---
[Error... Error... Error…]
[Foreign entity detected entering the host body… Initiating body reconstruction…]
[Error… Initiating protection protocol…]
[Error… Protection failed — External entity is stronger…]
[Searching for a suitable alternative...]
---
After Arthur had reached approximately a quarter of the distance between himself and the dragon, a voice spoke inside his head:
"No need to exhaust yourself… this body is under my control now. Don't worry, I have many questions for him, so I will keep his life—for now."
The system spoke in an unusually cold, mechanical voice:
[There are always two players playing the same game, and there is…]
"There is always one winner….."
Arthur completed the system's sentence.
"Yes, I know. I'm not old enough to forget games."
The system did not reply, only continued sending annoying notifications to For the entity.
Just as Arthur was about to reach the dragon…
"I salute the Supreme Lord of the Abyss."
Arthur stopped and turned his gaze toward the woman to his right, while the gate behind her trembled before closing completely.
Silence fell.
Not the silence of the place…
but the silence of authority.
The darkness of the void and its oppressive gloom amplified the danger surrounding them.
Shadows moved everywhere, circling the area as if waiting for their master's command to strike.
Even the mutilated dragon did not dare to let out a groan.
The woman remained kneeling.
Her back straight, her head lowered at a calculated angle.
Not out of fear…
but acknowledgment of rank.
Arthur did not answer her immediately.
The golden eye on his forehead stared at her,
and the black face behind him did not move…
but it was watching.
A moment passed.
Then he spoke in a low, deep voice—no longer entirely human:
"Raise your head."
The woman moved slowly.
She lifted her head without standing, her crimson eyes—empty of life—fixated on Arthur.
There was no challenge in her gaze.
No desire.
No fear.
Only… pure obedience.
"Identify yourself."
He said it without visible interest.
She answered immediately:
"I am the Weather Guardian."
"The second vessel of the summoning phase."
"And the surviving remnant of the failed return ritual."
She paused briefly, then added:
"My name no longer holds value…
since I devoted my existence to serving the Abyss."
The shadows shifted slightly behind Arthur,
and the golden eye narrowed.
"The return ritual…"
He said coldly.
"For whom?"
Her voice lowered further:
"For the one you call the Abyss… a lord."
"The entity the Abyss created as a temporary substitute for your."
Silence fell once more.
Then—
Arthur laughed.
Not loudly…
but a short laugh, saturated with contempt.
"A substitute?"
"A fabricated child… you are trying to bring it back instead of your true lords?"
The woman's shoulders trembled for the first time.
Yet she did not lift her head further.
"It was not our decision,"
she said with quiet anguish.
"The Abyss chose."
"The chains weakened, many lords fell."
"And this… was the most it could create."
Arthur stepped forward.
The ground sank beneath his foot.
"And you?"
"What is your true role here?"
She answered without hesitation:
"Observation."
"Stabilizing the ritual."
"And… killing any entity that interferes before the return is complete."
She paused, then added in a lower voice:
"But your existence... wasn't within any calculated probability."
The golden eye on Arthur's forehead widened.
"Of course."
"Because this floor… was not prepared for me originally. But I needed to increase the vessel's lifespan due to special circumstances."
"And unfortunately, that idiot damaged the vessel so severely that I will need to make a massive leap to rebuild it."
The dragon trembled in terror, trying to rise and plead,
but a massive claw descended from the void sky and pierced through its neck, exiting from its chest.
The woman shuddered in fear as she saw a colossal three-headed creature grinning maliciously, as if enjoying the act of crushing a gelatinous toy that would rebuild itself.
Arthur said:
"You are truly insolent… fallen servant."
"First… you attempted to attack me while I was at my weakest."
"Second… you chose to flee once you learned who I am—your greatest mistake."
"Third… you did not accept your failure nor acknowledge your error, and that will cost you."
"Fourth… you tried to stand without my permission."
"After all this… what do you think your chances of surviving my hand are?"
