"Okay, okay… You spoilt child. You know I can't say no to you." Richard wore a gentle smile, but didn't release Neo immediately. First, he asked Helen, "Are you sure you're okay? If you feel weak in any way, let me know now. It could have severe consequences if you don't."
Helen moved her body, stretching gently, before summoning her Needle relic. It hummed in the air beside her, glowing with its usual golden sheen. "I'm fine, Gramps. I think I feel a little better, actually."
Hearing this, Richard nodded. He had done his research before giving Helen the seed; while there had been minor complications for a few in the past, he had prepared for everything.
Now, turning to Neo, he asked seriously, "How sure are you that what happened won't happen again?"
Neo stayed quiet. He didn't want to answer with certainty. He had already claimed to know nothing about what was happening to him; answering either "no" or "yes" would imply otherwise. But he knew, for sure, that the absorption would continue—the persistent system was still going on and on in his vision without stopping.
Seeing Neo's silence, Richard contemplated for a moment. Finally, he took out a small disk and channeled his energy into it. It expanded into a round platform about ten meters across. With a controlled strand of spiritual energy, he gently placed it directly beneath Neo.
He spoke as he made his preparations. "This is a concealing circle. Whatever happens within it will not draw too much attention. And given the rate at which you absorbed spiritual energy from the area… I'll be placing spirit stones inside the circle for you. Let's hope I don't have to bind you again."
Once the circle—etched with intricate array patterns—was set, he proceeded to take out piles and piles of spirit stones, their surfaces glittering with a soft blue light. He placed them at every corner within the circle.
Taking a step back, he finally waved his hand. The rope binding Neo loosened, and Neo dropped straight into the center of the circle. From that height, it was less of a fall and more like his feet were finally allowed to touch the floor.
Seeing this, Richard waited a moment. He wouldn't activate the circle just yet—not until he was sure the absorption was truly going to continue.
--------------------------------------
Neo, who had immediately landed within the concealing circle, focused on his system once more.
(Required energy detected. Resuming absorption.)
Instantly, the glow along his tattooed right arm returned to its luminous golden color as the suction of spiritual energy resumed.
Richard was surprised to see the glow travel up Neo's arm—the first time, he'd been in too much of a hurry to avoid detection by the Templar Empire to observe it closely. Maintaining his focus, he activated the concealing circle.
The space around the circle suddenly severed from the rest of the world. The array employed a high-level spatial treasures, creating a separate, insulated dimension of its own.
Finally within the safety of the concealing array, Neo watched with a mix of fascination and dread. He prayed silently that the agony he'd endured in the void was a one-time ordeal. His eyes widened as the piled spirit stones began dissolving into dust at a startling rate. He didn't know the exact worth of spirit stones, but if his guess was right—and he was sure it was—he had just caused Richard a staggering loss.
Richard, standing outside the circle with Helen, was ordinarily restricted from viewing inside—the circle was, in the truest sense, concealed from any outside observation. But because he had activated it with his own spiritual energy, he could observe the events within with perfect clarity.
At first, the golden glow on Neo's arm intrigued him. But as he watched the rapid disintegration of his spirit stones, he nearly bound Neo again on the spot. Catching Helen's worried expression, he forced himself to calm down.
'It's fine… just some spirit stones,' he repeated in his mind like a mantra, though his jaw tightened slightly.
Inside the array, Neo suddenly pulled off his shirt, revealing the full extent of the intricate tattoos now blazing with light. The luminous patterns traveled along his skin, converging toward the center of his chest—where the tattoo of the cube lay.
Neo watched, forgetting to breathe, as the light finally reached the cube etched over his heart.
"Please… no pain… please," Neo whispered to himself, forcing his eyes to stay open. He needed to understand what was happening to his body, no matter how terrifying. The golden light flowed like liquid, slowly filling the lines of the cube tattoo on his chest. He swallowed hard, over and over, waiting in the heavy silence of the concealing circle. The tension was so thick it felt solid.
(Sufficient energy threshold reached.)
(System assimilating with the creator....)
(Congratulations, Creator, for awakening the Creator's bloodline and successfully awakening the Pandora's Forge relic.)
"Hah…" A breath of pure relief burst from Neo's lips as he slumped to the floor, sitting for the first time since the agonizing process began.
(The Creator now possesses the Forge. Do you wish to summon the Forge?)
Neo thought for a moment, then decided against it. He looked around. The mountains of luminous blue spirit stones were gone, reduced to a mere handful of dim, crumbling crystals. The rest had been utterly consumed, absorbed by the system to awaken this so-called "Creator's" power.
"I hope he doesn't kill me for this," Neo thought, eyeing the grim reaper posing as a sweet grandfather just beyond the circle. The remnants of the spirit stones were a pitiful sight. "I wish the system didn't have to be so obvious. Can't expose its existence… what can I do?"
Suddenly, following the instinctual knowledge he had about such mechanisms, he whispered, "System, tell me about the bloodline."
*Pandora? Sounds ominous,* he thought, shaking his head. He focused as the interface responded.
(Understood. The Creator's Bloodline grants three abilities.)
(1. True-Sight: Beyond microscopic vision, they can perceive spiritual and elemental energy and even void dimension energy)
(2. Creator's Physique: Grants the Creator access to affinities to all elements.)
(3. Transcendence: Allows the creator to transcend the shackles of his body potential with with every Transcendence cycle.)
Neo stared, stunned. He had to read it twice. "What...? access to all elements...? Isn't that like overpowered." He scanned the second ability again, his mind reeling.
Quickly, he asked again, "What about Pandora's Forge? What does it do?"
(Pandora's Forge is a unique relic. It allows the Creator to repair, upgrade, and create relics.)
Neo's mind raced. A one-man army with all elements and a forge that could make relics. A grin spread across his face before he could stop it.
Cough… Ahem.
A dry cough shattered his focus. He looked around, startled. He was supposed to be alone in this sealed space.
"Hey, kid. It's done, right?"
The voice was Richard's, and it sounded like it was coming from right beside him.
"How?" Neo's blood ran cold. "Did he hear everything I just said to the system?"
No. No matter how much help the old man offered, Neo wasn't ready to reveal the system's existence. Not until he understood this world—and his place in it—much, much better.