Beneath the ethereal glow of the moon, Morca stood atop the grassy cliff. His brows were deeply creased as his piercing, crimson right eye tracked across the boundless sky.
"I can't think of a way to complete this system synchronization," he muttered, his voice thick with frustration.
As a dedicated bookworm, Morca had formed a few hypotheses. Yet, unlike the web novels he had spent years reading, this system offered no straightforward checklists or clear-cut prerequisites.
In those stories, systems were a clichéd trope. His, however, demanded something entirely cryptic. The unlock condition was an unsettling, paradoxically phrased clue:
[BOND BY FATE. BOND WITH FATE. TO SCATTER FATE.]
A dark thought crept into his mind. There was a very real possibility he might not survive long enough to fulfill the second prerequisite, let alone completely synchronize with the Infinity Nihility system before his fragile health gave out.
Bond by fate, he mused aloud, trying to dissect the words. Does that imply a cosmic connection tied to my lineage? A spiritual beast, an ancient artifact, or a soul-bond? Then 'Bond with fate' must mean accepting that connection consciously. But 'To scatter fate'… I have no idea. Defying destiny itself?
It was the most logical interpretation he could muster. For the first time, Morca caught a glimpse of just how perilous it was to touch the forbidden knowledge of reality. A mere year ago, he was just an ordinary high school graduate living a peaceful life with his parents, entirely oblivious to the true nature of Evoslon's extraordinaries.
He let out a heavy sigh."Well, let's not dwell on it for now. It's time to head back. Mother is probably waiting outside."
Pushing the intrusive thoughts aside, he turned toward home. His route followed a lone, winding mountain path that cut through a dense forest toward their isolated house. He used the trek to slip into the next part of his evening routine: a five-minute jog.
Yet even as his feet beat against the dirt path, his mind refused to settle. He tried to convince himself that everything was fine, but his treacherous brain kept replaying the fragments of the bloody, cataclysmic dream.
No matter how slim the possibilities are, what if it's all true? he thought, a sudden chill breaking over his skin. Doesn't that mean I'll inherit a curse from both the heavens and the abyss?
Goosebumps erupted across his arms as he recalled the eternal doom effect: Cannot escape the eye of the heavens and the Abyss… not even after death.
If that's the reality, I have to complete the synchronization. I have to uncover the meaning of those dreams. But where do I even start? Even if I manage to awaken a flaw tied to cultivation, I'll probably just be a step above a common mortal. Still trash.
Agitation and desperation warred within him. He needed answers to clear the fog of his confusion, answers to unearth the truth of Evoslon. To secure those answers, he had to awaken his lineage flaw.
If I wasn't just hallucinating, then the Infinity Nihility System is my only hope. As long as I'm still breathing, I need to complete the prerequisites.
Suddenly, his crimson eye darted upward.
Piercing through the dense canopy of trees, he spotted two striking blurs—one red, one purple—streaking across the sky. They were tearing directly toward the one place he held sacred: his home. Where his mother was.
"A shooting star…?" he murmured, before his breath hitched. They were far too low, far too controlled. "No. Mother might be in danger."
His heart skipped a beat as a cold, forbidden dread washed over him. Tracking the precise, lethal trajectory of those two descending lights, he realized exactly what they were.
Pathbearers.
Without a second thought, he broke into a frantic sprint. He knew he lacked the speed and strength to catch up to entities of that caliber, leaving him with nothing but a silent, desperate prayer.
In his peripheral vision, a black screen glitched outward from the void. But consumed by sheer panic, he failed to notice the flashing notification interface.
Then, something tore through the night that shook Morca's very soul.
Boom!
A violent explosion reverberated through the woods. Midway through the forest path, Morca felt his chest tighten. His mind spun like a frantic AI, simulated horrors flashing through his thoughts in milliseconds.
His mother was right in the path of that blast. She was the only person who brought a genuine smile to his face, the only one who shielded him when he was tormented by trauma. Allina was his sole motivation to keep fighting. Though he knew she harbored her own deep secrets, the thought of her facing an unknown fate terrified him.
