A woman was sitting cross-legged on a lotus that was placed in the middle of a small pond, which also contained several smaller lotuses glowing faintly in white light.
The surroundings seemed to be a very big room whose walls and ceiling were densely covered with glowing runes.
Her face appeared to have been carved from flawless marble, while her red hair cascaded down her back like a waterfall. She wore an outfit that barely covered her slender yet voluptuous figure.
Her skin was covered in runes that glowed in red light. If anyone who looked closely at the runes could easily tell that they were pulsing in a set pattern.
The woman opened her eyes, revealing pupils as black as night and contained multiple glowing dots as if they were stars glowing in the night sky.
Suddenly, beyond the pond, a figure appeared, kneeling on one knee. Covered in a green glow, the figure's form made it impossible to determine whether it was humanoid or it was something else.
"What happened, mistress?" The figure spoke in a deep and authoritative voice, yet it was clearly filled with reverence for the woman before it.
The woman said nothing, her gaze fixed in the distance as if she could see something no one else could. The kneeling figure remained silent, waiting patiently for her to speak.
Her brows narrowed and her eyes squinted for a moment before she closed them.
After a while, she reopened her eyes, but this time, instead of the previous darkness with glowing dots, her pupils glowed red.
"The future has started to become murky," the woman said in a low voice. Her voice was as beautiful as an angel's, yet entirely devoid of emotion.
"WHAT?" the figure suddenly stood up, Its height was easily over five meters, and shouted, clearly shocked by her words.
"T-that's impossible?"
"Why should it be impossible?"
"It's your unique innate ability. How can a unique innate ability stop working?"
"When did I say it isn't working? I merely said that the future has started to become murky, and the reason is very simple: the future has become so unpredictable that everything has become uncertain."
Hearing the woman, the figure was confused, not knowing how to respond. After hesitating for a moment, it spoke again.
"What should we do now?"
"We do nothing. The only thing certain about the future is that it is always uncertain. The future I have seen has changed many times, but this is the first time it has become murky. And if it has become murky, then there should be a reason behind it."
"If my understanding of the law of time was more advanced, I would have found out when this change would occur in the future. So, for now, my only priority is to improve my understanding of the law of time so that I can not only find when it will happen but also uncover the reason behind it."
Having said that, the woman closed her eyes once more and began to meditate.
The figure stood still in its place for a while before speaking again.
"What about Lord Heiteng?"
"He won't be arriving anytime soon. But when he does, just tell him that I am in seclusion and in the midst of a major breakthrough in my law of time," the woman replied without opening her eyes.
After speaking, she waved her hand, signaling for the figure to leave. The figure shook its head and then vanished as suddenly as it had appeared, leaving the vast room quiet once more.
*****
Venfir, after cremating his parents, had done the same for the villagers. Although he was not particularly close to the most, it was the least he could do for them.
Afterward, he gathered whatever he could scavenge and started walking toward the city. By then, it was almost midnight, yet he felt no fatigue. Still, he decided to take a break for the night.
This break would also allow him to review everything that had happened to him as well as refine his future plan further.
The first thing he did after building a fire was to finally open his status window:
___
[Status]
Name: Venfir/Pran
Species: Human
Bloodline: [Locked]
Grade: 0
Soul Fragment: 0
[Talents]
Talent Mastery (Unique), Talent Evolution (Unique)
[Equipped Talents]
Slot 1: Soul Energy - Novice Tier
Slot 2: Empty
Slot 3: Empty
Slot 4: Empty
Slot 5: Empty
[Skills]
None
___
Venfir was somewhat shocked upon seeing his status. He was familiar with some aspects, while others were entirely new.
For instance, in the name section, both his current name and his previous life's name appeared, an oddity that didn't make any kind of sense at first glance.
But then he remembered that an error had occurred during the awakening process, maybe this was due to that.
Next was the "Bloodline." And why was it locked?
Could it be related to the mysterious being that had brought him back to life?
