"Hah!"
Lexel woke up with a sharp intake of breath. He shot up from his bed, his heart pounding, his hands instinctively reaching for a weapon that wasn't there.
Immediately, a wave of dizziness washed over him. "Ugh."
He slumped back against the headboard, his vision swimming. He looked around, blinking the sleep from his eyes. The grandeur of his chamber greeted him—the high, painted ceiling, the fine silk sheets, the sunrays dancing through the transparent curtains. It was home. It was Empyrean.
He looked down at himself. His body felt... wrecked. It felt heavy, like he was wearing a suit of lead armor under his skin. But the pain was gone. He was healing substantially. No blood was leaking, no bones were grinding.
I feel... so tired... huh?
A blue, translucent window appeared in the center of his vision.
[Welcome, Lexel Torga] [You are now chosen as the vessel of the Anti-System]
"What? What does that mean?" Lexel blinked twice.
The screen didn't vanish. It hovered there, persistent and annoying. He tried to touch it, swiping his hand through the air, but his fingers passed right through the light. It was as if he couldn't reach it, yet it was etched into his retina.
He tried looking away, turning his head toward the balcony. The screen followed his gaze, staying dead-center in his vision.
"Get off!" he shouted.
Then, with a soft blip, it was gone.
He blinked several times, testing his eyes. It was really gone.
"What... happened?"
[Would you like a tutorial for the Anti-System?] [Y/N]?
"There it is again!" Lexel groaned, officially pissed off. He had just woken up from a near-death experience, and now he was being haunted by text boxes. "No! I don't want any tutorial! Get lost!"
[Thank you for the confirmation]
Then it blipped and was gone.
Lexel shook his head, rubbing his temples. "Annoying thing."
He roughly grabbed his clothes from the bedside table. He twitched as he pulled on his robe. Even the fine silk felt heavier than usual. He tried to circulate his energy to shake off the fatigue. He tried to channel his Ley energy...
Nothing.
There was no river of power in his veins. No warmth. Just... empty, broken silence.
He gritted his teeth, his fists clenching until his knuckles turned white. "Goddamnit... I lost it all!"
"Ah, you finally awake!"
A concerned, melodic voice entered his chamber.
"Huh—"
Before Lexel could turn, his face was being pulled over. The next thing he knew, he was buried in a soft, warm bosom that smelled of medicinal herbs and flowers.
Mother Maria...
"You had me really worried, oh dear Lexel," Maria said, her voice trembling slightly. She held him tight, rocking him gently. "You're the last one to wake up."
Lexel relaxed into the hug. 'Oh great... that means Myda and Seleron are both alive. Looks like dad came just in time.'
Maria pulled back to take a good look at him. Her alchemist eyes scanned him with professional precision. She checked his arms, lifted his chin to check his face, pressed her fingers to his wrist to check his pulse.
Finally, she put her hands on her waist with a deep sigh of relief. "Nothing's wrong. No broken bones, no bruises. You're recovering well."
"But mother..." Lexel looked down at his hands. "My cultivation... it's gone."
Maria smiled warmly. She reached out and caressed his chin, lifting his face so he had to look at her. "And so did your father lose his. Once, twice... even thrice, if I recall correctly. Losing power isn't the end, Lexel. It's just a reset."
She looked into his eyes. "Head up, Lexel. You are a Torga."
"I..." Lexel felt a lump in his throat. He forced a smile. "Thank you, mother."
"You're welcome, sweety." She patted his cheek.
"Where is dad?" Lexel asked, looking past her. "I need to talk to him."
Maria sighed again, but this time her heart seemed heavy. "Your father is busy handling the matters of this... new world. He has been having a meeting with Yggdrasil for a week now."
"Wait a minute..." Lexel froze. "A WEEK?! Did I pass out for an entire week!?"
"Sure does," a cool voice stepped in from the doorway.
Seleron leaned against the doorframe, his arms crossed. He looked pale, but healthy. "You took that sleeping thing a little too far, Lexel. The story was about a Sleeping Beauty, not a Sleeping Prince."
