The journey through the tunnels was slow, filled with eerie silence and the occasional distant echo of something unseen shifting in the darkness.
Thankfully though, they hadn't managed to run into any threats.
Kain couldn't help but recall Malzahir's impressive feat of traversing this relic for days—maybe even weeks or months, since they'd lost track of time—and not running into a single threat.
Now his good luck seemed to have extended to Kain and Serena.
'Luck truly is such a crazy, intangible thing…'
Yet, as Kain pocketed another faintly glowing fragment, a sharp pulse ran through him, a fleeting moment of nausea followed by something worse—a whisper of hunger. It faded as quickly as it came, but the taste of it lingered at the back of his mind. It was happening more often now.
Each time they stumbled upon another core fragment, Kain took it without a word, knowing that when nighttime arrived it would bring another opportunity to improve his strength.
When night came, Malzahir was once again placed into an enforced sleep. Kain wasted no time, retrieving the numerous small fragments he had gathered throughout the day. As soon as they touched his skin, the familiar sensation flooded him—an urgent pull, an insatiable hunger that had begun to feel more and more outside of his control.
One after another, he absorbed them.
Each fragment felt like a drop in an endless ocean, disappearing into the waters with barely a ripple.
Instead of feeling satisfied, Pangea only seemed to grow hungrier, like a beast roused from slumber with the promise of a feast, only to be met with scraps.
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The more Kain fed it, the more he felt the creeping awareness that something wasn't quite…right.
The next day, they pressed forward with more urgency.
Hours stretched into what felt like an eternity, the monotony only broken by the occasional fresh markings on the walls left by other explorers—Kain and Serena suspected to be their lost teammates. But they never found the ones who made them.
Until they did.
It was a gruesome sight.
Two familiar bodies, slumped against the cold stone, their spiritual creatures collapsed lifelessly around them. Kain recognized them immediately—teammates from the mission. Their wounds were not fresh, but they hadn't been dead for long either. The air around them was thick with an unnatural energy, one that made the skin crawl and the mind recoil instinctively.
Corruption.
Not the ordinary abyssal kind, but the same strange, twisted variation that had afflicted Idrias and Serena before. Their bodies bore wounds that should not have been fatal—scratches, deep gashes, but none that alone should have ended them.
Yet, their bodies told a different story. Despite not too much timing appearing to have passed since their deaths, the skin around their shallow wounds was rotting at an incredible rate.
One of the fallen was Sonny, a Pathfinder Kain had casually spoken with while traveling through the desert to the relic site.
The other, a Starchaser woman named Elfie, had been one of the unfortunate people that had been poisoned by the scorpion venom previously and since healed with the antidote brought back, in part, by Kain and Serena.
Though neither had been particularly close to Kain, he still felt a hollow sense of loss at seeing them like this. They were technically some of the best young talents the Empire had to offer, and they just died silently like this.
Sonny's face was frozen in an expression of quiet agony, his usually tanned skin gone deathly pale.
His spiritual creatures, all large cat-like beings, lay curled or stretched out at his side, their bodies unnaturally stiff as though they had turned to stone.
Elfie fared no better. Her body had slumped forward, golden hair matted with dried blood, her hands still clutching the wound at her side as if she had fought to hold herself together until the very last moment despite all healing methods clearly not working for her, she appears not to have lost hope.
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Her spiritual creature, which resembled a large golden hawk, had covered her with its wings, almost like it used the last moments of its life ensuring her comfort.
"More of those strange experiments," Serena murmured, stepping closer, eyes scanning the bodies with a detached scrutiny. But her voice lacked its usual crisp detachment. There was something else in it.
Kain clenched his jaw. If their teammates had encountered the same experimental abyssal creatures, then that meant…
There were more of them.
And they were incredibly lethal.
Not because of their brute strength—after all, they had several high-level tamers on their team—but because their attacks left wounds that refused to heal, slowly sapping the strength and will to fight from their victims until they inevitably succumbed to the corrupting energy infiltrating their bodies.
Even Serena, despite her legacy status surely granting her access to top healing elixirs and items, as well as having the cheat-like Balens, had been utterly helpless in front of the corrupted wound left by her opponent. So far, the only method of healing seemed to be the special items prepared by this civilization, which were likely not charged. Not to mention that their teammates may not even recognize the items as healing tools.
If these creatures were still lurking somewhere in the tunnels, that would suggest that these were likely not the only dead teammates they would find down here.
Serena knelt beside Elfie, inspecting the wounds more closely. Her fingers brushed over the ruined flesh, and for the first time since they found the bodies, a flicker of something crossed her face—not quite grief, but something close to it.
She had known Elfie longer than he had. Even if they hadn't been close, there was a familiarity there, a connection rooted in their both being Starchasers and potentially going on missions together in the past.
Serena exhaled softly, a sound so faint Kain almost missed it. But then, just as quickly, the mask returned.
Kain exhaled sharply, forcing down the coil of unease tightening in his chest. "We need to move." His voice was tight. They had already lingered too long, and the last thing they needed was to draw the attention of whatever had done this—assuming it was still around. After all there were no remains of whatever had attacked them.
Serena gave one last glance to the fallen before standing. She turned away without another word.
Malzahir, who had been silent up until now, swallowed hard. He looked between the bodies and his new allies, as if wanting to say something to comfort them but thinking better of it. Without a word, he followed.
Kain couldn't help wondering how many of their original team will be left behind forever in these ruins.
Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!The hunger was unbearable.
In the days that followed Kain continued absorbing any core fragments that he could find.
Although Pangea had never looked better, Kain could feel it gnawing at the edges of his mind, growing sharper with every fragment he absorbed.
At first, it had been manageable—a persistent but ignorable sensation that he had grown accustomed to. But now, as the latest fragment's energy surged through him, it was no longer just a hunger. It was a demand.
His hands had developed a permanent tremor. Sleep came in fitful bursts when it came at all, his dreams filled with just his subconscious relentlessly hunting for more of that violet energy in the dark.
The fragments were becoming harder to find, their energy weaker, like trying to quench a forest fire with droplets of water. Yet he hunted them obsessively, like an addict, turning over every rock, scanning every crevice with a desperation that made Malzahir eye him warily and Serena's lips press into an increasingly thin line.
Then one day, while absorbing a small unassuming fragment—one too many—Kain appears to have reached the tipping point. Something within him snapped.
A violent tremor tore through him, his breath catching as a surge of power erupted through his veins. He staggered, his vision flickering at the edges, a suffocating pressure building in his chest like something inside was struggling to break free.
His vision blurred at the edges, tunnelling into nothing but violet light and the relentless pulse of something vast and incomprehensible beneath the surface of his consciousness.
"Kain." Serena's voice came from somewhere far away, warped as if heard through water. "Your eyes—"
Then, the world around him shifted.
He blinked, and suddenly, everything had changed.
A faint purple haze clung to the edges of his vision, distorting the cavern like a mirage.
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At first, he thought it was just another trick of his exhausted mind, but then he turned to look at Serena and the sleeping Malzahir—and the strange violet filter was there too, if anything the violet colour seemed dozens of times stronger on them than the surroundings.
