War Room — 6:00 AM
The war room was silent.
Not the normal kind of silence—
the kind that felt like the universe itself held its breath.
Asura stood barefoot on a polished obsidian floor, dried blood on his pajama sleeve, a divine artifact still humming faintly on the table beside him.
Across from him…
…stood her.
The Demon Queen.
Not screaming.
Not flaring aura.
Just watching him.
Her presence alone made the instructors behind Asura kneel.
"Child," she repeated, voice dangerously soft,
"what are you?"
Asura blinked.
Inside his head:
[ SYSTEM: Caution. Answering truthfully may cause extinction-level consequences. ]
[ AETHERBORN: Lie. Badly. I want to see what happens. ]
Asura cleared his throat.
"I'm… just a demon."
Her stare didn't move.
"Demons do not metabolize weapons through the heart."
Asura raised a finger.
"I hydrate."
Silence.
One instructor quietly tried to crawl toward the door, only to be forced flat by her aura.
The Demon Queen stepped closer, slow, her bare feet silent on the floor.
"Your aura is ancient. Your magic is foreign. Your existence—"
"…does not fit in this world."
Asura casually leaned back on the table.
"Neither do taxes, yet here we are."
The Demon Queen blinked once, like she needed a moment to reboot.
"Who are you, boy?"
Asura countered without hesitation:
"Who are you?"
The instructors collectively winced.
Her eyes narrowed—obsidian, ancient, sharp.
"I am the former Demon Queen."
"Ruler of the Demon Kingdom… before your grandfather."
"The one who trained him."
Asura froze.
"Wait—
So you're like… my grandma?"
Her voice dropped to the temperature of a collapsing star.
"No."
Asura whispered to himself:
"Damn. Would've been cool to level up the family tree."
Twenty minutes later.
The Headmaster stood in front of the instructors, trembling like a man who'd seen death, kissed it, and got billed for emotional damage.
"We… will be sending all students home for a temporary break."
The instructors exhaled in collective relief.
He added, shaky but proud:
"I will… also be going on a vacation."
The Demon Queen turned slowly.
"No. You will not."
Her aura rolled across the room like a storm front.
"You woke me up using a Divine Summoning Scroll."
"At five in the morning."
"Because you lost a student inside a Divine Artifact."
Instructors sank to their knees instinctively.
The Headmaster squeaked:
"In my defense… that student vaporized a quarter of the continent."
The Demon Queen crossed her arms.
"If one child can defeat every instructor and the headmaster simultaneously—"
"then you will train until you can stop him."
An instructor swallowed.
"Stop… that?"
The Demon Queen pointed at the empty spot where Asura had been standing.
"Yes. Him."
The Headmaster died inside all over again.
Asura casually slipped away mid-speech, humming to himself.
"Slime form v2… what color should I be…"
"Blue seems cliché. White maybe?"
[ SYSTEM: Host, please do not become a collectible merchandise mascot. ]
A second message popped over it:
[ AETHERBORN: Become sparkly. Like a rare gacha unit. ]
Asura grinned.
"See? A responsible adult agrees with me."
[ SYSTEM: That thing is older than morality and wants chaos. Do not listen to it. ]
"White slime it is."
Back in the war room.
The Demon Queen scanned the room.
"Where is the boy?"
The instructors looked around.
Dead silent.
The Headmaster whispered:
"...We lost him."
The Demon Queen closed her eyes.
Took a slow breath.
"This kingdom is doomed."
✦ Dorm Room: The Slime and The System
Late Morning — Asura's Dorm
Asura oozed onto his bed like a sentient marshmallow.
A small, glossy white slime, shaped vaguely like a chibi beanbag with tiny horn nubs and a mischievous sparkle in his… uhh… surface.
He bounced once.
bloop.
"Slime supremacy. Peak evolution."
He tried shifting again—
the slime bounced higher, landed on his pillow, and slowly deflated like a dying soufflé.
He was having the time of his life.
Asura mentally tapped his system.
"Okay System, info dump. What can my sub-race do?"
[ SYSTEM: Gladly. Host's new sub— ]
A different text window cut in.
Font: sleek, violet, smug.
