Five warriors remained and charged at Haki, who cast [Umbral Veil] three times. This created a large cloud of smoke, which they immediately ran out of.

  [W: 197/200]

  Four of the five warriors entered the cloud, leaving one which pursued the boy who stood fast to fight.

  At this point, thanks to his upgraded sword, he was capable of dealing 425 DPH and while this was an incredible amount, the warriors had a DR of 80%.

  In order to kill the warrior in front of him, he’d need more damage and so he turned to the skill he’d gained when his sword grew.

  [Maranam’s Breath] (-50HP, +50DMG)

  He had 500HP and, if he wanted to make it out alive, he’d have to sprint along the line between life and death.

  So he activated the skill nine times bringing his HP down to 50 and his total DPH up to 875.

  The warriors had 1290HP meaning that, at a rate of 175DPH, he’d have to hit it at least eight times while only having 50HP himself.

  A Twisted grin grew on Haki’s face as the warrior raised its sword.

  He dashed towards it as it fell and deflected the stone pillar as it fell, letting it get lodged into the ground while he ran towards the warrior’s legs which he slashed four times, breaking through their hardened stone skin.

  Sensing danger, the warrior abandoned its sword and tried punching Haki away only for the boy to cleave the coming fist in two.

  Haki then delivered five swift strikes across the warrior's arm and chest, killing it as he dashed away from the others who had emerged from the smoke.

  [You have levelled up 20x!]

  [You have gained 4x Cycle Shards!]

  [HP: 700/700

  W: 305/305

  DPH: 625]

  Haki immediately activated Maranam’s Breath again, although it didn’t stack.

  [HP: 50

  DPH: 1277]

  Waves of white smoke burst from his body as he commanded the power given to him by the Goddess of death and accompanying it was a sick grin.

  The remaining warriors came and, after taking a deep breath, Haki faced them all.

  He deflected blows that would have otherwise torn his arms apart, blocked strikes that would have shattered his bones and attacked with a Fury and power he could have never before imagined.

  By the time the last warrior fell, he had assumed a stance similar to theirs.

  Hunched forward, mouth agape and with his free arm acting as an additional leg.

  From his body rose plumes of smoke and his battered body twitched with power.

  He plunged his sword into the chest of the dragon and, in yet more madness, he tore its chest open, revealing its ancient heart.

  His hunger, a primal ache, came not from his stomach but somewhere deeper within.

  Whatever it truly was, it compelled him to cut open the dragon’s heart and eat it.

  Upon finishing his ancient meal, his body violently convulsed, twisted and bloated as he digested the organ.

  His vision sharpened by several folds and he felt as though he was strong and fast enough to terraform the ground just like the dragon warriors.

  He also saw visions.

  Glimpses of a great war.

  The one which Maranam had spoken of.

  He saw millions of dragons blackening the sky as they flew and bathing the world in a storm of cataclysmic magics as they fought.

  At the centre of this Maelstrom was a single dragon whose form dwarfed all else.

  He fought back countless of his own kin before eventually succumbing to innumerable wounds.

  The vision ended as the remaining dragons killed each other off while swarming around the now-dead titan.

  [Name: Haki

  Race: Human

  Coalescence Level: 100

  Available Cycle Shards: 18

  HP: 1390/1390

  W: 500/500

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  DPH (Damage Per Hit): 620

  DR: 80% (MAX)

  Equipment: [Training Garbs] (+9%)

  Skills and Spells: [Maranam’s Breath] (-50HP, +50DMG), [Draconic Might] (+100DMG), [Stone Skin] (+80% DR), [Healing Touch] (-1W, +10HP), [Umbral Veil] (-1W)]

  Artefacts: [Maranam’s Aruval] (25DMG + 5 for every Coalescence Level)], [Dragon Heart] (+200HP)]

  Haki’s body pulled itself back into a unified form although his eyes were now Draconic and burnt with flares of vitality.

  His teeth were now jagged and his skin was as stone but several times harder.

  His natural-born, blood-red hair glowed like fire on his head.

  Haki looked himself over and closed his eyes before uttering a name that he knew would follow him to the end of the path that he now walked.

  “Maranam.” His voice thundered across the cavern and, like that, she appeared before him although her brow was covered in sweat.

  Haki lightly tapped the ground, sending a slab of stone up from behind him which he proceeded to sit on.

  Maranam stood with her eyes closed and her head lowered.

  “What’s wrong?” Haki asked.

  [N-nothing. You just blocked a lot of attacks earlier. That sword… is a part of me so I felt each one.] She explained before taking a deep breath and composing herself.

  [You wish to know everything.] Again, she read Haki’s thoughts.

  “Yes. Before I go back up and teach my old man a lesson, I wanna know why. The houses, the Ruler’s Charge, the dragons, my father. Why?”

  Maranam nodded before joining her hands to make a perfect circle.

  [All began with the Cycle. It exists in the void of all space and time. It was the one that birthed all things and, we believe, that the Cycle created the Ruler’s Charge to inspire change after the Age of Dragons lasted millions of years longer than what should have been natural, resulting in the gradual petrification of their skin along with the festering, ashen world they ruled over.]

  “You believe?” Haki raised a brow.

