"Second match!"
Instructor Gareth's voice cut through the courtyard.
"Kael Valdris versus Mira Shadowfen."
Shadowfen. One of the Seven Great Clans. Assassins and spies.
Great.
A girl stepped into the ring. Small. Thin. Dark hair cut short. Eyes like a predator.
She looked weak.
Which means she's probably the most dangerous one here.
We faced each other.
"Begin!"
She vanished.
Fuck.
Instinct saved me. I dove left.
A blade whistled past where my throat had been.
"Not bad," Mira said. Already behind me.
I spun. She was gone again.
Shadow techniques. Bronze Core minimum. And she's what, seven? Eight?
These clans breed monsters.
I closed my eyes.
Can't track her visually. Too fast. But...
I listened.
Footsteps. Light. Behind me. Closing.
I dropped.
Her blade passed overhead.
Swept her legs.
She jumped. Avoided it.
But now I could see her.
I lunged. Caught her wrist.
She twisted. Nearly broke my grip.
Nearly.
I held on. Yanked her close.
Headbutted her.
She stumbled back. Nose bleeding.
"You little—"
I didn't let her finish. Rushed in. Grabbed her knife hand. Twisted hard.
The blade clattered to the ground.
Kicked it away.
Then drove my fist into her solar plexus.
She collapsed. Gasping.
"Submit," I said.
She glared up at me. Hatred in those eyes.
But she tapped the ground.
"Winner: Kael Valdris."
I helped her up.
She slapped my hand away.
"Don't touch me."
"Your choice."
She walked off. Clutching her ribs.
Made another enemy. Good job, Kael.
At least she's alive. Can't say the same for the next one.
Break between fights. Ten minutes.
I sat against the wall. Breathing hard.
Two fights. Two wins. Mortal Core beating Bronze Cores.
They're noticing.
"Water."
I looked up. One of the other children. Boy with brown hair. Plain face. Holding out a waterskin.
"Thanks," I said. Took it. Drank.
"I'm Darius," he said.
"Kael."
"I know. Everyone knows. Mythic talent. Beat Viktor. Beat Mira."
"Luck."
"Bullshit." He sat beside me. "You fight like someone who's done it before. Real fighting. Not training."
Perceptive.
"Maybe."
"Where'd you learn?"
"Around."
He studied me. Then nodded.
"Fair enough. We all got secrets."
"Why are you talking to me?"
"Because you're going to be important. And I'm smart enough to make friends with important people."
I laughed. Couldn't help it.
"Honest."
"Practical," he corrected. "This clan eats the weak. I don't plan on being weak."
"Neither do I."
"Good. Then we understand each other."
Instructor Gareth's voice boomed across the courtyard.
"Break's over! Final matches!"
Darius stood. Offered his hand.
I took it. He pulled me up.
"Good luck," he said.
"You too."
"Third match!"
Here we go.
"Kael Valdris versus..."
Instructor Gareth paused. Looked at a note someone handed him.
Frowned.
"Roderic Valdris."
Wait.
Roderic?
A teenager stepped into the ring. Fifteen years old. Silver Core. Fully trained.
This wasn't an assessment.
This was an execution.
"Instructor," I said. "He's fifteen. Silver Core. This isn't a fair—"
"Life isn't fair, boy. Get in the ring or forfeit."
They're testing me. Or eliminating me. Probably both.
I looked at Roderic. He smiled. Cruel.
"Don't worry, little brother. I'll make it quick."
Brother. Half-brother. Second concubine's son.
Viktor's older brother.
Of course.
I stepped into the ring.
No way out. Only through.
Instructor Gareth raised his hand.
"Same rules. No killing—"
"Accidents happen," Roderic interrupted.
Gareth looked at him. Said nothing.
Right. No killing unless it's convenient.
"Begin!"
Roderic moved.
Silver Core speed. Like lightning.
His fist caught me in the ribs. Something cracked.
I flew backward. Hit the ground hard.
Fuck. That hurt.
"Stay down, bastard. Make this easy."
I pushed myself up. Tasted blood.
"Go to hell."
He laughed. "Wrong answer."
He was on me again. Knee to my face.
I barely blocked. Arm went numb.
Stumbled back.
Silver Core versus Mortal Core. Not even close.
He's toying with me.
"You know what your mother is?" Roderic circled. "A cheap whore. Father kept her because she was pretty. That's it."
