0033. The Butterfly

Chapter 33: The Butterfly

Nile's body lay still, the cold floor beneath him offering little comfort as the cocoon hovered above, pulsating with a soft, rhythmic glow. The air was thick with an energy he couldn't quite comprehend, but he could feel it—a sensation that was both foreign and familiar, as if it were a part of him. It beckoned him, drawing him deeper into its embrace, whispering in a language beyond words.

The cocoon itself seemed to shimmer in and out of focus, like a living thing, breathing and thrumming with purpose. Nile closed his eyes for a moment, letting the energy wrap around him. There was no fear, no doubt. Only the profound knowledge that this was his next step, the path he had to walk.

Then, as though in response to his quiet surrender, the voice of Frost sliced through the silence, rich and cold as always, but this time laced with an unusual seriousness.

"I hope the billion top-grade soul stones I gathered will be enough to help your broken birth imprint rebirth through the egg."

The words were cryptic, as Frost's words often were, but there was no mistaking the gravity behind them. Nile had been told little about the so-called birth imprint, only that it was something deeply tied to his existence and his strength. Frost had hinted that the cocoon was the key, that it held within it the power to restore and unlock the potential buried deep within Nile's being.

Before he could fully digest Frost's words, an immense surge of icy spiritual energy flooded the chamber. It was so powerful that it seemed to freeze the very air around him. The cocoon reacted instantly, trembling as if it were alive, and a massive vortex spun into existence above it, devouring the spiritual energy that flooded the room.

Nile felt the pull of that vortex—a gravitational force unlike any other, something far stronger than mere physical attraction. It tugged at him, drawing his soul toward it with an undeniable force. His body felt weightless, suspended between two worlds, but there was no time to resist. The vortex swallowed all the energy, leaving nothing behind but a lingering emptiness.

The pressure in the room intensified, and Nile could feel the pulse of the cocoon as it siphoned energy from the vortex. His senses flared, the flow of spiritual energy becoming a flood that surged through him, filling every pore of his being.

Then, like a sudden strike of lightning, a stream of that raw energy shot out from the cocoon, piercing Nile's forehead. It was a sharp, unrelenting pain—like being stabbed through the very core of his being. His mind screamed in agony, the intensity of the pressure unbearable. The sensation spread like wildfire, racing through his veins and consuming his thoughts.

His vision blurred, and a wave of blackness overtook him. It was as though his mind had fractured, splitting apart and scattering into a thousand pieces. He couldn't even hear his own cries of agony as everything went black.

---

When Nile opened his eyes again, he wasn't in the trial chamber. He found himself standing in an endless expanse of pure white light, a world that felt both infinite and boundless. The air was still, eerily so, and yet it carried an indescribable hum—a vibration that resonated deep within his soul.

Before he could take a step, a butterfly appeared. Its delicate wings flapped silently, the movement so soft it seemed to blend with the stillness of the space. The butterfly circled around him, its presence both comforting and strange.

As Nile observed it closely, a sense of intimacy washed over him. He couldn't explain it, but it felt as though the butterfly had always been there, an intrinsic part of him that he had simply failed to notice. Its body was unlike anything he had ever seen. The middle of the butterfly's body was completely transparent, revealing a rune-like structure within—a living sigil that constantly changed shape and rotated with a hypnotic rhythm.

Its wings were equally mesmerizing. One was pure white, radiant and glowing softly, while the other was pitch black, absorbing the surrounding light. On each wing, near the base, was a spherical, orb-like structure—one glowing faintly like the moon, the other radiating a darkness so profound it felt endless.

The butterfly hovered before him for what felt like an eternity, as if it were making a silent judgment. Then, with a graceful motion, it folded its wings and descended toward him. Nile instinctively raised his hands, and the butterfly landed softly on his open palms.

In that instant, both spherical orbs on its wings detached. The white orb struck his right palm, and the black one struck his left. The moment they made contact, a searing, unbearable pain erupted in his hands, spreading through his entire body. The agony was unlike anything he had ever experienced, as if his very soul were being burned and reshaped.

Nile gasped and cried out, the pain ripping through him mercilessly. His vision blurred, and just before he thought he would be consumed entirely, the dream shattered, plunging him back into consciousness.

---

Nile awoke with a start, his chest heaving and sweat dripping from his brow. He was back on the third floor, lying on the familiar cold ground. The soft glow of lanterns flickered in the distance, casting shadows that danced along the walls. For a moment, he thought it had all been a dream—the cocoon, the butterfly, the orbs—but the stinging pain in his palms told him otherwise.

He sat up slowly, wincing as he flexed his fingers. His palms felt hot, as if they had been branded, but when he looked down, there were no visible marks—only a faint, tingling sensation that seemed to resonate deep within his soul.

His breathing steadied, and as the haze of pain began to fade, Nile's thoughts turned to his ASD screen. The transformation he had undergone, the awakening of his birth imprint—it had to have left its mark.

Taking a deep breath, Nile summoned his ASD interface. The familiar blue screen materialized before him, and his eyes immediately scanned for changes.

ASD SCREEN DISPLAY (UPDATED):

Unique ID: 2340984712-XG

Mana: 31/39

Spiritual Energy: 53/59

Number of Imprints: 1/10

Imprint Type: Transparent

Attribute: None (Attributeless)

Servant Imprints: 0

Current Training Level: Lv 1

Mana Stage: 3

Spirit Stage: 5

Stored Mana: 0.07/39

Nile's gaze locked onto the changes. His spiritual energy capacity had skyrocketed, from a meager 5.32 to an astounding 53. His imprint value, previously a mere 0.1, had risen to 1. But it wasn't just the numbers—he could feel the difference.

A warmth radiated through his body, and for the first time, Nile became acutely aware of a presence within himself that had always been missing. It was as if a missing piece of his soul had been returned to him. His birth imprint—an integral part of his existence—was whole once more.

He flexed his fingers, marveling at the strange sensation of completeness. The imprint felt as natural to him now as his own limbs, a part of him that he had never known he lacked.

The voice of Frost echoed in his mind, distant but unmistakable. "It's not over yet, Nile. That was only the first step. Your birth imprint has risen from the ashes, yes, but your journey is just beginning. The egg has fulfilled its purpose, but there's much more for you to learn, much more to uncover."

Nile's heart raced as the weight of Frost's words settled over him. The cocoon, the trial, the dream—they had all been leading to this moment. But the path ahead was still shrouded in mystery, and the questions in his mind seemed endless.

He stood slowly, the faint hum of spiritual energy coursing through him like a steady heartbeat. The journey was far from over, but for the first time in a long while, Nile felt ready to face whatever came next.