The purple energy they emitted burned before him like twin suns, so bright they almost hurt to look at directly. He could see the flow of energy through their bodies—Serena's noticeably brighter than Malzahir's. It was beautiful. It was intoxicating. It made his mouth water with a hunger no food could satisfy.
But as he gazed longer at the violet glows their bodies emitted Kain realized that it wasn't just a strange filter, a trick of the light, or a hallucination from exhaustion.
No. It was a target.
The violet colour they emitted practically acting like a homing beacon.
A wet gulping sound filled his ears – his own throat swallowing unconsciously as saliva flooded his mouth as he looked at them. His fingers curled into fists, nails drawing blood from where they dug into skin.
A violent shudder ran through him as something deep within stirred, whispering, urging. The hunger coiled tighter, a relentless need pressing against his ribs, curling around his throat like a vice.
Devour.
He could almost taste them already – Serena's energy crisp and bright like winter air, Malzahir's warmer, earthier, with the sharp aftertaste of grief and anger. One quick lunge. One moment of surrender to the hunger. That's all it would take—
Kain sucked in a sharp breath, horror slamming into him like a tidal wave.
'No. This isn't me. This isn't real.'
But the feeling of horror he was feeling at these thoughts was greatly overshadowed by the intense hunger he felt. He had never felt Pangea react like this before, never felt its hunger extend beyond the lifeless energy of core fragments. But now, for the first time, it wasn't just craving energy.
It was craving them.
Kain staggered back, shaking his head violently, trying to dislodge the intrusive thoughts. "No," he growled under his breath, forcing his gaze away from them.
But when he looked again, the faint violet shimmer around them hadn't faded. If anything, it had grown more distinct, like an outline in the dark. He could sense their life, their energy, thrumming beneath their skin like the heartbeat of something warm, something alive—something he could take.
His stomach twisted violently. He clenched his fists so hard his nails bit into his palms, the sharp pain grounding him, anchoring him back to reality.
"What's wrong?" Serena's voice cut through the haze, steady and observant. Too observant.
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He couldn't let her see. Couldn't let her know.
"Nothing," he forced out, though the tightness in his voice betrayed him.
Serena took a step closer, but Kain flinched away before she could reach him. The movement was too fast, too instinctive. And Serena, ever perceptive, noticed.
"Kain." This time, his name was not a question but a quiet demand.
"Look at me."
He forced his head up through sheer willpower.
Serena stood before him, her blue eyes sharp and searching. She knew. Not the specifics perhaps, but she knew that something had irrevocably changed in him after absorbing those fragments.
Her gaze flicked to his trembling hands, to the sweat-slicked hair sticking to his forehead, to the way his pupils had dilated until only a thin ring of brown remained around black pools.
Before he could answer—before he could even try—the System's voice thundered in his skull, sending a violent jolt through his body.
*SYSTEM ALERT: LARGE INFLUX OF UNIDENTIFIED ENERGY DETECTED.*
The words appeared in his mind like a hammer striking metal, sharp and jarring. For the first time in what felt like an eternity, the System spoke.
A second notification followed immediately after:
*SYSTEM NOTICE: DUE TO THE UNEXPECTED SURGE OF SOURCE ENERGY, THE UPGRADE REQUIREMENT OF GP HAS BEEN TEMPORARILY SUSPENDED.*
Kain barely had time to process the words before his vision blurred violently. His knees buckled. The cavern tilted.
Somewhere, Serena's voice called out his name, but it was distant—so distant. His body was no longer his own, his mind slipping away into something vast, something endless.
The hunger pulsed one final time, and then everything went black.
*SYSTEM UPGRADE DIRECTION CHANGED.*
*WARNING: INTERNAL FOREIGN SOURCE DETECTED. SYSTEM UPGRADING…*
And then, there was nothing.
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There is a flower, Somnum's Lament, that was as breathtaking as it was insidious. Its petals shimmered had a soft, spectral glow—hues shifting between baby blue and deep indigo.
It was said to give off a faint, sweet scent, that was reminiscent of a tempting fruit. To the unsuspecting, it was a beautiful, otherworldly flower.
To the Empire, it was a plague.
At first, Somnum's Lament was discovered centuries ago and seemed like a miracle. Beast-tamers, particularly those below the coveted seven-star rank, found themselves drawn to it like moths to flame.
Those with weaker talents—whose progression was a slow, grueling path riddled with setbacks—claimed the flower heightened their sensitivity to spiritual power, spiritual skills that once eluded them came naturally, and an intoxicating clarity settled over their minds. A rush of euphoria accompanied every use, as if they were finally breaking free of the limitations shackling their talents since birth.
But the high never lasted.
The more one indulged, the more one needed.
The moment the effect faded, withdrawal set in—sluggishness, confusion, and an overwhelming hunger to chase that high once more. The flower did not grant strength; it only let them dream of it.
Yet no matter how much they took, they weren't growing stronger. It was an illusion, a fragile mirage that twisted their minds.
Some, lost in the delusion of power, sought out dangerous battles or tasks far beyond their capabilities. Others turned on their own comrades in violent frenzies, their perception of reality warping beyond recognition. And some… simply lost themselves entirely, trapped in a waking dream from which they would never return.
The epidemic spread like wildfire, and with it, the Empire's concern…so a massive campaign was launched to push the insidious flower to the brink of extinction hundreds of years ago, not long after it had first appeared.
But it was almost impossible to fully get rid of it. Rather than the delicate flower it presented itself as, it was more like a resilient weed.
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Even centuries later, outbreaks of addiction would flare up, spreading like rot through hidden corners of the Empire. Each time, the royal family sent elite forces to stamp it out before it could take root again.
Serena's father, one of the top beast-tamers and a high-ranking official, was among those tasked with controlling the crisis whenever it would reappear. And it was through him that she first witnessed the flower's horror firsthand.
A noble house had called for her father's help in the dead of night, their third son locked away in the depths of their estate where he couldn't be accidentally found by anyone and tarnish the name of their family.
He was not like his brothers—where they had flourished, he had struggled, never quite living up to the weight of his lineage. He was a natural target for dealers of Somnum's Lament— desperate for power, blinded by envy, and, most importantly, rich.
Serena remembered the way he looked when they found him.
Gaunt. Hollow-eyed. A shell of a man drowning in a haze. His once-proud aristocratic posture was hunched, his limbs trembling uncontrollably.
His pupils, blown wide, barely seemed to recognize those around him. And yet, even in his wasted state, his lips curled in a sick, serene smile, as though he still believed himself to be growing stronger—surpassing his brothers.
But he had no strength. No control. Only hunger.
That expression haunted her for weeks after.
Now, as Serena watched Kain, unease curled tight in her stomach.
Serena had known something was wrong for days. She watched as Kain consumed core fragments one after another, his obsession growing sharper with every piece he absorbed. At first, it had been a necessity, a means of strengthening Pangea. But now—now, it was different.
His hands never stopped shaking. When he thought no one was looking, she caught him clenching and unclenching his fists, as if trying to contain something just beneath the surface. Sleep came in brief, restless bursts, and when he did manage to drift off, his expression was tight, jaw locked in a grimace as if his very dreams were hunting something.
Malzahir had noticed too. He said nothing, but Serena had seen the wary glances he shot at Kain, the way his body tensed whenever Kain moved too quickly. The way his fingers twitched toward his weapon, just in case. And yet, Kain didn't seem to notice at all.
