CID stood by the river's edge, the fire now nothing but warm embers and ash. His spear rested against a stone, body slightly hunched with exhaustion, but a rare smile touched his lips. The meat in his stomach, the rising sun, the tingling strength in his limbs—he had survived. He had evolved. The night had not claimed him.
"I can do this," he whispered. "I will grow stronger. No more shame. I will level up."
The silence answered with peace.
Until the ground shook.
The river's surface split open with a thunderous roar as coils burst upward, slicing the sky with glistening scales. A massive sea serpent, sleek and armored in shifting shades of void-blue and silver, erupted from the water like a divine punishment.
CID froze.
His eyes widened.
His breath caught.
His hands trembled.
"Wh… what is that…?"
The system blinked:
🐉 Status Window: [Uroxys – Tideborn Serpent]
🔹 Level: 60 🧬 Affinity: Water / Void⚔️
Skills: Abyss Coil — binds with crushing magic Drownpulse — summons vortex shockwaves Devourbrand — marks prey for digestion
CID couldn't move. Not out of decision—but pure, consuming fear. His legs refused to obey. His spear might as well have been a stick. The serpent turned its gaze toward him—nothing human lived in those eyes. Only hunger.
It struck.
Too fast. Too brutal.
CID's scream didn't even finish before the serpent's jaws ripped through him, tearing away half his body with agonizing precision. Blood sprayed, painting the river crimson. CID felt himself fly—no control, no pain anymore, just shock.
He crashed into the water.
Sinking.
Dying.
The current dragged him like a corpse, his vision dimming.
Yet in the dark—a sound.
A faint, impossible chime.
DING. System Response: Triggered...
Then—silence.
.
.
.
.
CID gasped.
CID's eyes cracked open.
At first, he saw nothing but light. Soft. Blinding. Wrong.
The last thing he remembered was teeth—serpent teeth. The sound of his bones snapping, his scream dying in the water, the cold arms of the river dragging him under like a coffin. He remembered pain.
But now… no agony. No missing limbs. Just the pulse of blood—his own—moving freely again.
He sat up with a gasp, fingers clawing into wet sand. His chest rose and fell like a storm trying to calm. His legs—he looked down—were there. Whole. Muscles intact. Skin unmarked.
"No… this—this isn't possible."
The world around him shimmered in early daylight. A shoreline stretched wide, framed by jagged cliffs and golden mist. The ocean whispered softly, waves lapping at his feet like it had forgiven him for drowning.
CID touched his ribs, his face, his legs. Panic turned to confusion. Confusion turned to awe.
He wasn't broken anymore. He was restored.
"I should be dead," he murmured. "I was torn apart."
He sat up, trembling.
"System… Show me."
No chime.
He tried again...
"Status window."
Nothing.
He slammed his fists into the sand, voice ragged.
"You let me be eaten. You let me drown. Don't ignore me now! You are my only hope....ho can i become strong now....why did you have to save me.....
Still no response.
He tried again. And again. The desperation rising with every heartbeat.
But only the sea answered—whispering quietly, almost as if mocking.
Then CID fell silent. He stared at the horizon, chest burning with something new...
.
.
.
The system did not abandon CID.
It recognized a soul willing to crawl through pain, to bleed without promise, to fight without reward.
And so, it enacted Protocol Null—a forbidden fail-safe.
CID's mortal frame was discarded in death.
What remained was rebuilt not by rules… but by will.
📌 Status: Unlocked Trait – Infinite Potential (Dormant)
🔒 Classification: Threat to Deities and Humanity
📉 Control: None
❓ Awareness: Unknown
With enough effort, pain, and growth... CID could surpass the gods that built this world—and tear them down.
But he didn't know that.
Not yet.
He only knew the silence.
And the strange, burning truth that he wasn't supposed to be alive.
"I'll keep walking," CID said softly. "I will not going to waste the system sacrifice . I need to reborn . I will become stronger even without the window powers. I WILL SURVIVE.....