Chapter 12: Physique Awakening
Dominic nodded slightly at Rachel.
The moment he did, her body dissolved into the shadows once again, disappearing silently as though she had never been there to begin with.
Dominic then shifted his attention toward the table in front of him.
Four items rested neatly upon it.
The first was the Tears of the World.
A small transparent liquid sealed within a glass container. Strangely, the liquid floated in the middle of the glass instead of settling at the bottom, moving gently as if it possessed life of its own.
The second item was the Sunset Flower.
At first glance, it resembled a sunflower.
Yet something about it felt wrong.
A strange gloom surrounded it, one that refused to disappear no matter how brightly the room was lit.
The third item was the Sword of Darkness.
Despite its grand name, it looked more like a dagger than an actual sword. Its appearance was ordinary—so ordinary that nobody would suspect it was a special item.
And finally—
The Twisted Flower.
Beautiful.
Terrifyingly beautiful.
Its petals constantly shifted between colors.
Red.
Yellow.
Green.
Every color imaginable seemed to appear within it if one stared long enough.
Yet despite its beauty, it emitted an eerie aura.
Almost as if it were whispering for someone to come closer and take it.
Dominic stared at the items quietly.
A faint smile appeared on his face.
'How did Rachel gather these so quickly?'
'Is this the power of the Blackwood family?'
According to the original novel, the protagonist had spent more than two years collecting all these materials.
Yet Rachel had gathered them in less than a single day.
Dominic slowly exhaled.
Then his expression became serious.
Without hesitation, he began.
First—
The Sunset Flower.
Dominic took out a bowl he had already prepared before leaving for training earlier that day.
He placed the flower inside and slowly crushed it.
The petals broke apart into powder little by little, releasing a strange scent into the air.
After finishing that, Dominic picked up the Sword of Darkness.
Then—
Without hesitation—
He sliced his palm.
The moment the blade cut into his flesh, Dominic's expression twisted slightly.
His blood slowly dripped into the bowl.
At the same time, the flesh around the wound immediately began turning black.
An intense pain spread through his arm.
It felt as if his flesh itself was rotting.
Still, Dominic gritted his teeth and quickly mixed the blood together with the powdered Sunset Flower.
Then he picked up the Twisted Flower.
And bit into it.
The moment he chewed—
Pain exploded throughout his body.
"Gh—!"
Voices suddenly echoed inside his head.
His vision blurred.
Figures appeared before him one after another.
His daughter from his previous life.
His former comrades.
The countless people he had killed as an assassin.
Memories.
Regrets.
Hallucinations.
Everything came rushing toward him at once.
Dominic's breathing became unstable.
But he quickly forced himself to calm down.
Before the visions could consume him entirely, he immediately grabbed the Tears of the World and drank it in one gulp.
The moment the liquid entered his body, the pain subsided slightly.
But only slightly.
Knowing the effect would not last long, Dominic quickly scooped up the mixture from the bowl and swallowed it.
The moment he consumed it—
His body began heating up violently.
His flesh turned red.
Veins bulged across his skin.
His eyes became bloodshot and swollen.
Then—
A shadow suddenly appeared behind him.
Rachel.
She instinctively moved forward to help him.
But Dominic immediately forced out a few painful words.
"Don't… come… closer…"
Rachel stopped instantly.
Conflict flashed briefly through her eyes.
Still—
She obeyed.
The moment she became bound to him, her destiny had already been decided.
They would either rise together—
Or die together.
So she trusted him.
Meanwhile, Dominic's condition worsened.
His hands looked as though they were rotting alive.
His bones cracked audibly beneath his flesh.
His body shook violently.
Sweat poured down endlessly.
Tears streamed from his eyes.
Blood slowly trickled from his ears.
At that moment, he looked less like a human and more like someone dissolving alive.
Then—
The system notification appeared.
[Physique Awakening commencing.]
[1%…]
[2%…]
[5%…]
[10%…]
[Host is experiencing excessive pain.]
[Host soul stability decreasing.]
[Commencing emergency defense protocol.]
[Awakening temporarily halted.]