"Seleron!" Lexel grinned, genuinely happy to see his brother standing.
"And Myda too," said a voice from the ceiling.
"Myda?" Lexel turned around, searching the room.
He looked up. Myda was hanging upside down from the balcony railing by his knees, swinging casually.
"W-Wait, were you there the entire time?!" Lexel shouted.
"The whole morning, mind you," Myda said, swinging back and forth.
"AND YOU DIDN'T SAY A WORD?"
"Not a single time," Myda shook his head, a mischievous smile on his face. "I wanted to see how long it would take you to notice."
"Are you kidding me???" Lexel threw a pillow at him. Myda dodged it effortlessly, flipping down to the floor.
"Alright, alright," Maria laughed. "I'm going to leave you three to your own. Don't break anything."
She kissed Lexel's forehead once more before leaving, closing the heavy wooden door behind her.
As soon as the latch clicked, the atmosphere in the room shifted instantly. The smiles dropped. The "family warmth" was replaced by serious, sharp focus.
"Lexel," Myda said, stepping forward. "Did you see a notification status?"
"Yes, I did," Lexel said, sitting on the edge of his bed. "Hey, you could have told me the entire time you were on my balcony!"
"Looks like we all have it," Seleron said, ignoring the complaint. He walked over to the window, looking out. "An Anti-System."
"So I take it that you don't know what it is either?" Lexel asked.
Myda and Seleron shook their heads.
"What does your status look like?" Seleron asked.
"What?" Lexel blinked.
"Your status," Seleron repeated. "The screen."
"Oh, right," Lexel scratched his head. "I said 'No' to the tutorial. It went away."
Myda slapped his own forehead. "Honestly, you two. What is the matter with you? Seleron tried to attack the screen."
"Well, did you figure it out?" Lexel asked.
"Of course," Myda said, crossing his arms and giving a smug smirk. "After tinkering with the so-called 'Anti-System,' I can guarantee that this interface is intent-based. It works just like how we use a Spatial Ring. You don't need to touch it; you just need to will it."
"Is that so?" Lexel furrowed his brows. He focused his mind.
Status.
A chime rang in his mind, and the blue screen materialized.
[Lv 1]
[Title: Zodiac Heir]
[Effect: Earn 200% EXP Gain from all sources] [Side Effect: High Aggro]
[Hp: Healthy]
[Ap: 10]
[Class: ??]
[STR: S]
[DEX: B]
[END: A]
[INT: B]
[LCK: S]
[Skill: Will of Torga] [Description: Reduce higher enemy levels to the same level as Lexel until duration end] [Duration: 10 sec] [Cooldown: 24 system hours]
Lexel stared at the skill description. "Will of Torga..."
"Correct. We all have that one too," Myda said with a nod. "It seems to be our trait. But... that's not the interesting part. You should check the Skill Tree."
Skill Tree.
The window shifted.
Then, nodes upon nodes upon nodes popped up, filling Lexel's vision. It was a massive, sprawling web of darkness. Lexel gulped at the sight. These dimmed nodes of different sizes—[???]—connected to each other in a complex constellation, all revolving around one single, lit node in the middle: [Will of Torga].
Then, the nodes trembled.
They began shifting and turning, sliding across the screen as if they were alive. It felt... wrong. Like the code was rewriting itself.
Then, the webbing glowed with a prismatic pulse.
The Skill Tree just gave birth.
A completely new set of nodes—burning with a red, violet fog—erupted between the existing nodes. They fused with the Anti-System web, creating a new, unique set path that belonged only to him.
He was overwhelmed. Yet... excited.
This feeling... Lexel thought, his heart racing. It's not cold. It feels... like watching Mother Cecile on the battlefield.
Then, without a wind of change or a sound of warning, a pair of strong arms stretched over their necks.
Before they could react, they were being hugged, all tight, all together, into a hard, muscular chest.
"I'm so, so glad you three are safe!"
The voice cracked with emotion.
"Dad!" shouted the three of them, their breath squeezed out by the embrace.