“L…”

  Darkness surrounded him, a void so impenetrable that it was almost suffocating. Endless and consuming, the abyss clawed at his limbs, pulling him in every possible direction.

  “Leo…”

  Flashes of light broke through, millions of stars guiding the way through the dark. Monsters lurking between the light—shifting silhouettes of Nightmares with crimson eyes directed right at him. They multiplied with each second, dozens turning to hundreds, then thousands…

  ‘Leo!’

  He gasped, his eyes flying open to the vast expanse of blue sky high above him. He fought for air as a constant ache filled his entire body, drowning him in pain he hadn’t felt in a long time. Every fiber of his being resisted movement, but somehow, he managed to lift a trembling hand to shield his face from the blinding light.

  “Shit…” Leo groaned, his raspy voice barely leaving his throat. “Did you get the plates of the truck that hit me?”

  A snort sounded beside him. “You’re an idiot. There was no truck… Unless there is something you want to tell me.”

  With great effort, Leo turned his head to the side, getting a perfect look at Nyx. “Wha…”

  The feline sighed even as mirth danced in her eyes. “You did this to yourself, stupid. Don’t tell me you hit yourself so hard that you don’t even remember. Sure, it looked bad, but you’ve survived worse.”

  “I…” Leo squeezed his eyes shut, his mind spinning. Everything was a jumbled mess inside it. Unsorted memories and thoughts flew everywhere, with flashes of pain scattered in between.

  He struggled to sort through it all, pushing the pain toward bloodlust—who happily consumed it—while searching for the most recent memories. It took some time—or maybe it didn’t, he couldn’t be sure—but in the end, he found the exact thing he needed.

  Oh…

  Everything clicked into place inside his head, his memories rearranging. Everything had been going so well during his fight with Ddraig—aside from some minor annoyances—and just when he was about to end the dragon, something went partially wrong.

  Leo remembered pushing his hand forward, driving the combined elemental technique into Ddraig’s exposed chest. At first, everything looked good; a beam of pure power exploded out of his palm, plunging into the dragon’s flesh without any resistance. Hell, he even caught a glance of it coming out on the other side of the beast.

  The battle should have ended there—and well, it did, just not in the way he imagined.

  Somehow, just as the technique in his palm was about to run out of power, he lost control over it. Now, normally, it wouldn’t be too bad; he had it happen to him many times before with different skills. However, Ruination was still Ruination. Add to that an affinity he just gained, and well…

  The remnants of the technique backfired and hit him right in the head. Looking back, he realized he was lucky it didn’t have the strength to do more damage.

  Ow… Leo rubbed his head. So I can get a concussion. Good to know…

  Slowly, he rose to a sitting position, ignoring his body’s complaints at every small movement. His gaze washed over the surrounding area, over the empty rocky plains that didn’t make any sense. Where was the magma? Where was the fire?

  “N-Nyx?” He coughed, his throat raw. “How long was I out? Where the hell are we?”

  “Calm down. Rest,” she ordered, pushing him back with her tail. “Everything is alright. We’re still inside the Divine Realm—it just… changed a bit after you absorbed Ddraig.”

  “I what? I… I don’t remember…”

  Nyx snorted again. “You wouldn’t. You didn’t really do anything. After you killed it and lost consciousness, its entire body turned into light that you somehow absorbed. You should probably check with the System for more.”

  “Yeah… good idea,” Leo mumbled and summoned the System. He also considered using another Bellatoure but dismissed the idea almost instantly. No reason to waste resources with no danger in sight.

  This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  Well then, let’s see.

  Bearer of Divine slain. Life force processed. Awarding experience. Please stand by…

  Congratulations! You have reached level 96. Class and Racial attributes have been distributed.

  Leo frowned. While he wasn’t expecting an absurd jump in levels, gaining only two after taking down a godling seemed… underwhelming.

  Maybe it has something to do with the Seed? Guess I will see…

  The evolution menu has been unlocked again. Beware, there will be no postponing experience gained at this stage. Decide your next step carefully.

