Chapter 4: The Nineteenth Seed
David sat atop the jagged ruins of the National Museum, the obsidian glow of his chest pulsing through his tattered shirt. The world around him was "resetting." The shattered glass was slowly flying upward to reform the windows, and the grey ash of the Scavengers was being swept away by an invisible wind.
But David could see the seams now. The air shimmered with static.
"Status," he whispered.
A screen manifested, no longer the flickering blue of the Cradle's tutorial, but a deep, blood-red interface that vibrated in sync with his new heart.
[SYSTEM STATUS: ANCESTRAL CANDIDATE]
Name: David
Title: The Void-Hardened
Cultivation: Ancestral Foundation (Stage 1)
Blessings: 1/5 [The Primal Heart]
ATTRIBUTES:
* Strength: 22 (Can crush steel with a focused grip)
* Agility: 18 (Movement speed exceeds the eye of a standard Construct)
* Perception: 28 (The 'Pulse of the Origin' allows 360-degree hazard awareness)
* Soul Force: 5 (The bridge to the Eternity Realm)
CORE CHEAT: THE PULSE OF PROVIDENCE
* Neutral Pulse: Standard heartbeat.
* Thump of Dread: Alerts to life-threatening danger (Range: 50m).
* Rhythm of Fortune: Guides toward blessings/upgrades (Range: 100m).
* New! [Beat Sync]: Temporary combat overclock. Increases reaction speed by 200% for 10 seconds.
RANKING:
* Current Rank: 19/20
* Evaluation: You are the dark horse. The bottom-feeder who crawled out of the trash. The Ancestors find your struggle... amusing.
David's eyes narrowed at the ranking. "Nineteen? Out of twenty?"
He wasn't alone. He had assumed he was the only "Candidate" being toyed with, but the system had just shattered that illusion. Somewhere in this fake city, nineteen other people were hunting blessings. And only four slots were available for the Eternity Realm.
Thump-Thump.
It wasn't a dread beat. It was a rhythmic, artificial signal—like a ping.
A notification expanded at the bottom of the screen:
[Candidate Notice: The 'Nursery' is a Shared Instance.]
[Top 4 Qualify. Bottom 16 Expunged.]
[Rank 1: 'The Saint' – 3 Blessings Acquired.]
[Rank 19: 'David' – 1 Blessing Acquired.]
"The Saint already has three?" David stood up, his fists clenching. He had almost died for one. "If I stay at nineteen, I'm as good as erased."
He looked toward the center of the city. The Central Bank of Nigeria building loomed like a titan made of glass and concrete. That was where the Breath of the Wind was hidden. But if he was nineteen, who was twenty?
Badum. Badum. Badum.
The Neutral Pulse changed. A figure was standing at the edge of the roof, leaning against a chimney.
It was a woman. She wore tactical gear that looked far too advanced for this era of Lagos, and her eyes were a sharp, piercing amber. Above her head, a silver tag flickered: [Rank 12: Emily].
"You're the one who caused the blackout in the Museum," she said. Her voice was cool, lacking the mechanical drone of the Constructs. "I expected someone... more impressive. Not the guy at the bottom of the leaderboard."
"Twelve meets Nineteen," David replied, his heart steadying. "You here to kill the competition?"
"I thought about it," Emily said, stepping into the light. She held a small, spinning jade coin in her hand—her own 'cheat' likely. "But the 'Governor' at the Central Bank isn't a Level 10 Enforcer. He's a Level 50 World-Boss. And Rank 1 through 5 have already formed a 'Heavens Alliance.' They're planning to sweep the remaining four blessings and leave us for the Soul Erasure."
She tossed the jade coin to David. He caught it. It felt cold.
"I have the map to the Vault's ventilation system," she continued. "You have the 'Heart' that can bypass the biological sensors. We join forces, we take the Breath of the Wind, and we climb the ranks together. If not..."
She looked at the sky, where the golden eye was slowly closing.
"...we both become data-dust."
David looked at his status screen. Nineteen was a death sentence. But together?
"The vault is guarded by a Level 50 Boss," David said, a grim smile tugging at his lips. "Sounds like a lot of Fortune Rhythms waiting to be harvested."
[Alliance Proposal: Rank 12 (Emily) & Rank 19 (David)]
[Target: The Second Blessing.]
[Accept?]
David slammed his hand against the 'Accept' button.