Blood on the Monolith
The city ruins were silent.
Too silent.
Liu Xuan walked past the twitching corpses of mutated beasts, steam rising from his blade. His heartbeat had calmed, but his mind was sharp. The scent of blood still clung to the air like a warning.
> [Level 12]
[Shadowblood Core: 21% Synced]
> Next Milestone: Level 15 — Class Evolution Available
His power was rising fast. But something was off.
The system pulsed again.
> [Emergency Notification: Unknown Energy Surge Detected – 1.7 km Northeast]
[Monolith Signature: Shadowblood Origin Type]
[Recommendation: Investigate immediately]
"Shadowblood Origin?"
His breath hitched.
Was this… connected to the system?
He sprinted.
---
1.7 km Northeast — The Dead Sector
A massive black monolith jutted from the ground like a claw impaling the city. Twisted veins of obsidian stretched into nearby buildings, draining color from everything around it.
Xuan slowed, heart pounding. Shadows slithered unnaturally along the walls, whispering his name.
> [Monolith Scanned — Valid Signature Detected: Liu Xuan]
[Activating Vision Sequence…]
Suddenly—FLASH.
His body froze.
Everything turned white.
And then…
---
A Vision.
He stood in a field of corpses.
Mountains of dead, both human and monster. Blood ran like rivers. The sky burned violet. From above, a cracked moon stared down like a dying god.
In front of him stood a cloaked figure. Familiar. But wrong.
The figure turned.
It was him.
No... a future version of him—eyes glowing black-red, a crown of bone wrapped around his brow, and an army of abyssal monsters at his back.
"You think you're the only one?" the future self said, voice distorted. "You're just the first. But in the end… all Shadowbloods fall to the same madness."
His reflection lifted a twisted sword — not metal, but condensed shadows.
"I am what you become… if you survive."
---
The vision shattered.
Xuan gasped, stumbling back from the monolith. Cold sweat drenched his back.
The system buzzed violently.
> [Warning: Fragmented Future Memory Accessed]
[You have glimpsed a Potential Fate]
[Emotions Unstable. System Sync at risk. Stabilize immediately.]
> [Do you wish to accept the Trial of Defiance?]
Risk: Death
Reward: System Mutation – "Soul Resistance"
Xuan clenched his fists.
"…Bring it."
He selected [Yes].
---
[Trial of Defiance – Begin]
A scream tore through the zone—inhuman, gurgling, monstrous.
From the base of the monolith, a creature erupted.
Twisted bone. A body made of stitched limbs. Seven heads screeched in unison. A former Shadowblood who failed the evolution.
> [Boss Encounter: Aberrant Reflection – Level 20]
[HP: 3,000 | Weakness: None | Resistances: All]
[Perk: Soul Break – Damages Spirit Attribute directly]
Xuan tightened his grip on his katana. "No weaknesses… figures."
The monster lunged.
BOOM!
Its fists slammed down—Xuan rolled aside, just barely.
Lines flickered in his vision—Death Reading activated.
> [Prediction: Left hook – 0.8s]
[Prediction: Overhead slam – 1.2s]
He moved like smoke.
Every swing of the monster missed him by inches.
But then—crack!
Pain bloomed in his ribs.
One of the heads had spewed soul fire. It didn't just burn—it shredded his spirit stat, weakening his system sync.
> [WARNING: Sync 21% → 14%]
[Shadowblood Core Unstable!]
He coughed blood but kept his footing.
This wasn't a fight of strength.
This was a fight of will.
The vision of his future self flashed in his head again.
That smug bastard. That… monster.
"No."
He wasn't going to be consumed by his own power.
He was the power.
---
He charged.
Slash — he cleaved off one head.
The monster howled.
Death Step — behind it.
CRACK! — he severed another limb.
But it regenerated.
And faster.
> [System Update: New Trait Available – "Consume Instability"]
Do you wish to gamble your Core's balance for temporary godspeed?
Xuan didn't hesitate.
YES.
> [Trait Activated: Consume Instability]
[All stats boosted by 50% for 15 seconds]
[Risk: Core Collapse if target not slain in time]
The world snapped into high speed.
Xuan was a blur—slashes in all directions, blades screaming, shadows lashing out from his very soul.
The monster screeched as black ichor exploded from its body.
Ten seconds left.
He stabbed both blades into its chest, leapt upward—and twisted midair—
"Fall."
With a roar, he dragged the blades down in an "X" slash—
SPLIT.
The creature exploded into black mist.
> [Boss Defeated]
[Level Up! +3 Levels]
[Shadowblood Core: 21% → 38%]
[Trait Acquired: Soul Resistance (Minor)]
[Trial of Defiance – Cleared]
Xuan fell to his knees, panting.
Alive.
But only barely.
---
Later that night…
As Xuan limped away from the ruins, a girl watched from the shadows.
Long white hair. Red irises. A black dagger strapped to her thigh.
She whispered, "So you're the one the monolith awakened…"
She stepped back into the darkness and vanished.
> [Warning: You are now being watched]
[Threat Level: Unknown]