After some time talking with Ana, she finally seemed calmer. There was still worry in her eyes, but now it was mixed with relief—the kind of relief you only feel when something precious hasn't been lost.
She stayed a bit longer, persistent as always, saying she wouldn't leave until she was absolutely sure I was okay. It took a little insistence on my part, a few reasonable arguments, and one last kiss on the cheek before she finally agreed to leave.
"Promise me that if you feel anything weird, you'll call me?" — she asked for the third time, stopping at the door.
"I promise. Whatever it is, you'll be the first one I call."Ana gave me one of those piercing looks. She sighed and, at last, left the room with reluctant steps, closing the door behind her with a soft click.
Not even two minutes passed.
BAM!
The door burst open with a bang—again.
"NOAH!!!"My aunt Sophia stormed in like a tempest. Her face, usually calm and composed, now showed clear signs of concern. Her eyes scanned the room, found me in bed, and in an instant, she was by my side.
"Are you okay? What happened? Why did you faint? What was it? Did someone hurt you? Did you feel anything? Was it a monster attack?!"
"Aunt… breathe."
She stopped. Took a deep breath. Exhaled slowly. Her expression slowly returned to normal—or almost. But I could feel it: she was one step away from locking me in a magical containment capsule and calling ten rank S doctors.
After a few minutes explaining that I was fine, and with some calmer conversation, I managed to convince her not to freak out. Or rather, to freak out less.But of course, she also insisted on staying with me.
"You need someone here in case something happens again."
"Aunt, I'm fine. I swear."
"You almost DIED, Noah."
"Exaggeration."
"You fainted out of nowhere!"
"Sleep deprivation. Happens."
After an intense negotiation, much like the one I had with Ana, I made the promise.
"Anything strange... I'll call you. I promise."
She gave me that look only a true yandere can pull off: deadly, serious, and impossible to disobey. Then, reluctantly, she left the room.
As soon as the door closed...
[Affection: 1000%]
[Target found: Make her yours.]
[Reward: She's yours, so everything she owns is yours.]
Now, finally alone, the room sank into absolute silence. Only the soft hum of the surrounding technology broke the stillness in the air.In front of him, a floating screen softly lit up his face with a bluish glow. Noah stared at it, but his mind was elsewhere.
Suddenly, a strange sensation spread through his chest—a sharp tingling, like something was awakening inside him.
"What…?" — he murmured, bringing his hand to the spot.
Beneath his skin, a red stone began to emerge, right in the center of his chest, as if being carved from the inside. Around it, black tattoos slowly appeared, like roots spreading in a mysterious pattern.
The stone pulsed with an intense light, in sync with his racing heartbeat.
Thump-thump. Thump-thump.
It was as if the stone had a life of its own.
Noah held his breath, eyes locked.
"Has this… always been here?" — he whispered, more to himself than to anyone.It felt like it could disappear from everyone else's sight… and show itself only to him. A hidden secret in plain view—but only now awakened.
"What the hell is this.."
He spoke while running his hand across the red stone and the tattoo drawn on his skin, feeling the texture.
[This is our core, Noah.]
"So… you're some kind of system that came to assist me?"
If someone saw me at that moment, mumbling alone, they'd probably think I'd lost my mind. But in the corner of my eyes, something glowed: a message subtly reflected in the air, floating before me. Purple letters hovered on a semi-translucent black screen.
[Yes and no...]
"Interesting… so this thing really understands me," — I murmured to myself.
["I'm more like your alter ego."]
Thud.
I fell to the floor after losing balance from the chair, hitting my head hard on the ground. The shock was so sudden that I lost balance when I heard, out of nowhere, a voice identical to mine.
["Hahaha! What happened, got scared of your own voice?"]
The same voice echoed again, as if it had entered directly into my mind. I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself, and slowly got up. I tried speaking to the voice.
"So… you can talk too?"
["Yes."]
"Shit..."
I was stunned. It felt like I was talking to myself. The same voice, the same tone… it was unsettling. But slowly, I calmed down. I began thinking of the right questions—maybe this voice had the answers I needed. Before I even opened my mouth, the voice spoke again.["Don't worry, Noah. I am you, and you are me."]
"Okay..."
I pondered the meaning of those words. Instinctively, my attention was drawn to the center of my chest, where the red stone rested, fused into my skin, pulsing in sync with my heartbeat.After everything that happened, it wasn't too far-fetched to consider the possibility that I truly had an alter ego. At that point, I was already numb to the surreal. I was starting to accept even the impossible.
"So… what exactly are you… or better, what are we?"
["I don't know exactly... I only know I'm a part of your power—a power your body couldn't fully absorb. That's why your subconscious created me as an alter ego. I'm the personification of your energy, your potential. I was shaped by your mind as the best path for you to awaken completely. In short… I am your power."]
"W-what… power?"
I was in shock. Part of me wanted to believe, another part thought I was losing my mind. Or maybe... I already had.
[...]
