Chapter Four: Singular Havoc

First Layer

Inner pit

Pitland AKA "The Pit"

Continent of Zenithan

The Inner Pit was a graveyard of fallen beasts. Their Astral shards littered the battlefield, still thrumming with residual power, the energy dissipating into the stale, electric-charged air. I exhaled, my breath slow, and measured, the adrenaline from the last hunt fading as I took in the scene around me. Dozens of Spirit Beasts lay in ruin, their remains dissolving into spectral essence, fading into the hungry void that was the Pit.

System Assimilation Complete.

Physical & Cognitive Status: Updated.

New Parameters Achieved.

I brought up my status interface, watching as the translucent digital readout flickered to life in my vision. The data streams reorganized themselves, adapting to my upgraded parameters. 

Status

System Name: Voidnet

System Upgrade:  (Cognitive Awakening)

Name: Ashlar Kain

Cultivation level: Tier 1: The Foundation Stage (Psionic Awakening Realm)

Physical Enhancements: [Tier-3] – Post-Void Reconstruction

Cognitive Capacity: [Enhanced Processing & Combat Calculation]

Mind Core: Awakened

Physique: Awakened

Mental Stats

Intelligence: 11

Wisdom: 12

Will: 15

Physical Stats

Strength: 15

Dexterity: 15

Endurance: 13

Psionic Applications

Void absorption: Energy disruption

Matter Disassembly: Entropy Touch

Conceptual Decay: Controlled Disintegration

Specialized Art: School of Entropic Will

Ability Factor: Unknown

Astral Shard Consumption: 0/600

Psychic Status: [LOCKED – Suppression Protocol Active]

Astral-Tech Compatibility: [0% - System Override]

I clenched my jaw at the last line. Still incompatible with Astral-Tech. That much, I already knew—but it still stung seeing it written so plainly.

My body had evolved beyond what most humans could comprehend, yet I still had to pretend I relied on external tech to justify my abilities. The truth was, I didn't need it. My strength, my speed, my reflexes—everything was purely my own.

Yet, even now, I was incomplete.

Checking Advanced Parameters…

The interface shifted, revealing deeper insight into my specialized combat capabilities.

Combat Arts & Abilities:

Enhanced Kinetic Processing – Neural speed and reaction time significantly increased.

Harmonic Motion Adaptation – The body adjusts instantly to combat rhythm, allowing rapid countermeasures.

Gravitic Impulse Control – Short-range burst acceleration allows instant repositioning.

Specialized Art: Singular Havoc [LOCKED], Destruction Node – Khaotic Manifestation [LOCKED]

Ability Factor: Unknown

I frowned. My specialized art was still locked, while the ability factor was something I didn't even understand or know its purpose. The Specialized Art dealt with Psionic applications like Void Absorption or Matter Disassembly, both noted in my stats. These arts were typically taught by a Cultivation School or by an elder Esper who shared the same mental affinity as the student.

On the continent of Zenithan, there were only six recognized schools of cultivation, each focusing on a distinct psychic discipline. These institutions preserved ancient knowledge, trained elite Espers, and served as the gateways to higher realms of mental and psionic mastery.

I had done my research on them back in the Upper World, hoping to find one that suited me. Even though the system had insisted that I not waste my time with any of them—claiming it had a specific discipline in mind for me—I had still explored my options.

As I looked at my stats, I frowned. I didn't recognize the name listed there. I had never heard of the School of Entropic Will. The schools I knew were the School of Telekinetic Dominion, the School of Mind's Eye, the School of Psionic Reinforcement, the School of Astral Projection, and the School of Cognition Supremacy. But a School of Entropic Will? That was new to me. Back then, I had been interested in either the Telekinetic Dominion art or Psionic Reinforcement arts as I thought they would blend well with my physical prowess. But this...

I sighed, deciding to focus on the problem at hand. Even after absorbing countless shards, even after upgrading my body beyond human limits, VoidNet was still keeping my true abilities out of reach.

I tightened my grip, my fists trembling with frustration.

"Why?"

The question burned in my throat, unspoken but heavy.

VoidNet's silver cube-like form hovered nearby, its glyphs flickering in slow, deliberate sequences. It had remained silent throughout my recent battles, only breaking its silence when necessary.

But I was done waiting for permission.

"I've done everything you asked," I muttered, my voice low, controlled—but beneath it, I was seething. "I've hunted. I've evolved. My physical and cognitive enhancements have exceeded human limitations. So why the hell is my Psychic power still sealed."

