***
Neptune lay broken on the ground, his breath ragged, his thoughts reduced to a single word: pain.
"Why… does it hurt so much?"
Every inhale burned his lungs. His right arm throbbed in jagged agony, the bone clearly fractured. And yet, in the midst of that torment, a crooked, almost deranged smile tugged at his lips. He had survived.
Barely.
He forced himself upright, his vision was swimming, and took in the carnage. Seven massive spider-like Corrupted surrounded him. Their limbs twitched faintly, their grotesque bodies still functional—yet every one of them had been stripped of its soul.
A wet cough rattled in his chest. With a mental command, the familiar translucent panels of his Core interface flickered before his eyes.
[Name: Neptune]
[Species: Human]
[Core: Soul Harvester]
[Core Rank: Mythical]
[Core Tier: 5]
[Core Abilities: Essence Drain, Soul Harvest, Collective Soul]
[Souls Collected: 447 / 1500]
[Aether Ability: SoulBound]
He grimaced and switched to his weapon interface.
[Primary Weapon: Destroyed]
[Secondary Weapon: None]
[Armor: Simple Military Uniform: General]
[Armor Rank: Rare]
[Armor Accessories: None ]
"Perfect," he muttered, voice dripping with bitter sarcasm.
Dark Moon was gone—shattered mid-fight, the ancient blade giving its last breath as he tore the final abomination apart with his bare hands. That choice had nearly cost him his life.
How the hell was he supposed to survive in this nightmare now?
His gaze fell on the Aether Ability again.
[Aether Ability: SoulBound]
[Aether Ability Rank: Blessed]
[Aether Ability Description: You are the Bastard Son of [???]. Your soul is bound to the Goddess Lirael Taramasalata—The Drowned Grace—and your sister Naida Sorell—The Tearborne.]
The description didn't mention his newfound so called "talent"—the ability to rip a soul from a living foe. But he was starting to understand the trigger. Wound the enemy first, and the chains appeared—latching onto the injury, draining the essence, feeding it to Soul Harvest.
Then, with a single mental command, he could claim the soul outright, stockpiling it toward his Tier progression.
But there was a price.
A soulless body was still a body—and without a soul's restraint, it became pure, unreasoning violence. One spider had gone berserk after losing its essence, lashing out unpredictably. That was when it had crushed his arm. That was why he was still alive… by luck alone.
Groaning, Neptune staggered to his feet. His boots crunched on the dry, cracked earth. Every movement was an effort.
He shuffled toward a brittle bush, snapped off a stick, and tore strips from his filthy uniform. With gritted teeth, he lashed the splint to his arm. The crude bandage didn't ease the pain, but it kept the bone from grinding.
His stomach ached, empty. His lips were cracked and dry. The air tasted of dust.
No water. No food. No clear direction.
Still, he picked one and began to walk. One foot in front of the other, because stopping here would mean death.
Hours bled together under the relentless, unchanging sky. The strange mix of cool and warm air gnawed at his senses. His thirst grew into an ache that clawed at his throat.
A faint sound broke the monotony—a soft trickle.
Neptune froze.
Smoke.
A thin, wavering column curled upward from behind a towering sandstone butte, dissolving into the pale sky.
Dozens of questions churned through Neptune's mind.Another human? A Corrupted? A.. trap?
He swallowed hard. Common sense told him to turn away—but curiosity sank its claws into him and pulled.
Step by step, he moved toward the source.
The figure appeared slowly, emerging from the shadow of the sandstone like something half-formed. It walked with an unsteady, crippled gait, each step threatening collapse.
Neptune's eyes narrowed.
Then he saw it—a person, or something like one, hunched in front of a flickering campfire. A long, tattered coat draped over their frame, a hood pulled low to hide their face.
A human? He didn't dare hope—
The thought never finished.
His legs gave out beneath him. The world tilted, the sandstone walls spinning away into darkness.
And then—nothing.