[: Daniel's POV :]
I stared at the floating holographic screen, heart still pounding, mind still reeling.
Unbelievable.
That was the only word that could describe it.
A system—an actual, functioning system—had appeared before me, offering functions, guidance, and resources I didn't even fully understand yet.
Part of me wanted to laugh, to shake my head, to dismiss it as a trick of exhaustion after the Awakening Ceremony.
And yet… I couldn't.
Because the world I lived in was already impossible.
Monsters emerged from Dimension Cracks, cultivation existed, and I had just awakened SSS-ranked talents.
None of it was normal.
None of it was ordinary.
A system existing on top of all that? It didn't seem so far-fetched anymore.
I ran a hand over my face, exhaling slowly.
There was awe, yes, and disbelief—but beneath it, a growing acceptance.
This system wasn't a threat.
It wasn't a joke. It was… part of my strength.
Part of the path I was beginning to walk.
A strange sense of calm settled in me, even as excitement flickered in the back of my mind.
I might not know its limits yet, or why it had chosen me, but one thing was clear: it would help me grow stronger.
And in a world where monsters could wipe out entire cities and cultivation determined survival, strength wasn't optional—it was necessary.
I clenched my fists lightly.
Unbelievable.
Impossible.
But real.
And I would accept it.
Not because I had to—but because I wanted to.
Because this was part of who I was now, part of the strength I would need to carve my own path in a world that demanded nothing less.
I blinked, staring at the screen.
After a moment, a question escaped my lips almost instinctively.
"What… what exactly is the Gift Bag?"
[: The Gift Bag is a container designed to reward the host with items, tools, or knowledge that can accelerate growth and cultivation. :]
"The… host?" I muttered, my mind spinning. "And I can… use it?"
[: Correct. It is highly recommended to use it. :]
I hesitated for barely a second before nodding. Curiosity—and a flicker of excitement—overrode caution.
I reached out toward the screen and activated the Gift Bag.
Immediately, the world around me dissolved.
The floor vanished.
The walls, my room, even the sun outside, disappeared into an endless darkness punctuated by points of light.
Stars, nebulae, planets—all suspended in impossible distances—swirled around me.
The air—or what felt like air—tasted of nothing, yet carried the hum of infinite possibilities.
My heart leapt into my throat.
Panic surged, gripping me like icy fingers. "W-what… where am I?"
Before me, rising out of the void, was a library.
Not just any library.
It stretched endlessly, its spires climbing higher than the tallest mountains, spanning wider than continents.
It spiralled into the cosmos itself, shelves stacked with tomes, scrolls, and glowing artefacts, suspended around stars, planets, and nebulae like ornaments in a cosmic tree.
My head swivelled left and right, trying to take it all in.
My stomach churned.
Awe, fear, excitement, disbelief, exhilaration—all collided inside me, leaving me dizzy and breathless.
"Impossible… this can't be real," I whispered.
My voice sounded small, weak, almost swallowed by the vastness surrounding me.
Dozens of questions and emotions tumbled over each other in my mind.
How could this exist?
Was it a dream? A hallucination?
[: Choose your choice of Cultivation Method :]
I froze, blinking.
My pulse quickened, my mind racing between anticipation and terror.
"C-cultivation method…?" I stammered.
[: Yes. Your choice now will determine the foundation of your growth, the path you will walk, and the abilities you may awaken. :]
I swallowed hard, my hands trembling slightly.
The sheer scale of the place, the weight of the stars, the library that seemed infinite, and the voice of the System—it all pressed down on me, heavy and impossible.
Yet beneath the fear, beneath the panic and confusion, a spark of determination ignited.
This was no accident. This was an opportunity.
And whatever choice I made here… would shape everything that came after.
My footsteps echoed softly across the shimmering floor of the cosmic library, each one pulling me deeper into a world that defied everything I thought I knew.
The shelves… they never ended.