Ignore him. Focus.
"And you? You're nothing. Accident. Mistake. Should've been drowned at birth."
Still talking.
"Mother told me to do this. Said you were a threat. Mythic talent or not, you're—"
I threw dirt in his eyes.
He recoiled. "What the—"
I grabbed a training sword from the edge of the ring.
Wooden. But solid.
Swung for his knee.
Connected.
He screamed. Dropped.
I hit him again. Ribs.
Again. Shoulder.
"You little—"
He grabbed my throat. Lifted me off the ground.
Can't breathe.
Dying. Again.
His grip tightened.
Vision started to fade.
Not like this. Not again. Not—
Something in me snapped.
Not physically.
Deeper.
The hunger I'd felt in my dreams—it surged.
My hand found his face. Fingers dug into his eyes.
He screamed. Dropped me.
I fell. Gasped for air.
He staggered back. Blood streaming from his ruined eye.
"I'll kill you! I'll fucking kill you!"
He drew a real sword. Not training equipment.
Steel. Sharp. Deadly.
So much for rules.
Instructor Gareth didn't stop him.
Right. Accident.
Roderic charged. Sword raised.
I dodged. Barely.
The blade missed.
I swung the wooden sword.
Hit his wrist.
The real sword flew from his grip.
Spun through the air.
I caught it.
Muscle memory from my past life. Hours of enforcer training. Different weapons, same principle.
Roderic froze.
"Wait—"
I stabbed up.
Under his ribs.
Into his heart.
His eyes went wide.
"You... you can't..."
I twisted.
He died.
And then...
The hunger exploded.
It wasn't like eating. Wasn't physical.
Something inside me—the Devourer's Mark—reached out.
Grabbed Roderic's essence. His soul. His everything.
And pulled.
I felt it flood into me. His power. His skills. His memories.
Training. Years of it. Sword forms. Essence manipulation. His mother's orders to kill me. Fear when he realized I might actually—
I screamed.
Fell to my knees.
It was too much. Too fast. Too—
Status window blazed in my vision.
╔════════════════════════════════════╗
║ FIRST KILL ACHIEVED ║
╠════════════════════════════════════╣
║ SOUL ABSORBED: Roderic Valdris ║
║ RANK: Silver Core - Early ║
╠════════════════════════════════════╣
║ ESSENCE GAINED: +8,000 ║
║ CURRENT ESSENCE: 8,000/10,000 ║
╠════════════════════════════════════╣
║ CULTIVATION BREAKTHROUGH! ║
║ Mortal Core - Early → Mid ║
╠════════════════════════════════════╣
║ TECHNIQUE ACQUIRED: ║
║ • Blade Dance [Common - Tier 3] ║
╠════════════════════════════════════╣
║ MEMORIES ABSORBED: 15 years ║
║ ║
║ CORRUPTION: 0% → 3% ║
║ ║
║ WARNING: Foreign memories detected ║
║ Psychological integration required ║
╚════════════════════════════════════╝His memories. I have his memories.
His first kill. His first kiss. His mother. His fear. His—
I threw up.
Bile and blood splattered the ring.
The courtyard was silent.
Everyone stared.
Roderic's body lay in a growing pool of blood. Eyes still open. Surprised.
I killed him.
Self-defense. He tried to kill me first. But still.
I killed him.
And I ate his soul.
"What..." Instructor Gareth stepped forward. Stared at Roderic's corpse. "What did you..."
The body was... wrong.
Withered. Dried. Like all the essence had been drained.
Because it had.
"He tried to kill me," I said. Voice hoarse. "Self-defense."
"That's not... his body shouldn't..."
"I don't know what happened." I stood. Swaying. "He's dead. I'm alive. That's all that matters."
Gareth looked at me. Really looked.
Fear in his eyes.
"Get out of here, boy."
"What about—"
"Get. Out."
I stumbled from the ring.
The other children backed away. Like I was diseased.
Good.
Let them fear me.
I walked past Darius. He didn't back away.
Just watched me. Calculating.
"That was intense," he said quietly.
"Yeah."
"You okay?"
Am I okay? I just killed someone. Absorbed their soul. Have their memories rattling around in my head.
"I'm fine."
"Liar."
I kept walking.
The path home blurred.
Roderic's memories kept surfacing. Overlapping with my own.
