In a small clearing far away from Theo's and Damon's fight stands a broken-down temple. Its pillars were rib bones of stone. Runes crawled across them in jagged spirals, faintly glowing as if remembering a language older than breath. Vines strangled the carvings, roots threading through cracked marble like veins claiming a corpse.
At the center, on an altar split clean down the middle, sat a small box that was wrapped in talismans and smelled horrendous. There is a sickly green energy seeping through the small cracks of the box.
***
Theo sat cross-legged at its edge, spine straight, eyes closed. The moonlight kissed the water and turned the spray into drifting stars. He inhaled slowly, deeply, steadying the storm in his veins.
Behind him, the party raged like a chaotic orchestra that forgot the conductor. Bass thumped. Laughter cracked. Someone attempted a dance move that should be illegal in at least three states. The scent of cheap cologne and spilled soda fought for dominance in the air.
A faint vibration passed through his spine. Not pain. Not quite power either. More like a compass needle twitching inside his ribs. Then the familiar hum of the system echoed.
[Ding! System Notification]
[Anomalous Energy Signature Detected]
"…Of course there is," he muttered under his breath. The bass from the party hit a particularly tragic drop in the background.
[Distance: 2.7 miles]
[Energy Classification: Corrupt / Sealed / Dormant]
[Threat Level: Uncertain]
Theo exhaled slowly.
"Uncertain?" he whispered. "That's comforting."
The system hummed again, faintly amused. Or maybe that was just his imagination.
[Resonance Detected]
[Energy reacting to Host Presence]
His jaw tightened. "Reacting how?" A pause.
Then—
[Seal Integrity: Degrading.]
Far away, in the broken temple, a talisman blackened. The sickly green light brightened. Not wildly. Not violently. Hungry.
Back at the waterfall, the mist around Theo shifted. Just slightly. As if the air leaned toward him.
[Ding! Optional Quest Generated]
He already hated where this was going.
[Investigate Sealed Corruption]
[Objective: Locate source of anomalous energy]
[Reward: ???]
[Failure Consequence: Escalation]
Theo stared at that last word.
"Escalation," he repeated. The music behind him surged again.
"Can't a guy get some rest around here..." he said, receiving no answer. "I guess not," he continued. Someone yelled his name from the party, probably trying to drag him back into whatever chaos they'd invented now.
Theo closed his eyes once more.
And felt the disturbing presence. This time, the direction was clear. Northwest. Through something that did not want to stay buried. The system spoke again, softer now.
[Warning: Host proximity may accelerate seal collapse.]
Theo stood. "So if I go, I make it worse."
[Correct.]
"And if I don't?" he said, followed by a second of silence.
[Seal Collapse Probability Without Intervention: 78%.]
He looked toward the trees. The night felt thinner now. Like stretched fabric about to tear. "Unbelievable," he muttered, brushing water from his hands. The system added one final line.
[Host growth requires confrontation.]
Theo let out a quiet breath. "…You're really bad at relaxing nights."
Standing up, Theo started to slowly walk in the direction the system pointed him to. With each step he took, the sound of laughter and music faded behind him, and in return, the sound of crickets and birds chirping grew louder the deeper he went into the forest.
In the distance, he could see a broken-down temple. Its pillars were rib bones of stone. Runes crawled across them; they were faintly glowing as if remembering a language older than breath. Vines were wrapped around the carvings, roots threading through cracked marble like veins claiming a corpse.
Stepping through the wide door frame or what was left of it, and looking around inside briefly before focusing on an altar that was split clean down the middle, there was a small box that was sitting upon the altar and was wrapped in talismans, and it smelled horrendous. There is a sickly green energy seeping through the small cracks of the box.
Walking onto the altar, the space around him rippled with horrendous and disturbing.
"Disgusting," he said, covering his nose from the horrendous smell. Theo was utterly disgusted and bewildered by it; it 'almost' made him want to lose his sense of smell.
Suppressing a gag, Theo picked up the small box and carefully started to unwrap the talismans.
Once the last of the talismans fell onto the ground, the space around him cracked, and wind howled within its ears.
What he saw inside the box confused him greatly.
Inside the box was a massive canine, measuring up to 7 inches in length, but it seemed to be much bigger than that because behind the large tooth was nothing. Absolutely nothing, it seemed to stretch deeper into the box. Theo had a suspicion that this was a storage item, but did not know what type of monster the tooth belonged to.
Then the voice of the system resounded within his ear, filled with excitement. It was the first time he heard the system express emotion.
[Would Host like to absorb this item?]
[Y/N]
"Yes, I would..." he said, feeling uneasy.
[Ding! You have achieved a Lineage!]
Pain immediately surged into his very being, reaching deeper and deeper into his very soul.
Opening the status screen, Theo raised his eyebrow. He was confused as he didn't know who or what the great devourer was, and the definition of his name came from the word 'wolf' in Lithuanian.
[NAME: THEO VILKUS]
[LINEAGE: THE GREAT DEVOURER]
[TITLE: ANOMALY]
[TEMPLATE: MCU THOR - 4.5%]
[LEVEL: 2]
[EXP: 35/150]
[HP: 100/100]
[MP: 20/50]
[STR: 5]
[VIT: 5}
[AGI: 6]
[PER: 4]
[SP: 0]
Raising his hand, he opened the skill menu and almost fainted. What he saw would be immensely helpful for him in his new life.
[SKILLS: Asgardian God Physique, Temporal Disruption, Dormant Godly Presence, Lycanthrope Enhancement, Shapeshifting, Enhanced Senses, Natural Weaponry, Body Control]
With these new skills he acquired from the lineage, he felt like he was ready to do anything he wanted. But he did not know what was coming for him next...