Worse, the forest had fallen deathly quiet. There were no follow-up sounds. No echoes. Just an ominous, lingering silence.
His jaw clenched so hard his teeth ached. His fingernails dug mercilessly into his palms until black blood began to seep from the self-inflicted wounds. From some untapped, unknown reservoir deep within his body, a raw strength surged into his legs. He lunged forward, entirely ignoring the agonizing strain and the dripping blood.
Using the slope of the hill to propel his momentum, he finally burst through the tree line. The sight that greeted him caught him completely off guard.
There was no devastation. No ruined earth or burning debris. Instead, the valley was entirely tranquil. The familiar, age-worn brick cottage rested quietly under the moonlight. Its lone front door stood slightly ajar, and in the courtyard, lines of fresh laundry drifted softly in the cool night air.
Morca exhaled a ragged breath, his shoulders dropping.
I must have overreacted. It must be the stress from today.
Even with that rationalization, the phantom nervousness in his chest refused to dissipate. His crimson eye scanned the perimeter as he stepped through the wooden fence gate. The more peaceful the environment appeared, the more his anxiety spiked.
What if the worst has already happened, and I'm too late?
Taking a few cautious steps deeper into the yard, his focus shifted toward the side of the cottage. Through the translucent fabric of a hanging bedsheet, he could make out three shadowy silhouettes. One of the figures was being held in the air, gripped tightly by its neck.
Morca's pale face lost what little color it had left. Subconsciously, his legs moved, drawing him toward the clothesline.
But when he threw the bedsheet aside, the reality on the other side completely contradicted the grim shadows he had just witnessed. He froze, wondering if his brain was finally fracturing under the pressure—or if the world itself had fundamentally warped.
"Am I hallucinating?" he muttered, looking around in utter confusion. "I know I heard an explosion. I saw the shadows. But everything right in front of me says otherwise."
At the far corner of the fence stood three individuals.
With her back turned to Morca stood a simply but neatly dressed woman. She wore a long white robe beneath a rich brown outer garment, cinched by a dark waist belt that accentuated her mature curves. A matching brown scarf bound her hair, though a few stray strands of vibrant orange fell against her smooth cheeks. Her slender, pale feet were set firmly in comfortable sandals.
In the moonlight, she looked less like a struggling single mother and more like an ethereal fairy. This was Allina Rocha—Morca's mother.
She was facing two cloaked strangers who stood just beyond the boundary of the wooden fence. One was a masked man; the other was a young lady wearing a veiled hat, her indescribable eyes shimmering with an unnatural light beneath the mesh.
It was the powerful duo from earlier: Blackghost Crow and the mysterious young lady.
As if sensing Morca's sudden intrusion, Allina turned and walked toward him, leaving the bedsheet swaying in his hand. As the light hit her face, her features became fully visible. The only word that could accurately describe her countenance was divine. Despite her humble attire, her natural beauty effortlessly outshone her modest clothing. Even when trying her best to blend in as an ordinary villager, she possessed an otherworldly aura that simply did not fit the puzzle of this quiet valley.
Her dreamy, grey irises, contrasted by piercing orange pupils, spoke of an origin far removed from the mortal realm. She cast a protective, loving glance at her son, who remained frozen, staring intently at the two visitors preparing to depart.
Just as the strangers turned to set off, the young lady abruptly cast a sharp glance back in Morca's direction. The moment their eyes locked, an invisible current rippled through the air between them.
On the young lady's wrist, three parasite-like bracelets flared to life. Two of them glowed with a fierce red and purple luminescence, while the third bled a heavy, dark mist into the air. This time, the phenomenon did not escape her notice.
Standing guard beside her, Blackghost Crow stared at Morca with a flash of genuine disbelief behind his mask. So, he is the failed Sherman heir, the warrior thought, intrigued. An exceptional human mix with an outlier's gene. No wonder the boy is still breathing after a failed lineage awakening.
