The monkey sat on Lucifer's shoulder as if that space had always belonged to it.
Not perched. Not carefully balanced.
Just sitting. Small legs folded. Tiny hands gripping fabric. Tail hanging lazily down his back.
Lucifer did not move.
He stood in the center of the cave, spine straight, breath steady, and mind calculating. The creature weighed almost nothing, yet its presence pressed against him more than the cocoon ever had. It was warm but persistent, undoubtedly real.
He turned his head slightly.
Two dark red eyes stared back at him.
There was no hostility in them. No hunger. No territorial instinct.
Just curiosity and something worse, trust.
Then the monkey opened its mouth.
"Papa."
Lucifer closed his eyes.
"…No."
The monkey blinked, absorbing the rejection with visible effort. Its small fingers tightened instinctively against his collar as though afraid he might disappear.
After a long pause,
"Papa."
Lucifer inhaled slowly.
Mana gathered in his palm, smooth and obedient. The sensation alone sent a faint tremor through him. He had dreamed of this since childhood. Every noble child did. Awakening. Control. Recognition. Strength.
Now the mana moved because he willed it to.
A thin card manifested before him, pale and layered with scanning runes.
It was a basic Identification Card.
The Identification Card rotated once and activated.
For a brief moment, Lucifer allowed himself to feel it.
He had awakened.
No more waiting. No more silent humiliation at family gatherings. No more subtle glances.
He could use mana.
Even something this simple felt like proof that he was no longer behind.
Then he read.
[Species]: Shadowbound Lesser Simian
[Classification]: Familiar Type Entity
[Rank]: F
[Age]: Fifteen Days (Newborn)
[Affinity]: Black Mana Dormant
[Status]: Spiritually Bonded Irreversible
[Evaluation]: Weakest specimen of its species
[Behavioral Note]: This species commonly abandons weak offspring.
[Soul Condition]: Damaged
[Cause]: External Soul Resonance Spirit Pearl
Lucifer stared at the Age line longer than the rest.
Fifteen days.
The exact amount of time he had been unconscious.
He looked at the monkey again, slower this time.
Its limbs were thin. Slight tremors passed through its body occasionally. Its mana presence flickered unevenly. Weak. Undeveloped.
The weakest specimen among one of the weakest species.
Lucifer exhaled quietly.
"If a basic Identification Card can reveal this much," he muttered, "you're not special."
Stronger familiars resisted surface scans. Basic cards yielded little. This one had exposed everything.
Any thoughts about this monkey being connected to the Spirit Pearl immediately vanished from Lucifer's mind.
The monkey leaned forward.
"Papa?"
Lucifer's fingers twitched in irritation, and he nearly reached to remove it.
Then he felt it.
A faint pulse in his chest.
The monkey flinched at the exact same moment.
Lucifer stilled.
He pushed his soul slightly harder.
A dull ache surfaced beneath his ribs.
The monkey's breathing hitched.
He went still.
"…You feel that too."
The monkey curled closer instinctively, as though proximity lessened discomfort.
Lucifer's jaw tightened.
The Spirit Pearl had not simply damaged his soul.
It had pulled this newborn creature into resonance with it.
All because of his awakening.
A faint wave of guilt surfaced, subtle but undeniable.
A fifteen day old abandoned lesser simian was now permanently bound to him.
"So you didn't choose this either," he murmured quietly.
The monkey blinked.
"Papa."
Lucifer sighed.
He closed his eyes and turned inward.
The Soul Palace unfolded around him, structured and vast, the foundation of his spiritual existence. At its center floated the Spirit Pearl, embedded into his soul architecture like a second heart.
Within the Pearl existed the Spirit Realm.
A separate dimension altogether.
Because of their bond, Lucifer no longer needed rituals or external triggers. His consciousness slipped downward effortlessly.
He entered the Spirit Realm.
The transition was smooth, like stepping into water that welcomed him.
The realm expanded outward in muted shadows and shifting structure. Time felt different here, stretched.
At the center hovered a projection of the Pearl.
And beside it,
The monkey.
Already inside the secret domain.
It grabbed the Pearl with both hands.
Then rolled across the floor with it like it had found the greatest toy in existence.
Lucifer stared.
"…You're playing with a divine relic."
The monkey rolled again happily.
"Well... whatever." Lucifer pinched the bridge of his nose and looked around at the Spirit Realm in front of him.
The structure of the realm unfolded as he examined it carefully.
Time here moved at double duration compared to the outside world.
If eight hours passed outside, sixteen hours could be spent training inside.
However, sixteen hours inside was the limit. After that, the Spirit Realm would forcibly expel him.
Then came the cooldown.
Twelve hours had to pass outside before he could reenter.
Which meant, internally, twenty four hours would flow before his next session.
Sixteen hours inside. Twelve hours outside cooldown.
Efficient. Brutal. Perfect.
And confusing if you did not know about it.
Lucifer smiled faintly.
Storage space unfolded as well.
A sealed dimensional layer inside the Pearl.
Completely detached from outside detection.
Anything non living could be stored inside.
