Lux could hardly breathe.
His heart hammered in his chest as he stared at the fading words in the air. Divine. The word echoed inside his head again and again until it felt unreal.
He slowly lowered his hand and looked at the golden light still lingering around him. The contract had vanished, but its presence had not. Something inside him had changed. He could feel it deep in his chest, like a warm fire sitting behind his ribs. It was not painful. It was not even uncomfortable. It felt powerful.
Lux clenched his fist.
The sensation grew stronger.
A thin golden line flickered across his skin for a brief moment before disappearing.
He looked at his leg.
The wound from the dagger was already closing.
Lux's eyes widened.
"What…?"
He kneeled down and touched the cut carefully. It was still there, but the bleeding had almost stopped completely. He stared at the blood on his fingers in silence.
"This is real," he whispered.
The golden sky above him shimmered once more, and for a moment the throne appeared again in the distance. It was massive, elegant, and ancient. Even though it was far away, Lux felt its presence pressing down on him like the weight of a king. He swallowed hard.
A king.
Was that what Throne wanted him to become?
The thought sent a strange thrill through his body.
Lux stood up and took a slow breath. Then he focused.
Something inside him responded immediately.
A translucent screen flashed in front of his eyes.
[Throne Status]
[Rank: Divine]
[Power: Incomplete]
[Awakened: No]
[Owner: Lux Tyl]
[Stored Beasts: 0 of 5]
[Magic Core: Small]
[Abilities]
Submit Yourselves
Hard Shell
Golden Slash
Lux froze.
His mouth opened slightly.
"So this is a system," he muttered.
He had heard stories before. Some slayers talked about rare beasts, strange contracts, and hidden powers, but he had never expected to receive one himself. And divine at that.
His fingers trembled as he read the abilities again.
Submit Yourselves.
Hard Shell.
Golden Slash.
He hesitated before focusing on the first one.
Immediately, another screen opened.
[Submit Yourselves]
[Store up to 5 beasts inside your magic core]
[Warning: Beast resistance may vary]
Lux blinked.
Beasts inside his core?
He had no beast yet, but this meant he could store them. He could carry them inside himself.
His breathing quickened.
"This is insane."
He looked at the second ability.
[Hard Shell]
[Create a protective shield around the user for 20 seconds]
Twenty seconds.
That was enough to survive many attacks. Enough to change a fight. Enough to keep him alive.
Then he read the third.
[Golden Slash]
[A small golden cut infused with divine magic. High damage. Very high magic cost]
Lux smirked.
"This one sounds dangerous."
A gust of wind rolled through the canyon. The golden sky flickered once, then grew dimmer. Lux looked around and realized the place was already beginning to fade.
His body suddenly lurched.
The world spun.
Lux grabbed his head.
"No, wait, not again!"
The ground vanished beneath his feet.
Everything went white.
Then darkness swallowed him whole.
When Lux opened his eyes again, he was lying on the floor of his room.
The ceiling above him was cracked in one corner. His blanket was half on the bed and half on the floor. The weak light of morning slipped through the curtains and painted the room in pale gold.
Lux sat up quickly and looked around.
His room.
His real room.
He stared at his hands.
Then at his leg.
The wound was still there, wrapped in a thin strip of cloth.
"Did I really get home?"
He touched the wall beside him, as if checking whether this reality might vanish too. It did not.
Lux let out a shaky breath and laughed under his breath.
"I am not dreaming."
He stood up slowly, then walked to the small mirror hanging on the wall. His reflection looked back at him with tired black eyes and messy black hair. He was still the same boy on the outside.
But not on the inside.
Lux grinned.
For the first time in a long time, the expression on his face did not look empty.
"I am going to change."
He turned away from the mirror and walked to the window. Outside, the sky was bright and quiet. Ordinary. Peaceful. It looked nothing like the golden world he had seen. Yet somewhere out there, his life had begun to shift.
He clenched his fist again.
Then he suddenly remembered the school tournament announcement.
Every student with a beast would present it and fight in front of the entire school.
Lux's grin widened.
"Perfect."
He needed to understand his powers before then. He needed to learn how Throne worked. And if the contract really had awakened inside him, then maybe this was his chance to rise above everyone who had looked down on him.
Especially Daniel and Alex.
At the thought of them, his expression hardened.
"They will regret touching me."
Lux changed into his school uniform, ate the little food he had left, and left the apartment. The morning air was cool and clean, but his thoughts were anything but.
On the way to school, he kept checking his status screen.
[Magic Core: Small]
[Awakened: No]
He frowned.
"What does not awakened mean?"
The system gave no answer.
Lux exhaled sharply.
"Fine. I will figure it out myself."
The streets were already starting to fill with students. Some laughed loudly. Some dragged their feet in exhaustion. Lux walked among them quietly, but something about him felt different now. Not in the way he looked. In the way he moved.
He no longer seemed like prey.
He reached school without trouble.
The building was large and old, with high stone walls and wide windows. Students flowed through the gates in groups, talking about classes, beasts, and the tournament.
Lux walked in silently.
The moment he entered the hallway, he noticed the change in the atmosphere. Eyes followed him for a second too long. Whispers started in little bursts around him. He heard his name once. Then again.
He looked ahead and ignored them.
Then he saw them.
Daniel and Alex.
They stood near the lockers with a few other students around them. Daniel was leaning back with a smug expression while Alex rubbed his nose, which still had a faint bruise. Their conversation stopped the second they saw Lux.
A heavy silence fell.
Alex's face twisted in anger.
Daniel's smile sharpened.
Lux looked at them with cold calm.
Neither boy moved.
They were clearly shocked. They had not expected him to show up as if nothing had happened. Lux could almost hear their thoughts. How is he still standing? Did he really do that?
