The fire was gone, and with it, the smoke and screams.
Chris sat alone on a bus stop bench, the cool night wind brushing against his face. Sirens echoed in the distance. Students were still being tended to by paramedics. No one noticed that he had slipped away. He watched them all from a distance, eyes half-lidded, arms wrapped tight around the soul-bound sword now sealed invisibly within his body.
He had returned.
But he hadn't come back whole.
His parents had died when he was young—some accident, maybe a fire, he didn't remember clearly anymore. He'd lived off their small inheritance ever since, drifting through life, too numb to care, too quiet to be noticed.
Now the weight of a universe sat on his back.
The SoulForge system pulsed quietly inside him, humming like a second heartbeat. He could feel the souls he'd collected buzzing within his chest—energy waiting to be shaped.
> [Soul Count: 450 Lesser Souls]
> [Upgrade Cost: 25 Lesser Souls]
> [Would you like to proceed?]
Chris hesitated. The last upgrade had come easy. But now he felt it—the temptation to burn through it all. To chase power at the cost of resilience. The system had warned him: souls made him stronger simply by being held. Too many upgrades too fast… and he'd be just another blade waiting to snap.
> [Skill Upgrades Available]
> [Echolocation – Perfected]
> [Mana Control – Normal]
> [Combat Art: Phantom Edge – Normal]
> [Sword Proficiency – Normal]
> [Sense Through Sound – Extreme]
> [Fire Resistance – Super]
> [Party Control – Passive]
He'd already spent the Great Soul to perfect Echolocation. It had been worth it—his senses no longer overwhelmed him. He could fight, move, breathe with a clarity he'd never known before.
But each upgrade demanded more.
And with Mars only two weeks away, the Tower offered one lifeline.
Return.
---
The Tower was silent this time.
Not in ruin. Not in blood. Just... empty.
When Chris arrived, the gates stood open, as if waiting for him. No countdown. No announcement.
> [Training Mode: Unlocked]
> [Warning: Death is still possible.]
> [Enemy difficulty will scale based on Conduit level.]
He entered without a word.
On Floor 1, the cave stretched open again, but the monsters were lesser now—copies of what had once terrified him. Still dangerous, still fast, but nothing like before.
Chris didn't waste time.
He moved through the shadows with eerie precision, his echolocation pinging off the walls. He cut through the first creature with Phantom Edge, watching its body collapse in seconds.
Then it happened.
Instead of fading into flesh or dust… the body flickered.
And broke into motes of glowing light.
> [Item Drop: Basic Healing Potion]
> [Item Drop: Cracked Hide Armor]
Chris stared.
"What the hell?"
The system answered before he could ask again.
> [As your divinity begins to rise, the world will respond.]
> [You are a seed of godhood. Your existence warps reality.]
> [Even without intent, you influence what is possible.]
Divinity. The word hit hard.
"Then what's next?" he muttered. "Coins? Loot chests?"
> [Too many inquiries. Your level is insufficient.]
Chris rolled his eyes. "Of course."
But a new notification appeared anyway.
> [Ability Unlocked: Inventory]
> [You may now store items within your personal space.]
He focused—and the potion and armor vanished into a glowing ripple in the air.
The storage space felt… limitless.
Another reward. Another brick in the wall between him and humanity.
---
By the time he cleared the floor, he'd collected six item drops. None of them powerful. But each one more proof that something inside him was changing. He was evolving—and so was the world around him.
He didn't return home until nearly sunrise.
His apartment sat three floors above an old laundromat. It wasn't much—just a twin mattress, a few chairs, a table covered in ramen wrappers and old books—but it was his.
He didn't flip the lights on.
Didn't eat.
Just collapsed into bed, still clothed.
He slept for twelve hours.
---
A knock on the door woke him.
Chris jolted upright, breath catching.
The system didn't alert him to danger.
Another knock. Softer this time.
He opened the door a crack.
A woman stood outside. Maybe in her twenties. Dark curls. Hoodie. Coffee in hand. She blinked at him.
"You okay?"
Chris narrowed his eyes. "Yeah. Why?"
She tilted her head. "You haven't left your place in three days. And there was that fire. I saw you there… helping people."
Chris didn't respond.
"I live across the hall," she added quickly. "Don't worry, I'm not trying to start anything. Just… you seem different."
She handed him the coffee.
He didn't take it.
Then she smiled, awkwardly. "Alright. That's all. Be safe."
Chris shut the door without a word.
But part of him kept listening to her footsteps as she walked away.
Someone had noticed.
Someone human.
And for the first time in days, the silence in his head wasn't quite so thick.
---
In the back of his mind, the system whispered:
> [Planetary Trial: Mars – 13 Days Remaining]
> [Prepare, Conduit.]
> [Or be consumed.]
And somewhere inside the system's core, unseen by Chris, something ancient and wrong stirred.
Smiling.
Watching.
Feeding.