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In the depths of darkness, Kai floated, weightless and disoriented. His mind felt distant, disconnected from everything. The pain that had wracked his body moments ago was gone, replaced by an eerie numbness. The only thing that remained was the void—an endless, suffocating blackness that stretched out in every direction.
"So... is this it?" he muttered, his voice hollow, barely more than a whisper in the endless dark. "Is this... the end of me?"
He tried to move, but there was nothing—no sensation, no ground, no air. Just the cold, unfeeling void. Thoughts spiraled in his head, chaotic and wild.
"All that fighting... for what?" He let out a bitter chuckle, though there was no one to hear it. "Guess I wasn't strong enough after all… "
Silence answered him, and for a moment, Kai felt the weight of it all press down on him. The battles, the struggles, all the strength he'd gained—it felt so distant now, as though it had never mattered.
"Maybe I should've leveled up my dex stat..." He let out a weak laugh, but it quickly died away,"Giving up doesn't sound bad now…" swallowed by the darkness.
But then, cutting through the silence, there was a soft, distant sound. Like a whisper on the wind, barely audible but unmistakable. A voice, familiar yet distant.
"How... the Elden Lord hath fallen."
Kai froze. His breath caught in his throat as he strained to listen.
"The once proud warrior, now laid low, consumed by weakness and defeat. Such a pitiful state thou hath found thyself in."
The voice was soft, lilting, but carried a weight to it—a deep sadness wrapped in ancient, forgotten strength. It was a voice he had heard before.
"Thy body, broken. Thy spirit, wavering. Hast thou abandoned thy quest so easily? Doth this darkness claim thee so soon?"
"Wait..." Kai muttered, his voice a mix of confusion and recognition. "Melina?"
From the void, a faint glow began to bloom. Slowly, it grew brighter, and from the light emerged the silhouette of a woman. Draped in dark, flowing robes, her face partially obscured by the shadow of her hood, Melina stepped forward, her single visible eye fixed on him. Her gaze was sharp yet filled with a melancholic grace.
"Thou who sought to become Elden Lord..." she began, her voice carrying that unmistakable weight of ancient wisdom. "Look at thee now, laid low by this world's cruelty. Hast thou not learned the lesson of endurance? Of perseverance?"
Kai stared at her, his thoughts scattered. "I... I thought I was stronger, smarter, I thought I could push through this..."
"And yet," Melina interrupted softly, "here thou art, brought low by thine own arrogance. For even the mightiest warrior canst fall if he forgets the weight of his purpose."
Her words struck him like a hammer, and the weight of her gaze bore into him.
"But know this, Tarnished of another realm," she continued, her voice gentler now. "The flame within thee still burns, though dim it may be. Thou art not yet defeated... not fully."
Kai blinked, feeling a faint warmth stir in his chest—a flicker of something amidst the cold emptiness around him.
"Thy journey is not over," she whispered. "Thy will must be tempered by fire, for only through trials shall thou rise again."
He clenched his fist, feeling the faintest sensation return to his hand. "So...You are saying I'm alive? Even after all this?"
Melina stepped closer, her ethereal form bathed in soft light as she extended her hand toward him. Her gaze was steady, as though she could see through the pain and fatigue weighing him down. The shadows of the void seemed to retreat in her presence.
"Aye," she said, her voice calm yet filled with ancient wisdom. "Though thou hath suffered greatly, thy flame hath not yet been extinguished. Thou still hath a choice."
As her hand drew nearer, a familiar sound echoed in Kai's mind—a soft chime, unmistakable. The system interface materialized before him, glowing faintly in the darkness.
[Use the acquired Larval Tear to rebirth.]
The notification hovered before him, but something felt off. There wasn't just the usual option to respec, like he had done countless times before. His eyes scanned the system prompt, and his brow furrowed as another choice appeared underneath the standard option. It was new. Different.
[Option 1: Rebirth. Redistribute all rune levels.]
That was familiar territory. He could tweak his stats, focus more on strength or dexterity, depending on what he needed next. It was safe, predictable.
But then his eyes landed on the second choice, and his heart skipped a beat.
[Option 2: Lose 20 levels but gain unlimited FP for 24 hours.]
Kai's gaze hardened, staring at the option in disbelief. His mind raced as he tried to process it. "What the?" he muttered under his breath.
