It was beyond shocking.
Such a sight should have made him vomit.
It should have made him scurry off in disgust, yet he found his heart quietly skyrocketing at the sight of it.
HUNGER!
A terrible hunger clenched at his heart, even as his brain desperately tried to warn him that the sight before him was abhorrent.
He found the blood slowly trickling down from the leg, quietly towards him.
"No."
"No."
[Yes, Yes. This is the only way.]
The panel flashed in the moment,
[The only way to get rid of the dark shell is to gain some bit of life essence.]
[Failure to do so means the system will never be fully awakened, and you will remain here, never truly alive, for at most three days before you truly die!]
"Truly… die?"
[So what do you say, Emrys? A drop of blood from one who wouldn't even know you took it, to awaken power beyond your imagination…]
[Or leave it, and remain in agony for three days, before true death finally claims you.]
The panel blinked before vanishing into thin air.
It left only Emrys, lying there covered in ashes, staring at the bleeding, severed leg.
To drink from a corpse, to gain power:
An abhorrent act that would only be done by a demon.
Or to remain righteous and face death.
When he came to the realization of the choice before him, the doubt within him faded.
'Even when I was righteous and did everything I was asked, I was faced with nothing but disappointment.'
'No more now…no more.'
He thought, and in that moment, he laid his cheek flat against the ground.
The blood trickled quietly down, and with his eyes closed, Emrys felt the liquid pool at the corner of his lips before it was drawn in and finally fell into his mouth.
When it did,
GASP!
A gasp of shock left his lips, his eyes snapping open.
The blue in his eyes became incredibly piercing, mixed with a hint of crimson, and in that moment, he felt strength return.
Grabbing the leg with his right hand, he jerked it toward his mouth like a beast, and then.
CRUNCH!
He began devouring.
The more he ate, the more the ashes on him peeled away rapidly, as he continued gnawing as if it were the only thing left in the world.
And when his consciousness finally returned, he looked at his hands.
The leg was no more.
Only red blood remained, bearing silent witness to the abhorrent deed he had just committed.
The crimson in his eyes simmered as he quietly stared down at his hands.
The dark ash had disappeared.
What lay beneath was skin as white as snow, glowing with life itself.
His hands moved to his face.
It wasn't as he remembered it.
It was simply too smooth, too soft; the hardness of the bony jaws that once defined it was gone.
"What have I become?"
[Better.]
[To learn more, simply say, "Initiate Ruined Protocol."]
It said, and he did not hesitate.
"Initiate Ruined Protocol."
[ SYSTEM INTERFACE ]
[ HALO ABILITIES ]
[ SHOP — UNAVAILABLE FOR NOW DUE TO LOW LEVEL ]
[ MISSIONS ]
Following the system's prompt, he focused his attention on the System Interface tab, and it appeared.
[ SYSTEM INTERFACE ]
[Name: Emrys Dabria]
[Race: Human]
[Age: 18]
[Level: 1]
[EXP: 0/100]
[STATS]
[Strength: 3 (+7)]
[Agility: 4 (+7)]
[Endurance: 3 (+7)]
[Intelligence: 5]
[Charm: 2 (+7)]
As bizarre as it all seemed, Emrys recognized this.
It was similar to the games he had heard free humans used to play.
He had once seen one in the hands of an orphanage staff member playing on their device, so it wasn't completely alien to him.
His stats weren't surprising either.
He had been skin and bone as a human, far weaker than average.
Seeing the seven added attribute points, he glanced at the blood on his hands and understood where they must have come from.
Though it didn't seem like his intelligence had increased at all.
Moving on to the next tab:
[ MISSIONS ]
[Gain Enough Essence to Break Through The Ash]
[Rewards:
1. System power granted.]
2. Your Halo has been activated along with innate skills.
3.+7 attribute points to all stats.]
The list appeared, and he nodded slowly.
The system had promised that drinking blood would be the start of extraordinary power, and the rewards before him, including seven attribute points, proved it had kept its word.
That alone made Emrys less doubtful.
The final reward concerned his Halo and awakened skills, so he moved to the last available tab.
[ HALO ABILITIES ]
[You have awakened a new Halo.]
[Sacrifice: Your original Halo has been destroyed to create space for it.]
"I'll call that good riddance."
[True Halo: Oblivion Overlord Gene ]
[ Grade: SSS ]
[Class: Oblivion Heir]
[Skills and Abilities]
[Name:] Nihility War Body[State:] Incomplete Origin
[Level:] 1[Stage:] Void-Tempered Flesh
[Description:]A forbidden body refinement path that uses Oblivion energy to temper the physical form.
Through the Oblivion Halo Mark, the cultivator absorbs refined Oblivion essence and circulates it through flesh, blood, and bone.
Instead of reinforcing matter, Oblivion erodes excess existence, compressing the body into a more absolute form.
At this stage, the body undergoes initial tempering. Muscles gain denser contraction, bones gain structural stability, and organs become resistant to degradation.
The body does not become indestructible.It becomes resistant to effects that rely on existence stability.
[Effects:]• Physical strength and endurance increase moderately.• Resistance to decay, corrosion, and energy erosion increases.• Regenerative interference effects gain partial immunity.
[Limitations:]• Oblivion energy is hostile to most living bodies.• Excessive absorption may result in tissue loss, numbness, or structural instability.• Healing requires a careful balance between restoration and erasure.
[Growth Method:]• Absorb Oblivion essence through the Halo Mark.• Circulate essence through controlled body refinement cycles.• Stabilize the body after each refinement to prevent over-erasure.
[Restriction:]This physique cannot be cultivated using standard qi, mana, or elemental energy.