She did. And the growing pressure and feelings of foreboding in her chest wouldn't let her ignore it.
Then it happened.
Kain had been absorbing yet another fragment, a small, insignificant one—one that should have done nothing.
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But as the energy entered him, something inside him cracked.
"Kain." She called his name, stepping forward cautiously. Then she saw them.
His eyes.
They glowed—a deep, unnatural violet that pulsed with an eerie light. She thought it was exhaustion playing tricks on her—until he turned toward her.
The moment their eyes met, an uneasy chill curled down her spine.
Serena had faced countless life or death situations—managed to defeat or successfully flee from people and creatures far stronger than her.
But this was the first time in her life that she truly felt as though she were prey.
It was evident in the way he looked at them. The way he looker at her.
Not the way he usually did, with that sharp, competitive glint, tempered by the rare, begrudging trust they'd built and, even if neither would admit it, comfort in each other's presence due to their forced repeated proximity.
This was something else entirely. The way his gaze dragged over her left her skin crawling, a primal instinct screaming at her to move, to flee. It wasn't recognition in his face.
It was appraisal. Cold. Calculating. Like she was a cut of meat.
Her muscles coiled, her body instinctively shifting into a combat stance.
She was afraid of Kain. She had denied it, dismissed it, convinced herself it was paranoia. But now?
She was afraid of the seeming increase in strength he gained with each fragment. But, more than that, she was afraid of the changes to his mind after he appeared to become addicted to the fragments.
The signs were different, but the feeling was the same. The trembling hands, the sleepless nights, the growing distance in his gaze—like he was seeing something beyond this world, something she could not see. And worst of all, the hunger. That unrelenting, insatiable hunger that flickered behind his eyes when he absorbed those fragments.
Somnum's Lament had tricked its victims into thinking they were growing stronger when, in truth, they were spiralling toward ruin.
Kain, in truth, was growing stronger. And that was the most terrifying part of all.
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dull, relentless pounding echoed in Kain's skull, each beat of his heart seemed extra loud and would send a shard stab of pain that was syced with his sluggish pulse.
He let out a slow breath, trying to pull himself out of the suffocating fog wrapped around his mind.
His limbs felt like lead, his body weighed down by exhaustion so deep it clung to his very bones.
He shifted, trying to force his heavy eyelids open. The world around him was a mess of blurred edges and dim lighting.
His breath hitched as he registered the distinct feeling of being watched. A sharp, wary presence.
His vision swam as he turned his head, blinking rapidly to clear the haze. Malzahir sat nearby, his posture tense, eyes trained guardedly on Kain. But the moment their gazes met, Malzahir flinched. Flinched. In very apparent fear of Kain.
The reaction sent a cold chill creeping down Kain's spine. A deep, gnawing unease curled in his gut as his memories pieced themselves back together.
The hunger. The way his vision had warped, everything tinged in violet light. The way he had looked at Serena. The way he had almost—
His stomach twisted violently, nausea rolling through him. He had almost lost control. He had almost done something unspeakable.
He swallowed hard, trying to steady his breathing. Malzahir had never seen him absorb the fragments before.
The man had always been asleep, exhausted from travel or training. But now Kain realized—with a sick certainty—that although Malzahir might not have consciously witnessed the changes in him, his instincts had. The honed senses of a warrior, sharpened by years of experience, had detected something wrong. Even in sleep, Malzahir had known.
And now, he was afraid of him.
The realization stung more than it should have.
Malzahir shifted, breaking the thick silence that had settled between them. His voice, when he spoke, was deliberately measured, but Kain could hear the tightness beneath it.
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"Serena," Malzahir called out in a heavily accented voice, not looking away from Kain. His forced calm was like glass—thin, fragile, one wrong move away from shattering. "Kain awake."
Kain heard hurried footsteps, and then Serena's face entered his still slightly blurry vision.
She was breathing slightly harder than normal, as if she had run. Her blue eyes flickered over him, scanning his face, his posture—taking in every detail with sharp, clinical precision.
Kain forced himself to hold still, to not move too suddenly, to not give her any more reason to look at him like he was something unpredictable.
Then, after a long pause, she let out a slow breath. A breath of relief.
That should have reassured him. It didn't.
Because underneath that relief, there was something else. A flicker of something she had never directed at him before.
Caution.
Kain clenched his jaw, willing the pounding in his head to drown out the sickening realization clawing at the edges of his mind.
Serena was afraid of him too.
"You've been out for days. I was worried." She said with a cold expression. Kain had a feeling that the major source of her worry wasn't about his prolonged sleep. But rather…
Serena straightened, arms crossing as she studied him with cool scrutiny. "You lost control." It wasn't a question.
Kain swallowed against the dryness in his throat. "I—" His voice came out hoarse from not speaking in days. He licked his lips, trying again. "I didn't mean to."
Her expression didn't change. "That doesn't matter."
The bluntness of her words made his fingers curl into the sheets beneath him.
Malzahir flinched a short distance from them as Kain moved, but said nothing.
Serena continued, her voice sharp but not unkind. "Do you even remember what happened?"
Kain hesitated. He remembered flashes—his body vibrating with power, the pulsing hunger that had nearly swallowed him whole. And Serena, standing before him, backlit by the violet glow of his own madness. His stomach turned. "Enough," he muttered.
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A silence stretched between them.
Serena's fingers twitched slightly, a movement so subtle he barely caught it. "Then you know this can't happen again."
Something in Kain bristled at her tone. "You think I wanted this?" His voice was still rough, but heat bled into it now. "You think I planned to—" He stopped himself, jaw clenching so hard it ached.
Serena exhaled slowly. "I think you've been reckless." Her gaze flickered toward Malzahir, then back to him. "And I think it's catching up to you."
Kain met her stare, something twisting in his chest. He wanted to refute her. Wanted to tell her she was wrong, that he had control.
But she wouldn't believe him. And worse, he wasn't sure he believed himself either.
Kain lowered his head in silent resignation while Serena and Malzahir walked away to give him some privacy with his thoughts…as much privacy as could be offered in an open cavern.
Kain exhaled slowly, waiting until their footsteps faded into the distance. His head still pounded, his limbs felt like dead weight, but he forced himself to focus. Something had been gnawing at the edges of his mind—something important, buried beneath the haze of exhaustion and pain.
Then, it hit him.
The System.
His System that had been increasingly silent and playing, if he were to be completely honest, less and less of a role as his strength increased.
Warnings. Updates. A string of notifications flashed across his mind in the moments before everything went black.
From what he'd vaguely remembered, the cause of the system notifications had been the fragments of energy he was absorbing, and potentially Pangea as well
He had been too far gone to process them then, but now…
He closed his eyes and willed the System's interface to surface. For a moment, there was nothing but the lingering ache behind his eyes. Then a flood of missed notifications—
*Warning: Unstable Synchronization Detected*
*Entity 'Pangea' is undergoing forced adaptation and troubleshooting*
*System recalibrating… Error. System intervention is required.*
*…*
Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!Kain read through a long, very long, string of notifications before he finally reached one that said:
*Upgrade Completed. Please enter the System for a detailed tutorial of System Version 4.0*
Seeing the directive of the last notification, Kain promptly did as directed.