"…"
[
{! Warning }
Your other self wishes to share memories with the host. Do you accept?
[Yes] / [No]
Note: Upon acceptance, the host will enter forced sleep for 2 hours.
]
Before I could even ask what that meant, my other self spoke:
["I don't know exactly how I have this knowledge. I only know it's part of our power. But… all the information I have is incomplete. There are blank spaces, cracks, as if someone limited my consciousness."]
"I see…"
It no longer made sense to understand through words alone, when I could see it for myself.Without hesitation, I tapped the [Yes] option.
His eyes began to grow heavy. A flood of memories invaded his mind, like an unstoppable avalanche. And then, unable to resist… he collapsed onto the armchair.
2 hours later
Noah's eyelids began to twitch. Small muscle contractions ran through his fingers, a sign that his body was slowly waking from the deep trance. A few more seconds passed before his eyes opened slowly. If someone looked closely, they would see faint red halos circling his pupils, like embers still glowing after a fire.
He raised a hand and rubbed his fingers between his brows.
"What a headache…"
The information he received from his Alter Ego fit together like pieces of an incomplete puzzle. As it had said, they were fragments, disconnected pieces, like empty spaces where something—or someone—had blocked his understanding. Even so, now he had a clearer idea of what his power represented.
"Status…"
[
Name: Noah Maxwell
Race: Arkhon
Age: 19
Titles:
Strength (STR): 15
Stamina (STA): 20
Constitution (CON): 16
Intelligence (INT): 19
Charm (CHA): 30
Mana: 25
Luck: 100
Partners: 0
Affection Points: 0
Ability(ies): +++]
"I really… am not human."
The words slipped from Noah's lips in a whisper, as if they needed to be spoken to become real.The information received after accepting the bond with his alter ego was devastating—or rather, the lack of it.
Nothing.
No explanation about his race. No auxiliary text. Not even a single hint.
The only certainty… was that he had never been human. That dormant lineage had always flowed in his blood.
And now, with the awakening of the core, his true nature had risen along with it.
His eyes examined his own body, still adapting to the new sensitivity. Everything felt... sharper. More vivid. He noticed details that would've passed unnoticed before: dust particles dancing in the air, the subtle vibration of energy around him, the sound of his own heart echoing like a ceremonial drum.
Mana veins ran under his skin, glowing in bluish and silvery tones. They weren't ordinary veins—they were circuits. Precise, symmetrical lines, as if drawn by an arcane engineer in a divine blueprint.
His musculature had changed too.
Not exaggerated, grotesque, or monstrous.
Clean. Lean. Precise.
Like that of a perfect predator, shaped by nature itself to balance strength, agility, and total efficiency. Every fiber seemed designed—not just for battle, but for absolute mastery of mana.
But... what truly held his gaze was the core.
Instinctively, he brought a hand to his chest. The red stone was still there, fused to his skin, still pulsing in sync with his heart.
Each beat echoed as a reminder: he had changed.
No.
He had been revealed.
"Truly... interesting," — he murmured, more to himself than to any presence.
Suddenly, new messages appeared in the air, floating in golden letters with a faint pulsing glow, as if the universe itself was applauding:
[The Akashic System rewards you!!!]
[You were the first to achieve what was once deemed impossible.]
[You awakened… without assistance, without artifacts, without inheritance.]
[You carved your own path, with your own hands.]
[Magnificent!!!]
[Title granted: 'Anomaly']
Noah widened his eyes.
"Anomaly...?"
As stated, the Akashic System appeared alongside mana, as if both were part of the same origin—inseparable, eternal.
No one knows exactly what it is. No civilization has been able to decipher its true nature.
It is not a god.
It is not an artificial intelligence.
It is… something in between. Or beyond.
A cosmic consciousness.
An entity that watches, calculates, and rewards.
A force that governs countless worlds, guiding mortals through divine algorithms.
Those who prove their worth—through feats, achievements, or sacrifice—are rewarded with skills, titles, talents, bloodlines, and sometimes even second chances at life.
But the system is cold.
It doesn't judge intentions.
It judges results.
Like an eternal balance that records everything: victories, failures, betrayals, rebirths.
[Title: Anomaly]Description:You broke the cycle. Awakened without aid. Created your own path beyond universal standards.You are an anomaly—an existence that shouldn't be possible. Your future and past cannot be observed by Higher Entities.You are a mistake… or perhaps, a new version of the truth.
+100% affinity with raw mana
+100 Luck
The description of his new title still glowed before him, written in golden, intense letters, as if each word had been engraved by the universe itself.
He stared silently.
"I've realized that already…" — he murmured, narrowing his eyes.
"But my power… it's very similar to this system. The only difference… is that mine belongs to me alone."
His tone was calm, yet firm. There was no doubt in his voice—only conviction.While the Akashic System seemed to govern all with its coldly calculated rules and rewards, what pulsed inside his chest… was different.
The red core, embedded in his flesh, beat in sync with his heart like a second soul.
It wasn't impersonal.
It was alive.
It was his.