Lucien stood at the edge of the northern cliffs, where the Crimson estate overlooked the Black Ravine — a place even knights were forbidden to train. The wind here was cold, unnatural. The silence was thick, not peaceful… but expectant. He had started coming here every night. Not to train. Not to reflect. But because something in him kept pulling him here. A pulse. A whisper. A voice.
> [Warning: Synchronization Unstable]
[Foreign Entity Interfacing with System Layer]
[Unknown Directive Detected…]
Lucien narrowed his eyes. This wasn't a glitch.It didn't feel chaotic. It felt like a presence brushing against his thoughts.
Something that had always been inside him… waiting. He closed his eyes. And in the space between silence—He heard it.
"…child of blood…" "…child of war…"
"…vessel of absence…" The voice didn't speak with sound. It carved its words into his mind. Like a memory that never belonged to him. "…the gods you fear… once feared me…"
"…your world is too young to name me…"
"…but you… may call me…"
"Fafnir."
> [Unique Trait: Fragment of the Dragon God (1/6) acquired]
[Effect: Your body begins adjusting to hold conceptual weight]
[Authority Root: Chaos Incarnate — Now Recognized]
Lucien staggered back a step. His heartbeat slowed. Not out of fear. But because his body was changing again. Not mutating.
Not evolving. Remembering. Like he was never human to begin with. In a flash — visions erupted. A battlefield of gods and beasts. Sky torn asunder. Oceans swallowed by void. A black dragon with no wings — only endless coils of darkness.
Cities collapsing just from its arrival.Voices screaming prayers… to a god that had already died. "I was not born to rule."
"I was born to remind the world… what it should fear"
[System Notification: Your core has been overwritten]
[Fafnir's Will has begun merging with Host Consciousness]
[Trait Gained: Conceptual Intimidation — Cosmic Presence]
– Individuals below a certain threshold of will may experience: — Silence hallucinations
— Time perception disruption
— Existential dread
— Forced mana rejection
[Fragment Progress: 1/6]
[Next fragment: Locked until combat against ranked opponent]
Lucien opened his eyes. But they weren't quite his anymore. They were deeper. Older. Vast. Not burning. Not glowing. Just… void.
Lucien clenched his fist."This world was built to contain men."He turned, walking back toward the estate. "It doesn't look like i
am one anymore."