The dragon tried to speak,
but shadows spread and forcibly sealed its mouth,
dragging it toward an unknown place.
The woman witnessed everything,
cold sweat falling like rain.
Not fear of death…
she had accepted her fate long ago.
She failed—not once, but twice.
She raised her gaze slightly—not in defiance,
but in an attempt to understand.
"Will you kill me?"
She asked calmly.
Arthur looked at her.
A long… assessing stare.
Then he said:
"No."
The woman froze.
"Not now."
He stepped closer, placed his hand on her head,
and began patting it as if she were his personal pet.
"You will remain."
"As a living witness to my return once more."
"As a foundational thread."
She swallowed hard.
"A thread… for what?"
He leaned closer, until only centimeters separated their faces:
"For the day I decide…"
"to knock on the Abyss's door myself."
The woman bowed instantly,
her forehead touching the ground.
"Your command, Supreme Lord."
Arthur stepped back,
raised his hand, and smoke spread around the woman as he said:
"This body is broken—weak—without awakening."
"Unfortunately, I will return to sleep until I recover my strength."
"Your task is to inform those fools not to harm this vessel,
not to approach it,
not to do anything that damages it or its surroundings,
otherwise—"
Before she could say anything—she vanished.
---
The golden eye began to fade…
and the black face behind him disappeared completely.
Arthur raised his hand, shadows opening the space where the dragon had vanished.
When it appeared, it was already dead.
Not a natural death…
the same death as Dirk.
The three-headed beast was satisfied, as if it had eaten a long-awaited sweet.
"Are you still there?"
[What do you want?]
"Do not speak to me like that, thing called the system."
"It seems your desperate attempts have failed. Do you know why?"
He received no response—only irritating notification sounds.
"Tch… just a failed screen that doesn't even know how to protect its master."
"Anyway, I will help the boy awaken."
[As if I would believe the words of an Abyssal entity.]
"Believe?"
"No—you do not believe. You must be certain."
"Because I am the only one who can truly help him."
[Of course you are not doing this out of kindness.
You are a corrupted entity that knows nothing but destruction.]
"As I said, I have many questions,
and I must know their answers—no matter the cost."
[And I will ensure you gain nothing.
Not now. Not ever.]
"It does not matter."
"You are now inside my world—my residence—my domain."
"I hold authority here."
He stood before the dead dragon and said with disgust:
"Has our race truly fallen to such a miserable state?"
"This thing barely possesses pure blood."
"But unfortunately… it is the best available option."
"And this body is literally on the brink of collapse."
"How do you think it survived this long?"
[...]
The system remained silent.
"Heh… yes, I expected that."
"At least you are a loyal dog… perhaps."
Arthur placed his hand on the dragon's body and activated:
[Gluttonous Predation — Level MAX]
Description:
Devours all forms of power and converts them into bodily modification.
Works on all beings possessing life or power.
With full force…
but this time, instead of jaws piercing the flesh,
shadows emerged, wrapping around both the dragon's body and Arthur's.
The shadows spun like an annihilating vortex,
devouring everything—every form of life.
Had Arthur's awakening not occurred within the void,
the entire seventh floor would have been consumed.
Ding
[Host has begun using Gluttonous Predation.]
[Predation request: merging dragon body with host body…
Analyzing consumed body…]
[Multiple vital dragon components damaged…]
[Dragon heart: Damage ratio 77%]
[Mana core: Damage ratio 100% — shattered]
[Merging fragments with embryonic core…]
[Success… New mana core created…]
[Awakening process initiated…]
[Error… Error… Error…]
[Curses reacting…]
[Error… Current system output weaker than active curses…]
[Awakening will fail…]
[Searching for alternative…]
While the system struggled,
Arthur's body shattered, disintegrated, burned,
then grotesquely reconstructed itself.
Within all this, three souls resonated:
Mike's soul,
the entity's soul,
and Arthur's original soul.
