The blue glow of the system window still lingered in the dim morning light. Andras sat motionless, cross-legged on the polished wooden floor, eyes fixed on the translucent interface before him.
He had barely slept. Meditation had numbed the pain in his limbs, but not the storm in his mind.
He whispered, "Status."
The screen shimmered and opened with obedient ease.
Status Panel:
Name: Andras Le
Age: 18
Core Alignment: ZERO
Cultivation Rank: Early 3 Stage of Qi Gathering Realm
Spiritual Root: Locked
Bloodline Affinity: Unsealed
Affinities: 'NEW!' - Tap to view
Soul Integrity: 68% Reconstructed
Body Compatibility: 51% (Stabilizing)
Cultivation Level: Qi Veins Repaired
Spirit Core: Inactive
Bloodline: Le Clan (Paternal Line Confirmed)
He raised an eyebrow. The "Affinities" section blinked softly.
"That wasn't there before…"
He tapped.
Affinities:
Unlocked due to Qi Vein Repair + Soul Integration Threshold (60%+)
Affinities represent the soul's natural alignment with fundamental forces. Not elemental cultivation—but deeper. Innate harmonies. Celestial echoes. Not widely understood. Often buried or inaccessible in traditional cultivation.
Primary Affinity: [Obsidian Flame] – 5% Sync
Secondary Affinity: [Null Echo] – 2% Sync
Tertiary Affinity: [???] – Locked (Requires Core Activation)
Andras leaned forward, breath hitching.
"Obsidian Flame? Null Echo? What the hell are these?"
In all the fragmented memories he had absorbed from the original Andras, there was nothing about this. No mention of affinities—not even in the cryptic teachings or cryptic Le family scrolls.
He tapped [Obsidian Flame].
Obsidian Flame (Flame of Inversion)An affinity rooted in destruction through stillness. Obsidian Flame does not burn outward—it burns inward. It consumes spiritual corruption, internal instability, and emotional rot. A purifying flame with no light.
Passive Effect: +15% resistance to chaotic QiActivation Effect: ??? (Requires Spirit Core)
Andras whispered, "A flame… that doesn't give light."
He tapped the next.
Null Echo (Fragmented Voidline)A rare affinity representing resonance with the silence beyond the known world. Often found in soul-walkers, failed or recycled spirits. Creates a vacuum-like effect around the user, nullifying low-grade spiritual pressure.
Passive Effect: Immune to Qi-based intimidation from cultivators below current RealmActivation Effect: ??? (Requires Affinity Sync 10%)
Warning: Affinity growth beyond 15% may trigger [Void Taint] if user lacks Void Resistance.
Andras blinked.
He had heard of elemental affinities—fire, water, wood, metal, earth. Those were common. Part of alchemical schools and basic Qi arts.
But this? These were… alien.
Obsidian Flame. Null Echo. One burns corruption. The other erases presence.
He sat back and exhaled, rubbing his eyes.
"Is this why the system came to me?" he murmured. "Because I wasn't from here?"
A suspicion had been growing in his mind—quiet, unnerving.
These affinities—like the system itself—didn't feel native to this world. They felt like imports. Code written for a different reality.
He flicked to the [Core Body] tab, watched the diagram shimmer to life. His channels were no longer shattered—but incomplete. The major loops were functioning. But the core, the heart of cultivation—the Spirit Core—was still dormant.
"Need a Core," he muttered. "Gold Core Realm minimum… or I die in that tournament."
He tapped the new menu beneath the body diagram.
Bloodline: Le Clan (Verified)Status: UnsealedSubtype: Lesser Tyrant Root (Suppressed)Bloodline Strength: 12% ExpressionLineage Trait: Tyrant Pulse (Locked)Upgrade Potential: YES (Requires Core Activation + Blood Trial)
Bloodlines he had at least heard of. Cultivators were obsessed with heritage. Bloodline legacy determined not only status, but potential access to ancient techniques, family secret arts, even how fast one could absorb Qi.
But this… "Tyrant Root"? It sounded like something forged in battle, not nobility.
He tapped "Suppressed."
Suppression Status: Active.
Reason: Host Core Inactive
Warning: Forcing activation may cause cellular collapse or Qi fragmentation
Suggested Route: Form a stable Spirit Core, then trigger a Blood Trial to safely awaken the Lineage Trait
He rubbed his temples.
