Duality Within

'It's been hardly full three minutes, and I feel like I am drowning, but I can't expect much more from this flimsy body of mine,' Nero chuckled as he watched the alpha wolf drag his body towards him.

"GGRRRRR"

The wolf growled in rage, blood spilling by liters, its once fierce eyes dimming by the moment, and he had only taken a few steps before he collapsed, the life draining from its body.

"NERO" "NERO"

"AAAAAAAAAAAA"

Nero looked to his right and saw a group of men rushing full force, led by a hulking man screaming at the top of his lungs, but he quickly turned silent when he spotted the bloodbath ahead.

'I need to quickly leave the village and create a plan for the future and what primordial grade system I need to secure,' 

'It's a lot of work-- - - -,' Nero's thoughts came to a halt as he felt his vision turn dark, not because he lost his conciseness but for some other reason.

'What Happened? I am still conscious, which should not be possible if I fainted from mana depletion,' Nero questioned, but the answer came quicker than he could reach his own, and it was soul-crushing as if an invisible mountain had come down upon him.

"What happened?" Nero said as he opened his eyes, feeling intense pain in his arms as if his veins were on fire, while his entire body felt like it had been torn apart and stitched back together, piece by piece, in the wrong order. 

His head throbbed with a sharp, relentless ache, his throat felt dry, and his heart raced. Every breath felt laborious like he had run for hours.

"What the hell,-- --—OHOOOO," Nero mumbled as he opened his eyes, his focus slowly returning. The sight of a giant wolf lying mere feet away from him sent a shiver down his spine, making him stumble back, his words getting rolled to scared jibberish.

'He is conscious, and so am I, both independent, but it seems like he has complete control over the body,' Nero thought, as he tried to calmly sense his soul, trying to understand his situation.

Nero knew immediately that his reincarnation did not go so smoothly, and even if it did, he was stuck in a body with his younger self and likely, if not certainly, having no control over the physical body, at least not without his younger self giving him control.

He tried to sense his soul and quickly discovered the horror of his situation, as he found only one soul, one young soul that belonged to his younger self and nothing else.

Nero did not need an explanation to find out that, unlike his first thought that only a fragment of his soul was sent back, what likely happened was that only his memories were sent back, and while not proven, maybe his memories were not even complete.

The situation was far from ideal and nearly impossible to believe, even for him, as he had neither heard of nor seen anything like it before. Yet, certain that this was his new reality, he chose to make peace with it and not overthink.

'So what likely happened is that either only my memories were sent, or a core part of my soul that merged with my younger soul and created my consciousness,'

'A stable and individual personality, but that's about it since I do not have even a little control over the soul, so erasing his consciousness and forcefully taking over would be impossible,' Nero thought as he calmly considered what was clear to him.

Nero knew that he had a separate individual consciousness and not a split personality simply because he could think and act independently, but he knew that he was not in control because his younger self did not even need to make an effort to take control and did so unconsciously.

While he could access the mental energy to sense his soul, it was only possible because his younger self had no control over it.

So even if he tried to take control of the body, it would not last more than a second, and his efforts would only cause his younger self a mild headache that he himself would also experience.

'The situation is not ideal, but it is not bad,' Nero thought, understanding that he could still achieve all that he dreamed of and change all that he needed to.

While he thought of a plan to move forward and come to a favorable agreement with his younger self, the young Nero was dealing with the aftermath of his actions.

"Nero, I always had a feeling you were not just a weak sheep herder," The burly man said as he patted the consumed yet smiling young man on the shoulder.

"Captain Yern, I am just trying to live a modest life," Nero said, trying to mask his shock as he met the celebrating soldiers with a smile, hiding his own shock and disbelief.

"Nero, you must be a Second-rank Ascendent," An older villager with a fat belly said as he put his arm around Nero.

"Loreno, do you see these wolves? All of them are taken out with single precise strikes, with there being no signs of struggle,"

"I say, our hidden hero is at least an early Third-rank Ascendent, if not stronger," A female clad in dark leathers said as she sneakily licked her lips and looked Nero dead in the eyes.

"We can chatter and celebrate when we get to the village, so for now, let's clean this up and get this beautiful bounty back home," Yern said, grinning ear to ear as he examined the alpha wolf.

The gathered villagers listened and began to tie up the wolves, binding them to the horses they brought. After making sure their surroundings were clear of threat, they began to move.

Nero stayed at the back of the group, seated atop Tiger, his mind occupied with finding answers, knowing signs were too clear for someone else to have killed the wolves.

However, he also knew better than to believe that he was strong enough to kill seven commons and one first-rank Alpha wolf all by himself without suffering a scratch, and then there was the issue of him having no recollection of the events.

'I don't even know what happened, but all signs point to me killing them, and that just makes no sense,' Nero thought, as confused as he was scared of what truly happened.

'It makes no sense unless I awakened a King grade system under the threat of death,' Nero considered, his heartbeat rising at the possibility of him awakening the strongest grade of the system.

The world of Teserak was ruled by Magic, but its kings were individuals chosen by systems. A few chosen individuals in their own league, who grew at an unmatched speed and gained powers few could hope to achieve.

The systems were Arcane Nexus of power, each unique to the individual, granting him control over an aspect of reality and granting its host with strength that set them apart from the rest of society.

The systems were divided into four grades based on their power and potential, namely the first and weakest being Ascendent, followed by Apex, King, and Primordial Grade.

Each system from the lowest of the low was still equal if superior to even a genius of Magic, granting a set of abilities and guiding its host through the path of ascension.

The four grades of systems were vastly different in power and potential. Even if two systems had control over the same aspect of reality, their understanding, control, and power of it would be vastly different.

As an Ascended grade system, using an aspect of fire, named the fire generation, on awakening, it would grant abilities like fireball, ember sparks, and fire surge, simple yet effective skills that could help the chosen on his current level of strength.

But in comparison, a King-grade system with the same aspect of fire would grant abilities like Sunfire Summon, Cosmic Inferno, and Radiant Core, making its chosen capable of leap-frogging Ranks and overpowering foes far stronger than them.

'Since only King and Primordial grade systems could be awakened without using a System Obelisk, my situation could only be explained by me awakening a system,'

'A King grade system,' Nero thought, trying his best to control his smile, but it still spread from ear to ear.

Nero was itching to say system command and summon his status window, but knew better than to do it right now since too many eyes were on him, and while no one would be able to see his screen, he was not sure if he could hold his surprise and happiness seeing his wildest dream come true.

Yern, the captain, slowed his horse and came next to Nero, gaining his attention with a cough before he began to speak.

"Nero, I know these wolves are your pray, and the city merchant would pay a better price, but if you can be generous, please consider selling them to the village, as their hides would make great armor," Yern said, with the kindest smile, he could put on his face.

"I will be happy to contribute to the village's safety," Nero replied, not even considering what he was asking since he was too eager to reach his home to check what system he awakened to listen to Captain Yern.