Nothing marked the change.
The palace moved as it always had, servants passing through corridors with measured steps, guards standing were they were meant to stand, voice low and controlled coordinating with another.
The trio reached at guest room.
Limbo sat near the open window, feeling absence of something familiar and close, yet far and unknown.
But one thing was clear he got the Fragment due elder but it was still in his hand in light form that only he can sense.
The Fragment was resting where the system insisted it should not be. It was not stored, nor it was absorbed, not it was categorised as item and stored in inventory.
It simply existed, unchallenged , unmoved.
He tried to control it , modify it but system refused again and again.
In the end.
He did not need to touch it to feel it's presence.
It was not warmth or weight in the physical senses, but something heavier all the same.
System remained active and yet it's urgency as usual was gone this time.
The rush for integration was gone, like it knew it's not going escape.
Limbo closed his eyes while sitting in the lotus position with prana mudra hand sign as elder said — helpful in integration.
At first nothing happened.
His posture was correct, breathing was steady, but yet.
Half hour passes still nothing, his mind restless and crowded with thought and noises that surrounds him.
Then suddenly he remembered reading the passage when strategist failed in his last mission, came surface, the knowledge he gain in archive spending hours reading the books.
When mind was restless,
...clouds of desire consume brain.
Feel the path is lost,
...but you need move forward.
Rather than controlling outer world,
...control the world inside,
Balance the sun and moon.
You'll find the track soon.
Limbo closed his eyes once again, after practice, this time his path was less foggy and clouded.
That night Limbo did not sleep not because he couldn't, but because he doesn't wants to let go the state he was in which was peaceful. Opening the doors within.
The Fragment lay where they were—on the stone floor where Limbo was sitting.
It did not glow, nor it pulse.
Breath.
Stillness.
Observation.
He did not reach for the Fragment.
He let it exist.
The system hovered at the edge of his perception, usually restrained.
Minutes passed.
Then —
Something shifted.
Not in the room but in him.
His breathing slowed further, until it no longer felt like an action but a process. His awareness widened, stretching forward outward, not bind by range but in clarity.
The Fragment responded finally.
Not by entering him, but aligning.
A sensation spread through his chest, not heat, nor the cold — presure without discomfort. His heartbeat change rhythm, slower deeper, heavier.
His senses sharpened.
He felt loud noises that where amplify.
Then it stable after some efforts that hel him to hear!—
The faint sound of water moving through stone chanels become distinct. He could hear the difference between footsteps — weight, intension, hesitation.
The smell of the night air changed.
Mix confusion the smells he didn't know.
Stone.
Leave.
Metal clash.
All seperate. All clear.
His vision darkened and confusing him— then returned sharper, depth increasing, outlines refining, motion easier to track even with closed eyes.
The system reacted.
Warning: external influence detected.
Integration protocol unavailable.
Switching to adaptive assimilation.
Limbo didn't open his eyes or break concentration.
Without pushing with force, he let it continue, the pressure deppens.
Muscle tighten - not by pain, but in readiness. His balance adjusted instinctively. His posture corrected itself without instructions.
This was not enhancement.
This was restoration.
Somewhere far below, within the palace, something else stirred.
The king paused mid-step.
The air around him thickened, just briefly. The same ancient resonance he had felt only once before —years ago— brushed against his senses.
He closed his eyes.
In excitement.
"So," he murmured. "It has begun."
"The one that bounds everything into make or break."
Back to chamber, Limbo's awareness drifted beyond his body.
Not far.
Just enough.
He felt it then.
A presence.
Vast, contain, unmoving.
Not watching him.
But watching eveything in the land and beyond.
The temple.
The palace.
The land beneath.
A devine weight folded into restraint.
His mind brushed against it and recoiled.
Not from fear.
From the incompleteness.
He was not ready.
The Fragment acknowledge that truth.
The system spoke again.
Partial synchronisation achieved.
Fragment status: dormant/aligned.
User compatibility: confirmed (limited for now.)
Limbo's consciousness dippen.
Time lost its meaning in the process.
But soon he woke.
Not by pain—but by hunger.
His body felt heavy, drained, like it had been used without his consent. His legs and arms trembled slightly as he pushed himself and maintained the position for long period.
Sunlight touched him from different angles.
Higher, lower.
Later some voices echoes.
He blinked.
The system stabilize.
Status check in progress.
Information slowly loaded and unloaded before him.
User profile updated (partial)
Physical parameters: enhanced
Sensory ability: increase (restricted)
Instincts response: unlocked (+20%)
Skill [Predatory Awareness] : partially awaken
Note: overuse may cause destabilisation.
Limbo exhaled, as he couldn't believe what all this is happening. So much yet restriction.
Two days!
That's what Rin said when she rushed in moments later, eyes wide with worry and relief.
"You didn't move," she told him. "Not once. We thought..."
"I know," Limbo said quietly. His voice sounded different to his own ears. Deeper grounded.
Gaja appeared behind her, relief on his face clearly seen. "You scared hell out of us."
Limbo nodded, "I was scared myself as well."
He stood there.
The room felt smaller.
Not because it had changed.
Because he had.
Outside the palace resumed it's rhythm.
Inside, Limbo understood something fundamental.
This was not power given.
It was power that is allowed.
And somewhere beneath the stone and sky, the lion remained silent — watching.
Someone from behind.
"Why you do that?" In disagree. "He still a kid."
"So what," he needs to accelerate, the time is running faster than it should.
Back in temple.
King and elder discussing.
"Is he the one?" Kind asked. "Time—"
"Time?"
Only time can tell, what's hidden in him.
Elder said.
"Do you really believe, he's the one whose responsible for hunting wolves extermination. King express his doubts.
"Who knows!"
"But that doesn't make sense!"
Elder responded.
This is the world full miracle,
Logic may be base but, magic that is not bound by anything.
Is greater than anything—you can imagine.
"The world not only obey the logic," deep sighed guess you're right.
Whatever it hold I hope they can face it.