[FELIX POV]
[1 DAY LEFT FOR HATCHING]
That message hovered in a translucent white screen like a promise.
I sighed. One more day
After everything that happened from the accident to waking up trapped in this darkness, I finally started to look forward to tomorrow.
I curled deeper within the egg, my growing body pressing uncomfortably against the inner shell. The space was tighter than before, but I endured it. It reminded me that I was growing, that I was close to being free.
A sense of triumph filled me as I remembered emerging victorious from the clash of wills, for the umpteenth time.
My blood roared in my veins, 'See? I will never bow to you!'
The silence that followed left me feeling smug.
Then unease slowly crept in, since when was I so prideful and egotistic?
I mean, being an orphan, I of course learnt to fight back to not be a pushover, but this was something different. I remembered the anger, the rage, the refusal to bow down; it felt less like a decision and more like a primal feeling, like an instinct.
And then there was the moment I had realised I had a system, my thoughts had leapt straight to power fantasies— OPness, supremacy, godhood.
That wasn't consistent with the me that was content with coasting on the easy life.
At least not the me I remembered.
The feeling of something unbeknownst to me was slowly changing me, leaving me frightened.
'System, ' I called out.
[Yes, Host]
"I... need an answer.
"I don't remember being so angry, so prideful, or so egotistic before I came to this world.
"So tell me honestly, ever since I woke up in this egg… have I changed, you know... on the inside?"
[Comparing the past and present personalities and behaviours of the host…]
[Scan complete]
[Conclusion: Host's personality has changed]
Immediately, my anger flared up supposed intrusion upon my self. I suppressed my anger as I asked," What is the cause?"
[Host consciousness was integrated into the wyvern vessel upon reincarnation; its characteristics have begun to influence the host]
[The wyvern's instincts respond to territorial sovereignty, dominance assertion, pride reinforcement, threat-based aggression]
[These instincts began influencing Host's way of thinking immediately upon reincarnating]
"…Am I losing myself?"
[No, Host's ego remains intact]
Hearing this, I forced myself to calm down.
[However, the influence of the instincts will increase in intensity as Host matures]
That's just perfect!
'Pride goeth before the fall'
With a hair trigger on my anger and an ego more fragile than glass, I'm left with only the fight option in 'fight or flee'.
I asked without hope, "Is there no possibility of you suppressing these instincts?"
[Negative. These instincts are not artificially induced]
[Forced suppression only increases the risk of ego fracture and mental collapse]
"So I just need to deal with it"
[Correct]
I didn't like that answer. But before I could say anything else, I felt a weird presence that I came to recognise.
A bonding ritual.
"Oh! do they never give up?"
Though I complained, inwardly I was already jubilant at self-assured upcoming victory as I welcomed this distraction to my existential crisis.
I opened my senses, already scanning for the mana thread that carried intent. What greeted me wasn't a thread of mana, it was a wave of mana that descended over me.
[Warning!][Warning!]
[High-level forced bonding ritual detected!]
My confidence evaporated.
"N...no," I whispered. "No...no, no, no!"
Mana flooded through the shell, bypassing my defences entirely and reaching straight for my soul.
I recoiled, throwing every ounce of will I had against it.
"I refuse!" I roared. "I won't be anyone's slave"
The ritual didn't care.
An explosion of mana detonated inside me.
Not physical—this was deeper, more cruel. It felt like someone took a branding iron in the shape of a person and jammed it straight into my soul.
[ALERT: Forced contract execution in progress]
[WARNING: Host soul integrity under attack]
I resisted.
I fought.
I pushed back with everything I had—rage, pride, terror, defiance.
The pain tore through my soul as I struggled against it— blinding, soul-rending pain—it felt like my very being was being unravelled.
[Host soul integrity declining]
"System!" I screamed internally. "Help me!"
[ERROR! Authority low! Ritual Override Terminated!]
