Inside the dark room Adam sat cross-legged, his eyes closed as if the whole world had slipped away. He could only hear his heavy breathing and his slow heartbeat echoing in his skull like distant drums. Suddenly the sound of the system sounded, cold, categorical, not carrying any warmth:
[Congratulations to the host on completing the first and second main task.]
[Do you want to redeem the reward for your mission?]]
Adam slowly opened his eyes, and in the depths there was a sparkle that did not belong to a thirteen-year-old child. Controlling the S-rank Mana was only the first step on a longer and harsher path. What will come now is what will determine whether he will remain just a survivor running from death to death, or become the real invincible nightmare. Inside he did not hesitate, but whispered silently: "do it".
[Claim the reward...]
[Bloodline was used once (rank?))]
But the warning suddenly popped up:
Beep... beep... beep…
[This bloodline will be hosted and integrated with your body. This operation will cause unimaginable pain... it may destroy your mind وقد it may kill you.]
[Do you want to continue?]]
Adam did not smile, but inside he shook with silent irony. Didn't you His whole life was a pain. He was born in the mouth of hell. There was nothing that could terrify him more than what he went through. "Continue," he answered without hesitation.
[A sound barrier is being created around the host.]
[I wish you good luck.]
An invisible transparent wall wrapped around it, completely isolating it from any eye or ear. Adam sat steadily, his legs crossed, his eyes half closed. He was suddenly overcome by a sudden pain that made his body twitch.
[Bone marrow replacement... 0.9%...]
A muffled cry tore from his throat. His forehead contracted, and his face was filled with sunken lines. His black hair flaunted with a rush of dark mana from the depths of his bones.
[Start Bloodline injection... 1%]
A faint blue energy swept through his body, rushing towards his brain and marrow. At the same time, an Ember-Red Energy flared up from his belly, to mercilessly collide with the blue one. His mind turned into a battlefield, every cell screamed.
The pain exceeded any perception. The system was not exaggerating. He felt that his bones were being crushed one by one, that his blood was boiling and spikes were instilled in every nerve. Adam shouted in a voice he hadn't uttered in many years. He rolled on the floor, his fingers dug into the wood until his nails broke. Blood ran from his nose, ears and eyes, while his body was trembling violently.
[10%... 18%... 27%...]
He shuddered as if he was being torn from the inside. He could no longer hear only his hard heartbeat and the sound of pain that filled the whole universe. Even his voice disappeared, only intermittent gasps and a soul clinging to life remained.
And before he fell into nothingness, a cold sound pierced his ear:
[The breed was successfully obtained.]
[Recalibrate statistics...]
[Congratulations. You have acquired the Gerfen bloodline – the SS rank.]
Adam gasped, his body writhing as he swallowed the air as if for the first time.
But the peace did not last.
[Warning: unexpected error.]
[The new bloodline is at odds with the old one.]
[Forced merger initiation...]
His chest trembled violently, dark Mana exploded from within him, while his veins were colored red and blue. His skin cracked half like a stone, the other half burned like embers.
[Integration with the completed Mana series... underway.]
A loud scream tore the sound barrier. The pain is no longer just physical. His mind was being torn to shreds, and his consciousness was slipping away. Every part of him was falling apart.
[50% of the merger...]
[70%...]
Blood covered his mouth and eyes, his body shaking violently. The regime coldly declared a murderer:
[Probability of operation failure: 73%...]
[Death is imminent.]
But amid the darkness, amid the blood and destruction, Adam clung to a flimsy thread of consciousness. Inside, his voice echoed, saying, " I'm not going to die. Not yet."
The world around him suddenly changed. There is no more room, no barrier, no order. He found himself a five-year-old child, standing in the middle of an old courtroom, hundreds staring at him with hatred. Their voices are rising:
– "Son of the Cursed Gerfen family!"
– "The curse runs in his blood!"
The little child shuddered, helpless to defend himself.
The scene has changed. The streets are drowning in blood, the bodies of women and children are lying, screams surround his hearing. Another scene: a burning body, a dagger pierces his mother's heart, her screams deafen his ears.
Then came the last scene... the scene that made him stop.
A woman in a wheelchair appeared in front of him. Her long black hair falls to the floor, half of her face is hidden behind a black mask, the other half is disfigured by Burns. Despite everything... I smiled at him. A calm, clear smile, as if she sees in him not a monster, but an innocent child.
Adam froze. That smile pierced everything. His eyes trembled for the first time in long years, heavy tears gathered without falling. His heart, which he thought was dead, beat again.
He stretched out his hand towards her, and his voice came out raspy, trembling, as if every word was being pulled out of his depths:
- "Even if I become a monster... even if the whole world turns against me... even if I have to kill all human beings..."
His voice trembled even more, but his eyes caught a strange flicker:
– "I won't let you die again."
Her smile widened even more. And at that moment, he realized that everything had changed. He didn't have much, but that memory... that woman... was the last chord that connected him to life.
Then the darkness swallowed him up again.
When he opened his eyes, he was not the same.
In the mirror opposite two strange eyes were reflected, the colors of which alternated between canny red, deep violet, dark black, and cold blue. His skin turned pale as ice, and his face was blank of any human expression. Even his voice when he came out sounded deeper, heavier, as if it was no longer one voice but an echo of something else inhabiting it.
[The fusion of Bloodlines is completed.]
[Redefining baskets: baskets of the unknown entity.]
Adam raised his head, contemplating his new reflection. No shock, no fear. Just an absolute cold. However, deep in his eyes, a small trace of that promise remained. A whisper in a faint voice that is almost not heard:
Ren."