'System' He thought like a familiar habit, expecting the interface to appear in front of him like usual, but…
Nothing.
Kain hesitated. The usual System interface should have appeared the moment he called for it, a translucent screen displaying icons signifying all of the different features of the System he had access to—the shop that only refreshed every week, the Planetarium that he still entered nightly to increase his speed of cultivation, the Training Arena that made all the difference in his competitions, his Laboratory. None of that was appearing, making Kain panic.
Instead, there was… nothing. A strange stillness settled over him, heavy and unnatural.
Then, without warning, the world around him warped.
His body lurched—no, his mind lurched—dragged into something vast and incomprehensible. The cavern, the dim glow of the torches, the cold weight of exhaustion—all of it vanished in an instant.
His consciousness was forcibly dragged somewhere else.
An endless void stretched around him, featureless and silent, except for the one thing that dominated the space before him. A planet.
Green and blue, unmistakably. It hung in the void like a jewel, its surface shifting, pulsing with unfamiliar patterns of energy. Pangea.
At least he thought it was…it looked slightly more detailed than he remembered with millions of intricate sigils seeming to appear naturally on the ozone bubble surrounding the planet.
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Kain knew instinctively that these sigils were only visible to himself.
Surrounding Pangea were four celestial bodies—each a different colour—orbiting it. His Star Spaces.
But that was all there was.
Kain continued to examine his surroundings with greater and greater focus, hoping as the minutes passed that he was missing something, because…
The laboratory? Gone.
The training arena? Gone.
Every function of the System he had relied on had simply… disappeared.
All that was here, appeared to be only his Star Space—or at least a replica of it made by the System. He wasn't quite sure yet.
Kain's breath came slow and measured, though a cold unease curled in his gut. This wasn't right. This wasn't how the System was supposed to work.
*Ding.*
A voice, mechanical yet oddly smooth, rang out from nowhere and everywhere at once:
*Detailed tutorial commencing. Welcome to System Version 4.0. Because of the Host's continued inability to exercise self-restraint, an emergency upgrade was required to keep you from destroying yourself and everyone around you. You're welcome.*
Kain blinked. Then scowled. "Great. The System's sarcasm seems to have upgraded as well. Out of all the features that seemed to have disappeared, I am sooo glad that that survived."
*Thank you.* The System replied, either not picking up on Kain's sarcasm or choosing to ignore it.
Kain exhaled through his nose, forcing himself to focus. "At least you're taking the initiative for once. Usually, I have to pry every minor detail out of you like I'm negotiating with a stingy merchant."
*Oh, forgive me for assuming a so-called genius could figure things out without a step-by-step guide. My mistake.*
Kain's eye twitched. This thing got even worse.
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Shaking off the jab, he turned his attention back to his surroundings. "So? Where exactly are we? My Star Space? Some projection of it? Because I don't see any of the usual System functions."
*Correct. Your previous interface has been discarded. Due to the necessity for immediate, intimate fusion, between your Star Space and the System. You are now operating under the Spatial Conceptualization Model. Instead of crude menus and pop-ups, you now have full environmental immersion. The old System functions still exist, but they are no longer 'icons'—they must be accessed through direct interaction within this space.*
Kain frowned. "And where exactly are those functions? Because I'm seeing a whole lot of empty space."
*That is because you haven't earned them back yet.*
Kain froze. "Excuse me?"
*System functions have been temporarily closed due to all available energy to use those features being consumed during the System Upgrade. Until the energy is replenished, critical features will remain locked.*
Kain took a deep breath, ignoring the flare of irritation creeping up his spine. "So you're telling me that you upgraded yourself, forcibly dragged me here, and now I have to unlock everything all over again?"
*I mean, you could look at it that way… Or you could acknowledge that your reckless overconsumption of Source energy nearly destroyed our entire System framework, yourself, and your star space and that my sacrifice to prioritize your preservation over maintaining System features is the only reason you still exist. Again, you're welcome.*
Kain couldn't help lowering his head at the chastisement.
"Ahem…so how do I earn them back? Do I need to continue hunting spiritual creatures?" Kain asked in trepidation. The majority of his past System features required GP, which were mainly obtained by completing system missions and hunting spiritual creatures.
However, in the current relic he had not seen a single wild spiritual creature. There were those ancient experiments that seemed particularly hostile to Kain—rightfully so, he now realized in dismay—but Kain had not received a single System notification during their deaths.
Kain honestly had no idea when they'd be able to leave this relic, so having to wait until then to even begin the process of restoring his System's features left him worried.
*Good news! Due to the immediate integration between your Star Space and the System in order to stabilize you, the main energy provider of the System's energy has changed slightly. And the sources of this energy have become much more diverse. Hunting spiritual creatures is no longer the sole source of providing energy to the System.*
Kain immediately perks up at that knowledge. "Finally, some good news!"
*Indeed. The new sources of energy are no longer limited to spiritual creatures, but all living things and objects that may contain Source energy.*
Kain flinched. No, he recoiled. A sickening weight settled in his stomach, his breath catching in his throat.
"Source energy…you mean the very thing that almost turned me into a friend-killing monster?"
Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!The System didn't answer immediately. It didn't need to. The silence stretched, pressing down on him like a heavy weight.
Kain swallowed hard, but it did nothing to ease the tightness in his chest. His mind flashed back—Serena's wary eyes, Malzahir's barely concealed fear, the suffocating hunger that had clawed at his sanity.
The way his own hands had trembled afterward, still aching with the desire to clutch something, anything whether that be a fragment or a person, and drain it completely.
And now, the System expected him to consume even more of that energy? En masse?
Kain clenched his jaw, willing himself to breathe through the rising panic.
The System continued, voice maddeningly neutral. *If it helps, your body and Pangea are now far better suited for the process. Your previous… let's call it 'incident'… was due to improper regulation. But now, with the integration of the Star Space, absorption should be—*
"Shut up." Kain's voice came out hoarse. He exhaled sharply, pressing a hand over his face. "Just… give me a moment."
A beat of silence.
Then: *Of course. Take all the time you want. We have all of the time in the world for your fragile mental strength. Not like we need to rebuild an entire System or anything. Or like I am suffering from gross over-exhaustion after undergoing a process that I barely had the necessary energy reserves to complete safely.*
Kain bit back a curse. His fingers curled into a fist, his nails digging into his palm. He should be used to this by now, the System's incessant and unhelpful commentary, but right now it felt unbearable.
It didn't matter if the System framed it as a necessity. It didn't matter if he was supposedly 'better suited' for it now. The idea of willingly taking in that energy again made his entire body scream in protest…but also longing—which is what scared him even more.
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But what choice did he have?
None.
He had just practically sworn to Serena that he'd cut back. And given what just happened he had no confidence in reassuring her that the continued absorption would be okay.
Kain could already practically see the fear, disappointment, maybe even disgust, at his seeming lack of control and inability to just let go of absorbing the core fragments.
Serena had already been wary, and had already been watching him with unease. What if this was the final straw?
What if she decided he wasn't worth the risk? That he a threat, not only to her but to everyone? That he was beyond saving?
What if she told the Order?
A cold shudder crawled down Kain's spine at the thought. Serena was composed, methodical—if she deemed his abilities too dangerous, she might not hesitate to report it, their current status as friends (?) bedamned.