[Exploring probabilities host]
[Soul integrity declining]
[Preservation of host prioritised]
The more I fought against it, the more the pain tore through my soul, until I was slowly losing myself.
[Preservation of the host's ego prioritised]
Then something changed.
I felt… different.
Sharper.
Colder.
My rage—once wild and explosive—was being compressed. Fear dulled at the edges.
I had been stopped from resisting the ritual.
"System," I demanded through clenched will, "What…exactly did you do?"
[Forced contracts generate extreme psychological stress]
[To prevent ego collapse and soul fragmentation, the system is adjusting Host personality suitablity]
[Changes made to the host: Emotional dampening, aggression stabilisation
, instinct suppression]
I felt sick.
"You're rewriting me," I whispered, horrified.
[Correction: The system is preserving the Host]
[Without intervention, Host survival probability: 0.7%]
Rage flared—muted, restrained, but still mine.
"So you're choosing this over my will?"
There was a pause.
Then the final blow.
[Host will is acknowledged]
[However, Host existence takes priority over Host preference]
"No," I growled. "You don't get to decide who I become."
The pain peaked, though I wasn't able to feel anything, I realised it was no longer just agony—it was violation.
I wanted to scream.
In my soul, I finally felt
Cedric.
I felt him crash into me like a hammer of intent—unyielding, relentless, forged by certainty and entitlement. His will didn't hate me.
He simply claimed. A thing that was already his.
That made it worse.
The contract sigils burned themselves into my soul—half-formed, unstable, searing.
[Forced Bond Established]
[Contract Type: Dominant Pact – Incomplete]
[Status: CRITICALLY UNSTABLE]
Something inside me snapped.
Mana surged violently, flooding my shell beyond capacity.
Cracks spiderwebbed across the egg.
"Wait—stop—!" I panicked. "System!"
[ERROR]
[Core pressure exceeding structural limits]
[Emergency response: Premature hatching initiated]
The world shattered.
The shell exploded outward as blinding light assaulted my senses. Air burned my lungs as I gasped for the first time, my small, scaled body convulsing on cold stone.
Pain. Sound. Smell. Everything hit at once.
I barely had time to process it before—
[CRITICAL ERROR]
[Host forcibly awakened during unstable hatching]
Agony ripped through me.
I wasn't ready. My core wasn't formed. Mana churned chaotically inside me, tearing through channels that didn't exist yet.
[ERROR]
[ERROR]
[Mana core stability: FAILING]
[Resonance feedback escalating]
I screamed.
My tiny scream of pain echoed.
My vision swam as my core fractured, mana spilling outward in violent waves.
[Initiating emergency stabilization scan…]
Through blurred vision, I saw Cedric collapse to one knee, clutching his chest as the backlash slammed into him.
Blood spilt from his lips.
[Anchor required]
[Scanning bonded entities…]
My thoughts were unravelling.
[Anchor candidate identified: Cedric Ashvale]
[Reason: Soul tunnel established, No hostile intent detected]
"Wait—don't!" I tried to protest.
[Assigning anchor to stabilize mana backflow]
The connection tightened.
Cedric screamed as my excess mana flooded into him, burning through his circuits, forcing his body to bear what mine couldn't.
I felt his pain through the bond.
Raw. Human. Fragile.
It wasn't punishment.
It was a consequence.
[Resonance lock forming…]
[ERROR]
[Not enough energy]
[System core energy expenditure detected]
[Stabilizing incomplete pact…]
[Resonance lock: ESTABLISHED]
The chaos slowed.
My core stopped shattering—held together by sheer force.
[WARNING: System energy critically depleted]
[Entering hibernation mode]
The last thing I saw through the haze of pain and confusion was Cedric collapsing, eyes rolling back as his body finally gave out, caught by a man who looked at me intensely.
Then my own consciousness slipped, as darkness claimed me.
.
.
.
.
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AN: What did you guys think of the chapter? comment, review and gift power stones.