Lucifer decided to do the training first to adapt to this new body.
Then the training layer manifested.
The ground below hardened. The physical resistance increased significantly.
Opponents formed slowly in the form of constructs. These constructs could be changed into anything at will. These constructs were capable of adapting into any existence that Lucifer could think of. Of course, the combat power was limited to a maximum of around A Rank, similar to the owner's affinity.
This training did not improve rank at all but improved the combat prowess of an individual.
Of course, practicing in soul form was different from physical training, so some training in the real world was also necessary to balance instincts and mind in alignment.
Lucifer began the training with Valcrest's signature axe techniques first.
He had learned several axe techniques at a basic level, as required to be a Valcrest heir.
Valcrest training forms were precise even for unawakened bodies.
He swung his axe in one fluid motion, but he slightly staggered. He kept trying to control his body and mind.
He drilled them inside the Spirit Realm for sixteen full hours.
When he was expelled, drenched in soul fatigue, he did not rest.
He trained outside with a normal axe.
He kept repeating various techniques one after another.
When he swung, sometimes he lost his balance and even fell down. But he got up and repeated the same process over and over again.
His blisters tore open. Muscles burned.
He rotated weapons daily.
Sword. Spear. Dagger. Bow fundamentals.
Weapon mastery was discipline, not ego.
He was trying every weapon to adapt his combat mastery to his new body.
The monkey watched everything.
When Lucifer pushed his soul too far inside, the monkey flinched outside.
They learned the rhythm together.
They ate together too.
Food supplies had been obtained from Diego specifically for this trip.
The monkey sat beside him, copying how he held food.
Lucifer adjusted its grip once.
"Don't eat like a barbarian."
The monkey nodded solemnly and chewed carefully.
Somewhere in those days, Lucifer gradually let go of his irritation and formed a special bond with the simian.
When it was time to leave the cave, Lucifer turned toward the inheritance.
He knew exactly what this was.
Caesar.
Ancestor of the current Western Monarch.
A Sovereign tier existence.
He had tried to remove the Spirit Pearl himself.
The backlash had killed him instantly.
Because it was never meant for him.
It was meant for a descendant strong enough to survive it.
Lucifer's eyes gleamed faintly.
"Well," he murmured, "your loss."
Then the theft began.
Origin stones vanished into Spirit Storage in smooth motions.
There were various types of artifacts.
There were even four different SS+ Rank artifacts.A lot of S rank artifacts with several special Cards as well.Several amplification rings filled with countless treasures.
He moved efficiently.
The monkey copied him.
It struggled to lift a big origin stone twice its size.
Lucifer paused.
The monkey waddled over proudly and dropped it at his feet.
He stared.
"You're helping me steal."
The monkey puffed its chest.
Lucifer sighed.
"This is not stealing. This is inheritance."
The monkey nodded seriously.
Lucifer narrowed his eyes.
"No. Wait. Don't nod like that."
The monkey grabbed a small dagger and dragged it toward him.
Lucifer rubbed his temple.
"I am raising you wrong."
He took the dagger anyway.
Then crouched.
"Listen carefully. We do not steal from random people. That is bad manners."
The monkey looked deeply offended.
Lucifer paused.
"…Unless they deserve it."
The monkey brightened immediately.
Lucifer groaned.
"I am absolutely teaching you wrong."
Still, he took everything.
From the strongest artifact to the last piece of origin stone present at the scene.
He erased any sign of inheritance from the place along with his traces.
When the cave stood empty, he erased mana signatures meticulously.
Before leaving, Lucifer constructed a small stone marker inside.
Simple and clean without any inscription.
"For one of the saviors of humanity," he murmured quietly.
He stood there a moment longer than necessary.
Then turned away.
Outside, night had fallen.
The monkey climbed onto his shoulder automatically.
Lucifer adjusted it without thinking.
The wind shifted.
He looked toward the distant mountains of the Noct Vale Highlands.
He had finally awakened his origin.
He had also stolen, ahem, obtained a Sovereign inheritance.
Found a divine relic.
This trip until now went more smoothly than he had imagined.
One and a half months remained.
Lucifer's eyes sharpened.
"I survived the Sovereign."
The monkey pressed against his neck.
"There is nothing else that gets to end me."
"Let's go buddy, It's time to hunt."
Far away on the Western Continent, an old man suddenly opened his eyes and turned toward the distant horizon.
For a long moment, he did not move.
Then his hand trembled.
The scripture resting upon his palm slipped and fell to the stone floor with a muted echo that lingered longer than it should have.
Silence followed.
"Another anomaly," the old man murmured, his voice low and almost contemplative.
It was not surprise but recognition.
A young girl seated nearby looked up from her book, her blue eyes reflecting the dim light of the chamber.
"What happened, Holy Father?"
The old man slowly lowered his gaze, studying the fallen scripture as if it had betrayed him.
Then he shook his head.
"Nothing that you should be worried about."
A brief pause.
"Not yet."
The girl said nothing more, but her fingers tightened slightly as she contemplates her master's words.