Lux kept walking.
As he passed them, Daniel stepped forward.
"Hey," Daniel said with a low voice. "You think you are something now?"
Lux stopped.
He turned his head slightly.
"No," he said. "I know exactly what I am."
Daniel's face darkened.
Alex sneered. "You got lucky yesterday."
Lux looked at him for a moment. Then he smiled.
"Then come try your luck again."
The hallway went quiet.
The students nearby stiffened as if they were watching a fight about to begin. Daniel's eyes narrowed. Lux could see the tension in his body. But Daniel did not strike. Not here. Not with this many people around.
Instead, he leaned closer.
"Do not act brave for long. Tournament day is coming."
Lux's expression remained calm. "Good. I will be there."
He walked away before they could answer.
His pulse was steady.
His mind, however, was burning.
Tournament day.
That would be the perfect place to show everyone what he had become.
When Lux entered class, Lyria was already seated near the front, sorting some papers. She glanced up as he passed by, and for a second their eyes met. She noticed something different too. Her brows pulled together slightly, but she said nothing.
Lux sat down at his desk and looked at the board.
The teacher entered a few seconds later and began the lesson, but Lux barely heard a word. His attention was focused inward.
He tried calling up his abilities again.
This time, he focused on Hard Shell.
A faint golden glow began to gather around his body. It was thin, like transparent glass wrapped around him. The sensation made his skin tingle.
Then it vanished.
Lux blinked.
"So I can activate it by thinking about it."
He tried again, concentrating harder.
The golden shield returned, this time stronger. It formed around him like a rounded barrier, barely visible but undeniably there.
Lux smiled.
Then he released it.
Next, he tried Golden Slash.
He imagined drawing a blade of light through the air.
A burst of heat suddenly surged through his right arm.
Lux hissed and quickly stopped.
His hand trembled.
"That hurts."
A wave of warning flashed through his mind.
[Magic consumption high]
Lux rubbed his arm and nodded.
"Okay, so that one is serious."
He did not dare try Submit Yourselves yet. That ability seemed connected to beasts, and he had none. At least not in the normal sense. Throne itself was probably too special to summon casually.
The lesson ended at last, and the teacher informed the class that the beast presentations and tournament matches would begin in just a few days.
The room erupted into chatter.
Some students were excited.
Others were terrified.
Lux only smiled.
As class ended, Lyria walked past him and paused for a moment.
"You seem different today," she said quietly.
Lux looked up at her.
"Do I?"
She studied him with a soft, curious expression.
"A little."
Lux shrugged. "Maybe I slept better."
Lyria did not look convinced, but she did not push further. She simply nodded and walked away.
Lux watched her go.
She was not like the others. She did not look at him with disgust or pity. That alone made her feel strange to him.
He quickly shook the thought away.
There were more important things now.
After school, Lux did not go straight home.
Instead, he went to an old open field behind a row of abandoned storage buildings on the edge of town. No one usually came here. It was quiet, empty, and hidden from the main streets.
Perfect for testing.
Lux stood in the middle of the field and looked around carefully.
Then he focused on Hard Shell.
Golden light surrounded him again, forming a thin shield.
He took a breath and punched his own barrier.
The impact made his arm sting, but the shield held.
"Hm."
He struck it again, harder this time. The glow shuddered but remained.
Lux nodded slowly.
"Useful."
He let the shield fade, then raised his hand.
Golden Slash.
The moment he activated it, a sharp line of gold flashed across the air in front of him. It was small, fast, and incredibly clean. A nearby wooden post split with a dry crack.
Lux stared at it.
Then at his hand.
Then back at the cut post.
"That is insane."
He had used almost half his magic core just from a single strike. His knees weakened slightly.
"So that is the cost."
He breathed deeply and sat down for a few moments to recover.
As he rested, he looked at the sky.
The clouds drifted slowly overhead.
For once, he did not feel like the world had already decided his fate.
Maybe he had been weak.
Maybe he had been nothing.
But now he had a divine contract.
And if Throne was truly waiting for a king, then Lux intended to be that king.
The thought made him smile again.
After resting, he stood up and started walking home.
Along the way, he passed by a small market street. People were busy shopping, children were laughing, and the smell of fresh bread drifted through the air. It was a normal evening. Peaceful. Lux almost did not notice the strange feeling growing in his chest until it hit him harder.
His magic core pulsed.
Lux stopped.
A faint golden glow spread beneath his shirt.
He gasped and pressed a hand against his chest.
"What is this?"
Then he heard it.
Not a voice this time.
A presence.
Deep. Ancient. Silent.
It was as if something in his body had opened one eye and was looking at the world through him.
Lux stood still, his breath caught in his throat.
The glow slowly faded.
But the sensation remained.
He swallowed.
"So you are awake after all," he whispered.
The wind moved around him.
No answer came, but Lux did not need one.
He had felt it.
Throne was there.
Watching.
Waiting.
And somewhere deep in the back of his mind, Lux understood something he could not fully explain yet.
This was only the beginning.
When he reached his apartment, evening had already fallen. He closed the door behind him and leaned against it for a moment, staring at the ceiling.
Tomorrow, he would continue training.
Tomorrow, he would get stronger.
And in a few days, he would stand before the entire school and show them all what kind of power they had mocked.
Lux lifted his hand and looked at his fingers.
Then he smiled.
"Daniel. Alex. You chose the wrong person."
Behind the quiet apartment walls, a faint golden glow stirred once more inside his chest.
And far beyond the world he knew, somewhere in a place wrapped in old light and forgotten power, something immense seemed to move in response.
As if a throne had finally begun to recognize its king.