It was quite possible that, because according to that being, it had sent its own power to awaken him, so maybe the bloodline was a result of that.
If so, then the bloodline's locked state could simply mean that he was not yet strong enough to handle it.
Then there was the "Soul Fragment" section, something he had never seen or even heard of before.
But the most bizarre aspect, however, was the "Equipped Talents" section. And it already had the Soul Energy talent on that list instead of it being listed in his abilities section.
However, Venfir was not only shocked with all of these things, he was also delighted because he possessed the same unique talent in this life that he had in his previous one, so becoming strong was only a matter of time.
Moreover, in addition to his previous talent, he had another unique talent: Talent Mastery.
First and foremost, Venfir decided to check the effects of the talent he had in his previous life to see whether it was the same or merely shared the name while having an entirely different effect.
He then thought about "Talent Evolution," and its information appeared in his mind:
—
[Talent Evolution (Unique) - This unique ability allows its holder to perform the following actions:
Talent Upgrade: Enhances any non-unique ability by advancing it one grade higher. This process requires soul fragments, the number needed depends on the talent's grade.
Talent Synthesis (Personal): Combines two to five non-unique abilities into a new talent. Note that any newly synthesized talent begins at the base "Weak Grade." This also requires soul fragments, with the amount depending on the number of abilities combined and their respective grades.]
—
"Wow. It's the talent I had in my previous life, but even better. Not only can I upgrade my talent, I can even…" He stopped mid-sentence and did a double-take at the description he had just read.
Venfir glanced at his status window, then back at the talent's description, and considered the other new unique talent: Talent Mastery.
—
[Talent Mastery (Unique) - This unique ability grants its holder advanced control over their talents through two key features:
Equip Talent (Personal): Allows you to equip talents directly. When replacing an equipped talent with another, you must invest soul fragments; the required amount is determined by the grade of the incoming talent. Additionally, this ability lets you unlock extra talent slots to expand your equipped abilities. Your active talent pool will be visible to anyone who can view others' talents.
- Adding the 6th [Equipped Talent] slot costs 5 Soul Fragments.
Talent Library: Enables you to copy and store talents of any grade—including unique talents—creating a personal repository of abilities. It also allows you to bestow non-unique talents onto others, though doing so requires soul fragments; the cost varies based on the talent and its grade.
- Currently, the library can hold 10 talents. Increasing this capacity will require 10 Soul Fragments.]
—
Upon reading the information on Talent Mastery, Venfir's eyes nearly popped out.
"Are you kidding me? Not only can I copy and store talents, but I can also give others the talents I've stored?"
Venfir took several deep breaths to calm his mind, then began sorting his thoughts.
"So, I have two unique skills, each with two effects. With Talent Mastery I can copy and store talents, increase my storage capacity, and give talents to others. I can also equip talents and expand the number of talents I can equip. With Talent Evolution I can upgrade talents to higher grades for myself and others, and combine multiple talents to create a new one."
"Damn, am I op or what?"
Soon Venfir remembered that besides copying and storing talents, he would need soul fragments to use other effects. So he focused on "Soul Fragments".
—
[Soul Fragments: Defeating enemies yields soul fragments, with the amount received varying according to the enemy's grade.]
—
"Okay, this seems pretty straightforward. Honestly, I kinda want to get a few soul fragments to upgrade my Soul Energy Talent's grade."
With that in mind, Venfir recalled his Soul Energy Talent, and its details appeared before him:
—
[Soul Energy – Novice Tier: Allows you to gather soul energy. The tier determines the maximum grade you can reach as well as the rate at which you gather soul energy. (Requires 1 Soul Fragment to upgrade the talent).]
—
"Damn. Now I really wish I had 1 soul fragment to upgrade my Soul Energy Talent." Venfir sighed after checking the upgrade requirements.
He calmed his excitement after a bit and adjusted his plans with this new information he got related to his unique talents and waited for morning so that he could resume his journey towards the city.