now, he wanted to test the capability of his talent.
Closing his eyes, Theon focused his breathing and calm himself.
Then he began to search deep within his body for that trace of awakened power.
Suddenly, he felt something right at the center of his head, almost similar to primal energy but also not primal energy.
Taking a deep breath, he opened his eyes and immediately his face changed drastically.
The world had before him had transformed completely.
The stone walls of his room had turned transparent, as though they were made of clear glass.
He could easily see through the walls, observing the servants' quarters with perfect clarity.
It was then he realized he could even see through the darkness as though it was bright as day.
"Incredible," he whispered in excitement.
As he experimented further, Theon discovered that his vision could shift between different modes of perception.
With a thought, he could see the skeletal structures of the servants moving through the corridors in the distance.
Another thought and he could see thermal heat of the servants.
His range of vision seemed to extend roughly a mile in every direction, giving him an unprecedented awareness of his surroundings.
He could observe the night guards making their rounds, see small animals scurrying through the gardens, and even detect the subtle movements of insects crawling along the walls.
Just as he focused even more he stated to see something floating through the air around him.
The seemed to be dancing and floating with the wind.
He frowned but then his eyes opened wide in shock once he realized what it was.
"Primal energy!"
It was simply too crazy. Normally it was undetectable without advanced technology.
After a while he realized he couldn't just seeing them, he found he could actually manipulate these energy currents with his eyes alone, drawing them into his body to strengthen his own cells.
"This power… it's really worthy of an S-rank talent. " he murmured, watching as tendrils of primal energy spiraled into his body like a whirlpool.
It was during this moment that his enhanced perception caught something that made his blood run cold.
In the corner of his room, barely visible even to his sight, was a figure shrouded in some kind of camouflage technique.
The person's body was extremely transparent but it still couldn't escape Ancient God Eyes.
Theon's eyes widened in shock and horror as he saw who it was.
"Lady Vivienne! W-what are you doing here?"
Her eyes glowed with a faint, predatory light.
A terrifying pressure, like a mountain crashed down on him from her body.
This was the power of an Astra Beast Realm expert, two entire realms above the Evolver stage. He was like an ant to an elephant.
"You've caused me a great deal of trouble, little stain," she said with an intensely cold tone.
"What do you mean," Theon stood up as he moved backwards in fear.
"An S-Rank talent," she mused, taking a slow step towards him. "A gift from the heavens, wasted on a farmhand's bastard. My son is the true heir. He deserves that power."
Before he could react, the figure moved with lightning speed, appearing directly in front of him in the span of a heartbeat.
Her hand began to glow as it became translucent!
Without hesitation, she thrust her phantom-like hand toward Theon's chest, aiming directly for the center of his chest where his newly awakened talent resided.
"What are you trying to do!"
Theon roared as desperation flooded through his entire body.
His stepmother was a cultivator of the Astra Beast Realm, two full major realms above his current level.
Under normal circumstances, he would have no chance of resisting her attack.
With his roar, he pushed his Ancient God Eyes to their absolute limit.
Suddenly his eyes glowed brilliantly as he poured every single bit of Primal energy into his eyes. He felt as though his eyes were about to explode as blood tears flowed down his eyes.
Suddenly, the void warped as his eyes glowed directly on her.
Lady Vivienne's movements slowed down and she was instantly locked in place as though frozen in time.
Her eyes widened in shock as she found herself unable to move!
"Impossible!" she shrieked in horror. "How can a mere level nine Evolver freeze someone of my cultivation!?"
Seizing this opportunity, Theon didn't hesitate and his hand flew to the saber sheathed at his side a weapon he had carried throughout his four years in the military.
The blade screeched through the air as it slash directly at his stepmother's exposed neck.
"Enough."
The single word carried such overwhelming pressure that Theon's attack halted mid-swing. His entire body became paralyzed by an authority so absolute that his muscles simply refused to obey his commands. Even the air around him seemed to thicken, making each breath a struggle.
From the shadows stepped Patriarch Aldric Dragan, his grandfather, but this was not the proud but gentle old man from the awakening ceremony.
This figure radiated killing intent so potent that it felt like standing in the presence of an apex predator. The pressure emanating from his grandfather's cultivation in the Fiendgod Realm was so overwhelming that Theon felt like an ant before a mountain.
"Grandfather," Theon managed to gasp through the oppressive force holding him immobile. "She's trying to—"
"I know exactly what she's doing, boy," Patriarch Aldric interrupted, his voice cold and emotionless. "And I'm allowing it. Your talent is too dangerous to remain in the hands of a bastard. It belongs with the true heir of our family."
Theon felt as though he had been dipped into an ice lake as his body ran cold.
Lady Vivienne smiled as the paralyzing pressure freed her from Theon's desperate technique. "Thank you, Father-in-law. I knew you would see reason."
"Cut the crap! You can't even take care of an ordinary Evolver youth." The patriarch reprimanded as he turned to leave.
She smiled with slight embarrassment.
Without further delay, she plunged her transparent hand deep into Theon's chest.
The moment her fingers made contact with his Primal one, agony beyond description tore through his being. It felt as though his very soul was being shredded and pulled apart fiber by fiber.
"Ahhhhhhhhhhh!!!"
His screams echoed through the entire servant room but no one cared to come as she began the process of forcibly extracting his awakened talent.
The procedure was slow and torturous, designed to ensure that every trace of his S-rank ability was completely removed.
Theon's consciousness shook as the pain made him black out and also wake up.
"P-please," he whispered through bloody lips, his vision growing dark. "Don't... Don't… do this…"
But his pleas fell on deaf ears.
Lady Vivienne continued her work with surgical precision, carefully extracting the Ancient God Eye talent in its entirety.
As the last vein was sliced off his Primal Bone, Theon felt as though he had been shattered to pieces as he was tossed onto the bed by Lady Vivienne then she left.