Bear the First
A pain akin to bones being brutally snapped into half and joints ripping apart invaded my entire body as soon as the sensation of my soul itself burning in a purgatory subsided.
I felt my eyes flutter open, the raw, rancid smell of flesh burning and decaying making a thick, bitter lump of bile settle against the back of my throat.
My eyes brimmed with tears as I doubled over a huge chunk of rock and hurled my guts out.
There was nothing left to throw up—only dry, heaving gasps that left me feeling even weaker than before.
Blinking past the haze of tears, my vision shuddered as I took in the smoldering remnants of what was left.
A rather unpalatable sight, in all honesty—blackened husks of my, our captors, forms barely recognizable as humans…well they weren't humans to begin with.
Their skin had fused to the bone, mouths frozen mid-scream. The fire, no, the unlit flame had stripped them down to something less than corpses—twisted, skeletal remains that crumbled at the slightest breeze.
For a moment, a bitter, unfamiliar sensation crawled up my throat. Satisfaction.
Then, my gaze drifted past them—and my stomach dropped into a cold abyss.
The bodies of my fellow slaves—humans, laid in contorted heaps, flesh torn apart by claws, their limbs scattered everywhere.
Some were missing heads, others had gaping holes where their torsos should have been. Darkened, dried blood pooled beneath them, soaking into the cracked dirt.
A part of me hoped in that moment—hoped that someone, anyone, had survived.
But there was nothing left of them except mutilated remains.
I looked back at Dax and everyone else. Even their knives had been obliterated and reduced to ash—which should not be possible given how metals don't become ash, they melt.
Serves them right…!
That said, what was that voice? Was it the Will of the Universe?
Will of the Universe was a plot device in Ashes of Eternity where the different aspects of the creator—emotions, entropy and other such fragments of the ultimate creator interfered into lives of different species.
However, while this is thought of as a good omen, those fragments of the ultimate god are never up to no good. Even in the latest volume of the story, it was foreshadowed how everything that the protagonist has gone through was plotted by a fragment called Nox—the vessel of death.
You know…like how every story goes, the main character gets the power of "darkness in his eyes made me wet my underwear" or "ARISE."
Well, I shouldn't talk all high and mighty, given how I, too, almost wet my pants after seeing the tiger. Anyways, the point is, if it was the Will of the Universe that I heard before losing consciousness, it's possible a fragment has taken an interest in me.
Which is and is not a good sign, depends on the fragment really.
I kept walking through the brutalised corpses as a thought crossed me.
"Codex."
The grimoire flew in front of me and flipped open, showing the glossary page which had the headings for everything I could ask the system for.
In all honesty, the blood dripping effect from the letters written on the grimoire feels pretty realistic. And it grosses me out. I hope there's not a lore of it being written with the blood of its previous user…
…haha…! Nah, that's not possible. It's my system, so how will someone else use it!? I am such a baka–
Ehmm–that was cringe, anyways…
Mentally choosing the attributes menu, the pages flipped and I was face to face with my attributes.
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–ATTRIBUTES: Lucian de Luca–
Vitality: 23 (F)
Strength: 8 (F-)
Dexterity: 14 (F-)
Arcana: 21 (F)
Resolve: 19 (F-)
Corruption: 12%
(You have 50 stat points to allocate)
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Heh, now this is what we're talking about!
50 stat points is a lot, given how I did nothing. However, some damn fragment did channel itself through me so I guess it counts? It would make sense actually since fragments can't descend the mortal plane, let alone a planet without completely decimating it down to cinders.
That said, I should allocate points to myself wisely.
For now, I should invest more into my strength and dexterity. Since Dexterity in Ashes of Eternity governs over attack speed, evasion and trap disarming. Evasion is vital and better than just a normal speed and perception.
The reason is if you have a high perception, you can see things coming but can't dodge it and vice versa. And if you have both things as different stats, you'd be wasting too many points just trying to avoid attacks from the enemy.
The main character went for a balance build where he invested points into his strength, arcana and resolve. Strength helped him to avoid attacks if someone creeped up on him during spellcasting, however, he was not very fast.
That rarely mattered though given how blessed his body was.
Hmm. I can go with the cliche assassin route, and that seems like a good idea too. I mean, sneak attacks and everything do sound cool and are actually practical. But for now, I need to cover my vital flaws.
That abysmal strength.
'Invest 30 points into strength.'
I spoke mentally. While you can just think about it, I tend to think a lot of weird things so it's better to give a mental command than just thinking about it. It just gives me mental peace and reassurance, don't judge me.
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30 points have been invested into strength:
Converting points into stat points:
30 → 15 Stat Points
Strength: 8+15 →23 (F- → F)
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Heh…23.
2 reward points are equal to 1 stat point.
0 to 20 is classed as negative F, 21 to 25 as F, and then 26 to 35 as F+. The ladder of progression becomes steep at negative and positive. And to advance from a letter like F to E, you need to perform a ritual which helps to break a limit—often referred to as Limit Break in many gacha games.
If I invest just a bit more…
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Investing 6 points in strength:
Converting points into stat points:
6 → 3 Stat Points
Strength:23+3 →26 (F → F+)
14 reward points left to allocate
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Alright, so with this, I am much stronger than before. Although the change is not visible, I won't be able to tell until I actually fight someone.
