The first night refused to end.
Lucian's body was at war with itself — not violently, but relentlessly. Every cell seemed to be receiving the same silent command: grow faster. Heat rolled through him in slow, inexorable waves. It started in the center of his chest — right where the Void Core sat like a second, blacker heart — then spread outward along his ribs, down his spine, into his arms and legs, finally reaching the crown of his skull. Each pulse felt like someone was slowly pouring molten lead into his bones and then letting it cool just enough to hurt.
He couldn't cry out properly. Newborn vocal cords were too weak, too unpracticed. All he managed was a thin, reedy whimper that barely carried past the cradle. The sound embarrassed him instantly.
Pathetic. I'm supposed to be the guy with the recursion cheat, and I can't even scream like a normal baby.
The obsidian cradle beneath him seemed to drink the sound. The stone — mined from Mount Veyra four centuries earlier — had lain in the family vault ever since, absorbing traces of Valdorian blood and mana from every heir who'd slept in it. Now it resonated faintly with his presence, a low hum only he could feel through the new spatial awareness field.
He focused on that hum. Anything to distract from the bone-deep ache.
System. Status. Full breakdown. No summaries.
The interface materialized instantly — black panels edged in gold, hovering at the periphery of his vision like burned-in afterimages.
[Valdorian Recursive Echo Nexus – Status Query Received][Host: Lucian Valdorian][Age: 0 days, 22 hours, 14 minutes][Core: Void Core – Purity 100% | Stability 95.8% (–0.4% due to accelerated growth surge)][Current Recursion Multiplier: 1.12× (all absorbed effects amplified accordingly)][Stored Echoes: 1]
Micro-Fragment – Valdorian Bloodline Raven Trace (purity 82%) Effect: Minor Spatial Awareness (passive – current radius 1.3 m) Mimicry potency: 10% (Lv.0) [Nexus Shards: 2][Passive Absorption Rate: 0.038% core density per minute (boosted +18% by growth surge)][Estimated Mana Veins Stabilization: 39 hours remaining][Warning: Core under moderate stress. Growth acceleration exceeds standard newborn baseline by 420%. Recommend minimizing active intent until stabilization.]
Lucian stared at the numbers.
You're telling me my body is growing four times faster than normal because of you?
[Clarification: Not the Nexus. The Void Core. Your birth phenomenon — the Void Tears — imprinted a void-affinity core of absolute purity. Standard cores form slowly over years. Yours is forcing accelerated vein formation to match its density requirements.]
Side effects?
[Known: Bone and muscle micro-tears (healing instantly via ambient mana), elevated body temperature (+1.8°C), increased mana hunger. All within safe parameters for host.]
Safe for you, maybe. Feels like I'm being slow-roasted from the inside.
He tried to shift position. His left arm jerked — a full centimeter higher than last time — before collapsing back onto the velvet.
Progress, he noted bitterly.
The spatial awareness field flickered, expanding to 1.35 meters. He could now sense the exact placement of the single candle still burning on the side table — 2.9 meters away — and the faint mana current moving through the sleeping attendant's body two meters to his right.
Okay. Let's test limits. Explain Mimicry again — full mechanics.
[Echo Mimicry – Current Level: 0 (Passive)][Function: Temporarily replicates one stored Echo effect without full integration cost.][Potency: 10% of original effect][Current stored effect available for mimic: Minor Spatial Awareness]
Range: 1.35 m (increasing slowly with core density) Resolution: Detects physical objects, movement, mana flows, distance to centimeter accuracy Cost: 0.001% core density per minute (negligible) Duration: Indefinite while conscious [Activation: Automatic (passive) when spatial sense is relevant. Can be toggled mentally once conscious mana control unlocks.][Upgrade path: Lv.1: 20% potency, 2 simultaneous mimics (requires 5 stored Echoes) Lv.2: 35% potency, active toggle + 5 m range boost (Realm 6+) Higher levels unlock mimic chaining and potency stacking.]**
So right now I'm basically a living baby radar with 10% sensitivity?
[Correct. At current level, sufficient to detect threats within arm's reach — critical for infancy survival.]
Threats. Right. Because the biggest danger to me right now is a pillow suffocating me.
He felt another growth wave hit — hotter, sharper. His spine arched involuntarily. A second whimper escaped.
