"Flesh burns. Bones crack. But some memories claw their way back from death."
---
The cavern pulsed like a living thing.
Rael's breath steamed as he crouched behind a fang-shaped rock, eyes locked on the far end of the underground grotto. There, nestled in a pool of half-congealed blood, was the beast.
It didn't look alive.
Yet every few seconds, its ribcage rose and fell — slow, reluctant — like a creature dreaming of something darker than death.
A forgotten beast. Old. Wounded.
But still dangerous.
Very, very dangerous.
---
[Beast Identified – Name: Boneclaw Ravener]
Type: Ancient Variant
Class: Soul Mutation Beast
Rank: High Qi Warrior
Status: Dormant / Wounded
[Core Fragment Detected – Contains Partial Moonlight Qi Signature]
[Warning: Stealth Required. Direct Combat Not Recommended.]
Rael exhaled slowly.
He hadn't come to fight.
He had come to steal.
The beast's core — buried somewhere within its chest cavity — contained a sliver of Moonlight Qi. Enough to stabilize the Shadow Bloom trait. Enough to prevent the phantom of the silver girl from fading.
But how to retrieve it from something that could kill him with a single twitch?
Rael's hand moved to the pouch at his waist.
Inside: a Flesh Coin, still warm.
The system whispered.
[Item Fusion Possible: Flesh Coin + Shadow Bloom Trait + Martial Slot Token]
Result: Phantom Root Dagger (One-Time Use – Soul Disruption Class)
[Crafting will consume current Shadow Bloom Trait]
[Chance of Weapon Break on Use: 42%]
Proceed? [Y/N]
Rael hesitated.
Losing the trait now would mean weakening his stealth — but gaining the weapon might just be his only chance.
And besides...
The girl's phantom voice still echoed in his memory.
"Pay the price."
He chose: Yes.
---
Item Crafted – Phantom Root Dagger
Class: Soul Disruption
Description: A dagger grown from stolen bloom and coin-forged flesh. It sings no sound when striking. One hit may disable a soul-beast's core response.
Usage: One Time
Durability: 1/1
Rael felt the hilt settle into his palm — cold, like frost on ash.
He moved.
---
The Approach
The Boneclaw Ravener was massive — at least twenty feet long. Its limbs were tucked in, twisted like broken spears. Bone blades protruded from its shoulders, ribs, even its jaw.
Rael's steps were slow. Methodical. He let his breathing fall into rhythm with the beast's wheezing.
Step.
Wait.
Breathe.
Step again.
Thirty paces... twenty... ten...
His Qi shifted into his legs, activating the barely-stable Severing Step I. His footfalls vanished.
At three paces, the beast stirred.
Rael lunged — low, not high — and plunged the Phantom Dagger under the exposed bone just below its neck.
A burst of violet energy flared.
The Ravener howled.
---
[Phantom Root Dagger – Activated]
[Soul Disruption: Successful]
[Core Recoil – Stunned: 6 seconds]
[WARNING: Core Flare Detected – Area Corruption Rising]
Rael didn't waste time.
He reached under its ribs, fingers tearing at sinew and cracked chitin, until they wrapped around a pulsing shard embedded in the creature's spine.
He yanked.
A spray of black Qi burst across his chest like acid.
He fell backward, coughing, the shard burning against his skin.
---
Item Acquired – Lunar Beast Core Fragment
Grade: Cursed Moonlight
Status: Stabilization Catalyst for Shadow Bloom Trait
Side Effect: Lunar Burn (1d3 days – hallucination risk)
Rael staggered to his feet.
The beast wasn't dead.
But it was too wounded to chase.
Still... he ran.
---
The Escape
The cavern shook as the Ravener roared, its cries laced with old grief. Not rage. Grief. Rael's steps echoed along the bone-plated tunnel.
Behind him, the beast bled.
Not just blood.
But memories.
Fragments of emotion burst from the core fragment in his hand:
— A silver moon hanging low over a lake.
— A girl in silver robes singing to a cage of stars.
— A weapon hidden in a temple where light never reached.
Rael blinked the images away.
They weren't his.
But they were in him now.
---
Outside, the night was freezing.
He collapsed behind a moss-covered boulder.
Then, carefully, pressed the Moonlight Core against his chest.
[Would you like to stabilize trait: Shadow Bloom (Unrefined)?]
Required: Lunar Beast Core Fragment
[Y/N]
He whispered: "Yes."
---
Trait Stabilization – Shadow Bloom (Refined)
Status: Stabilized
Effects Enhanced:
— Qi Cloaking +12%
— Shadow Step Range +1 meter
— New Ability: Echo Bloom – Create afterimage clone for 0.4 sec (Cooldown: 60 sec)
Emotional Anchor: Imprinted – "Longing"
Mental Feedback: Clean
Residual Image: Girl in Silver (Still Latent)
Rael sat in silence.
Then he laughed — softly. Not joyfully.
Just... tired.
---
Scene Shift – System Summary
[Name: Rael]
[Cultivation Level: Qi Disciple – Core Density 0.34/1.00]
[Current State: Winded, Spirit Fatigued, Minor Lunar Burn]
[Martial Arts:
— Severing Step I (Bound)
— Severing Step II (15%)
]
[Physique: Hybrid (Stabilized) + Bloom Vein Nodes (Latent)]
[Traits:
— Bone Fortification (Lesser)
— Shadow Bloom (Refined – Stable)
]
[Quests: Path of Silver Bloom (Active)]
[New Objective Unlocked: Locate Temple of Hidden Moon]
[Emotional Trace: Resonance Level – 8%]
Target: "Girl in Silver" (Tracking impossible – identity not bound)
[Mental Note Added: "Why did she choose me?"]
---
Rael leaned his head back against the stone.
His body throbbed. His mind burned.
But in the distance...
The moon was rising.
And with it...
So was he.