  So last time, it was a one-time offer for all evolutions, not only stage three. Got it. Hopefully, I have an evolution ready for me like last time.

  With that, he dismissed those notifications and summoned the next one. Now, things were beginning to get interesting.

  Well done, User, you have managed to absorb a Seed of Divinity. Please choose one option to proceed.

  - Full absorption. Pillar reinforcement.

  - Extraction and manifestation. Divine crafting.

  - Sacrifice. Lottery for a random reward.

  Leo blinked once, then twice, and then again. No way… No fucking way the System has a gacha mechanic.

  Even though he had never played games with such systems himself, Lily’s obsession with mobile games meant he knew more than enough. He couldn’t count how many times she had pestered him to join her, ranting about her “luck”—or lack thereof.

  Whatever… I’m never choosing this option anyway, he thought. Though, I definitely should keep this a secret from Lily. The last thing I need is her gambling away divine powers…

  His gaze returned to the menu, and without waiting any longer, he chose the first option. Crafting was nice and all, but not what he came here for.

  Acknowledged. Assimilation in progress…

  A sharp, twisting pain shot through his core, and Leo doubled over, clutching his stomach. His soul screamed next, the pool of energy inside spiraling out of control. And to finish it all, his headache returned tenfold. He curled into a ball, waiting for the pain to go away.

  It didn’t—not for quite some time.

  “Fuck,” he hissed as the pain dulled. “That wasn’t nice…”

  Leo opened his eyes, only to feel Nyx’s tail wrap around his shoulders, gently pulling him upright. “That bad?” she asked.

  He shrugged, but the movement only made him grimace. “Had worse. A few minutes and I should be fine—at least I hope so…”

  Assimilation successful. Your three pillars have been reinforced by the power of the Divine. As a side effect of the first absorption, you have obtained +50 to all attributes.

  Huh. Never mind, System. I will take all the pain you can give if that’s what I am getting in retu— Leo froze as another spike of pain shot through his body. Scratch that. I never said anything.

  I will do my best to remember that, Leo Hale. In other news, congratulations on obtaining your first Seed. This message serves as a reminder: Do not overuse Ruination. It nearly erased your soul during the battle with Ddraig. While the Seed has repaired this damage and given you breathing room, you still need at least two more absorptions and your next evolution to stabilize fully.

  The unexpected message ended with those words, and Leo swallowed hard when he read the part about his soul. He didn’t feel the damage back then—adrenaline was one hell of a drug—but if he was really this close to death, then maybe that was why his technique exploded at the end.

  Yeah… sounds pretty reasonable if scary. Best not to think about it too much.

  He dismissed the message and summoned the remaining notifications. Those he really needed to see.

  Well done, you have reached a breakthrough in your Shadow affinity. By combining it with another element, it has advanced and become Stormveil. Beware, all your mastered techniques have been absorbed by the new affinity but remain usable.

  It really happened. Leo grinned. Finally!

  True Affinity: Stormveil (Epic)

  A spark of lightning and a touch of the dark combined. An imperfect mid-tier elemental affinity that blends together the utility of shadows and the power of lightning.

  Effects:

  Grants the ability to channel Stromveil affinity into your Essence. Beware, due to its imperfect status, certain conditions have to be met to advance it to the next stage.

  I’m guessing you won’t tell me what those conditions are, hmm? Of course, no answer came from the System. That’s what I thought. Whatever… I got what I wanted anyway.

  He could worry about the imperfect status another day. For now, Leo just wanted to find out the properties of his new affinity. With shadows and lightning, it was quite simple, but not so much here.

  Later though. Got one last thing to check. System, give me my evolution menu.

  Acknowledged.

  Loading the User’s Evolution menu… Scanning memories and achievements… Analyzing the Three Pillars and Current Path… Searching for fusions and advancements… Adapting Mutations and Affinities… Optimizing and tuning possible evolutions to their limit…

  Welcome back, Leo Hale. Stage IV is right around the corner.

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