Evening draped softly over Rey's house, casting warm golden hues across his quiet room. He lay asleep on his bed, body unmoving—but within, a silent transformation was underway.
Faint tremors coursed through his frame as dark, foul-smelling residue seeped from his pores, staining the sheets and floor around him. It was the aftermath of two powerful bonding processes, and now, his body was purging itself—releasing the hidden waste that had built up over years.
Moments later, Rey's face contorted, heat rising to his cheeks. Sweat trickled down his temples.
"...Father," he mumbled.
Suddenly, he jolted upright, eyes wide and breath ragged, as if waking from a nightmare.
"What happened, Rey? Did you see something in your dream?" Aiden asked, stepping into the room with Zero and Victor close behind.
Rey blinked rapidly. "I… It's nothing, just…" He sniffed the air—and gagged. "What the hell is that smell!?"
His face scrunched in disgust as he instinctively brought his hand to his nose—only to realize too late that his hands were also coated in the same thick, black gunk.
"Oh f*ck—!"
"Pftt—" Aiden couldn't hold it in any longer and burst out laughing. "Just… shut your mouth and go clean yourself, brat. You're going to make me throw up at this rate."
Rey didn't waste another second. With a groan of frustration and embarrassment, he bolted to the bathroom.
Several minutes later, he returned freshly cleaned—but stopped dead in his tracks when he saw his bed still drenched in that revolting slime.
With a grimace, he stripped the sheets off and bundled them for deep cleaning, careful not to touch the mess again. Once done, he flung open the window and leaned out, gulping the crisp air into his lungs.
After recovering from the ordeal, he turned to Aiden with a confused but earnest expression. "What the hell happened to my body…? That wasn't normal. Was it because of you all?"
Aiden folded his arms and nodded. "You've been unconscious for around three to four hours. That filth you expelled? It's a form of physical waste—deep impurities your body was clinging onto. Our bond triggered a cleanse."
"It wasn't as intense as when you bonded with Victor," he continued. "That was a full-body bond. Mine was more partial, so the purge was lighter. Still nasty, though."
"Haven't you seen this kind of thing in manga or cultivation stories?" Zero chimed in, smirking. "Spiritual cleanses? Purging impurities? C'mon, you're basically a walking cliché now."
Rey frowned. "Sure, it's familiar… But if this keeps happening, won't I end up covered in this crap every time I advance?"
"You're asking the right questions now." Aiden gave him a rare approving nod. "Listen carefully. Even without bonds, human bodies generate waste. For Awakened beings, that buildup limits potential. Every major advancement releases a layer of it. Normally, you'd need rare elixirs or high-grade pills to do this. Bonding with a relic like us just speeds up that process."
Victor stepped forward, arms crossed proudly. "So you should be grateful you bonded with us! With a body like that, the bond could last for centuries! Or at least a few decades. Pretty good odds—"
WHACK!
Victor suddenly cried out as a hand smacked him hard across the head.
"I told you not to talk about that," Aiden said through clenched teeth, shaking his hand afterward.
Victor winced and slowly backed away—only to bump into Zero, who was already blocking his retreat path.
"…Fine! I'm hiding!" Victor muttered, disappearing into Rey's body and retreating to his internal space.
Aiden sighed, rubbing his temples. "Sorry about that. Victor has no filter sometimes."
But Rey shook his head. "It's alright. Honestly, he might be right. I don't know how much potential I really have, but a few decades… even centuries? That's a long time. A lot can change."
There was a brief silence before Aiden nodded again. "Then it's time you finally saw your stats."
Rey blinked. "My… stats?"
"The permanent bond unlocked your system window. You should be able to access it now."
As if in response to Aiden's words, a faint chime echoed in Rey's ears.
<1%...2%...6%...19%...25%...54%...68%...79%....82%...93%...97%...98%...99%...100%>
A brilliant blue interface unfurled before Rey, shimmering like water. He squinted at the data rapidly scrolling across the screen.
"...Is it always this slow?" he asked, eyes still adjusting.
"Only the first time," Aiden assured. "From now on, it'll be instant—unless there's a huge change, like a rank up."
Then finally, the screen settled, displaying Rey's full status for the first time.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Name: Rey Shadowthrone
Age: 17
Physique: Shadow Physique (Upgradable)
Class: None
Subclass: None
Level: 01
Rank: 0th Rank
Core: Mane Core (Not formed.)