Not because she wanted to betray him, but because she thought it was the right thing to do.
And the Order… He didn't really need to imagine how they would react. If they categorized him as something on par with the Abyssals, a quick death would be something he could only hope for… More likely, they'd contain him. Study him. Tear apart his existence in order to find a way to use him—or erase him entirely.
The weight pressing down on his chest grew heavier.
His breath came a little sharper. He couldn't afford to lose their trust. He couldn't afford to let them think he was slipping into something beyond control.
But if absorption was the only way to restore the System's functions…
Kain stiffened.
'Wait.'
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The System had said many sources. Not just core fragments.
A slow, uncertain thought took root in his mind. If he wasn't limited to absorbing core fragments to obtain this Source energy anymore… If there were other ways to replenish the System's energy…
Could he do it without them noticing?
His heart beat a little faster—not from fear this time, but from possibility.
If he could find an alternative method, something subtle, something that wouldn't draw the same attention as draining core fragments—
It wouldn't be stopping. But it would be hiding.
And right now, that might be his best option.
His hands, still stiff from the tension, unclenched slowly. His breathing slowed.
"Alright. Tell me more." Kain's voice was steady when he finally spoke. "You said all living things and objects containing Source energy could be used. Clarify what this means"
The System's response was instant. *All living things born on a planet, contain a small amount of Source energy from that planet—that is what gives them life. I am sure that you sensed it in your allies when you had your…meltdown. 'Objects' refers to any material or construct imbued with Source energy—artifacts, rare naturally formed crystals, certain relics, and, in extremely rare cases, the terrain itself.*
Kain couldn't help dwelling on the description of all living creatures having Source energy. Was the GP previously absorbed Source energy? Had he been absorbing it for far longer than he'd even realized? Perhaps his ability to absorb it was precisely why the System even bound itself to him…
*The GP*, The System began, upon reading his thoughts *previously obtained via killing to power the System was a combination of less pure Source energy, genetic energy, and other types of energy emitted by the body after death. This impure energy while not as powerful as pure Source energy, is significantly more stable and has no adverse side-effects upon absorption. However, after integrating with your Star Space, the System will now only absorb pure Source energy, and the currency used by the System will now also be Source Points.*
"Does that mean that I can discretely absorb Source energy from any creatures? Not just ones that I kill now? Also, does that mean the absorption won't be detectable by others?"
It was that last question Kain was the most concerned about while thinking about a certain pair of blue eyes that had been staring at him with trepidation.
*Naturally, since the System is now actively involved in the absorption process it should be undetectable when from hunted creatures, only requiring that the Host be within a certain range for the discrete absorption. However, considering that Source energy returns to the planet almost immediately after death, energy from kills made by others will only be obtained if you were present at the time of death, and you will only obtain a fraction of the energy you would have obtained from making the kill directly.*
That last statement was incredibly surprising to Kain. "Why the hell should it matter who makes the kill?"
*That is a restriction due to the illusive power of fate in this world. Any energy or nutrients obtained from killing a life will, as a kind of prize, be much more easily absorbed by the hunter. That is why you will see many wild creatures walk past a seemingly decent carcass in favour of hunting something else directly even if there are no signs of poison on the corpse. After all, diseases are practically non-existent in this world, so they wouldn't be afraid of getting sick. It's the power of fate that has led to this phenomenon.*
Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!Because there were no new features of the System revealed, Kain decided to take a look around Pangea.
Since it had gotten fully healed, he had never taken the time to fully explore the new environment with each core fragment he absorbed.
Kain materialized on Pangea's surface with a thought, his boots sinking slightly into the extremely dark and nutrient-rich soil.
The air smelled different—sharper, more alive, carrying scents of blooming flowers and distant saltwater that made his nostrils flare.
He exhaled slowly, letting his senses stretch outward.
Everything was… enhanced.
Many of the trees, once all sturdy but ordinary, now seemed to have mutated, and a tree that was at least of black-iron quality could be seen with every step…many were even higher in quality.
Kain reached out instinctively, brushing his fingers against the trunk of the nearest tree that stood out due to its pitch-black trunk. The moment his skin made contact, information flooded his mind—
—–
Species: Umbral Oak
Quality: Gold (Peak)
Strength: Orange-grade
Abilities: Shadow Manipulation, Dream Pollination
——-
Kain jerked his hand back in shock, even at Pangea's peak he'd been hard-pressed to find a single plant above red-grade. Hence why he hadn't yet capitalized on some of the vegetative resources of the planet.
But now, even the most 'ordinary' trees towered with an ethereal sheen, and their bark shimmered with faint bioluminescent patterns that pulsed to a rhythm, like the planet's heartbeat.
Their leaves weren't merely green but iridescent, shifting between emerald, sapphire, and violet as the wind stirred them.
Over the previously dried-out landscapes were now dozens—no, hundreds to thousands of new rivers that cut through the earth adding a moist quality to the surrounding environment no matter where he went.
The mountains in the distance seemed taller, at their peaks were multi-coloured auroras that had no business existing outside polar regions.
Even the air itself carried a richness that made his skin prickle and Kain could tell that cultivating on this planet would probably be even more beneficial to him than the Planetarium.
So, although he lost one System function, he still found a comparable alternative in Pangea.
Kain, as the owner of Panngea, had long sensed that its previous peak was its limit unless Kain broke through. But now the planet was thriving beyond its original limits—beyond his limitations. Due to the assistance—theft—of the energy from another world—Earth.
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'I can somewhat empathize with the Abyssals if they experience something similar each time they invade Earth…'
The spiritual creatures on the planet did seem to be the biggest beneficiaries.
Kain swept his gaze over the landscape, watching as creatures prowled, hunted, and clashed in bursts of terrifying power.
Before, high-level entities had been rare. Aurem and his underlings, plus the small group of high-level creatures in the oceans are the only ones. Before the limit that most creatures could hope to achieve had been maybe the equivalent of blue-grade. Now, high-level creatures roamed in numbers never seen before.
He spotted a massive, obsidian-plated feline weaving through the trees, each step soundless despite its bulk. Overhead, a trio of winged predators engaged in an aerial skirmish, their talons leaving streaks of light as they struck at each other with frightening precision. Even the weaker creatures carried an unmistakable potency, and Kain could instinctively tell that even if lower in level, they were all of a decent quality.
A low growl rumbled from the underbrush.
Kain turned slowly to face a predator that didn't at all resemble any spiritual creature on earth—a six-legged feline with fur like liquid mercury and eyes that burned with contained lightning. It wasn't able to see Kain, so he looked around to note that there was a crouching member of the same species on the other side of Kain—perhaps an intraspecies fight?
Kain focused on the creatures that didn't seem that high in level, but still gave off an intimidating air:
——
Species: Stormclaw Pard
Quality: Platinum
Strength: Red-grade
Abilities: Electrokinetic Strikes, Phase Shifting
——–
To think that any random creature, if he were able to take them out to sell could be worth millions of Celestial Dollars. Kain folded his arms, a sharp exhale escaping him. "This place is ridiculous now."
