Bagania had changed.
The once-lively city now breathed differently. Its people whispered, walked in pairs, avoided shadows, and locked their doors at dusk. And at the center of this growing dread stood the man who should've never returned from death.
Rahul Saini.
The inn that once smelled of steamed buns and ginseng tea now reeked of incense and fear. But Rahul? He sat in the main hall, calm as ever, sipping rice wine and flipping through a book he wasn't reading.
He didn't need to.
Every page around him whispered secrets.
Every person who entered became a well of emotion.
And he was learning to manipulate it.
The system voice chimed, soft but clear.
[DING! CHAOS SYSTEM UPDATE DETECTED.]
[New Feature Unlocked: Emotional Influence Field]
[Host may now project subtle emotional waves over a 100-meter radius. Strength of influence depends on emotional resonance and current "Corruption Level."]
[Corruption Level: 2% (Seed Stage)]
Rahul closed the book and smirked. "So… I don't have to just absorb emotions. I can stir them too."
He extended his spiritual sense, pushing a thin ripple outward, like tossing a stone into a silent lake.
Target: Shopkeepers nearby. Emotion implanted: Unease.
Moments later, a merchant across the street dropped his scale weights and muttered, "I… I feel like something's watching me."
Target: Tea seller's daughter. Emotion implanted: Affection toward the unknown.
The girl turned her gaze to the inn, eyes glazed with dreamy wonder.
Rahul exhaled deeply.
"I can shape the city like clay. Mould their truths, bend their choices, guide their fear... or devotion."
He licked his lips.
"Let's see what happens if I push it."
He pulsed again.
This time, across the entire southern district.
Emotion Implanted: Paranoia.
Almost instantly, hawkers argued. Disciples drew their swords. A healer accused his assistant of theft. Lovers turned cold.
And from it all…
[DING! Absorbed +388 Fear, +201 Hatred, +90 Jealousy, +60 Sorrow]
[Corruption Level: 4%]
Rahul closed his eyes, feeling the power rise.
But he wasn't alone.
—
At noon, just as he stirred a third round of unrest, a robed man appeared silently in the inn.
He had no footsteps. No breath. His presence was like shadow made flesh. He wore gray with a single red emblem stitched across the chest — a symbol that resembled a cracked mask.
Rahul didn't look up. "Took you long enough."
The man chuckled, his voice like dried leaves scraping stone. "You've stirred the pond too fast, little ripple. The frogs are leaping."
"Let them leap. I'll boil them alive."
The man stepped closer.
"We are the Crimson Veil—a faction that thrives in unseen cracks. We've been watching you since you ripped Dan Mu's soul apart like candy. And we're impressed."
"I don't care," Rahul replied bluntly.
"But you should," the man said softly. "We know what you are. What you're becoming. We know of the Chaos Seed. And we can help you—"
"I don't need help."
"Then let me tempt you."
The man tossed a scroll onto the table.
Rahul opened it. His eyes flickered.
Inside was a formation. One he didn't recognize… but the seed inside him did.
[DING! Forbidden Domain Formation Detected: Fragment of the First Chaos Domain]
[Do you wish to activate? Warning: Once opened, domain will alter local reality within 30 meters. Spiritual laws will bend.]
Rahul grinned. "Now this… this is interesting."
—
That evening, he activated the domain inside the basement of the inn.
With a drop of his blood and a flick of Chaos Qi, the scroll burned and the formation ignited.
The floor cracked. The air screamed. And then silence.
A black lotus bloomed beneath his feet.
A ring of crimson mist spread around the room.
The walls twisted—visibly bending—as if reality had just melted and reformed.
[DING! Chaos Domain Initiated: "Shattered Will"]
[Effect: All within the domain suffer from distorted spiritual sense, unstable Qi flow, and growing internal confusion.]
[Host receives +30% Emotional Absorption, +20% Qi Efficiency, +10% Corruption Gain]
Rahul stood at the center, arms spread, eyes closed.
He could feel every pulse, every tiny flicker of fear and disorientation echoing in the domain.
He opened his eyes—and with them, dozens of eyes opened around the walls. Eyes of shadow. Of memory. Of madness.
It was beautiful.
"This is power. Not brute strength. Not flashy cultivation. But influence. Subtle. Unstoppable."
—
The next morning, a disciple from the Flying Willow Sect entered the inn, oblivious to what had changed.
He came to investigate.
He never left.
Not alive.
—
By the third day, Bagania had changed again.
The southern district now slept earlier. Arguments flared over nothing. Markets collapsed into brawls. Sect disciples complained of haunting dreams. Alchemists found their pills failing.
A silent infection had begun.
A city-wide descent.
And at its center, Rahul sat, watching, feeding, growing.
[DING! CHAOS SYSTEM UPDATE]
[Corruption Level: 8% (Root Stage)]
New Unlocks:
— Skill: "Echo of Doubt" – Implants hesitation in an enemy's mind, delaying attacks by 0.5–2 seconds.— Skill: "Mirror Scar" – Reflects spiritual trauma absorbed from others into foes.— Technique: "Fractured Reflection Palm" – Causes internal Qi deviation by distorting spiritual harmonics.
—
But not all were blind.
From the peak of Jade Fang Mountain, an old monk stirred in meditation.
His spiritual sense pierced miles.
He frowned.
"Chaos has bloomed… after centuries…"
He rose from the lotus platform, robes fluttering in the wind.
"Prepare the cleansing scriptures. The time of balance must return."
—
Back in Bagania, Rahul stood over the silent body of another assassin—this one from the Crimson Veil.
They had betrayed him.
Tried to reclaim the domain scroll.
Too slow.
Too weak.
Rahul fed on the traitor's final thoughts.
[DING! Absorbed +202 Rage, +144 Regret, +120 Hatred]
The Chaos Seed pulsed again.
[Corruption Level: 10% – First Bloom]
Rahul looked toward the sky.
He knew something had shifted.
Beyond the city.
Beyond this continent.
Somewhere, powers had noticed him.
But he didn't care.
Let them notice.
Let them tremble.
Because Rahul Saini wasn't playing by their rules.
He was writing his own.
With Chaos.