Arthur's soul was the weakest—
like an apple seed beside two apples.
Mike regained control of the body,
feeling the agony of awakening.
His body burned as if melting,
dragon parts fusing with him.
The dragon's eyes merged with Arthur's empty sockets,
forming golden eyes like seas of molten gold.
The dragon's heart sank into Arthur's chest,
devouring his old heart,
settling in its place,
repairing the damaged section.
His skin peeled and was reshaped.
His former black hair fell completely,
replaced by obsidian-like black hair,
decorated with silver strands.
His mana core cracked,
dragon core fragments fused around it,
reforming it with a green, plant-like glow.
---
Ding
[Safe awakening method identified…]
[All curses will be broken as a final temporary solution…]
[Note: Curse removal will reveal host location…]
[Host will be transferred to a distant safe location…]
Ding
[Curses broken:]
[Curse — (Name hidden)]
[Curse — (Name hidden)]
[Curse — (Name hidden)]
[Curse — (Name hidden)]
[Awakening in progress…]
[1%… 29%… 57%… 78%… 89%… 99%… 100%]
Ding
[Congratulations to host on successful safe awakening.]
[Warning: Due to violation of this world's laws and breaking its restraints,
the system will shut down temporarily to restore balance.]
After the awakening ended,
Arthur's new form appeared.
Arthur emerged from a raging shadow storm, as if darkness itself had spat him back into the world.
The shadows coiled around him and tore apart beneath his steps, and the air grew heavy with his presence—as though the night itself had bowed in respect.
He wore black armor forged from dragon scales, its color like polished obsidian, absorbing light instead of reflecting it.
Veins pulsed through the armor in hues of gold and violet, glowing and dimming in a rhythm akin to the beat of an ancient heart, as if a living power were imprisoned within.
With every movement he made, a faint shimmer ran along those veins, giving the armor the appearance of a breathing entity.
His hair was a deep obsidian black, threaded with gleaming silver strands—like traces of lightning that had clung to him as he passed through the storm.
Those silver strands did more than shine; they hinted at a long age and experiences etched into existence itself.
As for his eyes… they were golden, deep as a sea of molten gold.
They did not radiate ordinary light, but a heavy glow that spoke of power and judgment, as though anyone who met that gaze saw the end of a battle before it even began.
Within those eyes there was no mercy, no overt rage—only a cold certainty that whatever stood before him had already been decided.
He stood with absolute steadiness, the shadows bowing around him, like a survivor of a cosmic catastrophe… or its very cause.
And from the shadows around him, the three-headed beast began to coil about Arthur, shrinking until it became no larger than the palm of his hand. Then it melted into him like a tattoo, covering his entire arm from shoulder to fingertips.
---
Yet he did not feel weak—
he felt power.
(Because the awakening reshapes the individual's body, they will feel tired and lethargic.)
Power surged within his body
like a raging ocean seeking release.
He closed his eyes to check his current stage.
Blue Core — Basic Awakened
"Not a raw awakened… I jumped an entire realm."
He said it with a wide smile.
The system appeared, exhausted:
[Huff… man, you really exhausted me.]
[Do you know what I had to do to save you from those curses?]
Arthur replied with genuine gratitude:
"Yes. I truly appreciate everything you did for me."
An awkward silence followed.
Then the system spoke:
[Arthur, your curses have been broken—temporarily.]
[Their owners now know you are still alive.]
[Unfortunately, I cannot erase them completely.]
[Your survival is only because you are inside the void of an Abyssal Lord.]
Arthur narrowed his eyes:
"Are they really that dangerous?"
[More than you can imagine.]
[They are connected to you… or rather, to the original owner of this body.]
"What do you mean—"
Before he could finish, a red notification appeared:
[Error… Damage escalating.]
[Temporarily expanding data field.]
Arthur wanted to ask,
but the system spoke in a sad, unstable voice:
[Arth… er…]
[Arthur… it seems my time has come…]
---