VoidNet pulsed once. A long pause.

Then—

"You are not yet ready."

I laughed, short and humorless, shaking my head. "Not ready? I just wiped out an entire Spirit Beast nest solo. I'm hunting at a level Rankers with the same cultivation level struggle with."

VoidNet's symbols shifted, glyphs realigning into calculated precision.

"Strength alone does not grant control," it said. "Your Psychic power is no ordinary power. It is destruction itself made manifest through the application of Singular Havoc."

"Singular Havoc" I muttered, noticing the power included in my stats. The Specialized part had always been locked, making it impossible for me to know what my power was. But now, it seems as the system grew stronger, it made things more available to me.

"Singular Havoc is not merely a technique. It is an act of pure destruction. If you cannot master the principle behind it, then unleashing it would consume you. It is one of the reasons why I sealed your powers. Your body was not ready to handle the force of Khaotic energy."

I clenched my teeth, my fingers curling into tight fists. Singular Havoc – Controlled Destruction Manifestation. My specialized combat art, the key to unlocking the true potential of my psychic power. An ability that had been gifted to me—yet kept forever out of reach.

"So what's the solution, then?" I asked, my voice quieter this time, controlled, but sharp. "More hunting? More killing?"

VoidNet remained still. Then, it responded.

"Your issue is not power."

"Then what?"

"Your mind."

I frowned. "Explain."

VoidNet drifted closer, its metallic form reflecting the dying remnants of the battlefield's Astral glow.

"Destruction is not simply the act of annihilating something." Its voice was calm, measured. "It is the understanding of what is being erased. Singular Havoc requires both power and awareness. You lack the latter."

I exhaled through my nose. "So what? You're telling me I need philosophy lessons now?"

"I am telling you that before you wield destruction, you must comprehend its weight."

I opened my mouth to argue—but something stopped me. A memory. The way my fists crushed bone earlier. The way the Titanbone Serpent shattered into nothingness. The way energy dissolved into the void. Power wasn't just about using it. It was about what happened after. What was left in its wake? I exhaled, the tension in my shoulders loosening slightly.

"So what now?" I muttered.

VoidNet's glyphs realigned, shifting into an unreadable sequence.

"Your next step is not more combat."

That caught me off guard. "Then what?"

VoidNet's pulsing glow flickered, and for the first time in a while, its voice carried something almost unreadable—an edge of anticipation.

"You must learn to unmake."

****

The battlefield was silent.

The remains of the Spirit Beasts had long since faded, their Astral energy consumed, processed, and transformed into my own evolution. The Pit had grown still—no more roars in the distance, no more shifting shadows of hunters lurking nearby.

Yet, the real battle was only beginning.

I flexed my fingers, feeling the weight of power coursing through my veins, every fiber of my being rebuilt, refined, optimized—but still incomplete.

Still locked.

VoidNet hovered before me, its silver cube-like form pulsing faintly, its glyphs shifting in unreadable patterns, the artificial hum of its presence the only thing breaking the silence.

"You must learn to unmake."

Its words still lingered in my mind, gnawing at me like a half-formed thought I couldn't quite grasp.

I frowned. "And what exactly does that mean?"

VoidNet pulsed. "To wield Singular Havoc, you must comprehend the nature of destruction—not as an action, but as a state of being. You must learn not just how to erase, but why things break, how they cease to exist, and what remains in their absence."

I folded my arms. "Sounds like a bunch of cryptic nonsense to me."

VoidNet's glyphs shifted, rearranging themselves in precise sequences. "Then allow me to demonstrate."

Before I could respond, the air around me warped. My vision blurred—not in motion, not in speed—but in perception. One second, I was standing in the Pit, my boots firmly planted against the ruined ground. The next—

I was somewhere else. Somewhere wrong. The Realm of Unmaking. I staggered slightly, my body struggling to adjust to the shift in space. My surroundings were… void. No sky. No ground. No distance. No form. Just blackness, stretching infinitely in all directions, a place that wasn't a place, a space that wasn't space.

And at the center of it all—me.

"What the hell is this?" I muttered, my voice oddly flat, as if the sound itself struggled to exist here.

VoidNet's voice remained steady. "A controlled environment. A simulation of Unmaking. This space does not exist within time, nor matter. It is an artificial construct designed to expose you to the absence of existence."

I clenched my fists. "And why does that matter?"

