Chapter 16: The Second Awakening
(Alistair's POV)
Power.
It was all I had ever sought.
All I had ever needed.
And now, as my Second Awakening began, I could feel it coming to me.
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The Breaking of Limits
The moment I stepped into the Awakening Circle, the runes ignited beneath me, searing heat flooding my veins.
A tremor ran through my body.
Mana surged from the ritual, forcing its way into my core. It wasn't like channeling magic or wielding a spell—this was raw, uncontrolled energy, tearing apart my limits and reshaping them.
I clenched my fists, my nails digging into my palms, but I didn't let the pain shake me.
Pain was temporary. Power was eternal.
Elaine stood beside me, but I barely noticed her presence.
Because all that mattered was what was happening inside me.
I felt my mana veins stretch, expanding far beyond what they had been before.
It was like being unbound—like breaking through the invisible restraints that had been holding me back for years.
My breathing was slow. Controlled.
But inside—everything burned.
---
The Expansion – A Body Reforged
[System Notification: Second Awakening in Progress…]
The words flashed before my eyes, but I ignored them.
I was already feeling it.
The system didn't need to tell me what I could already sense.
The energy inside me twisted, coiling like a storm barely contained. My body fought against the force, every muscle tensing as my mana core broke and reformed, growing stronger.
I had trained relentlessly for this moment.
But nothing could have prepared me for the sheer intensity of it.
It felt like my entire being was being ripped apart and rebuilt.
My nature magic, the power of House Vaelthorne, surged first—vines of emerald mana coiling around my arms, resonating with my very essence.
But then—
Something else stirred.
A second force, something beyond my current understanding.
A power I hadn't wielded before.
My affinity… it was changing.
---
[System Notification: Optimizing Affinity Potential…]
I barely had time to react before a shockwave of mana exploded from within me.
Something cracked.
For a split second, I felt detached from my own body, as though I was floating in a vast abyss of power, where mana existed in its purest, rawest form.
And then—
It rushed into me, too fast, too overwhelming.
My nature magic sharpened, growing more refined, more violent. The vines around my arms darkened, infused with something stronger than before.
Thorns. Poison. Decay.
Not just the power to grow—but the power to destroy.
I could feel it, a shift from mere control over flora to dominion over life itself.
Then—another force.
One that shouldn't have been possible.
A second affinity.
Abyssal magic.
Dark tendrils coiled around my left arm, flickering like shadows devouring light.
Not full abyssal magic—but a fragment of it.
I had never possessed an affinity for the abyss before.
I had only ever trained in it. Forced it. Stolen techniques from those who wielded it.
But now?
It was truly mine.
I gritted my teeth as the last wave of mana slammed into my core, solidifying my transformation.
And just like that—
I changed.
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The Presence of the Divine
The moment my Awakening stabilized, I felt it.
A presence.
Something vast, watching from beyond mortal comprehension.
I couldn't see it, but I could feel it.
The gaze of a god.
No—
A goddess.
[System Notification: Determining Divine Interest…]
The air grew heavy, the runes around me glowing brighter.
A voice—a whisper, yet powerful enough to shake my very soul.
"You have walked this path alone."
"You have cast aside weakness, embraced strength, and pursued power above all else."
"You are ready."
The space around me shifted, and for a single moment, I saw it.
A silver moon, vast and eternal, shining in an abyssal sky.
And beneath it—a figure cloaked in divine radiance.
Artemis.
The Goddess of the Hunt, the Moon Huntress, the Guardian of Nature.
The deity who had blessed my family for generations.
And now—
She was here for me.
A golden notification flashed before my eyes.
---
[The Goddess of the Moon Hunt has chosen you as her Avatar.]
[Do you accept?]
[YES] [NO]
---
I didn't hesitate.
I had expected this. Trained for this.
To be the strongest heir of House Vaelthorne, to surpass all before me.
I reached toward the system panel—
And then—
Something else appeared.
A second presence.
A cold, endless void that wrapped around my soul like an open maw.
A hunger.
Something dark.
Something primordial.
My fingers froze inches away from the YES option.
And I heard it.
A whisper.
But unlike Artemis's divine presence, this was something deeper. More raw. More true.
"You are not meant to follow."
"You are meant to devour."
A second system notification appeared.
---
[The Ever-Hungry Maw has chosen you as his Avatar.]
[Do you accept?]
[YES] [NO]
---
I gasped, my body shuddering as something inside me resonated.
It was not like Artemis's offer.
Her presence was distant, radiant, demanding reverence.
But this…
This felt like it was already a part of me.
Like it had always been there, waiting for me to realize it.
A connection that didn't ask. It demanded.
The power of hunger itself. The endless need to consume, to grow, to never be satisfied.
It felt… right.
I lowered my hand.
I stared at the two options.
One would make me the heir of Vaelthorne, the family's greatest champion.
The other…
Would make me something greater.
Something beyond them. Beyond gods. Beyond fate.
Slowly, I reached forward.
And I chose.
---
[You have accepted the Ever-Hungry Maw as your Patron.]
[Your divine path has changed.]
[Your potential has been rewritten.]
[Devourer's Authority unlocked.]
[Hunger grows within you.]
---
The moment I made my choice, everything shifted.
Artemis's presence vanished.
The silver moon dimmed.
And in its place, a black abyss spread around me, infinite and eternal.
And in that abyss, I saw it.
A vast, open mouth in the void—endless, insatiable, devouring everything in its path.
And I knew.
I had made the right choice.
Because power was the only truth.
And I would take it all.
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