God Seed
Chapter 4 – The Empty Chest
I stepped out from the underground exit and stopped for a moment.
My chest felt strangely empty.
Three problems kept circling in my mind.
First, I had no memories of this body.
Second, I didn't know which city I was close to.
Third — after feeding the souls I had taken to the God Seed, my emotions had become dull. Happiness, anger, fear… everything felt distant. I no longer felt like the same person I once was.
Now, I could consider doing almost anything without hesitation.
I remembered something important.
When I killed those people underground, did the God Seed consume all their souls at once, or one per hour?
I imagined a status screen appearing before me.
It materialized instantly.
A pitch-black panel floated in my vision. In the upper left, the glowing God Seed orb spun slowly. Beside it, two counters were visible:
Humans Killed: 101
Beasts Killed: 1
At the bottom:
Souls Stored: 100
Two hours had passed since the killings. That meant the God Seed had automatically consumed two souls during that time.
Understood.
I closed the screen and began walking in a random direction. I had nowhere specific to go, so I simply followed where my feet took me.
Evening arrived quickly. Along the way, several wild beasts attacked. I killed only those that showed signs of intelligence. Their souls were quietly absorbed by the God Seed.
After several more hours of walking, a massive city came into view.
A wall nearly thirty meters high surrounded the entire settlement. I needed to reach the gate before total darkness fell.
Three hours later, I stood at the entrance.
Ten soldiers guarded the gate, inspecting everyone in a long queue. I joined the line without speaking.
The man in front of me turned slightly. I asked in a flat voice, "Which city does the Romanstar Family control?"
He glanced back. "You're new here?"
"Yes."
He nodded. "The Romanstar Family owns two cities. One is an 8-Star City governed by the family head, Romaniacus. The other is a 7-Star City run by their eldest daughter, Romaniastar."
I continued, "The higher the star rating, the stronger the city?"
"Correct. On this planet, the more stars something possesses — person, beast, or city — the more powerful it is."
I observed the people walking straight through the gate without inspection. "Why are they not being checked?"
"Outer City and Inner City," the man replied. "Those entering freely are Inner City residents with special cards. We have to pay one 3-Star Beast Core to enter the Outer City."
He paused, then added, "If you don't have any cores, I can take you in. You can repay me later."
"No need," I said calmly. "I have them."
I took out three beast cores from my pocket — two 3-Star and one 4-Star.
The man's eyes widened slightly. "You even have a 4-Star core…"
"Acquaintances gave them to me," I replied without emotion.
I didn't offer dinner or further conversation. We simply stepped out of the queue together and approached the gate.
The soldiers took the cores without question and let us through.
Night had already fallen over the city.
As I walked through the crowded streets of the Outer City, that hollow feeling in my chest continued to spread. It wasn't uncomfortable. It felt… natural now.
Cold.
Quiet.
Efficient.
To be continued…