Chapter 21 – New Trait
Kaden lay on the ground, broken.
His body ached in ways he'd never known before. Every nerve felt like it had been lit on fire and twisted for hours. The pain wasn't just physical—it drilled into his bones, his soul, his mind.
He had died many times before. But those deaths were quick—clean ends, sudden stabs of agony that vanished into the dark. This?
This wasn't death.
This was hell.
'Fuck...' Kaden gritted his teeth, doing everything in his power not to lose consciousness. But it was a battle he was slowly losing. His mind cracked at the edges, his thoughts blurring into pain.
'Put fifteen into Constitution... half on Will... now!' he roared inside his mind, commanding Death itself to process his newly earned stat points.
[DING! Confirmed.]
Immediately, something shifted.
The bleeding slowed. The agony lessened, just enough for his brain to start functioning again. His vision steadied. His breath no longer came out in broken gasps.
It still hurt—like hell—but he wasn't dying anymore. At least not yet.
"Quite interesting," came Nocthar's voice.
Kaden opened his eyes—barely—and saw him for the first time standing. Not a shadow, not an illusion. Real. Solid. Impossibly tall.
One blink, and he was suddenly in front of Kaden, standing like he had been there the whole time.
"Even in my weakened state... to survive one of my attacks as a mere Awakened," Nocthar said, studying him like a rare breed of animal. "That's no small feat."
He meant it.
Nocthar had seen talent before. But talent without grit was worthless. Kaden had both—and something else. He could see it... hidden beneath the blood and bruises. The signs were faint, but there.
That's what she would've cared about.
Nocthar reached down, placing his hand lightly on Kaden's chest. His eyes narrowed, then a subtle frown crossed his face.
'It's there. Incomplete... but present.'
A pause.
Then he smirked.
'Is this fate?'
He made his decision.
A subtle pulse of power passed from Nocthar's fingers into Kaden's battered body. Instantly, blood reversed direction, seeping back into veins. Flesh began to mend. Muscle knit. Bones clicked and reformed. His left arm—completely obliterated—grew anew before their eyes.
Within seconds, Kaden looked... whole again. No blood. No wounds. It was like the battle had never happened—except for his tattered clothes, the only evidence that he'd been broken, shattered, and nearly killed.
Kaden sat up slowly, inhaling deeply. He winced, still feeling phantom pain, but at least he could breathe again. His eyes met Nocthar's, who looked at him with a strange glint.
Unease stirred inside him.
"I am a man of my word," Nocthar said. "You took one strike from me and lived. So I'll keep my promise."
He held out a small vial. Inside swirled a thick, shimmering black liquid—like molten night. It pulsed with power. Dangerous. Alive.
Kaden squinted. "...What is it?"
Nocthar grinned, that familiar playful malice returning to his voice.
"You're in luck, brat. You'd have to crawl through pain worse than what you just experienced to get this in Fokay. So, be grateful."
He sounded like a merchant trying to sell something cursed. Kaden didn't trust it.
He stared at the vial, then at Nocthar's twin void-black eyes.
He knew.
Refusing wasn't an option.
'Fuck this shit.' He sighed. Weakness truly was a sin.
"...Thank you," he muttered, resigned, as he took the vial from Nocthar's hand.
"Perfect!" Nocthar beamed. "Drink it now. You'd be hunted just for carrying it. And I'd hate to lose such precious blood to a stupid ambush."
Highly debatable reasoning. But Kaden didn't argue.
'What's the worst that can happen?' he thought. 'Death? Meh.'
GULP—
The liquid burned.
Instantly.
"Fuck—not again!" Kaden screamed as he collapsed, his body convulsing.
Steam burst from his pores. His blood boiled. He thrashed violently, the pain worse than the strike before. His veins turned black. His skin cracked. His mouth foamed red. Blood poured from his eyes, ears, nose—all of it tinged with streaks of darkness.
It lasted five eternal minutes.
Then—sudden silence.
The pain vanished. Just like that. As if it never existed.
Kaden lay there, body trembling, breath ragged. He stared at the dungeon's ceiling, chest rising and falling as if he had run through hell itself.
He was done. Done being toyed with. Done being a pawn.
Done with weakness.
The thought rooted itself deep inside him.
Never again.
He clenched his fists.
[DING!]
[You have gained a Trait by consuming the blood of *****.]
[Trait: Corrosive Blood]
Kaden's eyes snapped open. 'A new trait?'
He pushed himself upright, surprised, despite everything. That was... unexpected.
"Oh? Seems like you've noticed the change," Nocthar said with a dry chuckle.
"Now that you've received your reward... you can go back."
Kaden blinked. "Wait—what about the dungeon? I was told to clear it. I can't go back without completing the trial."
"This dungeon will cease to exist once you leave," Nocthar replied. "You've cleared what needed to be cleared."
Kaden opened his mouth, then closed it. The logic was murky, but he'd already survived worse. He wasn't going to argue.
"Now go," Nocthar said, voice sharpening. "Before I change my mind about letting such good entertainment leave."
Kaden didn't wait.
He turned toward the gate. His steps were heavy, but they carried purpose.
And just before he vanished—
"Fuck you, Nocthar!" his voice echoed through the chamber.
Nocthar blinked. Then his lips twitched.
He laughed.
"What a daring child."
His laughter faded as he turned his gaze to the pool of corrupted blood Kaden had left behind during the transformation.
The smile faded. His expression darkened.
He stared at it.
Silent.
Then whispered to no one but the dungeon itself—
"I hope... you make it whole again."
—End of Chapter 21—