[Preparing to place Host into forced sleep.]
Inside his mind, Dominic immediately shouted—
'Stop!'
'Let it continue!'
The system paused briefly.
Then another notification appeared.
[Is Host certain?]
[Chance of soul damage: 70%]
[Chance of body damage: 90%]
[Chance of physique alteration: Unknown]
[Such alterations are outside System calculations and may result in disaster or benefit.]
[Does Host wish to continue?]
"Yes," Dominic answered internally in annoyance.
'Now get out of my head.'
Rachel stood nearby silently, confusion appearing briefly within her eyes.
She did not understand who Dominic was speaking to.
Still—
She chose not to ask.
Every powerful person had secrets.
The system continued.
[Awakening: 50%]
[60%…]
[65%…]
[70%…]
[75%…]
[80%…]
[90%…]
[95%…]
[98%…]
The moment it reached ninety-eight percent—
The pain intensified beyond imagination.
Dominic's vision became blurry.
His consciousness trembled violently.
He felt as if some twisted, dark existence was clawing directly at his soul.
He didn't understand what was happening.
But instinct told him something.
If he endured this—
He would gain something far greater than expected.
So he endured.
Silently.
[99%…]
[99.9%…]
[100%]
[Host has successfully awakened.]
BOOM!
A tremendous wave of energy exploded outward from Dominic's body.
Even Rachel was forced backward several steps.
Her eyes widened in shock.
Then—
Four figures suddenly appeared within the room.
Serafina.
Collins.
Alexandra.
Escanor.
The moment they arrived, their eyes immediately locked onto the unconscious Dominic.
Serafina frowned deeply.
"What happened here?"
Even though her face still carried its usual beautiful smile, the concern beneath it was obvious.
Rachel immediately explained everything that had happened.
However, she intentionally hid the part where Dominic had spoken to himself.
That secret belonged to her master.
She had no authority to reveal it.
After listening, everyone's eyes shifted toward the bowl and the remaining materials on the table.
Escanor walked closer before placing a hand on Dominic's body.
Then his eyes widened.
"He awakened."
The entire room fell silent.
Shock filled everyone's faces.
Awakenings were painful.
But not like this.
This level of suffering was abnormal.
Something clearly went wrong.
Or perhaps—
Something went too right.
Escanor eventually sighed deeply.
"Let him rest."
"When he wakes up, we'll get our answers."
Serafina slowly nodded.
She gently carried Dominic onto the bed before brushing back his golden hair softly.
Her gaze lingered on him quietly.
A mother's concern filled her eyes.
"What foolish thing have you done this time…?"
Then she turned toward everyone else.
"Leave."
After that, she looked at Rachel.
"You stay here and watch over him."
Rachel immediately bowed.
"Yes, Lady Serafina."
Everyone slowly began leaving the room.
Except—
Alexandra.
She remained standing there silently.
The others looked at her in surprise.
Escanor scratched his head.
"Alexandra?"
"You're not coming?"
Alexandra simply shook her head quietly.
Seeing this, nobody tried forcing her.
After all—
Alexandra had always been strange.
Mysterious.
Cold.
Distant.
Yet despite all that, everyone within the family knew one thing.
Her love for her younger brother was unmatched.
Even if she rarely showed it openly.
Soon, everyone left.
Leaving only Alexandra and Rachel behind.
Then—
Darkness.
Dominic slowly opened his eyes.
He found himself standing within an endless black space.
The place felt familiar.
Very familiar.
Then Dominic remembered.
This was the same place where he had wandered endlessly after dying in his previous life.
As he looked around, a system panel suddenly appeared before him.
Dominic narrowed his eyes.
"System… where am I?"
To his surprise—
The system answered directly.
[This is the Void Room.]
[The final layer between realities.]
Dominic's eyes widened slightly.
Usually, the system only responded with fixed notifications.
It never truly conversed with him.
"How are you answering me?"
[Temporary permissions have been granted while Host remains within the Void Room.]
[This allows the System to answer selected questions before Host awakens.]
Dominic remained silent briefly before asking another question.
"Why am I here?"
