"No." She replied without hesitation.
Rakina pinched her chin, falling into a deep thought. As Shun waited for Rakina to make the next move, he opened the ancient notebook. It caused a stinging sensation in his head. It wasn't as bad as the first time he read it.
Perhaps his body adapted to it? Shun wasn't sure. Just as he was reading the notebook again, it gathered attention from Rakina.
"You still have that?" She asked, a bit surprised.
"Relax, I'm not going to do anything." Shun said reassuringly, "There are a few things that bothered me. Maybe I'll be able to understand it a second time."
"Understand it a second time? You knew this language?"
"I don't. I had written a translation just below the symbol." Shun showed Rakina and indeed, there was a translation, it is quite small.
"I see." She nodded briefly and return the topic, "What bothers you that you need to read it second time?"
"it's about Monarch God. To be precise, His symbol."
Shun pointed at the symbol. A pupil with roots running downward like tears, strokes reminiscent of a crown just above it. It descends into the tip of a sword. Coiling it was two lines, both black and white, and along the lines, a stroke similar to a snake eating its own tail could be seen.
Rakina frowned deeply and she opened her hand, "Could you give it to me?"
"Yeah, sure." Shun nodded.
"What's so strange about it?" She asked after a closer look, and couldn't think of anything.
"I got the notion that I've seen something like it a very long, long, time ago, but I don't remember."
"The symbol does feel familiar." Rakina agreed.
As they were conversing, shadow creeped over them, quietly yet quickly.
Then, it sprung. Everything happened too fast.
Breath. Teeth. A maw of heat. Darkness creeping in. Shun recognized it immediately. At some point in time, there was a mouth just below, and it caught them. It closed its jaws slowly.
Then Shun felt a shove. A rough and powerful one. He looked to the left and instinctively tried to grab her, but the only thing he got was a single page from the notebook.
Rakina's figure grew distant.
"Hey, wait—!" he yelled. Through the narrowing gap, he saw Rakina.
CHOMP!
Shun tumbled across the ground, landing hard. He scrambled up.
The beast towered above—a monstrous, snow-white canine with crimson-streaked fur and blazing yellow eyes.
Its breath steamed in the cold night.
[Beheaded Cerberus – Lv. 60]
[Osamu Shun – Lv. 7]
The gap was laughable.
But Shun wasn't laughing.
Adrenaline drowned out the fear in his veins.
"Rakina! Give her back!"
He hurled his fist into the beast.
A crackle of yellow light burst from the impact But the beast didn't even flinch.
It snarled, and its body began to sink into the shadows.
"No!"
Shun gave chase, stumbling after its retreating form. But the darkness pulled away faster than he could follow.
His legs gave out. His breath failed him.
He collapsed.
"Damn it! Damn it!!"
He roared, pounding his fists into the ice.
Then.
[The constellation "Monarch God" has chosen to support you. Accept?]
Shun froze. His heart jumped—but not with joy.
He was happy. No, furious. No, both.
Because of course the offer came now. At just the right time. As if someone had planned this. As if none of it had been his choice from the start.
Like he was just a pawn.
"I don't want this..."
He clenched his teeth.
"I refuse to be some piece on Their board."
But Rakina, he saw her face. Heard her voice. He could walk away. Let her vanish.
The thought crept in, and he nearly believed it.
"I'm a scumbag," he thought.
"I'm no different than my family."
Just like his siblings, the ones who mocked him. The ones who let his grandma rot in that bed. He told himself he was better.
But that was a lie, wasn't it?
He said he'd help Rakina.
But now, when it mattered, he hesitated. He cowered.
A coward.
A hypocrite.
Maybe that's who I really am, he thought.
And then, a memory surfaced. His grandma's voice.
Firm. Warm. Unforgiving.
"Keep fighting, boy. Cry if you need to, bawl if you must—but when the tears are gone, you stand. Got it?"
His fists trembled.
"Shut up," he muttered. Not to her, but to the part of himself that still wanted to quit.
"I am not them," he said, through clenched teeth.
"I'll be better. I'll live up to me."
He raised his head. His eyes burned with conviction.
"YES!"
[Request Accepted.]
[Support Initiated.]
[Success.]
He braced, expecting power—
[You have received a curse.]
He stared.
Realization dawned.
***
[You have received a curse.]
[Living Alloy of the "Monarch God" has been grafted into your flesh.]
[Strength greatly increased. Defense vastly increased.]
[Warning: You are no longer classified as fully human.]
[Warning: Soul compatibility at 74.3%. Error margin unknown.]
[Side effects may include: increased mass, sensory numbness, hallucinations, existential dissonance, or spontaneous divine evolution.]
The moon bathed him in cold light.
Agonizing pain tore through Shun's body—like being impaled again and again by molten metal.
He collapsed, shrieking. His skin hardened into alloy. Veins darkened, pulsing silver. Muscles ripped apart and reknit themselves.
The ground cracked under his growing weight.
"AHHH!" Shun roared at the sky.
Nearby, Elias watched in silence.
[Osamu Shun has accepted your support.]
He tilted his head, thoughtful. Shun screamed as blood poured from his orifices.
"I may have overdone it. He might not last." He raised a hand toward Shun. "A little compensation."
Shun's vision flickered. His mind reeled. He was losing himself—until:
[The constellation "Monarch God" has reviewed the outcome.]
[Judgment: Subject has not perished.]
[Conclusion: Functional. Observably unstable.]
[A compensatory variable has been introduced.]
[Passive Skill Acquired: Memory of Flesh]
(Intermittent recall of pre-transmutation state. Experimental.)
[Active Skill Acquired: Echo of the Divine Forge]
(Partial control over earth elements. Adaptive interface installed.)
[Note: Emotional integrity may affect system feedback. Monitor accordingly.]
["Let us see what becomes of you." – Monarch God]