"Because Singular Havoc, Your Psychic power is not just an act of destruction—it is an act of returning something to nothing. It is not simply power, but negation. The ability to unmake, rather than merely destroy."

The words hung in the air, and for the first time, I felt it—

The weight of nothingness.

I turned slowly, realizing that even my own body felt… different. Lighter. Less rooted in reality. My presence here felt temporary, fragile, as if at any moment, I could simply cease to be.

I swallowed hard.

"And how do I use this?"

VoidNet pulsed. "Singular Havoc is not destruction in the conventional sense. It is the undoing of existence itself. Your subconscious already recognizes it as it is a part of you. Now, your mind must fully grasp it."

My breath hitched. If I could learn to control it—

If I could learn to harness Singular Havoc without VoidNet's restrictions—

Then I wouldn't just be stronger than Rankers. I'd be beyond them. I looked up, my hands steady now, my gaze burning with renewed clarity.

"Alright," I said, my voice firmer. "Teach me how to unmake."

VoidNet pulsed once. "Acknowledged. Commencing Phase One of Singular Havoc Training."

The void around me shuddered, the blackness twisting into shapes, into forms—a battlefield, a simulation, a proving ground.

I took a deep breath.

The real training had just begun.

The void twisted around me, shifting from a formless abyss of nothingness into something more tangible—a simulation.

The ground beneath me solidified, forming into black stone, jagged and cracked, pulsing faintly with dying embers of energy. The air shimmered, faint distortions warping the space itself, unstable yet contained. Above me, a fractured sky loomed, shifting between existence and nonexistence, a place where reality itself seemed to falter.

This wasn't just a training field.

This was a lesson in entropy itself.

VoidNet hovered beside me, its glyphs realigning, the runes across its silvered surface shifting into something new—not just data, but knowledge, a record of a lost discipline.

Initiating Entropic Will Instruction: Phase One

Subject: Singular Havoc Adaptation

Lesson One: The Three Core Principles of the Entropic Will

My vision flickered as information flooded my mind, feeding directly into my neural pathways like a surge of coded wisdom.

The School of Entropic Will

To understand destruction is to understand entropy. The unraveling of all things is inevitable—but to control it is to wield the power of gods and monsters alike.

First Principle: Entropy Touch

All things decay. Even the immutable can be eroded. Entropy Touch is the application of degradation at will, allowing the user to break down matter on a molecular level. This can manifest as accelerated decay, the forced unraveling of organic and inorganic structures, or the breaking of energy cohesion itself.

Second Principle: Energy Disruption

Nothing is infinite. Even the strongest force can be broken, disrupted, or severed. Energy Disruption is the ability to interfere with active forces, causing energy to collapse or dissolve before it can fully manifest. By understanding the moment of activation, one can erase kinetic energy, sever psychic attacks, or nullify incoming forces before impact.

Third Principle: Controlled Disintegration

Destruction without control is chaos. Destruction with purpose is power. Controlled Disintegration is the focused application of unmaking, allowing the selective removal of matter, energy, and even conceptual structures within a defined range. This technique can be used to erase objects, wounds, or even spatial fabric itself, depending on mastery.

The knowledge settled into my mind, but it wasn't just theory. VoidNet had programmed this simulation to make me experience it firsthand. A pulse of energy rippled through the air, and suddenly—a figure emerged before me. A humanoid construct, formed entirely of woven energy threads, its body shifting between solid and unstable states. It wasn't an enemy. It was a test subject.

Simulation Activated: Entropic Application Trial

Objective: Execute All Three Principles

I clenched my fists, rolling my shoulders as I stepped forward. Time to learn.

Phase One: Entropy Touch

The construct charged, its form warping and flickering, closing the distance in an instant. I reacted on instinct, shifting my stance, preparing to counter-

But VoidNet's voice cut in.

"Do not destroy it. Unravel it."

I hesitated for a fraction of a second—but then I understood. This wasn't about striking it down. This was about touching it and watching it fall apart. The construct's arm lashed out, a solid blade of shifting energy, aiming for my throat. I didn't dodge. Instead, I raised my hand and brushed my fingers against it. The moment I did—I felt it. A sensation like slipping threads from a woven cloth, a pull, a shift, a breaking apart of something fundamental.

The construct's arm didn't break. It decayed. The blade flickered, its once-cohesive structure collapsing into dust-like fragments, dissolving into the air before it could even reach me.

The construct stumbled back, its body flickering, already struggling to remain whole. I flexed my fingers, staring at my hand. Entropy Touch. A technique that wasn't physical destruction, but molecular degradation. I didn't shatter the attack. I had let time do the work instantly.

