I quickly sat down on the center of the ruined platform and shut my eyes. My heart was still racing, but I forced myself to stay calm. The moment I accepted the class, something heavy and powerful rushed into my mind.
A flood of information poured in.
I saw the details of each skill—how to use them, how they worked, and when I should use them. It wasn't just knowledge. It was like instinct being written directly into my bones. I felt the meaning of the class. What it meant to be a Primordial Executor.
I stayed like that for a while, letting it all settle in.
Five minutes passed as I sat cross-legged, breathing slow, sorting through all the new thoughts and instincts flooding my head.
Then, finally, the rush stopped.
I opened my eyes.
A line of glowing blue text greeted me in the air.
[Evolution Complete]
[Strength +12, Constitution +10, Dexterity +8, Psynapse +20]
[Skill Level Up!]
[Essence Engine: Level 4 → Level 5]
[Psynapse Overdrive: Level 1 → Level 2]
I exhaled slowly, staring at the notifications. My body felt stronger, sharper. My mind clearer. Something deep inside me—my Essence—moved with more purpose now. The class had changed me.
Just as I finished reading the last notification, another one appeared.
[Weapon Link Available]
[Link a weapon to your Class: Primordial Executor - Awakened]
[Linked weapons will evolve with you, adapting to your Essence and enforcing your Will]
[Proceed?]
I didn't hesitate.
I raised my arm and focused on the miniature storage ring, where I'd kept both my staff and Steve's sword. I pulled them out together in a single motion—partly to save time, but mostly because the storage had limited uses, and I didn't want to waste another activation.
The sword gently fell beside me, resting with a faint metallic clink against the stone. But my hand moved toward the staff.
I held the staff in my hand.
The staff was a deep purple with a smooth, matte surface. A row of evenly spaced rings ran along its length, carved neatly into the surface. The middle part was slightly thicker with a rough grip for better handling. Both ends were a bit narrower, and the rings became closer together near the tips, giving it a balanced and sturdy look.
I finally focused on the glowing panel and selected the option: [Proceed].
The moment I did, the staff in my hand began to vibrate.
A soft hum filled the air and then, without warning, it shattered into a cloud of glittering violet particles. They floated in front of me like glowing dust.
My heart suddenly thumped hard, a deep pulse echoing in my chest. I felt a sharp tug inside and a single drop of blood was pulled straight from my heart. It hovered in the air, crimson and pulsing with heat.
A rush of violet Essence burst out from my palm, swirling like smoke, and wrapped itself around the floating blood and the scattered particles of the staff.
Slowly, all three, Essence, blood, and broken weapon, began to mix together.
The fusion started spinning, faster and faster, glowing with power. The air around it trembled.
Then it pulled even more Essence from deep inside me, directly from the channels I had carved into my body.
The Essence flowed out like threads of light, drawn toward the swirling mass. My body tensed. It wasn't painful, but I could feel the effort.
The swirling mass of Essence, blood, and shattered pieces kept spinning in front of me, pulling more and more from deep within the Generator Core.
And then, all at once, the spinning stopped.
The particles slowed and began to pull together, shaping into a long, solid form. I watched, breath held, as the pieces fused with the glow of my Essence, forming something entirely new.
A staff.
It grew steadily in the air, stretching from top to bottom, until it reached almost eight feet in length. It floated before me, quiet and still now, but I could feel the weight of its presence.
The surface of the staff was smooth, but not polished.
It had a natural grip, firm and steady, made to fit my hand like it had always been waiting for me.
The color was a deep, shifting mix of violet and red. The two hues shifted gently across the surface, like slow waves beneath glass. At times, the red pulsed brighter, and at others, the violet shimmered more vividly, each taking turns to rise and fade.
Stars and planets were carved into the staff, and between them were tiny leaves from trees and plants, like a mix of the sky and nature.
Near the middle, thin lines twisted around the staff, maybe runes, maybe veins and they glowed softly with the same color as my Essence.
It looked ancient and new at the same time.
