The gym was quiet that afternoon, the air thick with sweat and dust. Muzi sat alone in the backroom, eyes shut, trying to silence his thoughts.
His body still ached from the fight, but something deeper stirred—like pressure building under his skin.
> [System Alert: Status Screen Unlocked]
A red window blinked into view.
---
> [Status - Muzi]
Name: Zeldras Muzi (Alias)
Bloodline: Umnyama (Dormant Tier 1)
Level: 3
Cultivation Path: Urban Ancestral
Core Ability: Shadow Pulse (Lvl 1)
Condition: Stable
Trial Available: Council Summoning – Spiritual Hunt II
> [Activate Summoning? Y/N]
---
Muzi stared at the floating prompt. His pulse slowed. Then—
> [Y]
The room shattered.
Darkness swallowed him whole, colder than death, louder than silence.
---
He opened his eyes in the Umnyama Realm again—but this time it was different. The black grass was gone. Firelight flickered from every direction. Stone pillars carved with tribal sigils surrounded him.
And at the center stood a massive fire pit, burning with blue and crimson flame.
Around it, seated on thrones of horn, ash, and bone, were ten figures.
The Council of Ancestors.
Some were warriors, some shamans, one even wore a suit of bones—but their eyes all glowed with the same ancient fire.
They stared into Muzi's soul.
---
The one in the center rose. Robes flowed like smoke.
His voice cut like thunder wrapped in prophecy.
> "We are the blood that carved rivers through mountains.
We are the names they buried beneath cities and concrete.
You… are what remains."
Muzi knelt instinctively.
"I want to restore us," he said. "I want to know who I really am."
Another elder, with braided silver hair and a face scarred by time, spoke:
> "You carry the mark of betrayal. Yet you still rise. That is why the System accepted you."
The flames grew higher.
> "You are Umnyama. But names alone do not make you Maphanga stood beside the fire now, his spear resting across his shoulders.
> "From this moment, your cultivation begins. You will draw strength not from qi or elements—but from pain, spirit, and memory."
---
Suddenly, a beast emerged from the flame—a lion made of shadows and bone, its mane made of whips and rusted blades.
> [Blood Hunt Initiated – Phase II]
Muzi barely had time to brace before it lunged.
But this time, he didn't feel fear.
He felt power.
> [Shadow Pulse Activated]
+15% Speed | Reflex Enhanced
He moved like smoke, ducked under its claw, slammed a fist into its jaw. The lion roared. He roared louder.
Every strike connected with the strength of those watching. Of ancestors long forgotten.
He didn't just fight. He remembered.
And when the lion collapsed beneath him, silent, the fire exploded into the sky.
---
> [Trial Complete]
[Passive Skill Unlocked: Umnyama Resilience]
(Grants mental resistance and faster recovery in near-death states)
> [New Objective: Establish Umnyama Presence – Region: Nhlangano]
---
The council stood.
> "You are not ready to lead… but you are ready to Maphanga stepped forward and placed his palm over Muzi's heart.
> "Make our name known. Let the world remember."
---
Muzi gasped awake on the gym floor, chest burning. He tore open his shirt to find a new mark glowing beneath his skin—three black lines shaped like a broken crown.
Banele called from the hallway, "You alive in there, bro?"
Muzi stood, slower this time. Stronger.
"I'm good," he said calmly. "Let's go."