Core, Affinities, Bloodline. All tied together.
He understood now. The reason the system had waited. The reason his veins had to be mended first. This wasn't a linear path. It was a web. Every thread connected to another.
And now it was clear: without a core, he couldn't do anything.
He was technically a cultivator.
But functionally? He was still prey.
A new chime sounded.
System Notification: New Tab Unlocked – [Affinity Sync]You have entered the minimum resonance threshold to view Affinity Training Paths.
A new tab appeared at the top beside [Inventory] and [Quests].
[Affinity Sync]
He opened it.
Affinity Training – Tier Zero Access
Path of Obsidian Flame:
Task 1: Meditate in total darkness for 3 hours (0/3)
Task 2: Absorb chaotic Qi (0/1)
Task 3: Survive emotional instability without losing Qi control (0/1)
Path of Null Echo:
Task 1: Withstand soul pressure for 10 seconds (0/10)
Task 2: Walk unseen through a group of cultivators (0/1)
Task 3: Stand at the threshold of death without flinching (0/1)
Reward: +1% Sync per task, Passive Skill Unlock at 10%, Active Skill at 25%
Andras exhaled.
"These… aren't cultivation exercises," he said aloud. "They're experiences."
The system didn't want him to sit and breathe and circulate energy.
It wanted him to endure. It wanted him to change.
These were psychological trials. Emotional, even spiritual.
He looked again at the phrase: "Stand at the threshold of death without flinching."
John could do that. He'd already done it.
His old life had been one long slow surrender. Not to death exactly—but to the emptiness that came before it.
And now, his second chance demanded he walk through that again. Eyes open.
He sat cross-legged again and whispered, "Let's start."
[Meditation: Task 1 - Obsidian Flame Initiation]
He extinguished the lantern.
Darkness filled the room like water.
No moonlight slipped past the curtains. No glow of the system remained. He was alone with the void behind his eyelids.
The first hour passed slowly.
The second hour brought discomfort—ghosts of past lives whispering at the edge of his thoughts. He saw John again. Not in a mirror, not in a dream. But like a scar. Faint, persistent. The boy who gave up.
Then, somewhere in the third hour… he felt it.
Heat. Not external. Not around him.
Inside.
Like a furnace waking from slumber.
It didn't spread warmth. It spread… discipline. Like someone pouring iron into his spine. Like old rot being cauterized.
And then the System returned.
Task 1 Complete.Affinity Sync (Obsidian Flame): 6%
New Passive Trait: Embersteel Focus — 5% resistance to fear-based Qi disruptions.
Andras opened his eyes.
His breath left him in a slow exhale.
Even the darkness felt lighter now.
He stood.
Something in him had clicked. Not much. Not enough to win. Not enough to change his fate overnight.
But enough to begin.
He looked to the [Quests] tab again.
Tournament of Bloodroot – 8 Days RemainingCurrent Requirement: Reach Gold Core Realm
Status: [Qi Gathering – Early Stage]
Andras gave a dry chuckle.
"Eight days," he said. "To do what most cultivators take years to achieve."
He wasn't a protagonist. He wasn't chosen. He was repurposed. Recycled. Running on code and trauma.
But the system had chosen him.
And it had given him tools no one else seemed to understand.
Affinities. Bloodline awakening. A cultivation script written in trauma.
A cheat code? Maybe.
A curse? Possibly.
A chance?
Definitely.
He tapped the Core Body diagram one more time.
The Spirit Core in the center of the image—dark and inert—seemed to pulse faintly. Barely.
A new notification blinked.
Core Activation Path (Available)
Requirements:
Affinity Sync (10% Minimum) – 6% / 2%
Cultivation Rank: Mid Qi Gathering – NOT MET
Body Stability: 60% – Current: 41%
Warning: Attempting premature activation will lead to Core Fracture and permanent cultivation loss.
Andras stared.
He had eight days.
That meant seven days to break through, stabilize his body… and unlock the bloodline at the last second.
And maybe—just maybe—activate his Core.
If he failed?
He'd die.
But if he succeeded…
He might finally become someone worth remembering.
And that thought—alien and sharp—carved itself deep into his chest.
For the first time in either life, Andras didn't just want to survive.
He wanted to win.