*That would be an understatement*, the System chimed in. *Pangea's energy density has surpassed any previous peak. If it were a real-world location, it would likely become a sacred ground for any creature seeking power.*
Kain hummed in agreement, gaze trailing over a particularly massive beast in the distance—a scaled quadruped whose aura sent smaller creatures scurrying. The sheer concentration of high-tier creatures was absurd. If he had access to this kind of force in the outside world, he could…
A bitter chuckle slipped past his lips. "If only they weren't bound here."
That was the problem, wasn't it?
Because the cruellest limitation remained—the creatures here, no matter how powerful, were bound by the same rules as always. They couldn't leave Pangea without forming contracts. And when they did…
White-grade. Every time.
If things were different… If he could take them as they were now, unrestricted—
Aurem alone could shake an army.
A battalion of the strongest of them? A force strong enough to topple nations.
Kain let out a slow breath, pushing away the pointless fantasy. It wasn't possible, and there was no use dwelling on it. The restrictions were absolute, and no amount of lamenting would change that.
Speaking of Aurem, Kain went to see his old friend—and one of the few entities on this planet privy to Kain's existence.
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The damage to Pangea was probably the hardest on Aurem and the Tree of Life, but the golden dragon seems to have more than recovered.
The golden dragon lay sprawled out lazily across an elevated plateau. Sunlight gleamed off his brilliant scales, a sight so dazzling that it could blind an unprepared viewer.
But Kain wasn't distracted by Aurem's dazzling appearance—his focus was on the ever-growing number of creatures gathered around the dragon.
There were more than before. Far more.
It seems like every spiritual creature that was talented enough to breakthrough to indigo-grade or above and become part of the higher-level population, was recruited (more like forced) by Aurem to become his subordinate.
Kain's gaze swept over Aurem's gathered underlings. The original four had already been monstrous, but now there were dozens of new arrivals—some of them powerful in their own right, though still beneath the four, now three, original underlings.
Even with the loss of the Black Tortoise due to it forming a contract with Gabriel, Aurem's forces had expanded to an almost absurd degree.
Kain had no doubt that if these creatures could leave Pangea as they were, he'd have an army strong enough to compete with the entire Empire.
He nearly scoffed at the thought—imagine the horror of an empire, seeing a golden dragon leading an unstoppable tide of beasts to their doorstep.
Kain exhaled, folding his arms. A shame, really. If things were different if he could command them as they were…
Shaking his head to get rid of the dangerous thought, Kain focused back on his surroundings.
The newcomers surrounded Aurem in an almost fearful silence, waiting at a respectful distance while Aurem lazily gnawed on an object in his claws.
Kain narrowed his eyes.
A piece of glowing metal—a metal resembling a vibrant gold with deep crimson hues intertwined, flickering with an otherworldly radiance.
Even at a glance, Kain could tell it was extraordinary. The metal pulsed faintly, exuding an energy so condensed that it distorted the air around it. And given that a creature as special as Aurem was even obsessed with it, Kain was even more confident in this assertion.
Kain realized that it wasn't just the creatures that had changed due to the improvement of Pangea. The material resources of Pangea had also seemingly evolved.
And unlike those that were alive…these new precious materials may be able to leave as they were!
Crack
Aurem crushed the metal with a sharp bite, his teeth shearing through it with only a little resistance. Sparks danced in the air as the remnants of the metal crumbled into dust, absorbed into the dragon's body.
Aurem finally seemed to take notice of him. The dragon lifted his head, golden eyes locking onto Kain's position.
He gazed at Kain with a faint expression of amusement…perhaps mixed with defiance.
After all, as the acting overlord of Pangea, Aurem likely felt as though he was above the puny human that nobody else could see.
Kain merely met his gaze, neither acknowledging nor denying the unspoken challenge.
Aurem huffed, turning back to his lounging. His tail lazily flicked against the ground, sending a tremor through the earth.
Kain sighed.
Perhaps it was a good thing none of them could leave without a contract.
It appeared as though not only was Pangea itself slipping from Kain's control, but unless he greatly improved his personal strength, the creatures on the planet would also have no reason to fear and respect him.
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Kain hovered above Aurem's territory in silence, his gaze locked onto the vibrant assortment of rare metals Aurem had hoarded due to the diligent collecting of his underlings.
The golden dragon's eyes narrowed slightly as Kain approached. The other creatures, unable to sense Kain unless he wished, lowered their heads in servitude after seeing the dragon's changed expression..
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Without hesitation, Kain extended his hand, and with a flex of his will, five distinct samples of different metals separated from the pile, floating toward him in a slow, controlled motion. Each shimmered with an unnatural brilliance and looked extraordinary at a glance.
'These would be excellent souvenirs.'
Holding them, information about each metal appeared in his mind:
Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!The passing days inside the relic blurred together without the sun or moon to mark the passage of time. It was an endless cycle of searching, fighting, and scavenging.
With each new cavern they explored, the three gradually fell into a rhythm—Kain leading the way since he was an irresistible target to any abominations remaining, Serena was right behind him to support when he was inevitably attacked, and Malzahir left scratches on the walls like a trail of breadcrumbs to ensure they weren't going around in circles.
The relic was vast, far more intricate than they had initially assumed. They had already gone through dozens of chambers and a countless number of pathways.
They moved carefully, methodically, mapping their path as they went. Every new cavern was a potential treasure trove—or a death trap.
Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!The cavern was deathly silent, save for the approaching sound of numerous footsteps of all types—some resembling clawed feet in sound; others sounded like hooves; the fastest approaching set making more of a skittering sound.
Kain's grip on his sword tightened as he scanned the darkness. His senses stretched outward, trying to discern what lurked beyond the light of the fire's reach.
Kain welcomed the approach of abominations, despite their attempts to kill him, due to the Source energy they provided. However, this number sounded like too much for them to handle.
Serena's posture was taut, dagger angled low, her eyes narrowed toward the passage leading into their chamber. Malzahir shifted beside her, knife ready, his breathing slow and steady.
Then, a flicker of movement.
Shadows wavered beyond the fire's edge, a collection of shifting figures just out of sight. The sound of many non-human feet on stone grew louder, more distinct.
A rhythmic clatter, an almost familiar beat—until, finally, from the darkness, something stepped forward.
At the forefront was a massive creature that would give anyone with a fear of insects a heart attack. A millipede-like creature was making its way toward Kain and the others, its numerous feet working together with an almost eerie harmony.
Its dark chitinous body reflected the light off of the cave giving Kain and Serena a better look at it from its head, which bore a terrifying set of mandibles that looked ready to crush the head of anyone that approached, to the tip of its tail which was ten meters away.
The bug barrelled toward them, not dissimilar in size and speed from a car. But despite its terrifying appearance, Kain and Serena actually put their weapons down and signalled the spiritual creatures they had released to not attack.
Serena even had a light smile at the corner of her mouth for the first time in a while.
Behind it, a lean, four-legged beast emerged second, its dark fur rippling as it prowled cautiously into the light. Pale silver eyes gleamed in the fire's glow, its ears flicking forward.
More movement.
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Then, another form appeared—this time, unmistakably human.
A man stepped forward, his armour caked in dust, his face sharp with exhaustion, but his posture steady. Behind him, more figures emerged, one by one, their steps careful, their gazes scanning the cavern hopefully but still prepared for a fight. Their ragged forms and weary eyes told of struggles of their own.