[During Host awakening, too many variables appeared.]
[To prevent damage to Host soul, the System temporarily transferred Host consciousness into the Void Room while the body stabilized.]
"What variables?"
[First variable: Ash Burnwood Physique.]
[Second variable: Imperfect preparation of awakening materials.]
[Due to lack of supervision and control during the awakening process, Host physique experienced mutation.]
Dominic frowned slightly.
"So… were the changes positive or negative?"
[Majority positive.]
[However, the resulting physique became excessively powerful.]
[System has temporarily sealed most of its abilities.]
[Full release will occur after Host reaches the War God Realm.]
[As Host grows stronger, additional physique abilities will gradually awaken.]
[Recommendation: Host should become stronger as quickly as possible.]
Dominic remained thoughtful for a moment before asking another question.
"If the concoction was wrong… why didn't I die?"
According to the Chaos Instructor in the original novel—
Failure meant death.
[During reincarnation, Host accidentally obtained an item known as the Void Core.]
[The Void Core allowed the System to remove fatal side effects and preserve Host body.]
[However, the Void Core also dramatically amplified Host physique.]
[This is another reason why System suppression became necessary.]
Dominic froze slightly.
"The Void Core…?"
"How did I obtain it?"
[During transmigration, alongside the System, Host also grabbed a golden object.]
[That object was the Void Core.]
Dominic immediately remembered.
The two objects he had desperately grabbed while being pulled into the strange light.
Then another question surfaced.
"Where does the Void Core come from?"
[The Void Core belongs to an entity far beyond the current world.]
[That entity cannot currently track Host.]
[However, it may eventually attempt recovery.]
[Recommendation: Become stronger as quickly as possible.]
Dominic placed a hand on his forehead.
"What a troublesome situation…"
Then he couldn't help but think about the protagonist again.
How fortunate he was to possess the Chaos Instructor from the very beginning.
Dominic sighed softly before asking—
"So when do I leave this place?"
[Host may leave at any time.]
[Body stabilization has already completed.]
Dominic blinked.
"That fast?"
[Inequality between Void Room time flow and current world time flow detected.]
Dominic was about to leave—
But suddenly paused.
Then he slowly looked back toward the system.
"You keep saying current world…"
"Does that mean…"
"There's a possibility I can return to Earth?"
For the first time since arriving in this world—
His voice slightly trembled.
The system answered calmly.
[Yes, Host.]
[Once Host reaches sufficient strength, return to Earth becomes possible.]
[However, required strength vastly exceeds Host's current level.]
[Recommendation: Become stronger.]
Dominic fell silent.
Then he asked one final question.
"What are you… System?"
A brief pause followed.
Then—
[Insufficient authority.]
[Host is currently unauthorized to access this information.]
[However…]
[A message left by the creator has been unlocked.]
Dominic frowned slightly.
Then—
A dark silhouette appeared before him.
"You know me, Dominic."
"And I know you."
"For we are one… yet separate."
"If you wish to learn who I am… and who you are…"
"Become stronger."
"Awaken us."
"Build the legacy of the Horsemen."
"And make the universe tremble before us."
The message ended.
Dominic stood there silently.
That message had answered almost nothing.
Yet somehow—
It revealed far too much.
The creator…
Was connected to him.
And the Horsemen…
That name disturbed him the most.
The Horsemen was an organization he himself had created on Earth on a whim.
Yet from the silhouette's words—
It seemed the Horsemen existed long before him.
Just what exactly was going on?
Dominic eventually shook his head.
"These two bastards…"
"Just send me back already."
The system remained silent briefly.
Then—
[Goodbye, Host.]
[I hope we speak again in the future.]
A bright light suddenly enveloped Dominic completely.
Before disappearing, Dominic glanced toward the system one last time and smiled faintly.
Then—
He vanished.
Inside the Blackwood Mansion—
A young boy sleeping peacefully on a bed suddenly opened his eyes.
The first thing he saw—
Was a silver-haired girl sleeping beside him.
Dominic's eyes widened instantly.
"Holy shit!"
"What the hell did I do?!"