  [We Goddess… have never actually interacted directly with the Cycle itself. We are but aspects of it along with every other being, living or inanimate, and I chose you because you showed promise. You want the world to change. To topple the houses that crushed you and so many others as they perpetuated their own opulence.]

  Haki’s eyes narrowed a little.

  “So, what? Is it time for mankind’s age to end?”

  [Perhaps. No one knows the truth of the Cycle’s will. Yours might be the last Age of men or you could be remembered as the man who saved his kind.]

  Haki nodded.

  “And the dragons? How did they get punished because from what I saw, it was a civil war of some kind.” He spoke with a newfound poise. A dignity which he knew wasn’t born in his heart.

  [That was a contributing factor yes but, after seeing that nothing would ever happen under the rule of the dragons, the Cycle sent unto the world a Spear—the Ruler’s Charge and, as you saw, the dragons spent their last days in conflict.]

  “And the houses? How do they fit into all this?”

  [The war of the dragons was so terrible that any new life that tried to grow and flourish was forced to live underground, beneath the ash. Humans were among the meek and frightened but one of them decided to stand against the ones above. And so, he and countless warriors from all races mounted an assault on the remaining wounded dragons. The man who led this charge was the first human Emperor and your ancestor, Tarron the First Head of House Ardhi. His actions brought about a new age - the Age of Man and it is within this age that the civilization of mankind rose and flourished. The three houses were simply formed from the three most prominent families at the time.]

  “Mmm… why was succession not passed down from Tarron to his children?”

  [Because once the Emperor dies, the Ruler’s Charge returns to the mountain where it first landed where it awaits its next wielder. This system has undoubtedly led to more conflict but, as we Goddess inferred, this is probably to prevent another stagnant age.]

  Haki took a deep breath before crossing his arms and letting out a growl of a sigh.

  “Before I ask about my father I’d like to know why you Goddesses chose to aid the noble houses instead of choosing from the best humans across all births. Additionally, have you ever tried to claim the Ruler’s Charge for yourself?”

  [My vision of the future is death so, even if my incorporeal form could wield the golden Spear, I’d simply kill everything which in turn would kill me since there would be death no more. And as for why we allied ourselves with the three Great Houses, they have the resources to train and educate prospective candidates whereas those of low birth are more likely to die before they learn their first spell due to the myriad circumstances they face.]

  “Huh… so I guess I should thank the old man for getting me here.” Haki hummed.

  “So… the best case for you would be one where I brought about an age of conflict, change and death but not extinction…”

  Haki took a moment to digest all he had learnt.

  “What would happen if you were free from the Cycle?”

  Maranam’s eyes finally opened and the air immediately grew several times colder.

  Within them, eyes that were entirely white, Haki saw death.

  The death of all things.

  [Then I would be free to actuate my will in the Physical world as I please and, as I said, mine is a desire for the end of all things.]

  “According to who? Because what you have described is your purpose, not your own desire. At least, that’s how it seems to me.” Haki challenged which made Maranam’s eyes narrow and while they made him tremble with fear, his gaze remained locked with hers as the stood in the buried city.

  [My… purpose is what I am, boy. What else would I do if not delivering death?]

  “Whatever you like. Like reanimating long-dead dragons.”

  Maranam's perfect face twitched a little.

  “Forgive me and my mortal ignorance but it seems as though a world of death wouldn’t be as dead as even you think.” Haki warmly smiled. He didn’t know why but for the first time in his life, he envisioned a future for himself. One where he could live as he pleased.

  And it would be in a world of…

  [Death Perpetual.] Maranam gasped making Haki’s smile brighten.

  “I have no stake in this world and wish to wash it all away. To begin truly anew. So what say you, Mara? Would you take my hand in death?”

  Maranam visibly shook before turning away.

  [The insolence of mortals never ceases to amaze me!] She huffed while Haki stood up.

  He then walked up to her and asked for her hand only for the Goddess to glare at him although there was no Malice in her eyes.

  [Tsk! Stay your hand! A-and ask me that stupid question again when you brandish the Ruler’s Charge, for only that will give you the right to even think such ridiculous things, you madman in the making.]

  “Alright.” Haki softly chuckled while turning to face the ancient city.

  “Oh- and my father… is it true? Did he kill my half-brothers?”

  [Yes. After deeming them too weak or unworthy, he killed them as they slept in the forest above.]

  Haki expected to feel Ngeref by Maranam’s confirmation but he actually felt a strange relief in knowing that, in death, they could feel pain no more.

  Not that he cared for them in any particular way.

  He only knew that they had been treated just as poorly by their father—a pain he still felt in his chest.

  “Ahem!” Haki shook aside his pain and walked up to one of the stone swords that the warriors had dropped.

  “This necropolis will be our capital and, should I prevail, it will rise from the depths but that will come in time.” He said as he stomped on the stone sword, shattering it into countless Splinters, one of which he picked up.

  [Dragon Scale Splinter] (100DMG)

  [DPH (Damage Per Hit): 720]

  “Now… how do I get outta here?”

  Maranam gestured upwards to the same hole Haki had fallen in from.

  It was several meters deep into the wall and was incredibly steep.

  But Haki didn't mind.

  The path to what he wanted would be arduous so he saw no point in complaining.