I reached out and closed my hand around the center of the staff. The moment I touched it, a hum of energy ran through my palm, up my arm, and into my chest.
It responded to me.
I stood up and gave the staff a light swing. Wind followed its path, and a sharp whooshing sound cut through the air.
New notifications blinked across the panel.
[Weapon Awakened]
[Awakened Weapon: Executor's Staff]
As I read them, the staff trembled in my grip and another wave of information rushed into my mind. This time, it didn't last long.
Then a new line appeared.
I couldn't help but grin.
[Weapon Skill Gained]
[Singularity Beam] : Unleash a concentrated beam of compressed Essence from your staff, forming a devastating singularity that erases everything in its path. Enemies are pulled toward the center, disintegrating into raw Essence upon contact.
My eyes scanned the details of the skill, and without realizing it, my grip on the staff tightened.
It was a signature skill—a long-range attack, unique to the staff. Powerful. Precise.
I slowly raised my hand and let go of the weapon. It didn't fall. Instead, it hovered in the air in front of me, as if waiting.
I could feel the connection between us—like it was listening.
I gave a simple thought, and it floated away from me. Another thought, and it returned, landing softly back in my hand.
I spun it once, feeling the weight and balance. Then I gave it one final command.
The staff began to break apart, turning into fine violet-red light. That light flowed toward my arm and wrapped itself around my forearm. A moment later, it solidified into a faint tattoo, the shape of the staff etched in ink on my skin.
I took a deep breath and opened my status panel again.
[Status]
--------------------------------------------------
Name : Billion Ironhart
Race : Human
Class : Primordial Executor – Awakened (Mythic)
Laws : N/A
Awakened Weapon: Executor's Staff
Rank: Mortal
Level : 50
Talent :
- Generator Nexus 1
- Essence : 35/55
- Soul Shackle : 0
Attributes :
- Strength: 328
- Constitution: 230
- Dexterity: 231
- Psynapse : 364
Skills:
- Essence Engine (Innate) Level 5
- Psynapse Overdrive (Innate) Level 2
- Seismic Burst Level 5
- Havoc Sfera Level 2
- Blitz Hakai Level 3
- Spatial Shield Level 1
- Absolute Level 1
- Revert Level 1
- Singularity Beam (Weapon Skill)
Abilities:
- Apex Body – I (Passive)
--------------------------------------------------
After I confirmed all the new changes on the status panel, I took a deep breath and closed it.
But just as the screen faded, a new notification appeared, this time in deep red.
[Beware: Forgotten and forgiven, the path forsaken by the living, walked only by the Chained Fallen.]
I blinked.
The words didn't make sense at first. My mind raced, trying to understand what it meant. It sounded like a warning… or maybe a prophecy. Either way, one thing was clear—I had just stepped into something much deeper than I thought. Something old. Something dangerous.
I stared at the message for a few more seconds. Then I shook my head and sighed.
"Well, I'll find out who this 'Chained Fallen' is when the time comes," I muttered.
I glanced around, hoping for some sign or clue. But the ruined platform was empty and silent.
Just the dark void stretching endlessly in every direction.
So I shouted, "Hey! I'm done! Can I go now?"
And right on cue, a portal appeared out of nowhere in front of me. It spun open like a ripple in space and before I could say another word, it pulled me in.
The next thing I knew, I was back.
I stood on the thick branch of the giant tree again, the same one we had stopped on earlier. The air was warm, the sky above still painted in hues of twilight.
"Fuck."
I heard Steve's voice behind me.
I turned and looked at him.
"What?"
He frowned and asked, "Where the hell did you go? I was just about to go look for you."
I blinked in surprise.
"What do you mean? How long was I gone?"
Steve squinted at me, puzzled. "A few seconds. Maybe ten."
My eyes widened slightly.
"Really?"
He nodded. "Yeah. You vanished, and then boom, you were back."
I looked at my hands, still feeling the leftover heat from the Essence that had flowed through me.
"Wow," I muttered. "But I was gone for way longer. I finished my evolution in there."