The moment the system message appeared before his eyes, Alex felt his heart begin pounding violently inside his chest, each beat heavier than the last, as if something unseen had wrapped around it and begun tightening with terrifying force.
THUMP. THUMP. THUMP.
Each pulse echoed through his body like a war drum.
Alex's eyes widened in confusion and unease, his breath catching slightly as the pressure built rapidly within him, unnatural and overwhelming.
"W-What…?" he stammered, his voice trembling.
Then—
Another heartbeat struck.
THUMP!
This time it felt like a hammer crashing directly into his chest, sending shockwaves through his entire body as something deep within him awakened violently.
And then—
Pain.
Not ordinary pain.
Not something human.
A burning, tearing agony erupted through his veins, spreading like wildfire across every inch of his body. It felt as if molten energy was flowing alongside his blood, something ancient, something terrifyingly powerful.
Alex could feel it moving.
Crawling.
Ripping.
But it wasn't physical.
It wasn't flesh or blood.
It was something deeper.
Something tied to his very existence.
His head suddenly went numb, his senses collapsing under the overwhelming surge of agony.
"KHHH—!"
A mouthful of blood burst from his lips as his body convulsed violently, muscles spasming uncontrollably as the pain intensified beyond comprehension.
"KHUGGGHH— AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"
His scream tore through the endless void, echoing into nothingness as if the dimension itself absorbed his suffering without response.
Alex collapsed onto the invisible ground, his body twisting violently as if being torn apart from the inside.
Blood began pouring from his mouth.
Then his nose.
Then his eyes.
Then even his ears.
His entire body trembled like a dying animal, helpless against the storm raging within him.
The pain only worsened.
It didn't stabilize.
It didn't slow.
It escalated.
His veins felt like they were being shredded apart and rebuilt at the same time, repeatedly, without pause.
"UGHHHHHHHHHH!!"
His fingers clawed desperately at the empty ground, searching for something—anything—to hold onto.
But there was nothing.
Only void.
"GAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!"
His vision blurred heavily as darkness began creeping into the edges of his sight, slowly consuming everything as his mind reached its limit.
Even his eyes stopped blinking.
His body no longer responded.
The pain had surpassed human tolerance.
Then, gathering the final fragment of strength left within him, Alex forced out one last scream, raw and broken.
"UGHHHHHHHHHH—KUGH—AAAAAAHHHHHH!!!"
And then—
Silence.
His body went completely limp, collapsing lifelessly onto the invisible surface as his consciousness shattered under the unbearable strain.
Alex lost consciousness.
His body lay motionless within the endless void, still and quiet, as if life itself had been extinguished from within him.
But then—
Something changed.
A faint golden light emerged from deep inside his body, barely visible at first, flickering weakly like a dying ember hidden within darkness.
Then it grew brighter.
Stronger.
The golden glow expanded outward, slowly enveloping his entire body in a radiant aura that pulsed with a calm yet overwhelming power.
It wasn't just external.
The light seeped inward.
Deeper.
Far deeper than flesh.
It flowed through his veins like liquid sunlight, spreading into his organs, bones, and cells, reaching places no physical force could ever touch.
Inside Alex's body—
Something extraordinary began.
At that exact moment, the system activated again.
[Detected Soul Power: Origin – Master]
Another message followed instantly.
[Soul Power is attempting to stabilize and reconstruct Master's body.]
Deep within him, destruction and creation collided violently.
His bones shattered into countless fragments—
Then reformed instantly.
Stronger.
Denser.
Only to shatter again.
His organs dissolved into streams of biological energy, losing their form completely before reconstructing with greater precision and stability.
Again.
And again.
And again.
Each cycle pushed his body beyond its previous limits.
The golden light acted as a stabilizer.
Every time his body began collapsing under the overwhelming transformation, the light wrapped around the failing structures, forcing them back into harmony with absolute authority.
At the same time—
Dark impurities hidden deep within his body were expelled forcefully, pushed out like poison being purged from his very existence.
The process was brutal.
Relentless.
Unforgiving.