[ AETHERBORN: I'll handle it. ]
[ SYSTEM: Excuse—? ]
[ AETHERBORN: Too slow. ]
The Aetherborn projected a screen directly in front of Asura.
[ NEW SUB-RACE ACQUIRED ]
Race: Aetherborn (Sub-Type: Origin Echo)
Body Type: Aether form Vessel (Mutable — Non-biological)
Core State: NON-BIOLOGICAL / AGE-INDEPENDENT
Primary Characteristics:
No blood. No organs. No mortal decay.Body is constructed, not born. Immune to erosion inside divine artifacts. Can alter physical form through will + mana (within conceptual coherence). Does not age.
Notes:
Former physical body = irrecoverable under mortal frameworks.Current form = Aetheric existence wearing matter like clothing.
Asura stared.
"Wait. Back up. My body got what?"
[ AETHERBORN: Erased. Utterly. ]
[ SYSTEM (panicking): I WAS GETTING TO THAT— ]
The Aetherborn went on, tone breezy — like discussing laundry.
[ AETHERBORN: Your original body was decomposed on a molecular → atomic → conceptual level. ]
Asura paused.
"…So I died?"
[ AETHERBORN: Yes. ]
[ SYSTEM: TECHNICALLY. ]
[ AETHERBORN: You got better. ]
Asura bounced on the bed once more.
bloop-BOING.
"Soooo… what am I now?"
The Aetherborn enlarged the window.
[ CURRENT STATE: AETHER-SLIME ]
Aetheric consciousness housed in a malleable mana-core. Physical form = optional. Can recreate a humanoid body at any age/shape/appearance. Can mimic other races so long as you learn their mana signatures.
Asura froze.
"Hold on. I don't age?"
[ AETHERBORN: Correct. ]
[ SYSTEM: Clarification — biological aging ceased because you are no longer biological. ]
Asura blinked his slime eyes.
"…So I'm stuck as an 8-year-old forever?"
[ AETHERBORN: No. Your last biological age was 8. ]
[ AETHERBORN: Your actual age is… ]
The text changed.
It showed a number increasing rapidly:
8 years old → 47 years old → 300 → 2,000 → 14,520 → ∞
The system beeped—irritated.
[ SYSTEM: STOP SHOWING HIM THAT. ]
[ AETHERBORN: Technically, he is ageless and simultaneously increasing in metaphysical age. ]
Asura stared.
"…So I'm an immortal slime?"
[ SYSTEM: Host, please do not phrase it like that. ]
Asura grinned.
"I am an immortal slime."
He said it louder.
"IMMORTAL. SLIME."
bloop of superiority.
Asura tried morphing again.
White slime → humanoid outline → white slime with tiny arms → abomination → white slime.
"I will master this. I will become peak adorable."
[ AETHERBORN: You already resemble forbidden mochi. ]
[ SYSTEM: …That is not encouragement. ]
Asura rolled himself dramatically off the bed and onto the floor.
bloop splat
"This is the best day of my life."
✦ Dorm Room: A Slime's Existential Crisis
Continuation
Asura, still in his premium-marshmallow-slime form, bounced once on the mattress.
Then—
He froze.
Very slowly—
like a loaf of bread realizing it was sentient—
he gasped.
"WAIT.
WHAT ABOUT MY TRANSFORMATION?!"
He puffed up into a perfect sphere of panic.
"My hair—
my giant horns—
my aesthetic—
my main character moment!"
[ SYSTEM: Host, remain calm— ]
A violet window interrupting like a rude pop-up ad:
[ AETHERBORN: Nothing happened to it. ]
[ SYSTEM: …Stop interrupting me. ]
[ AETHERBORN: No. ]
Asura bounced to glare at the purple text window.
"Explain or I will ugly-cry."
The Aetherborn answered, tone bored in the cosmic sense:
[ AETHERBORN: Your transformation is a metaphysical state, not tied to flesh. ]
[ AETHERBORN: You don't transform your body — you transform your Existence. ]
Asura blinked.
"So I can still go tall, handsome, terrifying demon warlord?"