His mother poisoning rivals. Learning sword forms at age six. Beating servants for fun. The order to kill me—
"That bastard awakened Mythic talent. We can't let him grow strong. Kill him during training. Make it look like an accident."
I stopped. Leaned against a wall.
They planned this. Sent him to murder me.
And I...
I won.
I always win.
But my hands were shaking.
In my past life, first kill was at sixteen. Gang fight. Self-defense. Vomited after.
This time, I'm seven.
And I didn't just kill him. I ate him.
The hunger pulsed in my chest. Satisfied. Waiting for more.
This is my talent. My power.
This is what I am now.
A devourer.
Serina took one look at me and went pale.
"Kael. What happened?"
I was covered in blood. Bruises forming. Clothes torn.
"Training," I said.
"That's not—come inside. Now."
She pulled me into our quarters. Sat me down. Hands already glowing with green essence.
Bronze Core. Weak healing. But better than nothing.
"Who did this to you?"
"Roderic."
Her hands stilled.
"Roderic Valdris? The second concubine's son?"
"Yeah."
"He's fifteen. Silver Core. They put you against—"
"It was a setup. He tried to kill me."
"Tried?"
I looked at her.
"He's dead, Mother."
She froze. Stared at me.
"You... you killed him?"
"Self-defense. He drew a real sword. Instructor Gareth let him."
Her face went hard. Cold.
"That bitch. She ordered it."
"His mother?"
"Elena probably approved it. Maybe even planned it." She resumed healing. Faster now. Angry. "Mythic talent threatens their children's inheritance. Easier to eliminate you early."
"They failed."
"This time. They won't stop, Kael. You know that, right? You're a threat now. A proven threat."
"I know."
She finished healing the visible wounds. But her hands trembled.
"How did you... Silver Core versus Mortal Core. How did you kill him?"
Should I tell her? About the absorption? The soul eating?
She knows I'm different. Suspects more.
Fuck it. She deserves the truth.
"My talent. Devourer's Mark. It doesn't just make me stronger."
I pulled up the status window. Focused. It appeared in the air between us.
She gasped.
"You can see it?" I asked.
"I... yes. How are you..."
"Read it."
She did. Eyes growing wider.
"Soul absorption. You... you absorbed him?"
"Yeah."
"His power. His memories. His—" She looked at me. "Kael. That's... that's dark cultivation. Forbidden. If the clan finds out—"
"They already know something's wrong. They saw the body. Withered. Drained."
"Then we need to—"
"We need to do nothing. I killed him in self-defense. Witnessed. Legal. Whatever happened after is my talent. Mythic tier. Unknown. They can speculate all they want."
She stared at me.
"When did you become so..."
"Cold?"
"I was going to say strategic."
I've been strategic for forty years. Just in a different body.
"I'm trying to survive, Mother. That's all."
She pulled me into a hug. Tight.
"I know. I know, baby. I just..."
"What?"
"I don't want this world to make you into something you're not."
Too late. This world made me a killer at seven.
Just like the last world made me a killer at sixteen.
I'm efficient like that.
"I'll be fine."
"You keep saying that."
"Because it's true."
She pulled back. Looked at me. Tears in her eyes.
"You're seven years old, Kael. Seven. And you just killed someone. That's not fine. That's not okay."
"It was him or me."
"I know. But that doesn't mean you have to pretend it doesn't affect you."
But it doesn't. Not really. I've killed before. This is just... earlier. Different method. Same result.
The memories are the problem. Not the killing.
"I'll deal with it," I said.
She wiped her eyes. Nodded.
"Okay. Okay. But Kael? If you ever need to talk. About anything. I'm here."
"I know."
"And no more secrets about your talent. I need to know what we're dealing with."
Fair.
"The Devourer's Mark lets me absorb souls. Power, skills, memories. All of it. The more I absorb, the stronger I get. But..."
"But?"
"There's corruption. The more souls I take, the more it affects me. At fifty percent, personality changes. At seventy-five, I start losing myself. At one hundred..."
"You die?"
"Worse. I become something else. Something that wears my skin."
She was quiet for a long moment.
"How high is it now?"
"Three percent."
"And Roderic was one person."
"Yeah."
"So if you killed... thirty people..."
"I'd be at critical levels. Maybe dead. Maybe worse."
She stood. Paced.