Kain's tight chest instantly lightened.
"About damn time, Zareth," he said with a smile on his face. Finally, they had found some of their teammates! Alive, at least—all of the past teammates they'd found had already died.
With Idrias dead—the leader of both the Pathfinders and the mission—Zareth, as the next most experienced and leader of the Starchasers, was now the de facto leader.
The man's head snapped toward him, and for a moment, his shoulders relaxed slightly. "Kain?"
Recognition flickered in his gaze—along with something else. Relief. Disbelief. Happiness.
Serena lowered her dagger a fraction, her sharp gaze running over the newcomers. "Who else is with you?"
More figures filtered in, their movements careful yet filled with the weight of familiarity. Some of their missing companions, the ones they had long feared lost to the relic's endless depths. Their clothes were torn, their faces gaunt, but they were alive.
Kain counted them quickly. Not everyone was here.
"How many of you made it?" Kain asked, his voice rough.
Zareth hesitated. "Not enough."
A heavy silence settled over the cavern. The fire crackled between them, casting elongated shadows against the walls.
Kain exhaled through his nose, tension still coiled in his gut. He didn't need to ask for details. The answer was already written on their faces.
Serena took a slow step forward, her expression unreadable. "Tell us everything."
———————-
Sitting around the fire the two groups shared their respective stories while eating and after a brief introduction of Malzahir—who was still a stranger to the others and looked quite a bit different from the injured, dishevelled man they'd met in the desert.
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Zareth sat cross-legged, stretching out his tired limbs as the fire cast flickering light over his worn features. His gaze was distant for a moment, as if recalling memories he'd rather forget. Finally, he exhaled and began.
"We started strong," he said, voice rough. "We were all separated when we entered the relic, but 6 of us were lucky to be dropped quite close together. I'd say that we all managed to find each other within a week of entering. But soon we ran into these weird creatures."
"The abominations?" Serena asked.
Zareth nodded grimly. "That's what you call them? I guess it fits better than what we've been calling them—the Strange. But yeah. At first, we fought them off without too much trouble. We even started recognizing patterns in their behaviour. But then… we encountered something different. It looked like the rest—a hybrid of metal and flesh—but it was stronger, faster, and had something else—"
"A contamination ability," Kain finished for him.
Zareth's gaze snapped toward him, a flicker of surprise in his exhausted eyes. "You ran into one, too?"
His surprise was mostly from the fact that the two most inexperienced and weakest members of this expedition team had run into one of those things while in a much smaller group but appeared to be relatively unscathed.
"We didn't get a good look at it. We just saw the results."
Serena eventually made up an explanation to explain away his doubts. After all, even though she and Kain have their differences, she had no intention of revealing his ability to charge the ancient healing devices that would help combat the contamination.
Zareth let out a slow breath. "Then you know. It wasn't just its strength—it infected anything it touched. We didn't even realize it at first…"
"Sonny was the first hit," Zareth continued quietly. "The wound wouldn't close. Wouldn't heal. It just… festered. Black veins spread from it like rot. By the time we realized what was happening…"
He didn't finish. He didn't need to.
A bitter taste settled in Kain's mouth. They'd already come across Sonny and Elfie's remains.
"The Pathfinder—Elfie—tried to cut off and cauterize it," a bandaged Starchaser murmured. "Didn't work. The corruption was already in his body. He was dead within hours."
Zareth exhaled sharply. "Elfie got sloppy after that. Distracted. One of the creatures got her from behind. Same thing. No healing. Just… slow decay."
The fire crackled, the sound unnaturally loud in the heavy silence.
Kain glanced at Serena. Her expression was stone, but her knuckles were white where they gripped her dagger.
Zareth rubbed a hand over his face. "After that, we just ran. Hid. Tried to find a way out. Then we started seeing your markings—figured if anyone was still alive, it'd be you two." He managed a tired smirk. "Finding you is a good omen. If we've made it this far, maybe the others have too. Idrias could still—"
Kain's sharp inhale cut him off.
Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!Zareth's slight smile faded. His gaze flicked between Kain and Serena, noting the way they'd both gone rigid. "…What?"
Serena was the one who spoke, her voice colder than the relic's deepest chambers.
"Idrias is dead."
The words landed like a hammer blow.
Zareth's face drained of colour. The others, particularly the remaining two pathfinders of their group, exclaimed in disbelief, their expressions shifting from weary hope to something far heavier.
"How?" Zareth's voice was barely above a whisper.
Kain hesitated, then reached into his coat. He pulled out the ring—Idrias' ring—and held it up. The metal gleamed dully in the firelight.
"He gave this to Malzahir before he died. Told him to find us."
Zareth stared at the ring like it was a ghost. Then his hands slowly curled into fists. "Sonny and Elfie are gone. Idrias is gone." His voice hardened. "Who else?"
Kain exhaled. "Twelve of us entered. Idrias, Sonny, and Elfie confirmed dead. You four, me, Serena make nine. That leaves three unaccounted for—one Pathfinder and 2 Starchasers."
The bandaged Starchaser—Lina, Kain finally remembered her name was—swallowed hard. "Valentina, Ryn and Jax…"
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Zareth's expression darkened. "If they're alive, we find them. If they're not…" He trailed off, then shook his head. "We need to get out of this damn relic regardless and it should be our first priority."
Kain nodded, tucking Idrias' ring away, glad they were on the same page. He had nothing against the missing three, but the chances of them being alive were slim, and who knows the current situation of the empire—they'd been in here for what felt like months.
Although a small part of Kain still felt guilty—and looking at the faces around him, he knew the sentiment was shared.
Every moment they spent searching was a moment they risked another ambush, another death. But leaving their own behind—even if the chances were slim—felt like a betrayal.
Zareth exhaled sharply, rubbing his temples as if trying to stave off a headache from the whiplash of receiving good (the survival of Kain and Serena) and then bad news (the death of Idrias). "We can't just wander aimlessly anymore. We need a plan."
Serena, who had been silent since delivering the news about Idrias, finally spoke. "Do you have any leads on the location of the relic core?"
One of the other Pathfinders, a wiry man with a gash across his cheek reached into his tattered coat and pulled out a folded piece of parchment. Kain thought his name was James… or maybe Jamie? "We found this in one of the chambers. It's incomplete, but…"
He unfolded it carefully, revealing a section of the relic's layout. The ink was faded in places, the edges torn, but one location was clearly marked—a chamber deep within the relic's heart, labelled in ancient script.
"You believe that this is where the core of this relic is located?" Kain asked.
The Pathfinder shrugged. "It's the only thing that stands out. And if it's not the core, it's something important."
Unfortunately, it was torn in such a way that none of the caverns and tunnels that actually appeared on the map resembled anything that Kain or the others had come across—therefore, they had no idea of where to even start.
'Wait…'
Kain leaned forward, studying the map. "Do you think this is a match?" Kain turned to Serena. The others looked confused, having no idea what he was talking about, but Serena immediately understood.
While scavenging the different caverns they'd come across a torn piece of paper that had some nearby tunnels marked down. Since it showed their surroundings clearly, they decided to take it—the texture and lines on that paper looked like it could be one of the missing pieces of this same map.
Serena quickly retrieved the paper from her own space ring and held it against the map found by Zareth and the others.