[ AETHERBORN: Yes. ]
[ AETHERBORN: If anything, it's stronger now. ]
**[ AETHERBORN: The only changes are—
The wings can manifest as pure aether, Your markings shift based on emotional frequency. ]**
He paused.
"Do they sparkle?"
[ AETHERBORN: If you want them to. ]
Asura stared at nothing in reverent silence.
"…I can sparkle like a magical supervillain."
[ SYSTEM: Focus, Host. ]
Asura suddenly perked up.
"OH! What is Aether anyway?"
The system inhaled (purely out of spiritual exhaustion).
[ SYSTEM: Aether is the primordial medium that predates mana, aura, spirit, and matter. ]
The Aetherborn attempted to speak—
[ AETHERBORN: Aether is— ]
[ SYSTEM: TOO SLOW. I ANSWERED FIRST. ]
Asura blinked.
"…Did you just flex answering speed?"
[ SYSTEM: I DID. ]
[ AETHERBORN: I was going to let you answer that one. ]
[ SYSTEM: …Oh. ]
[ AETHERBORN: You didn't have to sprint, little calculator. ]
[ SYSTEM: I AM NOT LITTLE. ]
The slime wiggled with joy at the drama.
"Okay, okay—what's Aether exactly, for real-real?"
The system reorganized its tone, as if adjusting glasses it didn't have.
[ SYSTEM DEFINITION: AETHER ]
AETHER = a higher-order substrate reality appears to obey.
Mana = energy.Aura = will.Spirit = essence.Aether = the blueprint all of those obey.
If mana is fire,
and aura is muscle,
aether is the constraint layer that determines how reality expresses itself.
Asura whistled.
Or tried to.
It came out like a wet fwoop.
"Aether hacks the universe."
[ SYSTEM: …Yes. ]
Then Asura narrowed his eyes.
"Then what IS my transformation?
That winged one—the destruction/self-erasing one.
What race is that?"
The Aetherborn went quiet.
The silence wasn't normal silence.
It was weight.
[ AETHERBORN: No. ]
Asura stared.
"…No as in 'no answer' or no as in 'you'll die?'"
[ SYSTEM (quietly): He means no as in 'the truth would change you.' ]
[ AETHERBORN: Some knowledge is not meant for mortals—
even… special ones. ]
The slime deflated.
"…You two suck."
[ SYSTEM: Host, your transformation is not demonic. ]
[ SYSTEM: It is tied to your Aetheric lineage fragment.]
[ AETHERBORN: Do not push farther. ]
[ AETHERBORN: You are not ready to know whose power you tapped into. ]
Asura muttered:
"Every time I ask a lore question, the universe threatens me."
[ SYSTEM: Correct. ]
[ AETHERBORN: Welcome to being relevant. ]
Asura, suddenly motivated:
"Fine. Then I'll just get strong enough that no one can stop me from knowing."
Both the system and Aetherborn responded at the same time—
[ SYSTEM: …He's serious.]
[ AETHERBORN: Yes. Good. Struggle upward.]
The slime did a determined little hop.
bloop.
✦ Dorm Room: Customizing a New Existence
Continuation
Asura sat on his bed — still a small white slime — concentrating with the intensity of a scientist holding a bomb made of glitter.
"Okay. New goal.
I will be cute…
and terrifying."
He focused, remembering what the Aetherborn taught him:
"Just imagine the form. Will reshapes matter."
The slime rippled — stretched — inflated—
POP.
A humanoid silhouette formed from white, liquid aether.
Hair appeared first.
Long, flowing, dramatic black?
→ too edgy.Short silver with side-bangs like a prodigy?
→ too princely.Ponytail?
→ too responsible.
He kept cycling.
Each form flickered like someone scrolling hairstyles in character creation.
[ SYSTEM: Host, please stop switching models mid-render. ]
[ AETHERBORN: No, continue. This is entertaining. ]
Finally—
Asura formed a hairstyle that clicked.
Messy, slightly fluffy white hair with a faint shimmer of silver at the ends — short enough to look his age, but stylish enough to feel like a protagonist.
He spun in front of the mirror.
"Yes.
This screams: 'cute enough to get free snacks, dangerous enough to destroy reality.'"