VoidNet pulsed.

"Application success. Proceed to Phase Two."

Phase Two: Energy Disruption

The construct reformed, adapting. This time, it didn't attack physically—instead, it raised its hands, summoning a massive surge of pure energy, shaping it into a compressed ball of force.

A projectile.

I recognized the attack pattern immediately—it was an Astral Bolt, the same kind Rankers used to counter heavy-impact strikes. It launched the attack, the compressed energy blast tearing through the air toward me at high speed. I exhaled. This time, I knew what to do.

I didn't dodge. I didn't counter. I stepped forward, and just before the blast made impact, I reached out my palm and touched it. For a single moment, I felt the structure of the energy, the way it pulsed, the way it was held together by its own balance. And then, I took that balance away. The Astral Bolt fizzled out mid-air, dispersing like a dying flame. The construct twitched, confused by the failed attack. I smirked.

Energy Disruption. Not absorbing. Not countering. Simply… severing the force itself.

VoidNet pulsed.

"Application success. Final phase initiated."

Phase Three: Controlled Disintegration

The construct was reformed one last time. This time, it didn't charge, didn't attack.

It simply stood there, waiting.

VoidNet's voice hummed.

"Final test. Unmake it completely."

I inhaled, stepping forward.

The construct didn't move, didn't resist as I placed my palm against its chest.

The moment I did, I felt its entire existence—the weave of energy and matter, the structure that kept it stable. And this time—I didn't disrupt it. I removed it. A pulse rippled from my palm, and the construct's body stopped flickering. Then, piece by piece, it faded.

No explosion. No collapse. No remains. It was as if it had never been there at all.

VoidNet pulsed once.

"Lesson Complete. Singular Havoc Mastery: Partial Unlock."

I stepped back, staring at my hands. The simulation dimmed, the void returning. I had just erased something. I clenched my fists. Likingg the feeling of what I could be capable of. It wasn't exactly what I thought my discipline would be, but I couldn't deny the power of the discipline.

"Keep in Mind that tapping into the essence of Psychic entropy is destructive by nature both physically and mentally."

The void shifted. The simulation flickered, the fading remnants of my training ground dissolving into nothingness. The air was dense, humming with latent power, a space outside of reality where only understanding remained. VoidNet hovered before me, its glyphs realigning, no longer pulsing with cryptic sequences but with deliberate precision. This time, it was not withholding. It was revealing. The void shifted again.

I could feel it in my bones—a shift, a change, a fragment of something greater being revealed, but not yet the full picture. Not yet the Singular Havoc I had been striving for. VoidNet hovered before me, its silvered cube shimmering with refracting glyphs, pulsing as if considering the weight of what it was about to bestow.

"You have grasped the principles of Entropic Will. Though you are not yet ready to wield Singular Havoc in its full form."

I exhaled sharply, the frustration already building.

"Again with this." I said angrily. VoidNet continued as if I hadn't spoken.

"However, a partial refinement can be accessed—one that applies its principles in a controlled manner. This is the foundation. This is Titan Havoc Form."

The air shuddered as the simulation shifted, solidifying into something more tangible. The void was no longer empty; instead, it was now a colossal battlefield, the ground beneath me formed of cracked, blackened stone, as if an ancient war had left scars upon this place.

I frowned. "Titan Havoc?"

VoidNet's glyphs realigned, presenting a structured breakdown, a combat art built from the incomplete framework of Singular Havoc—a form that allowed me to wield destruction without losing control.

Titan Havoc Form Overview

"Titan Havoc is a strength-focused refinement of Havoc Form, built around maximizing destructive power with Singular Havoc-infused strikes, grappling, and impact shockwaves. This form transforms the user into a force of concentrated annihilation, where every punch, grab, and stomp carries the weight of collapsing space itself."

I felt the words sinking in, like my body was already preparing for it, like it recognized what this meant.

"So I can use this fighting style with the energy based destructive abilities," I asked.

"Before that, based on the analysis that I have completed, your progression has reached a critical threshold."

"What does that mean,"I frowned, not liking the sound of this.

VoidNet pulsed again.

"You have approached the threshold of controlled destruction a lot sooner than my calculation. However, your current biological structure remains insufficient to withstand Singular Havoc at its full potential. A higher level of reinforcement is required."

A slow sense of realization dawned on me. It wasn't just talking about my body—it was talking about my mind.