Alright, let's invest the rest in dexterity. I will have a lot of time later on to invest in other stats. Right now, I need enough strength to not get one-shotted by a mob, and fast enough to run away from a strong guy.
No use of the valor from fighting a strong opponent if you're not alive.
Alright then—
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Investing 14 points in strength:
Converting points into stat points:
14 → 7 Stat Points
Dexterity :14+7 →21 (F- → F)
You do not have any reward points left to allocate.
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Phew. That went well.
Going through my other tabs, I noticed a few things.
First was the title I had gained.
[Bearer of the Unlit Flame]
What was even crazy was the benefits that came with it.
110% Damage against spectres (Passive )
150% damage while using corrupted flames ( Passive )
500% into all stat points when the user is consumed by negative emotions (Active)
Spectres were curse-using monsters inside the Towers of Babylon and one of the hardest and most annoying foes to get rid of.
Corrupted flames was basically useless to me since I do not have a flame elemental skill, let alone corrupted flames… wait, it might be related to the additional corruption stat I have. Hmm…
Alright, I will improvise on that front. Can't waste too much time thinking about something that I have zero knowledge of.
The last one was absolute bonkers. 500% boost in every stat???
I am one malicious person so I guess that skill will be much easier to use, HEHEHEHE!
The other thing that I noticed was the Lore fragment screen. The original main character doesn't have this thing on his interface as well. I am guessing this is related to my status as a transmigrator.
—Lore Fragments—
Fragment #002: The Flame lives inside you § Trail of Unlit Flame
Kind of a freaky description but anyways.
The first and only human to get unlit flame was broken as fuck character.
As I concluded admiring myself and all of the rewards I had gotten, a ragged breath shuddered past my lips as I turned my head, the sight before me stealing whatever air I had left.
The thunderjaw tiger, while laying in a massive heap of muscle and fur.
Tiny sparks danced along the strands of its mane, making them twitch and stand upright.
I almost jumped from fright, but it was ok. It was just it's body's natural defence mechanism that avoided little skitters and parasites from eating it's body. The thunderjaw tiger was one of the most prideful creatures in the story.
And while this one was merely an infant, amounting to around 5 human years, it was still this ferocious.
I jumped out of fright—once again—as the grimoire suddenly appeared in front of me.
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⎰The void left by death is not empty. It smolders
with the Unlit Flame—take what remains and make it yours⎱
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The hell is this!?
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⎰The husk has been emptied of its fire—now let it burn in darkness.⎱
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Hmmm…
Getting on one knee, I gently touched the static fur of the tiger. It gave my hand a little jerk, but it wasn't much. Maybe it was the increase in my stats, or some other reason.
What do I do now…
Maybe I should close my eyes.
As I did, a never ending swarm of darkness filled my consciousness. Sensation of sound, touch, smell—everything was drained out like it had never existed.
I—I never knew the absence of sensation would…drive me mad…
I felt like I was losing my mind. Even though I could tell it only had been a few seconds, the panic, anxiety, paranoia—every unholy thing settled in so quickly that I opened my eyes immediately.
'The void left by death is not empty…' I breathed out.
It's not like necromancy…
The unlit flame is not actually a flame. It's something else…
Chaos.
Even I can tell…the silence, it was not silence. It was the chaos of everything this creature had devoured. It was just so deafening that it rendered me unable to listen to anything. Or see anything, it had blinded me.
I looked at the lifeless body of the tiger once again.
It wants me to fuel the space left behind by death with chaos…because darkness can't remain if something is burning. I placed my hand on the tiger once and instead of closing my eyes, I let my body react to it.
"There is no resurrection, no second life waiting at the end of nirvana for you—only me. Now, rise, and serve."
The words left my mouth ALMOST involuntarily.
Suddenly, a huge burst of some energy blasted into its being. Cold, black veins started to sprout all over the tiger's body, and it swelled, glowing in a dark orange-reddish colour. Before it could explode, its body that had swelled like a hot air balloon suddenly rested.
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Congratulations: You have succeeded in the ritual. You will now give
birth and open the way for your future soldiers.
This is a one time event.
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Wait, what?! What do you mean by giving birth…
A creeping cold slithered into my abdomen, curling like fingers wrapping around my insides.
Then, pressure.
A pulse.
My stomach stretched, the skin pulling taut like leather over a drum, veins crawling up my torso like ink bleeding through paper.
It was wrong. Unnatural. I choked back bile as something inside me twitched.
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The vessel must endure the first birth. This is the cost of wielding
the Unlit Flame.
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God…
No, no, abort, abort! I am a guy, damn it!" I shouted, but the words felt… hollow. A foreign presence coiled inside my mind, whispering in a language I did not know yet somehow understood.
"Flesh is merely a vessel. Bear the first, and more shall follow."
Something moved inside me.
Like fingers---more fingers, twisting through my guts, curling, clawing—not mine.
I gagged. My stomach lurched, skin stretching too far, veins swelling like parasites tunneling beneath my flesh.
The pressure built—thick, dense, crushing.
Then, a steady, rhythmic pulse.
Slow. Deep. Alive.
"No—no, no, no, NO—" I clawed at my own abdomen, nails scraping against skin, trying to dig out whatever was inside me.
It wasn't mine.
It didn't belong.
Get it out.
But the thing inside kicked.
A scream ripped from my throat.
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The ritual has started. It cannot be stopped.
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