Yet Alex remained unconscious, unaware that his body was crossing boundaries no human could ever survive.
If time could be measured here, hours would have passed as his body continued its violent reconstruction in absolute silence.
Eventually—
The process began to slow.
The destruction became less chaotic.
The reconstruction more stable.
It seemed like it was nearing completion.
But then—
The golden light pulsed violently.
As if rejecting the idea of stopping.
The glow intensified suddenly, erupting with renewed force as the entire process accelerated once again.
Faster.
Sharper.
More refined.
His bones reconstructed with terrifying precision.
His muscles realigned perfectly.
Every cell adapted.
Evolved.
Perfected.
The system observed everything silently.
Yet showed no reaction.
As if—
It had expected this outcome from the very beginning.
The transformation continued.
Relentless.
Unstoppable.
Until finally—
Alex's fingers twitched.
A small movement.
Barely noticeable.
But enough.
The golden light slowly began to fade, its intensity diminishing as the reconstruction process came to a complete and perfect stop.
Silence returned once more.
Then—
The system screen flickered brightly.
[Congratulations Master.]
[You have successfully integrated the "Omni Physique".]
Another message appeared.
[Omni Physique has evolved into "Absolute Physique".]
[External force detected: Master's Soul Power.]
The notifications echoed faintly through the void.
Then—
Alex's body jerked suddenly.
His fingers trembled again.
And in the next moment—
His eyes snapped open.
"—!"
He shot upright instantly, instincts flaring as if reacting to an unseen attack, his body moving before his mind could catch up.
He pushed off the ground instinctively—
And launched into the air.
His body soared nearly thirty feet upward in a single motion.
Alex froze mid-air.
"What—?!"
He looked down in shock as the invisible surface drifted far below him, his mind struggling to comprehend what had just happened.
Slowly, he descended back to the ground, landing effortlessly without any sense of imbalance.
Fragments of memory returned.
The pain.
The system.
The integration.
"Oh… right…" he muttered.
"I was integrating the Omni Physique…"
He scratched his head lightly.
"I guess I passed out the moment it started."
He blinked again.
Then paused.
"…Huh?"
He flexed his fingers slowly, feeling something completely different from before.
"Was my body always this… light?"
He looked down at himself, noticing the clarity of his vision even within the endless darkness, as if his eyes had adapted beyond normal human limits.
Then—
A horrible smell hit him.
"Ugh!"
He recoiled immediately, his face twisting in disgust.
Looking down, he saw a thick black substance coating parts of his body, sticky and foul like decayed oil.
"Ugh… this smells horrible," he muttered.
"It's like rotten eggs mixed with something sour…"
The system appeared.
[These are impurities expelled during integration, Master.]
Alex nodded slightly, understanding.
"Yeah… that makes sense…"
Then he grimaced again.
"But how do I clean this up?"
The system responded.
[You may imagine a bathtub. It will manifest.]
Alex blinked.
"…Seriously?"
He narrowed his eyes.
"Why didn't you tell me that earlier?"
[You did not ask.]
Alex paused.
Then nodded.
"…Fair enough."
He closed his eyes.
"First… a bath."
A white bathtub appeared instantly, along with a standing lamp that illuminated the darkness with warm light.
Alex smiled slightly.
"Nice."
Without hesitation, he removed his ruined clothes and stepped into the tub, letting the warm water wash away the black impurities clinging to his skin.
Time passed quietly.
Only after the smell completely disappeared did he step out.
Then—
"A mirror."
A large mirror appeared instantly.
Alex walked toward it casually.
But the moment he saw his reflection—
He froze.
His eyes widened slowly.
He touched his face.
"Wow…"
"How did I suddenly become this handsome?"
His gaze dropped to his body.
Defined muscles.
Perfect proportions.
Broad shoulders.
Powerful frame.
"This… is insane."
Then he clenched his fist slowly.
Power surged through him like a silent storm.
"I can feel it…"
"I've never been this strong."
A small smirk appeared on his lips.
"System."
"Show me my physique description… and status."
The system responded instantly.
And what appeared next—
Left him completely speechless.