Kyle hesitated as he slowly extended his hand. The moment his fingers touched the Soulstone, a mixture of blue, black, and purple smoke tore through the cave and shot upward toward the sky.
Greycliff, the name of Kyle's village, was not far from the Ancient Ruins. All the villagers—children, adults, elders, women, and even Baelin—looked up as they saw that strange smoke rising into the sky.
People began questioning one another in panic. "What is happening? First the earthquake, and now this thing rising into the sky? Is a monster about to attack us? Are we going to die?"
From behind, one man said, "It's probably nothing. Maybe some monsters are fighting in the forest over territory or prey."
Hearing that, most people returned to their work. But Baelin stood outside his hut, watching everything unfold with a faint smile of satisfaction.
Moments later, the smoke above the cave burst open in the sky. With a thunderous explosion, a purple veil spread across the entire world of Aethelgard.
Panic erupted throughout Aethelgard. People abandoned their work and ran toward their homes. Animals hid in fear. Everywhere, voices screamed, "Run for your lives! He has awakened from his slumber! The prophecy has come true!"
Inside the cave, another explosion occurred. In the very next moment, from the small cut on Kyle's hand, a purple flame-like energy began entering his body. A scream tried to escape his throat, but no sound came out. His pupils turned completely black, and the veins across his body began glowing like cracks in stone.
Draken's laughter no longer echoed in Kyle's ears—it resonated inside his very soul. Kyle's body slowly lifted off the ground as darkness embraced him entirely. The boy named Kyle was no longer there. In his place, an ancient and terrifying power was being born.
Before Kyle's eyes, visions of thousands of years of war flashed like a moving film. The green moss on the cave walls began turning black, and the purple smoke flowed into Kyle's veins. Everything started gathering inside his chest.
The Soulstone began emerging from his chest.
Kyle felt unbearable pain. He groaned in agony. The Soulstone stopped halfway—half inside his chest, half outside.
The overwhelming pain caused darkness to cloud his vision. Kyle lost consciousness. Yet even in his unconscious state, a strange voice echoed within his mind—
SOUL CONTRACT SUCCESSFUL
HOST: KYLE
TITLE: THE CURSED CONTRACTOR
SOUL LEVEL: 0 (SOULLESS)
OCCUPATION: NONE
HP (Health Power): 100 / 100
STR (Strength): 0
AGI (Agility): 0
WIS (Wisdom): 0
VIT (Vitality): 0
DEX (Dexterity): 0
CORRUPTION METER: 0%
"Kyle… we are now connected. Your path begins to change. I am Draken, the cursed warrior of war."
After a few moments, Kyle's fingers twitched slightly. He tried to open his eyes. A faint light was visible from the other end of the pit above him. His head felt heavy, his body exhausted, yet a new wave of energy pulsed clearly within him.
With a tingling sensation in his body, that heavy whisper returned—the same one he had felt in the forest. Slowly, Kyle struggled to stand on unsteady feet. Strange thoughts echoed inside his mind, as if someone was speaking from within his soul—but not as an enemy… as a companion.
He no longer felt the same fear as before. Deep within, a sense of confidence began forming—as if difficulties now stood one step away from him.
Looking upward, he whispered to himself, "Was that truly a spirit's voice… or is my fear taking control again?"
The answer came immediately.
"You are not alone anymore, Kyle…"
After the light and noise faded, Kyle felt that some kind of 'system' had activated inside his head. It was as if someone had placed an invisible book inside his mind, filled with information about him.
"What is all this?" Kyle asked.
Draken began explaining.
1. HP (Health Power – 100/100): This is your life force. If it reaches 0 due to injury or excessive use of my power, you will die instantly.
2. STR (Strength – 0): This determines your physical attack power. Right now it is 0 because you are weak. Without external power, you cannot even properly break a stone.
3. AGI (Agility – 0): This represents your speed and movement capability. At 0, you are slower than even an average boy.
4. WIS (Wisdom – 0): This represents your mental strength and decision-making ability. Since you possess no true soul of your own, you are mentally weak and incapable of properly judging when and where to use my power.
5. VIT (Vitality – 0): This determines stamina and healing speed. At 0, you will tire quickly, and even small wounds will take one or two days to heal.
6. DEX (Dexterity – 0): This represents hand coordination and weapon proficiency. At present, you do not even know how to properly hold a sword.
7. CM (Corruption Meter – 0%): This is the most dangerous part. It measures how much my dark power has corrupted your body. As it increases, your humanity will gradually fade. There are two ways to gain points.
As you complete daily challenges, you will earn 2 points.
As you level up, you will earn 5 points.
How and where you allocate those points depends on you. However, there is one condition. You may only add points to WIS or CM. If you add points to WIS, you may do so only once per day. For CM, you may add up to 5 points per day.
Kyle asked, "Daily challenge? What do I have to do?"
Draken replied, "Every day you must complete: 100 push-ups, 100 sit-ups, 100 squats, and a 10-kilometer run."
Kyle asked again, "What happens if I skip a daily challenge?"
Draken answered, "If you skip it, your Corruption Meter will increase by 2 points."
Kyle frowned. "But it shows percentage. How will 2 points increase it?"
Draken replied, "A good question. Every 10 accumulated corruption points will increase your Corruption Meter by 1%."
"Because you successfully completed the Soul Contract," Draken continued, "I will grant you a gift. I will give you 5 points. You may allocate them wherever you wish."
Kyle said without hesitation, "I want to add them to STR."
Immediately, his STR increased by 5 points.
Kyle felt a surge of strength course through his body as he began moving toward the exit.
Cliffhanger :–
Orion's laughter echoed, "Oh! The Soulless came back alive? A miracle!"
But this time, Kyle was not afraid. He clenched his fist, and the electricity of those 5 new STR points surged through him. Orion noticed something different… there was no fear in Kyle's eyes anymore—only the gleam of a hunter.
Author note :–
Why is Baelin smiling? Does he already know Draken? Will Kyle take revenge on Orion for the humiliation? Tell me in the comments.