Books stretched across eternity, each pulsing faintly with its own light—some flickering like dying embers, others blazing brighter than the very stars that hung above me.
My fingers trembled as I reached for one. The surface was warm, alive.
The title glowed in strange, elegant script.
"…Transcendental Flame Method?" I whispered, my voice shaking.
I staggered back, my eyes darting to another.
"Origin of Aeons Scripture."
Then another—"Blood of Eternal Sky Physique."
Each name was more impossible, more overwhelming than the last.
None of them were the Spirit Gathering manuals or Foundation Breathing Arts I had expected.
None were names whispered among storytellers or passed down in the tales of heroes.
These were… otherworldly. Beyond imagination.
My heart hammered in my chest as I wandered.
The more I read, the more my disbelief grew.
Hours must have passed—or maybe days—but in this place, time lost meaning.
I skimmed fragments, stared until my eyes blurred, and read lines that made my soul tremble.
Every book promised mountains that pierced the heavens, oceans that drowned suns, and powers that could reshape existence itself.
And me…?
I was just Daniel.
Just a boy who, hours ago, had expected nothing beyond surviving.
I sank to one knee, pressing a hand to my forehead, my breathing ragged.
"System…" My voice cracked, breaking against the endless silence.
"There are just… too many. I—I don't know which one I should choose…"
The cosmos stilled.
Even the stars seemed to pause, as if the library itself held its breath.
Then, without warning, five books rose from their shelves.
They glowed brighter than all the rest, drifting toward me until they hovered at eye level, forming a perfect circle.
Their presence pressed against me, heavy, suffocating, divine.
The voice of the System resounded within my mind—calm, steady, absolute.
[: The System has chosen five books that are compatible with you out of all the billions of books. Choose which one you would like. :]
My throat went dry.
My eyes darted between the tomes, each radiating its own overwhelming aura.
My chest heaved, my pulse thundered louder and louder, until my trembling hand instinctively reached out—only to falter midway.
Which one… will define my future?
The five glowed brighter, their presence so absolute it felt as if the entire cosmos bowed in reverence.
They weren't manuals.
They weren't techniques.
They were destinies.
Thrones disguised as parchment and ink.
Their names carved themselves into my mind like eternal commandments, shaking my very soul.
The first shone with a brilliance that rivalled galaxies.
Cosmo of Stars.
Its cover was alive with constellations, burning and dying in endless cycles, whispering eternity with every flicker. To choose it was to weave the infinite tapestry of stars into my flesh, to turn every cell into a fragment of the cosmos itself.
The second surged like a storm of all creation.
Harbourer of Elements.
Fire roared, lightning cracked, oceans swelled, winds howled, mountains rose and crumbled. Every element spiralled around it in harmony and chaos.
A path of absolute unification.
To grasp it was to embody the natural order itself, an emperor of all elements.
The third pulsed with the rhythm of beginnings.
Primordial of Creation.
Its cover shifted endlessly—mountains birthing, rivers carving valleys, stars igniting with newborn brilliance.
It promised the power to forge life, to shape reality, to devour creation itself for advancement. It was the path of origin, of the first flame, of hands that could cradle worlds… or consume them whole.
The fourth emanated silence darker than the abyss.
One Beneath All.
Sound, thought, even hope vanished in its presence. Every concept—life, time, existence—unravelled before me as I stared.
To choose it was to master annihilation, to walk as the reaper of all things, to crush even the laws that bound reality.
And then came the fifth.
Script of Infinite.
It neither glowed nor darkened, yet everything else seemed pale beside it. Its cover shifted without end—sometimes a mirror, sometimes a storm, sometimes nothing at all.
It radiated something that was not simply power. It was sovereignty. Dominion. The mastery of all things, creation and destruction alike.
To wield it was not to cultivate. It was to reign.
My breath hitched, my body trembled, my mind screamed with awe and terror.
These weren't just cultivation paths. They were legacies. Thrones demanding burdens fit only for gods.
And me? I was standing at the centre, forced to choose.