I stood frozen, staring like an idiot.
Not because I was stunned - well, I was - but because what was happening in front of me was utterly, violently unreal.
Zeyra was glowing.
Okay, not literally. But something about her had shifted so drastically, so forcefully, that it felt like the room had dropped a few degrees. A dark, rippling energy coiled around her like a storm cloud waiting to burst. It pulsed outward in slow waves, brushing against my skin with the weight of an ocean.
And it made every hair on my body stand on end.
Her shadow twisted unnaturally like it had a will of its own. Her presence was cold. Sharp. Heavy in a way that didn't make sense - but then again, nothing about this world made sense yet.
Dark purple hair shimmered under the chandelier, like strands woven from twilight. She was sitting on the ground, breathing shallowly, eyes closed as if listening to a voice I couldn't hear.
And in that moment, I understood something.
This was power.
Real, tangible, life-ending power. Not something I had imagined while writing or reading a webnovel. This was real, and it was suffocating just being in her vicinity.
'So this is what power feels like in this world…'
I'd imagined it before, sure. I'd theorised what mana and aura were like - read hundreds of fantasy stories, debated systems in forums at 3 a.m. back when I still cared about things.
But no simulation could ever prepare me for this. The pressure. The chill. The overwhelming reality of it.
It stirred something inside me.
Not fear.
Excitement.
A kind of thrill I hadn't felt in… maybe ever. Not since the rare moments I'd faced off against truly brilliant players in chess, those who pushed me to my limits with elegant, precise moves that forced me to think five steps ahead.
And now?
My entire life had become a chessboard. Vast. Unpredictable. Filled with pieces I didn't fully understand. And I...
I was playing!
'My knight piece is already evolving.'
The thought came with a grin I didn't know I was capable of. Cold. Calculating.
Zeyra wasn't just capable, she was improving right in front of me. I could practically feel the shift in her class, her cultivation - whatever they called it here. Her potential had spiked, grown sharper, deadlier.
And I had done that.
'If I can gather more like her… rooks, bishops, even pawns with rare potential…'
My heart thudded. Not from fear. From greed.
I wanted more.
More loyal pieces. More strength. More control.
The idea of building a board filled with elite units, all bound to me, all evolving in tandem with my system - it was intoxicating. And terrifying. And very likely the most reckless thing I'd ever attempt.
'What kind of monsters sit at the top of this world, if Zeyra is just my first piece?'
I didn't know. But I wanted to find out.
One step at a time.
No shortcuts. No rushing to checkmate.
Just steady, precise moves.
Eventually, my gaze returned to her, and she had gotten up.
Zeyra stood motionless, eyes still closed. Her figure, already striking, now looked like something out of a painting, too sharp to be real. Smooth, pale skin contrasted with that violet-black energy crawling along her limbs. Her delicate features were cold. Distant. Beautiful in a way that didn't feel human.
A weapon, honed to perfection. Graceful and lethal.
But beneath that calm, she was shaking.
Subtle, almost invisible tremors along her knuckles. The smallest shift in the corner of her jaw. I caught it all.
Because I was watching for it.
And when her eyes finally snapped open, sharp, glowing faintly, I was already expecting the question.
"What did you just do to me?" she asked, voice lower than usual, tight and quick. Almost like the words escaped her before she could stop them.
It wasn't fear. Not exactly.
But it was something close.
Apprehension. Vulnerability.
Zeyra, the woman who could gut someone before they even blinked, was unnerved.
By me.
The man in a pathetic body, who was clueless about the world.
There was something deeper here than mana and aura. I could sense it like a whisper just beyond hearing - an intuition, or maybe something tied to the system itself.
We were linked now.
Not like a leash. More like a thread. A line that connected us, tight and subtle, running beneath our skin and blood and bone.
I could feel it.
And so could she.
She hated it.
I didn't need her to say it. Her posture, the twitch of her fingers, the subtle tension in her shoulders - it was written all over her.
Being controlled seemed to make her very uncomfortable.
I wasn't sure to what extent I could control her just yet, if I even could. But I wanted to build a relationship of trust and loyalty anyway.
'I wouldn't be able to sleep knowing she had it out for me, even if the system gave me control over her. It would also be more convenient, and I could get more out of her, if she served me willingly.'
But getting her to do so was easier said than done.
I exhaled slowly, answering her confidently, my voice calm and even.
"I helped you progress," I said. "In doing so, something formed between us. A bond, one with mutual gain. You serve me. I give you strength."
There was no need for lies.
She wouldn't believe them anyway.
She stared at me, eyes narrowed. Her mind was moving fast. I could see it. She had already figured out the truth, or at least the gist of it. She just wanted confirmation. Needed it, actually.
Because what had just happened defied all sense.
'This is absurd,' her expression seemed to say. 'You're Ashen. You're supposed to be a joke.'
And yet here we were.
I didn't smile. I didn't gloat.
I just watched as the storm in her expression slowly began to settle. Like she was swallowing a truth she didn't want to admit.
This wasn't a hallucination.
It was the beginning of something real.
And something far, far bigger than either of us understood...