[29th April]
Rey woke from a restless sleep.
It felt no different from the relentless training inside the white space. Even in rest, his mind refused to settle, burdened by the entities residing within him.
He sat up slowly and opened the window.
Cool morning air rushed in, brushing against his face and washing away the haze in his vision.
Outside, the sun climbed over the horizon. The city had already awakened. Engines hummed, voices overlapped, and life moved forward without pause.
For a brief moment, Rey simply watched.
Then he stood up.
He freshened himself, letting the water run over his body longer than usual, as if trying to wash away something deeper than sweat. After changing into clean clothes, he went downstairs.
His mother and sister were already seated, eating breakfast.
Rey joined them, silently taking his place at the table.
For a while, only the clinking of utensils filled the room.
Then Rey stopped mid-bite.
"Mom… sister," he said cautiously, lifting his head. "Can I ask something? If you don't mind."
Jasmine glanced at him while stacking her plates, clearly preparing to leave for work.
"Yes, son. If it's important, say it now. Otherwise, we can talk later when I come back."
Rey swallowed.
"M-mom… why haven't you asked me anything?"
Both of them paused slightly.
"My body changed completely," he continued, voice tightening. "My hair, my eyes, my voice… even my skin. My left hand has a tattoo that was never there before. You didn't even allow me to get one before. Now this massive mark appears overnight, and you don't ask a single question."
He clenched his fist unconsciously.
"Don't you think… I might not even be your son? That I could be someone else pretending to be him?"
Jasmine sighed softly.
"Son," she said, turning away, "I already told you. Don't ask meaningless things now."
She started walking away.
"MOM!"
Rey slammed his hand on the table.
The wood trembled violently, cracks almost forming before stopping short of breaking.
"Please don't leave. Even if it's meaningless to you, it's important to me."
Jasmine stopped.
She turned around, her expression calm, unshaken.
"Hah…" she exhaled. "Listen carefully."
"You're real."
Her voice was firm.
"And I know that you're real."
She walked closer and looked straight into his eyes.
"Even if the shell changes, a mother won't mistake her child for a stranger. Your eyes are the same. The way you speak is the same. That's enough for me."
Rey's lips parted slightly.
"But… what if those things change one day, too?" he asked quietly.
He knew what waited inside him.
He knew what the curse promised.
Jasmine smiled gently.
"If that day ever comes, don't worry," she said. "Even if you lose yourself, we'll find a way to bring you back."
She glanced at Emmy.
"Right?"
Emmy nodded enthusiastically, her mouth still full.
"Yes! We'll bring brother back no matter what!"
Then she leaned closer, eyes sparkling.
"And honestly, you look like a model now. Can I take a photo with you? I want to make my friends jealous."
Rey blinked.
The tension inside him loosened, just a little.
A faint smile appeared on his face.
Before he could refuse, Emmy dragged him closer and snapped a picture.
After that, both of them left the house.
The moment the door closed—
Rey's expression changed.
The warmth vanished.
After cleaning the dishes, he went upstairs, shut his room door, and drew the curtains, sealing himself in darkness.
"So…" he murmured. "Should we try what we prepared last night?"
He recalled Veylen's guidance. The theory. The risk.
Rey moved to the center of his room, sat down cross-legged, and closed his eyes.
The darkness helped him focus faster.
He reached inward, sensing the mana inside his body.
It was vast.
Yet he knew even this might not be enough if not for Victor's
"Let's do it in one go," he whispered.
He guided the mana through his body, circulating it carefully.
It flowed obediently.
Too obediently.
He searched for the ability, but nothing responded.
Just as Aiden had said.
He needed to go deeper.
Much deeper.
As his focus sharpened, the world around him faded.
Darkness enveloped him.
Not the white space.
But something vast and silent.
An inner void.
This was his mental domain. Somewhere deeper within it, the white room still existed.
He didn't need to go further.
This was where his ability slept.
He moved through the space, mana steadily draining as he searched.
Yet his regeneration kept up, giving him time.
Minutes passed.
Then half an hour.
Nothing.
Just as he considered pushing beyond—
He noticed it.
A faint, almost invisible orb.
Transparent.
Easy to miss.
Rey approached it slowly.
This was it.
The ability core of
He reached out—
His hand passed straight through it.
As expected.
Abilities could not be grasped physically, even here.
He nodded calmly.
Then he condensed his mana.
It twisted, shaped, and extended like a rope.
Carefully, he connected it to the orb.
This was not an activation.
This was bonding.
A connection formed without system guidance.
The mana rope became a conduit. A source. A bridge.
The moment the connection stabilised—
Rey was pulled back.
His eyes snapped open.
He was still sitting cross-legged in his room.
Sweat drenched his body.
His hands trembled. His legs ached violently.
Yet his eyes burned with clarity.
