More than a day had passed, and Ellis, aside from the times when he woke up just to drink some milk from a bottle, had been mostly sleeping. Because of that, he hadn't been able to think much about his current situation.
Still, things were different now. He didn't feel as hungry anymore, and most importantly, there were no maids around to feed him something that would make him sleepy afterward.
So, while not minding the dark room, since it seemed to still be night, Ellis turned his attention to the corner of his eye, where the glowing mark that moved with him was, and focused on it for a moment.
[You have merged with the shard of ****]
[The shard of **** attempts to take over the Pseudo Seed of **** in the deserter's body]
[Taking over the Pseudo Seed of Evolution, the shard of **** commences its attack on the remains of the Twilight Codex in the deserter's body]
[The shard of **** absorbs the remains of the Twilight Codex and the Pseudo Seed of Evolution]
[The shard of **** removes everything encroaching on the existence of the deserter and absorbs them]
[The shard of **** attempts to reboot the System and create a new one]
[….]
[..]
[Successful]
[Congratulations. The first-of-its-kind **** System has come into existence]
[Welcome, Host]
[Due to the shard of **** eliminating all the foreign traces left in the host and the system resetting, the host's broken abilities will undergo refinement]
[Due to merging with the shard of ****, your abilities and attributes will be strengthened]
[Due to the incomplete absorption of the Nyxara cat's crystal core and judging it to be partially harmful to the host, the **** System will instead use the energy from the crystal core to strengthen the host's abilities]
[The **** System will attempt to reconstruct the host's abilities in the most optimal way]
[….]
[..]
[Partially Successful]
[You have died.]
[Due to the new ability "Ephemeral Soul Genesis," you are now reincarnating.]
'Wow!'
Ellis couldn't help but exclaim internally upon seeing the flurry of window messages in front of him.
The first thing that caught his attention was the frame of these windows, which had turned gray instead of the previous blue. However, he didn't focus on that for now. Instead, he concentrated on the messages, as they should hold the answer to his current situation. So, with a growing expectations, he began to read them.
Noticing the name of the shard he had fused with was actually hidden, from the start was a little irritating for Ellis. Still, he tried not to pay it too much attention and continued reading the rest of the messages.'So, to summarize all those messages: the gray shard I touched fused with me, then took everything parasitic on me, devoured them, created a new system, and strengthened me along the way. However, it seemed that my body couldn't handle all of that, so I died. Then, with the help of my strengthened blessing… or more accurately, my ability now, I was able to reincarnate normally.'
While reflecting on the information he had read, Ellis felt relieved that he had survived the Gray Gate… and most importantly, that his last gamble of attempting to clear it had paid off.
Then, there was the golden crystal of the monster cat. It seemed his decision to eat it was also the correct one, because had he not done that, while it might still have been possible to crawl on the ground and finally touch the gray shard, he doubted it would have been guaranteed, let alone easy. So, seeing how the benefit he received from the golden crystal, due to the timing, was no longer harmful, he couldn't be happier.
More than that, for him, the most important thing was that he got a new system… a unique one, just for him, and was freed from that fucking Twilight one.
For him, who had been suddenly threatened with losing the system, and the power he had gained from it, it became nothing more than a ticking bomb in his eyes, something he could no longer be appreciative of.
And even though the new system seemed mysterious and didn't even reveal its name, with the possibility of some complications arising in the future too, it still seemed better. At least, because of it, he now had the ability to reincarnate.
… But what about his mother and sister back on Earth?
Ellis, his mood falling, couldn't honestly celebrate his survival in the Gray Gate. But he knew that, for now, he couldn't do anything, and can only hope that they were okay… that they would stay okay, until he found a way to go back to them.
Trying to distract himself, Ellis turned his attention back to the messages, specifically to the "welcome" one that had been strangely bothering him. He felt like it had become somewhat sentient, so while not expecting any reply, he tried to talk to it in his mind.
'So, can you talk now?'
[Yes, Host]
Seeing a new message appear, affirming his suspicion, Ellis, while surprised at first, became glad the next moment, as it meant he would likely be able to get answers to some of his doubts… and the things he was frustrated about.
So, after mulling over things in his mind, he finally asked.
'What is the Gray Gate? Or the gray shard that had its name hidden? And was it really coincidental that the Gray Gate appeared in front of me, and I was dragged inside it?'
[Due to the **** shard staying in the area of the Twilight Codex's influence for a long time, it mutated, and gained some abilities similar to it. And through that, the gate was formed.]
[The **** shard was drifting when it was swept by a space storm, probably forming due to the new move the Twilight Codex made when it discovered the planet Earth.]
[And it's coincidental that it just so happened that when it appeared again, you were in the same place.]
[I don't have enough authority to know the exact nature of ****, but if you gather more shards or grow in strength, you will probably be able to find that.]
All Ellis could think upon reading the answers was that it was a load of bullshit… there were too many coincidences, after all. Still, he didn't bother arguing with the system.
Everything didn't change the fact that they were still his.
They are his… right?
After brushing off the answer, he moved on to his next question, already feeling strange by the last message he read.
'What do you mean by you don't have enough authority? Are you not the system?'
[No, I'm part of the **** System, not the System itself.]
[Due to the shard of **** being too small and having similar abilities to the Twilight Codex, after absorbing the remains of the Twilight Codex within you, there were further changes, and the system and I were born.]
Feeling like his questions were only increasing instead of decreasing with the explanation he received, Ellis still pressed on, determined to ask them one by one.