Talent: None
Law: DEATH {.00001}, SOUL {.0000001}, [DARKNESS]{.00000001306}
Intent: None
************
Health Points (HP): F- [Dependent on Vitality]
Mana Points (MP): F- [Dependent on Intelligence]
Strength (STR): F- [7/100] –> [47/100] + [8] --> [55/100]
Agility (AGI): F- [8/100] –> [48/100] + [10] --> [58/100]
Stamina (STA): F- [6/100] –> [46/100] + [2] --> [48/100]
Intelligence (INT): F- [9/100] –> [49/100]
Vitality (VIT): F- [8/100] –> [48/100]
Endurance (END): F- [4/100] –> [44/100]
Luck (LUK): F- [Dependent on core]
Free Stat Points: 0
********************************************
[SKILLS]: - None
[ABILITIES]: - None
Bonded Relics:
1. Aiden:-
TYPE: - Support/ Intelligence
RANK: - Singularity
Additional Stats per Level: - +25 Intelligence, +20 Endurance.
Abilities: -
1. Godly comprehension:
Active: Increase the comprehension by 10,000 times. Duration: 2 minutes (increase by rank) | Cooldown: 7 days or 1 week.
Passive: Increase the host's current intelligence and eyesight by 2 times (Increase with rank)
2. Telekinesis (God rank) [Rank 0]:
Allow the host to obtain the skill Telekinesis which can be limited only by imagination. | Limit: 5kg {Weight limit increases with Level.}
3. Unlocked at rank 1
4. Unlocked at rank 2
5. Unlocked at rank 3
6. Unlocked at rank 4
7. Unlocked at rank 5
8. Unlocked at rank 6
9. Unlocked at rank 7
10. Unlocked at rank 8
11. Unlocked at rank 9
12. Unlocked at rank 10
__
2. Zero:-
TYPE: - Battle/Weapon & Armour
RANK: - Singularity
Additional stats given per Lvl:- +5 all.
Weapon stats: - +10 Agility, +8 Strength, +2 Stamina
Abilities: -
1. Matter manipulation:
Use a tiny bit of mana to change the shape of matter.
2. Matter upgrade:
--> Upgrade Quantity [F-]
--> Upgrade Quality [F-]
3. Item creation:
Can be used to make items from the body matter. {Limit is only imagination.}
4. Devour:
Can devour the other weapon for special effects and increase the given stats for the user.
5. Weapon mastery:
Gives mastery of all weapons registered in the system. (Current rank: - 10 weapons).
[1. Sword: F-
2. Dagger and Knives: F
3. Spear: F-
4. Shield: F-
5. Bow: F-
6. Great sword: F-
7. Hand to Hand: F
8. Gun: F-
9. Hammer: F-
10. Katana: F-]
6. Unlocked at rank 1
7. Unlocked at rank 2
8. Unlocked at rank 3
9. Unlocked at rank 4
10. Unlocked at rank 5
11. Unlocked at rank 6
12. Unlocked at rank 7
13. Unlocked at rank 8
14. Unlocked at rank 9
15. Unlocked at rank 10
__
3. Victor
TYPE: Support / Healing
RANK: Singularity
Additional stats per Level: +20 Vitality, +15 Stamina, +15 Intelligence.
Abilities: -
1. Devouring Body [God rank body or forbidden body]:
Gives the host the body the ability to digest any item and medicine without any issues and increases the benefit by 1000% [Increase by rank].
2. SUPREME MANA BODY [ GOD RANK]:
You are like a child to mana which increases your regeneration, sensitivity and cultivation of mana by 1000%. [Increase with rank]
3. Supreme regeneration:
Use stamina to heal the body of the host and even up to attaching it back a little. [Increase with rank].
4. Godly Adapter:
Help the host body to adapt to the surroundings in a matter of minutes.
5. Blood manipulation [rank 0]:
Help the host to manipulate the blood of the host body to a certain range like speeding up, stopping it from leaking more and more. {Increase with the rank.}
6. Unlocked at rank 1
7. Unlocked at rank 2
8. Unlocked at rank 3
9. Unlocked at rank 4
10. Unlocked at rank 5
11. Unlocked at rank 6
12. Unlocked at rank 7
13. Unlocked at rank 8
14. Unlocked at rank 9
15. Unlocked at rank 10
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"What the actual hell…?" Rey muttered, eyes wide as he stared at the stats and abilities listed before him.
He wasn't sure what shocked him more: the insane growth his body had undergone—or the terrifying potential the relics had brought into his life.
But one thing was certain.
He was no longer ordinary.
--> To be Continued...