When Aaron woke up again, he felt that the pain had retreated and only a small ache at the back of his head remained.
His eyelids twitched as he struggled to open his eyes, and when he did, he discovered that he was still in the dark, eerie temple.
"So, it wasn't a dream...", Aaron muttered, and his mind recalled the scene he had seen just before he lost consciousness.
Remembering how the Aether Shard had transformed into mist and entered his body, he had a suspicion.
This suspicion only became stronger when he thought of the messages he had previously seen.
Had he, unknowingly, awakened a Class and become an Ascendant?
This guess seemed a little outlandish, but the messages and the loss of consciousness reminded him of the rumors he had heard regarding the Class Awakening.
He hesitated for a brief moment, but thinking that he had nothing to lose, Aaron decided to give it a try.
"Status Panel.", Aaron spoke softly, and the next second, the transparent text reappeared.
[Class awakening has been completed...]
[Searching for subsequent modules... They have been found... Please wait while the Status Panel is being constructed...]
[...]
[Ding! The process has been completed!]
Following the last message, the messages vanished, replaced by a simple Status Panel.
--
[Class: Soulweaver]
[Rank: Novice]
[Level: 1]
[Abilities]
[Passive: Soul Perception]
[Active: Soul Thread, Phantom Minion, Shadow Veil]
--
Seeing this panel, Aaron realized that his guess had been correct!
He had indeed awakened a Class and become an Ascendant!
The Status Panel reminded him of the cheats that the protagonists mentioned in the books of his previous life would awaken, but he understood very well that it was not.
Rather, this panel was a feature unique to this world.
As far as he knew, every individual who awakened their Class would activate this panel, whose only function was to display their information.
Aaron examined the Status Panel closely, and after glancing over the Class, Rank, and Level columns, his eyes finally landed on the [Abilities] section.
He could sense that he had indeed obtained several new abilities and that, as long as he wished, he could activate them.
Thinking of this, Aaron glanced down at his right hand and followed the instincts that were seemingly deeply engraved in his body.
A faint blue light flashed in his palm, and the next moment, a thin blue thread appeared.
One end of the thread was tied around his wrist, while the other floated in the air, as if an invisible hand was holding it in place.
Aaron had already braced himself for such a result, but he still couldn't help but be surprised when he witnessed this strange phenomenon.
Especially when he noticed that he could manipulate the thread as if it were an extension of his own hand, his surprise became even more intense.
"Go!", Aaron called, and the floating end of the thread rushed out of his hand and flew towards the ground.
Its speed was extremely fast, and it quickly arrived in front of a piece of stone that had fallen from the temple's walls. The thread twisted, wrapping around the stone a few times, before flying back to Aaron's hand.
Seeing the thread return and feeling the cold texture of the rock in his hand, Aaron was filled with joy. His experiment had been a success!
Based on what had just happened, Aaron judged that even though the Soul Thread was said to be a thread, it was actually quite tough, akin to a strip of iron.
This meant that not only could it be used to grab objects or tie things up, but it could also function as a means of attack.
Moreover, Aaron suspected that the Soul Thread should have more functions than this. They were just waiting for him to discover.
Withdrawing the Soul Thread, he was about to experiment with his other abilities, but he stopped.
The darkness and ruins around him reminded him that he was still in the eerie temple, and now was not the time to become familiar with his abilities.
He should first find a way to get out of here.
Perhaps it was because he had become an Ascendant, Aaron found that his vision was still clear, and he could see fine inside the temple, despite the fact that the light of the Aether Shard had disappeared with its transformation.
He noted this down and planned to investigate the temple, hoping to find an exit, when he suddenly noticed a tiny gap in the wall right behind the corpse from the corner of his eye.
"Is this what I think it is?", he wondered and reached forward, placing both of his hands on the wall and pushing against it with all his strength.
The next moment, the wall shook and dust fell off, before it began moving.
Surprisingly, this was not a wall at all, but a hidden door!
Waving his hand to clear the dust in front of him, Aaron looked at the bright sun in the sky outside and understood that this was the exit he was going to look for.
He didn't hesitate and took a step out, before pausing for a brief second and turning his head back.
Glancing at the temple's dark interior, his attention turned to the two broken stone statues, and he seized them up for one last time.
It was only after he etched their appearance in his mind that Aaron took another step, leaving the mysterious temple behind him.