The light faded as quickly as it came. When I opened my eyes, I was no longer in that cold, misty mansion.
A strange breeze brushed past me, carrying the scent of metal and lightning.
Mountains floated in the sky — whole fragments of land drifting like silent giants. Below me stretched endless plains of silver grass glowing faintly under two moons. The world around me hummed softly, like it was alive.
> "Where the hell am I…?"
No answer.
The system was quiet for once — no quests, no guidance, not even its usual smug silence. Just emptiness.
My head throbbed from the teleportation. I pushed myself up and scanned the horizon. The air shimmered faintly, almost visible. Every breath felt heavier, thicker… almost alive.
> "Higher entities… what are they? And how long am I supposed to survive here?"
I walked forward, crunching the glowing grass beneath my feet. The plains slowly gave way to a broken stone path. Ruins stood ahead — the remnants of an ancient city.
Massive arches lay in pieces, runes still pulsing weakly with fading light. Broken weapons and cracked armor half-buried in dirt told the story of a forgotten war.
I knelt beside a fallen statue. It once depicted a man — or a god — holding a blade toward the heavens. The head was missing, sliced cleanly. Whatever happened here, it wasn't peaceful.
> "Energy in this world is… dense. Like the air itself carries power. Maybe if I can understand it, I can use it."
I sat on a slab of stone and closed my eyes, letting my breathing slow. For a moment, silence reigned — only the wind and the hum of energy beneath my skin. Then, I reached inward.
And the world answered.
---
[SYSTEM UPDATE]
> Absolute Energy Absorption — Unlocked
---
A current of raw power surged into me. It wasn't gentle — it tore through my veins like liquid fire. My vision flickered, bones vibrating under pressure.
I gritted my teeth.
> "Tch— so now I need the system just to breathe?"
The ground around me started glowing, lines of light tracing ancient symbols in the dirt. The air thickened, forming a vortex that pulled toward me. My heartbeat synced with the rhythm of the world itself.
---
[SYSTEM UPDATE]
> Body Formation: Level 1 — Reached
Cultivation: ????
---
I exhaled, steam escaping my lips. The plains around me flattened, the grass scorched black where the energy overflowed.
I clenched my fist.
> "Only level one…? If this is one, then what the hell is ten?"
The strength running through me was intoxicating. I felt like I could crush mountains — so I tested it. A tree nearby caught my eye, its trunk thicker than a carriage.
> "Let's see what this body can really do."
I swung my arm lazily.
The air split apart with a deafening boom. The tree vanished, reduced to splinters — and far behind it, the side of a mountain now had a perfectly circular hole glowing faintly with molten edges.
I blinked. Once. Twice.
> "What… just happened?"
---
[WARNING]
> Energy output exceeds world threshold.
Observation in progress…
Higher Entities — Notified.
---
The temperature dropped instantly.
Wind froze mid-gust, the silver grass bending as if something unseen had pressed down on it. I could feel it — an overwhelming presence gazing down, not from above, but from everywhere.
A voice, faint but heavy, echoed through my mind.
> "Mortal anomaly… detected."
My pulse spiked.
Images flashed — visions of colossal beings sitting on thrones of stars, eyes burning brighter than suns. Chains of light wrapped around them, breaking, reforming, and breaking again.
I stumbled back, clutching my head. The voice grew louder, like thunder in my skull.
> "Power unbound without permission… The balance trembles."
> "What the hell are you talking about!?" I shouted into the void, but my voice was swallowed by silence.
The ground beneath me cracked, glowing symbols reappearing like veins of molten silver. My surroundings blurred; the horizon bent like glass under heat.
Then, just as suddenly — it all stopped.
The pressure vanished. The world calmed. The sky returned to its eerie, twin-moon stillness.
---
> "Maybe… I should've taken that slower."
I laughed weakly, though my heart still pounded. My body trembled from the residual energy, but beneath the exhaustion… I felt something else. Something new pulsing inside me.
I glanced at my palm. Tiny motes of light shimmered across my skin, forming faint runic patterns before fading away.
> "Whatever this place is, it's not ordinary. And now… it's aware of me."
I looked toward the distance — faint lights glimmered where the horizon met the night. Civilization, maybe. Or another trap.
Either way, I had no choice but to move forward.
As I started walking, the system flickered again, barely visible in the corner of my vision.
---
[QUEST UPDATE]
> Survive the Trial of Origin — 0/7 days completed.
Higher Entity: Status — Watching.
---
> "Seven days, huh? Great. Let's hope they're not dog lovers this time."
I smirked faintly and stepped into the unknown, unaware that far above, behind the twin moons, something vast and ancient had already begun to descend its gaze upon me.