Next, height.
He grew —
→ 6'2" (absurd)
→ 5'10" (illegal for an eight-year-old)
→ 5'0" (still terrifying)
→ 4'6" (actually kinda adorable)
He stopped at a reasonable outcome:
A little taller than before — still visibly eight — just… more balanced.
Like the universe said, "child protagonist but premium edition."
Then—
A system notification almost triggered.
[ SYST— ]
[ AETHERBORN: Your aura reached Magi Evolution threshold. ]
[ SYSTEM: STOP INTERRUPTING ME! ]
Asura blinked.
"Magi Evolution? But I'm… made of Aether now. What happens if I evolve mana and aura together?"
The Aetherborn answered first, casual as if discussing weather:
[ AETHERBORN: Your vessel adapts to all power sources. Evolution will not change your essence — only what you can do. ]
[ AETHERBORN: Triggering Magi evolution would give you: ]
• A Mana Core capable of harmonizing with Aether
• Ability to bypass conventional casting constraints
• Growth of Soul Resonance — your magic influencing reality directly
Asura's eyes widened like a kid realizing sugar exists.
"So I become a… Magi… and Aether?"
[ AETHERBORN: Smart choice if you value survival. ]
[ SYSTEM: Correction — extremely smart choice if you like not dying. ]
[ AETHERBORN: Mortals with aether tend to attract… attention. ]
Asura grinned.
"So I'll be a Magi, a True Demon Lord, and Aether?
That sounds like cheating."
[ SYSTEM: It is cheating. ]
[ AETHERBORN: Keep going. Let's break reality harder. ]
Meanwhile — In the Academy Hallways
The Demon Queen and the Headmaster were searching everywhere.
Sweeping halls.
Ripping open barriers.
Checking training fields.
Breaking into restricted wings.
The Headmaster wiped sweat off his forehead.
"We have searched every corner. I'm telling you— Asura would go back to his dorm room."
The Demon Queen glared.
"If he were in his dorm, we would feel it."
She scanned with her aura.
…Nothing.
(Asura, inside said dorm room, had instinctively dampened his presence to zero.)
[ SYSTEM: Passive skill — Existence Suppression (???) active. ]
[ AETHERBORN: Instinct. Good boy. ]
The Demon Queen scowled.
"Then where did the boy go?
He vanished from a divine artifact—
that should be impossible."
The Headmaster weakly raised a hand.
"Well… we could check his dorm roo—"
She cut him off.
"Don't be ridiculous. He would not simply go home and sleep."
Cut to Asura in his dorm:
"I love being a slime."
He flopped dramatically back onto his bed.
bloop.
Asura cracked his knuckles — well, pseudo-knuckles.
"Alright. Let's do Magi evolution."
The Aetherborn's text changed to a darker hue.
[ AETHERBORN: Are you ready? Evolution will amplify everything — even what sleeps inside you. ]
Asura smirked.
"Ready?
I was born ready."
Both windows responded differently:
[ SYSTEM: Host, please stop saying that. ]
[ AETHERBORN: Good. Let the world tremble. ]
✦ Magi Evolution: Aether, Aura, and the Unknown
The dorm was quiet.
Too quiet.
A single candle wobbled on Asura's desk, casting lazy shadows along the stone walls.
He sat cross-legged on the bed like a kid trying to meditate, except his "form" kept melting into slime and back into a body.
He poked his cheek.
JIGGLE.
"Perfection."
[ SYSTEM: Host, please choose one form and stop melting. ]
"Let me enjoy things."
He settled into a mostly-humanoid shape. Pajamas slightly oversized.
Feet dangling off the bed.
Face bright with mischief.
He exhaled slowly.
"Alright… start the Magi Evolution."
Silence.
Then—
—FWUM.
Light exploded under him in a perfect geometric ring.
A Magi circle appeared beneath him — elegant, delicate, glowing like a moon carved into stone.
Then another circle rose behind him, perfectly aligned with his spine — spinning, rotating like a galaxy.
The room filled with an impossible sound:
A low hum — deeper than mana, older than magic.
Like the universe inhaling.
His body lifted off the mattress.