"…Now we wait," he muttered.
Just as Aiden predicted, the system responded.
[You have once again achieved something worthy of record.]
[You have formed a connection with an ability without system assistance for the second time.]
[Your existing title
======
Rarity: Common → Rare
Description: This title is bestowed upon those who gain significant knowledge without formal assistance. It is reserved for self-sufficient mavericks and geniuses who don't rely on conventional support systems. This title can be combined with other honours.
Effect:
↠ Enhance skill activation speed by 15% → 30%.
↠ Boost the probability of skill creation by % 35%.
↠ Elevate the likelihood of acquiring a skill by observing it by 5% → 15%.
======
"Good," Rey muttered softly.
"Now… let me feel the ability I can actually use."
He focused on the link he had just formed.
The connection between him and the ability core pulsed faintly, responding to his intent. It wasn't explosive. It wasn't violent.
It was subtle.
The space around him remained unchanged, but the floor beneath his crossed legs began to tremble, as if it had turned semi-liquid.
Darkness gathered at his feet.
It rose slowly, grain by grain, like floating black sand pulled upward by an unseen force.
The way it moved was unsettling.
Not fluid.
Not solid.
Like a parasite crawling upward, clinging to his body.
Rey did not panic.
He steadied his breathing and began to guide it carefully.
When the darkness reached just below his face, he halted its ascent.
It stopped instantly.
Rey's lips curved slightly.
He was controlling it.
No backlash.No resistance.No loss of mana beyond expectation.
"So they weren't lying," he whispered. "This ability really listens."
He guided it again.
The darkness slid across the floor, bending, turning, flowing exactly as he imagined. It followed his will with eerie precision.
For the first time—
Rey felt genuine control.
He didn't notice the presence behind him.
Didn't hear the curtains move.
Light flooded the room.
The sudden brightness struck his eyes, and his focus shattered.
The darkness collapsed instantly, dissolving like smoke.
"Who opened the curtains?!" Rey shouted, spinning around.
Aiden stood behind him, arms crossed, expression calm.
"Why did you do that?" Rey snapped. "I was controlling it perfectly. Didn't you see?"
Aiden didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he looked at the brightly lit room.
Then at Rey.
"It's good to succeed when conditions favour you," Aiden said evenly."But what happens when they don't?"
Rey frowned.
"What if you're forced to fight where darkness doesn't exist?" Aiden continued."Will you ask your enemy to kindly turn off the lights?"
Rey's mouth opened—
Then closed.
"But—"
"No buts," Aiden cut him off. "Now that you can control it under ideal conditions, train where you're disadvantaged."
His gaze sharpened.
"From now on, learn to use it in the light."
Rey's shoulders slumped instantly.
He looked like he'd just been sentenced to torture.
Aiden vanished without another word.
Left alone, Rey exhaled heavily.
"…Seriously."
He tried again.
Focused.Reached inward.
Seconds passed.
Nothing.
Minutes followed.
Still nothing.
Hours slipped by.
The ability refused to respond.
It was as if it had vanished entirely.
Rey sat on the floor, back against the wall, staring at nothing.
"This is hopeless," he muttered.
A figure appeared in front of him.
Veylen.
Rey didn't even look surprised.
"Now even you showed up," Rey said flatly. "What, here to make it worse?"
"No," Veylen replied calmly. "I'm here to help you solve the problem that's been bothering you."
Rey scoffed.
"How? I can't even form a shadow in this light. And Aiden expects me to materialise darkness where there isn't even a trace of it."
"You're right," Veylen said. "And Aiden is also right."
Rey turned sharply.
"So what? If you're just here to confuse me more, leave."
"You don't listen," Veylen said, irritation slipping into his tone. "I'm giving you the answer."
Rey stayed silent.
"This cannot be done at your current tier," Veylen continued. "It may not even be possible in your first or second tier."
Rey clenched his fists.
"Then what's the point?"
"There is an alternative path," Veylen said. "And that path is you."
"…What?"
"Look down," Veylen said sharply.
Rey followed his gaze.
On the floor—
His shadow stretched beneath him, cast clearly by the sunlight.
Veylen pointed.
"There is always darkness present," he said. "It follows you everywhere."
Rey's breath caught.
"You," Veylen continued, "are your own source. Your shadow is enough."
Rey stared at it.
"But be careful," Veylen warned. "One mistake, and the damage may reflect back onto you."
Without another word, Veylen disappeared.
Rey didn't move for a long time.
Then he slowly raised his hand.
He focused.
The shadow beneath him trembled.
Darkness seeped out of it, thin and unstable, nothing like before—but it existed.
It responded.
Not perfectly.
Not smoothly.
But it responded.
Rey smiled faintly.
"That's enough," he whispered.
As the darkness stabilised around his shadow—
A system notification began to form.
[You've…]