The attendant stirred, rose, checked his forehead, frowned at the heat, then fetched a damp cloth from a silver basin. She laid it across his brow with gentle fingers.
Lucian ignored the touch.
He focused inward again.
Shards. Explain them. How I get them, what they do, everything.
[Nexus Shards – Currency Resource][Acquisition methods:
Devouring any Echo (micro-fragment: +0.4–1 shard | standard remnant: +2–10 | high-tier: +20–100+ | Divine/Void: +200–1,000+) Passive ambient absorption milestones (every 5% core density growth = +1 shard — currently active) Special events (birth phenomenon, tribulation survival, prophecy fulfillment = variable large grants)]
[Current total: 2]
[Known uses (unlocked):
Filter Enhancement — Reduces backlash risk on next devour (cost: 1 shard per tier of Echo) Stability Booster — Temporarily increases core stability by 5% for 24 hours (cost: 1 shard)
[Future shop (progressive unlock):
Purification Filter (cleans cursed/impure Echoes) — estimated unlock: 10 shards Mimicry Level-Up (direct boost) — estimated unlock: 15 shards Soul Fork Lv.1 (split consciousness for multi-tasking) — estimated unlock: 50 shards Recursion Overclock (temporary ×3–×5 multiplier) — estimated unlock: 200+ shards Echo Archive Expansion (more storage slots) — estimated unlock: 30 shards Void Veil (concealment from oracle scans) — estimated unlock: unknown]
So every time I eat something — even trash — I get currency to buy better cheats later.
[Precisely. The Nexus is designed for exponential scaling. Early micro-devours are inefficient for power but efficient for shard farming.]
Got it. Farm the crumbs now, buy godhood later.
He tried to laugh. It came out as a gurgling hiccup.
The attendant smiled sleepily and adjusted the cloth.
Lucian turned his attention to the silver raven embroidery on the blanket again.
The threads still shimmered — mana residue stronger now that his spatial sense had sharpened.
Scan.
[Scan Target: Silver Raven Thread – Valdorian Forged Artifact Remnant][Mana Signature: Bloodline Raven Affinity (purity 68%)][Devour Available. Risk: Low. Potential Amplification: 1.09×][Estimated gain: +1.2 Nexus Shards | Minor spatial stability boost (+0.1 m radius)]
Locked behind veins. Damn.
He relaxed — or tried to.
Another growth wave hit. This one sank deep into his skull. Pressure built behind his eyes. Golden rings pulsed involuntarily.
The attendant gasped softly.
Lucian felt his heartbeat jump.
She leaned closer, studying his face.
"The eyes… they're glowing."
She reached out — hesitant — and touched his cheek.
Mana flared — tiny, harmless.
The interface reacted.
[Passive Resonance Detected – Attendant Mana Trace][Classification: Negligible ambient human mana (purity 12%)][Devour Available (passive only). Risk: None. Gain: +0.1 Nexus Shard]
Even people leak mana?
[All living beings leak trace mana constantly. Standard cultivators cannot safely devour living sources until Resonant Dominion. Your Void Core filters host safely from birth.]
So I can just… sip people?
[Passive sipping only until active Devour unlocks. Direct living devour before Realm 6 = guaranteed soul backlash.]
Noted. No baby cannibalism yet.
He let the attendant's touch linger.
The warmth in his chest drank the trace automatically.
[Passive Absorption: +0.1 Nexus Shard. Total: 3][Core density: +0.02%]
The attendant pulled back, frowning.
"You're hot… but not feverish. Strange."
She adjusted the blanket again, then returned to her chair.
Lucian stared at the canopy.
The silver ravens seemed to stare back.
He focused on the spatial field again.
1.4 meters now.
He could sense the exact curve of the cradle's edge, the distance to the door, the slow rise and fall of the attendant's breathing.
Better.
He closed his eyes.
The growth ache continued — relentless, grinding, necessary.
Three more days of this, he thought. Then veins stabilize. Then I start eating for real.
Outside, another Void Tear struck the palace roof.
Ping.
The sound vibrated through the stone, through the cradle, through his bones.
Lucian's tiny fist clenched — four millimeters tighter than before.
The whispers of dead ravens curled around his mind again — fainter now, almost comforting.
Grow fast, little raven, they seemed to say.
Lucian's lips twitched — the ghost of a smile.
Already planning to.