Ethan did not accept the rank-up immediately.
The notification hovered in the corner of his vision like an accusation, its crimson edge pulsing faintly with every heartbeat.
RANK UP AVAILABLE: GRAVE ADEPT.
He had learned enough about the system to distrust anything that arrived without context. Power, it seemed, always demanded something in return, and the system was remarkably selective about telling him what that something was before he paid it.
He waited until night fully settled over the forest. The skeletal soldier stood watch at the edge of the clearing, posture rigid, awareness sharp. The bound hound lay at Ethan's feet, motionless but alert, its presence a constant pressure against his soul—heavy, loyal, permanent.
Command Slots: 6 total. 4 occupied.
Too many already, he thought grimly.
Lira sat across the small fire, sharpening her blade. She watched him through the flickering light. "You're stalling," she said.
"I'm thinking."
"That's usually worse."
He snorted softly but didn't argue. The system window pulsed again, impatient.
"Once I do this," Ethan said, "there's no going back. Is there?"
Lira shook her head. "No one ever goes back."
That settled it.
Ethan exhaled slowly and accepted the rank-up.
The world tilted.
It wasn't pain this time. It was pressure—like the air itself had thickened, pushing inward. The ground beneath him darkened, soil turning almost black as thin spectral lines spread outward in a slow, deliberate pattern.
RANK ASCENSION INITIATED.
CURRENT RANK: UNRANKED (RANK 0).
ASCENDING TO: GRAVE ADEPT (RANK I).
The Grave Domain seed flared.
Ethan gasped as something fundamental shifted inside him. His perception widened—not farther, but deeper. He could feel the bones beneath the soil, the echo of lives spent here, the weight of death layered like sediment.
Information flooded in.
RANK I BENEFITS:
Soul Capacity Increased
Grave Skill Efficiency +25%
Permanent Undead Stability +10%
Grave Domain Projection: Locked (Prerequisite Not Met)
And then came the cost.
A sharp, internal pull yanked at his chest. Ethan doubled over, hands digging into the dirt as a thread of something invisible stretched outward—from him to every permanent undead he controlled. The bond tightened, reforged, and settled deeper than before.
Not chains, he realized. Anchors.
WARNING:
Permanent Undead now exert passive soul load proportional to rank and evolution tier.
Ethan lay there for several seconds, breathing hard. When he finally pushed himself upright, the world felt… heavier. Not oppressive. Just real.
"I don't like that," he muttered.
"Congratulations," Lira said dryly. "You look worse again."
He managed a thin smile. "Promotion'll do that to you."
The system wasn't finished.
Another window unfolded, larger than the rest.
RANK I FEATURE UNLOCKED: GRAVE LEDGER.
Tracks undead, soul load, evolution potential, and domain influence.
Ethan scanned it quickly. The numbers made his stomach tighten.
Bound Hound: Soul Load — Moderate
Skeletal Soldier: Soul Load — Low
Projected Load at Rank II made his chest ache just looking at it.
"So that's the trick," he murmured. "They don't limit you. They let you hang yourself slowly."
Lira didn't disagree.
They didn't have time to rest.
Just before dawn, the Grave Ledger flickered, issuing a sharp alert.
HOSTILE OBSERVATION DETECTED.
FACTION: GRAVE WARDENS.
STATUS: TRACKING CONFIRMED.
Ethan swore under his breath.
"They're not retreating," Lira said. "They're hunting."
"Good," Ethan replied quietly. "Then they'll follow me where I want them."
He led them back to the battlefield.
The Grave-Affinity Zone welcomed him like an old wound reopening. Power flowed easier now, smoother, as if the land recognized his ascension.
GRAVE DOMAIN RESONANCE: INCREASED.
The Wardens arrived just after sunrise.
This time, Ethan didn't hide.
He stood at the center of the field, undead arranged deliberately—soldier forward, hound flanking, temporary skeletons half-buried and waiting. The Wardens slowed, unease rippling through their formation.
Their leader raised his staff again. "You have advanced," he said. "You should not have survived."
Ethan met his gaze. "Yeah," he said. "I get that a lot."
The fight was controlled. Measured.
Ethan didn't overextend. He didn't chase kills. He used terrain, timing, and fear. When a Warden fell, he did not raise them. He let the bodies lie.
The land remembered.
By the time the Wardens retreated, bloodied and shaken, Ethan was shaking too—but standing.
A final system message appeared.
COMBAT EVALUATION COMPLETE.
RANK I — GRAVE ADEPT: CONFIRMED.
GRAVE DOMAIN SEED: STABILIZED.
As silence settled over the battlefield, Ethan finally allowed himself to sit.
Lira exhaled slowly. "You crossed a line today."
He nodded. "I felt it."
"You can't go back now."
Ethan looked at his undead—at the land that answered him, at the invisible weight pressing against his soul—and gave a tired, humorless smile.
"I think," he said quietly, "that was the point."