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"It looks like it could be a match…but there are still some parts missing—parts that connect the two parts of the map together."
Malzahir stood up abruptly and also looked closer at the map.
Zareth and the others tensed up. After all, even though they could sense that Malzahir had no power, they weren't familiar with him. What if he went crazy and threw their only map into the flames?
Kain quickly raised a hand and gestured for them to calm down. He'd gotten along with Malzahir long enough to know his character.
"Malzahir was trusted by Idrias to bring his items to us—I think that speaks volumes about his character."
Although a little hesitant, the others slowly sat back down from where they had already been about to jump up, and Kain handed the two map fragments to Malzahir.
Malzahir took the pieces nervously, fidgeting under the intense gazes of people he could sense were even stronger than himself at his peak.
However, after a deep breath, he calmed down and focused on the map.
Then he gestured to Kain's coat pocket, "Ring…please?"
Kain immediately handed Idrias' space ring over in understanding, and Malzahir's eyes became hazy and unfocused as his consciousness seemed to have penetrated into the ring.
Before long a piece of paper vaguely shaped like a crescent and containing several lines appeared in his hand—a piece of paper that was similar in colouration and texture to the map.
Honestly, Kain had briefly glanced at that fragment when he'd first gotten the ring, but never once did he connect it with being a missing piece of a map.
But Malzahir, alone with nothing but this ring for god knows how long, had spent more time examining every little item left behind by Idrias than probably Serena and Kain combined.
Everyone watched with bated breath as the oddly shaped fragment fit perfectly to fill in the missing sections of the map.
'We had our map. We had our path. Now, we'd see how many more names would be added to the list of the dead before this was over.'
Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank youKain got his answer within days of them setting off for their destination.
Bodies frozen in expressions of horror lay across the floor of the cavern they had just ventured into.
Their once-vibrant forms were now barely recognizable, already well into decay. Black patches of contamination crawled across their bodies like an invasive plague, sparing only their faces—which were frozen into expressions of pain and horror of their final moments.
The group stood in silence. Even without confirming their identities, they already knew.
Jax. Ryn. Valentina.
'That brings the list of the dead up to 6…only a 50% survival rate.'
Zareth took a trembling step forward, his expression hard, but his clenched jaw and trembling fists betrayed the depth of his grief. Now that Kain thought about it, the Starchaser Ryn and Zareth seemed to be the closest. Ryn had even been one of the individuals Zareth had called to enter the Obari tribe when looking for a cure.
Lina let out a shuddering breath, her fingers curling so tightly into her sleeves that her knuckles turned white. Jamie—Kain was now sure of his name after getting along a few more days—stood rigid, staring down at the bodies like he was trying to will them back to life. No one spoke for a long time.
Kain wasn't particularly close with the three of them, but even he felt the weight of their deaths pressing down on him.
They had all entered this relic together. The idea that they were steadily being chipped away—one by one—made his stomach churn. How much longer could they last? Would all of the remaining team members make it out?
However, amidst all this bad news, there was one bright spot—Kain was finally ready to advance again.
It was an unexpected development. Given how far he'd been from reaching the limit of his current rank at the start of this mission, he had never once thought he would return home as a five-star beast-tamer. Yet here he was, standing at the edge of that very breakthrough.
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The time alone wasn't enough to explain his fast progress. The sheer amount of Source energy Pangea had absorbed since entering this cursed place had accelerated his growth more than he'd ever anticipated. Even if he had been using the Planetarium plus the resources of the Order and as the rank 1 of Dark Moon for all of these months—it probably wouldn't even be as good as a single core fragment.
Now, for the first time, his cultivation would actually surpass Serena's.
He glanced at her. She didn't look surprised—if anything, there was a knowing glint in her gaze, like she had expected this outcome long before he had.
Kain exhaled and turned back to the group. "Thanks, guys…" he muttered, a bit embarrassed to be delaying their march forward just for his breakthrough.
"No worries," Zareth reassured him. "If you become stronger, that helps us all out. Yeah, we'd all like to leave as soon as possible, but leaving alive is more important."
Kain hesitated for a moment before nodding, finally allowing himself to put his anxious and guilty thoughts aside.
He moved to a far-off corner of the cavern and sat cross-legged on the cold stone floor. The others instinctively shifted into defensive positions around him, their weary forms straightening as they prepared to guard him. After all, in this relic, being vulnerable—which he would definitely be while breaking through—was a death sentence.
Kain closed his eyes and steadied his breathing. His previous breakthrough had taken quite a while, and he was prepared for this one to last weeks.
He just hoped they had that kind of time.
——————
Kain's consciousness plunged inward, his awareness narrowing to the swirling expanse of his star space. The four existing stars glowed brilliantly—blue, green, brown, and red—like true celestial bodies orbiting Pangea.
Kain didn't delay. He guided the energy into the center of his star space, compressing it as he had countless times before. The process should have been straightforward, but the moment he began forming the star, something unexpected happened.
A pulse of violet-tinged power—Source energy—surged from Pangea and into the forming star.
The effect was immediate.
Where the process should have been slow and deliberate, the energy now moved with terrifying speed, condensing and spinning the nascent star faster, harder, than Kain had intended.
'Too fast!'
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The forming star shuddered, its edges fraying under the centrifugal force. Cracks of unstable energy spiderwebbed through it, threatening to tear it apart—or worse, detonate violently within his star space—crippling, or even killing, Kain.
Kain's breath hitched. He tried to slow it, to rein it in, but the Source energy resisted, its momentum relentless.
*ALERT: External interference detected. Pangea's Source energy has exceeded the safe threshold for the host's advancement. Immediate intervention is required.*
Kain felt an invisible force wrap around his star space, slowing the chaotic rotation before it could spiral into disaster.
A stabilizing pressure settled over the forming star, preventing it from shattering under its own speed. At the same time, the excess Source energy was siphoned away, and redirected back into the depths of Pangea's core.
*Error corrected. Proceed.*
Kain exhaled, bracing himself as he reclaimed control. Though still spinning at a rapid pace, the fifth star was now within manageable limits.
He carefully adjusted the rotation, gradually reducing its momentum until it settled into a steady orbit among the others. The moment the final adjustment clicked into place, a powerful wave of energy rippled through his body.
A surge of strength, unlike anything he had felt before.
Kain almost let out a groan as a warm rush of power spread through his limbs.
Every fibre of his being felt stronger, more refined. His connection to his contracts also deepened, and he could feel each of them responding to his breakthrough.
When Kain had first advanced to 4-stars, his contracts had immediately advanced to green-grade—the limit of what his strength allowed.
However, once they reached the peak of their current grade, they were once again shackled by Kain's limitations.
Thankfully, all of them weren't ready to advance and just waiting for Kain this time. Only Aegis and Bea, feeling as though a weight had been lifted from their speed of advancing, conveyed that they could probably attempt a breakthrough within the next few days.
Meanwhile, Queen and Vauleth were still a bit away from advancing.
Now that Kain thought about it, Bea and Aegis had been the two to experience the greatest change in the last relic he entered and mutated or acquired additional skills due to the influence of Abyssal energy.
He exhaled and opened his eyes, expecting to meet the thrilled gazes of his comrades. But instead, he found himself surrounded by dozens of abominations.
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