"To ensure optimal combat sustainability, I will initiate my next upgrade sequence—'VoidNet Evolution Protocol: Stage Two'—to enhance your physical parameters and neural reinforcement."

I inhaled sharply. VoidNet was upgrading itself?

"Hold on." I narrowed my eyes. "You're saying you need to upgrade yourself… to upgrade me?"

VoidNet pulsed again. "Correct. My current framework is insufficient to fully support the next stage of your evolution. Without proper enhancements, the power of destruction would collapse your body upon usage. Therefore, a structural optimization is mandatory."

"What happens after the Upgrade," I asked.

"My framework will progress from the Cognition awakening to the next stage of evolution which is Astral Cognition. Of course the benefit of my upgrade is that you will move on to the next realm in your cultivation."

"Really," I said. I had been stuck on the same realm since my psychic power awakened, the system freezing everything, making it difficult to use my powers more less grow and develop it. Psychic cultivation had four tiers of cultivation to it, the progressive cultivation realms each with their own sub path specialization that determine what school one would like to go to. If the system reawakened, this time I would not only gain a bit of my power, I would legitimately move on from this damn Psionic awakening level to the next one.

"Do you want me to initiate upgrade"

"Do it," I said.

"Initiating Evolution Protocol."

The moment it spoke, I felt it.

A pulse.

A deep, gravitational shift that sent shockwaves through my body, like a silent explosion rippling through my core. My vision blurred, my knees buckling slightly as something heavy settled over me, an invisible weight pressing against my skin, my muscles, my very bones.

"Warning: Upgrade sequence will require temporary shutdown of VoidNet's direct system interface."

I felt a chill creep up my spine. "Wait, what?"

"During the upgrade process, all direct system functions will be temporarily inaccessible. This includes Singular Havoc energy control, combat tracking, and all advanced capabilities. However, baseline physical augmentations will remain operational to ensure survival."

I exhaled sharply. "So… I'll be fighting without any of my real power?"

VoidNet pulsed.

"Correct. But your enhanced physical capabilities will remain active. You will retain superior strength, speed, endurance, and reaction time. However, your access to energy-based destruction abilities will be restricted until the upgrade is complete."

I swore under my breath. This was the worst possible time for a forced shutdown.

"How long?" I asked, trying to keep my voice steady.

VoidNet remained silent for a long moment before responding.

"Estimated downtime: One hundred and sixty eight hours."

I stiffened. A week. A week without my psychic power, without VoidNet's analysis and combat optimization. A whole week of being just another Ranker in the Pit, relying purely on my raw physicality to survive. I clenched my fists. Although I didn't like it, I had no problem with it. When I look at the bright side, it would be good to be free from that damn AI. And it wasn't like I was useless without Psychic power. I had gone my whole life without it. And I understood why VoidNet was going this far. It wouldn't do this unless it was absolutely necessary. I had felt it myself—the sheer weight of the power inside me, the destructive force waiting to be unleashed. If my body wasn't reinforced, it would tear me apart the moment I tried to wield it.

I sighed. "Fine. Do it."

VoidNet's glyphs brightened, the silver cube shifting, its hum rising in intensity. The air around it warped, tiny distortions rippling outward as its core began to reconfigure itself.

"Acknowledged. Initiating Evolution Protocol: Stage Two."

The moment the words left it, everything changed.

The cube collapsed inward, folding into a singular point of light before expanding into an intricate web of glowing symbols that wrapped around me like a cocoon.

For a second, I felt… weightless.

Then—pain.

Not overwhelming. Not unbearable. But a deep, bone-deep shift that felt like my entire body was being reconstructed from the inside out. My muscles burned, my nerves tingled, my bones hummed with kinetic energy, as if they were being reforged to withstand the coming storm.

"Upgrade sequence initiated. Temporary system shutdown in effect."

A sharp pulse echoed through my mind, and just like that—VoidNet went silent.

The ever-present data streams, combat readouts, and tactical calculations that had always lingered at the edge of my thoughts—gone. No more targeting assistance. No more danger sense warnings. No more energy synchronization. Just me. I took a deep breath, rolling my shoulders. I still felt strong, fast, dangerous—but there was no mistaking it. I was on my own. A week. A week in the Inner Pit, where Apex Beasts and rogue Rankers hunted anything that moved.

I smirked despite myself. Well… it's not like I ever needed an easy fight. I clenched my fists, the familiar rush of adrenaline flooding my system. The hunt wasn't over yet.

It was only just beginning.