Kade felt Something awake inside him; a sudden pulse of pain erupted in his chest, clutching his heart with a groan. He didn't know what was going on suddenly; it was a feeling that defied good or bad; it was unusual. His soul shook with a strange new energy.
It wasn't included or cuddly attributed to him, but something he always had, emerging and spreading through his body, as if it was waiting all along to emerge for this moment of anew.
The energy filled his body, a euphoric sense of brilliance occurring as his flesh, bones, and soul began forging under the smelt of the new power, becoming stronger, durable, domineering.
The pain in his chest now becoming a brilliant heat of something greater.
The countless scars and battle wounds that occurred from the trials and tribulations of his life of violence flourished under the new heat, the subtle ache or discomfort from them fading into a bliss of normality, and the lungs, heart, and various other organs basked in the energy.
His muscles that carried his strength bulged in delight, his body already adapted to conflict, evolving further beyond in brilliance. With the rebirth of the trial, Kade would be something more than just a skilled street rat.
He would be a warrior.
The sensation faded with the heat as his soul core bloomed, a formation of his identity and existence now solidifying into something more concrete in reality than concept. The personalisation of his soul forming around him.
As Kade opened his eyes to his sea of souls.
In the sky, there was an endless storm of clouds, forever bellowing and shifting like the sea; they were moving in parallel onto the horizon, the border of the sun dipping through the clouds and shining down below.
Of course, the sun was his soul core, and around him was the sea that it dawned upon. The sight is brand new to Kade but feels more familiar than it could ever be.
Below the veil of clouds was a small mountain spire, sticking out above various caverns filled with the countless bodies of humans, with Kade's eyes picking up some of the nightmare creatures he had slain in the trial.
Infact the humans were made up of outskirts gang members, street urchins and all kinds of troublemakers, partially filling the valley that seemed to gorge on the presence.
Kade stood alone atop the spire.
One misstep would send him tumbling back down to join the fallen.
But he didn't fear the fall.
He looked down not with pity — but with understanding. Every one of them challenged his right to his will and desire, they had faced the consequences and been defeated by their hubris.
Kade was not any more right than most of them, for the difference was he had the strength and the willpower to enforce his direction in life. They had only proven themselves weaker rather than right.
He turned away from the sight and back at the soul core shining above, spotting two orbs of light dancing around the artificial sun.
They were his memories of the oblique beads and what he had gotten from the commander. Kade wanted to dive into his reward for slaying the despicable awakened, but the spell spoke once again.
[Aspect Ability acquired]
Aspect Ability Name: [Never ending fury]
Aspect Ability Description: [The defiance to not submit, falter, and break goes beyond. Existing in the lower realms causes your divine fury to stockpile until it is unleashed, ensuring endurance in the never-ending battles of an asura, able to fuel past fatigue, pain, and soul and mind influences, to be able to fight for days and weeks on end]
Kade absorbed the runes with a sharp grin. Its name alone stirred something deep in his chest. The ability didn't seem like a showstopper, yet its brilliance was known to those who truly fought.
Fatigue was the silent killer, the slow rot that gnawed at even the greatest warriors. No matter their strength, they all burn out eventually. But with [Never Ending Fury], he could ensure that he would stay fighting until either he or his opponent fell dead.
This was a gift manifested by his own stubbornness— the power to keep going long after others had fallen.
Sure, part of him had hoped for something flashier. Something that would light up the battlefield and leave a crater in his wake. But that wasn't who he was. He didn't need to shine. He just needed to endure.
Because when the smoke cleared, it would be his silhouette still standing.
In the same sense, he could use the ability similarly to how the busybodies of the inner city used coffee to fuel their overworked lives or the constant need for energy by stimulant addicts in the outskirts. It was drastically overkill, but the thought brought him a laugh.
"I can't wait to get back," Kade muttered, eagerness burning fire in his irises.
Earth may have lost its lustre long ago… But now, with this boon, reality itself was calling him back to him, ready for more of his exploits.
The spell whispering to him once again, with its soothing voice bringing news to dampen his mood.
[All power has a price.]
[You have received a Flaw.]
Flaw: [Battle lust]
Flaw Description: Avoiding conflict for extended periods goes against the very nature of an asura; without the expression of violence, the asura's mind will slowly burn away until it craves war and brutality to fill the chaos that brings them purpose.
Kade glanced at the runes with dejection; it seemed like the spell recognized his life and bound it to him whether he liked it or not. With this, it limited his options in life drastically; it would eat away if he didn't, so from now on he had to make sure his life contained the flaw.
It was between a hurtful flaw or a catastrophic one, depending on how he decided to live on from now, with that in mind, the decision had already been made for him.
"Well, whatever, I'll accommodate it – maybe weekly fight clubs if need be later in life." An idea or something similar might help soothe the [Battle Lust], but only experiencing it firsthand could let him adapt to the curse.
The spell returned again for its farewell.
[Wake up, Heart of Chaos!]
"Finally," Kade huffed, the void shifting away.
Back into the daylight of the outskirts.