"This is... Kael, this is a curse disguised as a power."
"Or a power with a cost. Nothing's free, Mother."
"But the cost is your humanity."
"Only if I'm stupid about it. If I control it, ration it, use it strategically..."
"You can stay below the threshold."
"Exactly."
She looked at me. Really looked.
"You've thought about this. Planned it."
"Of course."
"You're seven."
"I'm practical."
She laughed. Bitter. Sad.
"My practical boy. Killing people at seven. Planning for more."
"Mother—"
"I know. I know. Survival. This world. The clan." She sat back down. "Just... promise me something."
"What?"
"Don't let it consume you. The power. The hunger. Don't let it make you forget who you are."
Who I am.
Reincarnated mob boss. Seven-year-old body. Soul-eating talent.
I stopped knowing who I was a long time ago.
But I said: "I promise."
She kissed my forehead.
"Good. Now. You need to rest. Real rest. Tomorrow will be harder."
"Why?"
"Because everyone knows now. You killed Roderic. Absorbed him. You're not just a Mythic talent anymore."
"What am I?"
"A threat. A target. A monster in the making." She smiled sadly. "And my son. Always my son."
That night, I couldn't sleep.
Roderic's memories wouldn't stop.
I closed my eyes and saw through his. Felt what he felt.
His first sword. Pride swelling in his chest.
His mother's smile. "You'll be great someday, my boy."
His fear when I stabbed him. This can't be happening. I'm Silver Core. He's nothing. He's—
I opened my eyes.
This is the price. The memories. Living their deaths from inside.
The hunger pulsed.
Wanting more.
Status window flickered.
╔════════════════════════════════════╗
║ DEVOURER'S MARK STATUS ║
╠════════════════════════════════════╣
║ SOULS CONSUMED: 1 ║
║ CORRUPTION: 3% ║
║ NEXT THRESHOLD: 50% [16 souls] ║
╠════════════════════════════════════╣
║ HUNGER LEVEL: Satisfied ║
║ ║
║ WARNING: Hunger will return ║
║ Time until hungry: 6 months ║
╠════════════════════════════════════╣
║ ABSORBED MEMORIES INTEGRATION: ║
║ Roderic Valdris [Processing... 12%]║
║ ║
║ Estimated completion: 7 days ║
╚════════════════════════════════════╝Seven days. Seven days of his memories bleeding into mine.
Great.
I got out of bed. Looked out the window.
Black stone city. Two million people. Most would die here.
I won't be one of them.
I'll climb. I'll take. I'll devour.
Whatever it takes.
A knock on my door.
"Kael?" Serina's voice. Soft. "Are you okay?"
"Can't sleep."
"Can I come in?"
"Yeah."
She entered. Sat on my bed.
"The memories?"
"How did you—"
"I'm not stupid. Soul absorption means absorbing everything. Including memories."
"Yeah. They won't stop."
"They will. Eventually. Your mind will integrate them. File them away. Like dreams."
"How do you know?"
"I read. A lot. About cultivation. Powers. Talents." She looked at me. "Forbidden techniques. Dark paths. Soul manipulation."
"You researched this? For me?"
"Of course. You're my son." She touched my face. "And I need to protect you. Even from yourself."
Something in my chest tightened.
This woman. This weak Bronze Core concubine with no political power.
She's researching forbidden cultivation for me.
She's the only one who gives a damn.
"Thank you, Mother."
"Don't thank me. Just... be careful. Please."
"I will."
She stood. Kissed the top of my head.
"Get some sleep. Or try to. Tomorrow is a new day."
"Mother?"
"Yes?"
"When you said I'm a monster in the making..."
"I didn't mean it like—"
"No. You're right. I am becoming something. Something dangerous. But..."
"But?"
"As long as I'm your monster, is that okay?"
She looked at me. Eyes glistening.
"Oh, Kael. You'll always be my boy. Monster or not. I don't care."
She left.
I lay back down.
Her monster.
I can work with that.
The hunger pulsed.
Quiet now. Satisfied.
But already... I could feel it.
Waiting.
Growing.
Hungry for more.
I dreamed of blood.
Of power.
Of forty-six half-siblings.
And how many of them I'd need to devour to reach the top.
The game's the same.
Survival. Territory. Power.
Just different rules.
And a much higher body count.
I woke at dawn.
Ready.
End Chapter 2