The mysterious young lady's mind was racing. He can make the artifacts react? How is that possible? Is he the one I've been searching for? A mere mortal… no, there is something profoundly anomalous about him.
For a fleeting second, an intense urge to seize the sickly youth gripped her, but she suppressed it. Doing so would invite disaster—not with Allina standing right there. Based on the brief, tense exchange they had just concluded, she knew Allina Rocha was an entity she absolutely could not afford to provoke.
Morca Sherman… Nihility… A bond, the young lady noted mentally, shifting her gaze back to the fairy-like mother. An unawakened anomaly? No, something far more terrifying. And she is protecting him.
A subtle, dangerous smirk played beneath her veil. It won't be long. I will come back for you soon, my Bond.
With a distortion of air, the two figures vanished into the horizon.
Left behind in the quiet courtyard, Morca stood paralyzed, struggling to process what his eyes had just witnessed. He was no stranger to the presence of powerful figures; he had stood beneath the gentle yet heavy gaze of his father, Claudius, the unsettling, lazy scrutiny of his uncle, Emmett Lee, and the ancient, unfathomable eyes of a Clan Guardian Elder.
Yet none of those legendary figures could compare to the young lady who had just left. In that brief, passing moment, he had felt completely exposed—as if every secret hidden in his soul had been laid bare before her, despite her appearing no older than himself.
She's a monster, he concluded, a cold sweat breaking out. I'm certain of it.
Instinct told him those eyes did not belong to a human being. They carried the raw, untamed weight of an ancient beast—a unique, terrifying presence mirrored only by his own mother's dreamy grey eyes.
Before he could dwell further on how a young girl could possess such an aura, a familiar, mechanical chime echoed directly in his mind, demanding his immediate attention.
[INFINITY NIHILITY SYSTEM UPDATE]
[SYNCHRONIZING...]
Before he could scan the text, his mother was already standing directly in front of him. Her dreamy eyes searched his face, scrutinizing him from head to toe for any sign of injury or change. Finding nothing out of place, she waved a slender hand in front of his face, breaking his fixation on the system interface.
"You know, she's already gone," Allina said, her voice carrying a gentle, teasing lilt. "Why are you still daydreaming? Has my boy's heart been stolen by that little girl at first sight?"
Her words successfully pulled Morca back to reality. He realized bitterly that his strange behavior had never truly escaped her notice.
"Momma, who were they? And why are they here?" Morca asked quickly, his voice urgent. "I heard a massive explosion in the woods, so I ran back as fast as I could. But when I got here, everything was quiet. Then I saw a shadow through the clothesline—"
"Oh, so you were running because you were worried about me?" Allina interrupted smoothly, turning on her heel to walk toward the cottage entrance. "That's very sweet of you, son. As for them, they were simply passing through and stopped to ask for directions."
Though she kept her tone light, Morca caught the subtle strain in her voice. It carried a faint, bitter edge—a clear sign of severe inner turmoil.
Furthermore, his crimson eye caught sight of a small glass vial clutched tightly in her hand.
She's definitely hiding something, Morca realized.
He knew his mother too well. If the encounter had truly been as innocent as asking for directions, she wouldn't have turned her back on him so abruptly to end the conversation. Yet, seeing that she was physically unharmed and clearly unwilling to share the truth, he chose not to push her.
Following her inside, he refocused his attention on the translucent notifications floating in his mind:
[INFINITY NIHILITY SYSTEM UPDATE]
[A BOND HAS BEEN INITIATED WITH THE HOST. FATE HAS TIED THE HOST TO ITS DESCENDANT.]
[CONGRATULATIONS, NIHIL! HOST HAS SYNCHRONIZED SUCCESSFULLY WITH THE INFINITY NIHILITY SYSTEM.]
[SYNCHRONIZATION PROGRESS OVERVIEW...]
[CLUE TO COMPLETE ALL SYSTEM PREREQUISITES UNLOCKED: ??]