The system's text softened, for once without sarcasm.
[ SYSTEM: Evolution acknowledged.
Criteria met. Aura and Mana both qualify for Magi Ascension. ]
And then:
[ SYSTEM: Clarification: Host is not an Aetherborn. ]
Asura opened one eye, floating like a confused balloon.
"Then what am I?"
[ SYSTEM: A True Demon Lord whose body is now composed of Aether.
Sub-Race classification: Aether Vessel. ]
Aether.
The word vibrated through his bones.
[ AETHERBORN: Aether is the blueprint of existence. Mana is the ink. ]
[ SYSTEM: STOP. TALKING TO MY HOST. ]
Asura blinked.
"So I'm basically… made of the universe's source code now?"
[ SYSTEM: …That is a gross oversimplification, but also correct. ]
The Aether circles rotated faster, locking together like celestial gears.
Light wrapped around his body — not burning, but warm, like stepping into sunlight.
Aether poured into him like memories returning.
His veins glowed white.
Space bent slightly around him.
[ SYSTEM: Magi Evolution — Initiating. ]
The dorm trembled.
Cracks slithered across the air — not the wall — the air itself, like reality was stretchable fabric.
His heartbeat echoed, sixfold.
Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.
He swallowed.
He felt his mana… expand.
Stretch.
Break the shape of what mana normally was.
The Aetherborn hummed approvingly.
[ AETHERBORN: Oh, that's pretty. Keep going. ]
"…Status Window. Full reveal."
The system accepted.
Everything froze.
The world itself seemed to wait.
[ STATUS WINDOW — NEW ACQUIREMENTS ]
Name: Asura Satomi
Age: Ageless — (Chronologically: 8 | Body is form-adaptive)
Race: True Demon Lord
Sub-Race: Aether Vessel (Body formed from Aether — not mortal matter)
Rank: SS+
Level: 468
HP: 680,000
MP: ∞ (Overflow Source: Aether. Mana cannot be exhausted.)
STR: 590,000
AGI: 780,000
INT: 1,450,000
VIT: 650,000
LUK: 99,999 (MAX - STOP PUSHING IT)
Class:
• Sovereign Magi
• Martial Demon Lord
• Aether-Adapted Being
Core Affinity:
Aether (Prime), All elemental mana branches
Skills (Partial):
• Akaris State (Unique):
— Anomalous existence-collapse phenomenon. Effect classification restricted.
• Armament Willforce (MAX):
— Aura Armor / Aura Coating / Aura Manifestation.
• Reminiscence Codex (EX):
— Create skills from memory or muscle instinct.
• Martial Demon Arts (Lv.16):
— Perfect instinct combat.
• Precognition (Lv.8):
— View multiple futures.
• Sovereign's Dominion (Lv.10):
— Probability bending.
• Dimensional Step (NEW):
— Disregards distance.
Titles:
• System-Bound Anomaly. (NEW)
• Reality Error. (NEW)
• Aether-Touched. (NEW)
• The One Who Outpaced Fate. (NEW)
Threat Level: Cataclysm-tier (System refuses to calculate further)
Behavioral Tag:
Excitement-Induced Recklessness
System Note:
Stop doing things that break reality.
Asura just stared.
"…Infinite mana?"
[ AETHERBORN: Because Aether isn't mana — mana comes from Aether.
You produce mana simply by existing. ]
[ SYSTEM: Host is now a standing mana reactor. ]
Asura's eyes went huge.
"…so I can spell-spam forever?"
[ SYSTEM: In the most irresponsible interpretation — yes. ]
He floated down gently, feet touching the floor.
The room shook again — not from magic, but from potential.
"I have protagonist footstep physics."
[ SYSTEM: For the love of creation, stop walking like that. ]
"Can't hear you over the sound of being awesome."
Asura hopped off the bed.
Reality rippled like water where he landed.
He flexed his fingers.
Magic gathered like eager pets.
And for the first time since being sealed…
He felt free.
"Let's see what this new form can do."
Somewhere deep in the academy,
the Demon Queen and Headmaster were tearing the place apart looking for him.
And the boy was here, smiling at his hands like a gremlin discovering cheetos dust.