Raizen let out a soft, satisfied moan as he felt a cool, addictive energy flowing into his body from every pore. He couldn't help but tightly shut his eyes, a pleased smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.
His tired and exhausted body was suddenly filled with immense energy and power; the nerve-wracking pain he had felt moments before vanished as if it had never existed.
[ Ding ]
[Chaos System Activated]
Raizen's eyes snapped open as he sat up straight, surprise flickering in his gaze.
"System? Wait... what happened to the snake? And what are all these purple runes on my body?"
It dawned on him that something was very wrong.
He looked down at his skin, which was covered in intricate runes glowing softly in purple light. The designs were complex and woven together in circular shapes, each rune connecting to another across his body.
The sight made him dizzy. Even more shocking was that the gigantic serpent beneath him had turned into an empty husk; only its skin remained on the ground below him.
The pools of blood that had been everywhere were gone too. As he examined his arms, he noticed tiny crimson threads continuously flowing into his body.
All the injuries he sustained while being chased by the serpent had healed completely; even his broken bones were mended, and he felt no pain whatsoever.
"This is strange, but I bet this is thanks to the body Thaumiel gave me!" Raizen thought to himself without dwelling on it too much, after all, he'd witnessed far stranger things than this.
"System, are you there?" Raizen directed his attention back to the system, surprised to find himself connected to one after all.
"At least that guy knows how to treat me!" Raizen chuckled softly as thoughts of Thaumiel crossed his mind.
[ I'm here, Apostle ] The system's emotionless voice replied.
"Hmmm! That's a new way to address someone bound by a system; looks like 'Host' won't be needed!" Raizen mused with a smile.
[ Congratulations Apostle for killing your first Beast ]
[ You have killed a 1st Order Lesser Beast: the Black Scale Serpent ]
[ Chaos System Interface Activating ]
Name: Raizen Mal'akhi Arcarnis
Age: [Twenty-Three]
Race: [Unknown]
Title: [Apostle Of Chaos And Destruction] [Chosen Of Thaumiel]
Status: [Living Vessel Of Thaumiel: The God Of Chaos And Destruction]
Ascendri Tier: [2nd Order Disciple]
Divine Source: [Entropy]
Divine Path: [Apostolic (Unique / Forbidden)]
Divine Abilities: [Sealed]
Talents: [Sealed]
Raizen absorbed every detail displayed on the status interface; surprise and confusion gleamed in his eyes.
Just as he opened his mouth to ask the System some questions, another set of notifications flashed before him.
Raizen's eyes widened as he noticed a notification pop up before him.
[Newbie Gift Package has been issued]
[Do you want to open it?]
A smile crept across Raizen's face as he felt a surge of excitement.
"System, open the Newbie Gift Package!" he whispered eagerly.
[Ding!]
[Congratulations, Apostle! You have unsealed one of the Divine Abilities of Chaos: Calamity Heart.]
[You have received a gift from Kaelos: Elysium Prime Encyclopedia.]
[You have received a talent from Thaumiel: Chaos Physique.]
"Wow!" Raizen exclaimed, his mouth agape and his eyes sparkling with surprise. These gifts were astonishing!
But what truly amazed him was the present from Kaelos.
"I didn't expect that grumpy old man to be so generous. I'll need to thank him properly when I see him again...well if I get the chance!" Raizen thought playfully.
"System, what is the Elysium Prime Encyclopedia?" he asked, snapping back to reality.
[I can transfer all the information into your consciousness. Would you like to proceed?] The system replied instead of answering directly.
"It seems this system prefers brevity," Raizen muttered under his breath.
"Yes, go ahead and transfer it." He braced himself for pain; after all, in the novels he'd read in his previous life, such operations often came with intense discomfort.
[Proceeding Transfer of Elysium Prime Encyclopedia....]
Raizen closed his eyes and waited for the expected agony. Instead, a cool sensation enveloped his head as a wealth of organized information flooded into his mind like pages turning in a book.
After ten minutes, he opened his eyes, a cold glint flashing momentarily within them before a satisfied smile broke through. This gift was incredibly valuable; it would help him navigate Elysium Prime seamlessly.
The Elysium Prime Encyclopedia contained essential details about continents, kingdoms and empires, various races, languages, cultures, political systems and even basic cultivation knowledge. With this encyclopedia at hand, he was no longer clueless; he had everything he needed to adapt to this new world.
Feeling grateful toward Kaelos for saving him so much trouble, Raizen lifted his gaze skyward and smiled softly.
[Apostle, shall I proceed with assimilating the Calamity Heart and Chaos Physique?] The system's voice jolted him out of his reverie.
"Yeah," Raizen nodded. "But can you first show me their functions and abilities?"
[They must be assimilated into you before you can access their details.]
"Okay then," Raizen said with understanding. "Begin the assimilation!"
[Assimilation proceeding... Initializing...]
"System, will it be pa....! Waaaaa.....!"
Before he could finish his sentence, a heart-wrenching pain surged through him. His eyes widened, pupils constricting as they turned crimson.
The purple runes etched across his body flared to life, spinning both clockwise and counterclockwise. He fell backward, trembling and spasming, the sound of bones creaking and breaking under pressure sending chills down his spine.
Before he could fully process the agony, a soft hiss echoed as the space above his heart tore open like paper ripping in half.
The crack was only a few meters wide, but chaotic energy poured out. What was strange was the rhythmic beating of a heart resonating from within this rift.
Then, an exquisitely beautiful purple crystal shaped like a heart floated out, so perfect that it seemed almost otherworldly. Its surface was crystal clear, adorned with a single rune flickering in and out.
The purple heart descended gently onto Raizen's chest just as the rift sealed itself shut. The pressure radiating from it was so immense that nearby trees bent under its weight; some even snapped apart, while leaves and debris were reduced to dust.
Silence enveloped the area, a deep stillness where nothing could be heard except for the steady thump of the purple heart.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
As the heart sank into Raizen's chest at precisely the location of his own heart, he momentarily froze before a deafening boom erupted beneath him. The ground shattered into massive cracks; his skin split open in multiple places as blood flowed freely. His bones felt like they were being crushed into powder only to be rebuilt repeatedly.
The runes on his body glowed brighter than ever before, spinning at blinding speed.
Raizen experienced unimaginable pain, demonic in nature, rendering him unable to move or scream; even closing his eyes felt impossible as if something held his consciousness captive against oblivion.
His mind remained alert throughout this torment, the most nerve-wracking moments of his existence stretched on for ten hours until finally, the glow on his skin began to fade along with the runes. Raizen gasped for breath as his chest rose and fell rhythmically.
Sweat covered his entire body; once again naked but indifferent to it all, he lay on the ground staring up at the sky with fear gnawing at him, terrified that death might have come for him.
Eventually managing to sit up while cradling his head in disbelief, he muttered aloud: "That was incredibly painful! I never want to experience anything like that again!"
He examined himself closely; outwardly unchanged, still scrawny but inside surged an overwhelming strength coursing through every vein. He felt confident that if he faced that serpent again now, one punch would suffice to defeat it.