His first instinct was to laugh at the absurdity of it. "I normally would laugh at this," he said to himself, shaking his head. "A Souls player would never take this kind of option." The thought of willingly losing twenty levels was insane. He knew the cost of levels—every hard-fought rune, every soul collected, the grind that defined his journey. And twenty? It wasn't just a few. That was enough to cripple his build, his power, his edge.
But... He hesitated, glancing at the extended hand of Melina, her form waiting for his decision.
"But..." The word lingered on his lips, his mind torn between reason and desperation. He knew what was at stake.
Unlimited FP... He didn't even want to think about the sheer amount of spells and power he could unleash without restraint. For 24 hours, he could be an unstoppable force. If he could blast through the battlefield with magic, maybe—just maybe—he could turn the tide.
But twenty levels...
He stared at the prompt again, his thoughts racing. "I could lose it all..." He chuckled bitterly. "Me of all people…. a desperate man?"
"Choose wisely," Melina said, her voice almost a whisper "For once thou hath chosen, there is no turning back. Never again will such a choice be offered unto thee. What thou sacrificeth now will shape the fate that follows."
Kai clenched his teeth, his hand hovering over the choice. The weight of his decision pressed down on him, the world around him hanging in the balance. His mind replayed the images of the summit war, the screams of pirates and mariens echoing in his ears. This wasn't just about survival anymore. It was about more than that.
"If I don't... then what's the point of being here?" he whispered, his resolve tightening.
His finger hovered over the second option, and his heart pounded in his chest as he made the choice. With a deep breath, he selected "Lose 20 levels but gain unlimited FP for 24 hours."
A surge of energy erupted through him, and for a moment, it felt like fire and ice collided in his veins. His body trembled under the immense force of power coursing through him.
"Thou hath chosen," she said, her voice tinged with both sadness and pride. "May the flame of thy resolve guide thee forward, even at great cost."
Melina's form began to fade, her voice lingering in the darkness as the world around Kai began to take shape once more.
"Rise, tarnished one. Thy fate is yet unwritten."
Kai awoke, his body lying on the cold cobblestone, the sound of battle still raging around him like distant thunder. For a moment, he stared up at the sky, breathless, disoriented—his mind racing to understand what had just happened. There was no sign of the admiral who had seemingly ended his life, no trace of Kizaru's light-infused assault that had brought him down so brutally.
With a groan, Kai pulled himself up, expecting to feel the pain in his chest, the wounds that should have been there, but... nothing. His injuries were gone—no blood, no broken bones. As he stood, a strange sensation coursed through him, a surge of power unlike anything he'd felt before.
"I Should feel... weaker, no?" he muttered, flexing his fingers, his senses sharp, energy crackling beneath his skin.
Then, a soft chime echoed in his head, and a peculiar notification appeared in his system. He blinked, eyes widening as he read the words displayed before him:
[hidden quest passed.]
He frowned, confused. "Hidden quest...?"
And then the rest of the notification flashed:
[Rewards: Glintstone Sorceries. Unlimited FP for 24 hours.]
Kai's heart skipped a beat as realization dawned. He laughed, a low, incredulous sound escaping him as he shook his head.
"Wait a minute..." he muttered, quickly pulling up his status screen. His eyes scanned the numbers, expecting to see his levels drop after choosing the risky option. But to his shock, every stat remained the same—not a single level had been taken. Everything was untouched, except for the newly added arsenal of Glintstone Sorceries that now filled his abilities menu.
"This is... not what it showed me..." Kai muttered, eyebrows raised in disbelief. Then, a grin spread across his face. "But I'm not complaining!"
Before he could take it all in, another notification popped up before him:
[You passed the test. One of the Outer Gods are pleased with your choice.]
Kai stood there, smiling at the message, a sense of satisfaction washing over him. "I see... there are hidden quests like this, huh? Me choosing what was needed, rather than what I wanted... led to this."
His fingers clenched into fists as he felt a newfound strength settling within him, not just physically but mentally, too. His earlier arrogance was gone, replaced by something more resolute, a quiet fire burning in his chest.
"Very well," he said, his voice firm with a new resolve. "I won't ruin this chance."
With determination etched on his face, Kai straightened up, his gaze scanning the battlefield once more. "It's time to take things seriously... and with far less arrogance."
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If you wish to read up to 5 Chapters Ahead! or simply support me just because? then check out my patréon at
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Don't forget to change "é" to "e"