Seraphina watched the scene unfold from the sidelines. She was tired.

Her legs trembled and her lungs burned but she kept healing Cedric and Bearlo.

She had been running after Rael for what felt like forever even as her body screamed for rest. But he was the only hope she had left.

She was tired of living like a weak burden… Tired of being the one everyone needed to protect. And only now, cornered and desperate, did she finally understand.

The world didn't see her as a burden because she was weak.

It saw her that way because she did.

She never loved herself.

She loathed her own existence.

She was the one who considered herself as a burden.

But now, watching him, that man cloaked in arrogance and confidence, someone who walked through calamity as if the world itself bowed to him, something inside her cracked.

She saw Rael move as he pleased… speak as he pleases..

Live as if everything and everyone were beneath him. And more importantly smile even when the situation seems dire.

It broke the invisible chains she had wrapped around her heart.

But even then… she was powerless.

Especially now, as she saw the monstrous power radiating from the boy who had once been her party member.

A wave of ominous black energy spread outwards from Lucien.

Her heart trembled as the wave closed in.

She couldn't even move but even then… only one word echoed in her heart.

Why am I so weak?

It wasn't despair this time.

It wasn't self-pity.

It was anger.

A question born from the raw, ugly hunger to change.

For the first time, instead of crying about being a burden… She wanted to be of help. She wanted to smile at herself confidently.

And as if the world itself heard that cry, something deep within her stirred.

Something that had always been there, buried beneath years of self-hate and fear.

Something ancient and alive.

It responded.

[YOUR DORMANT FLAW: ???? IS REVEALING ITSELF]

Seraphina's eyes widened.

Unlike others whose flaws had revealed themselves the moment they awakened, hers had always been nothing but question marks.

It never activated nor did it ever show its name.

She staggered back, gasping, as the world around her dimmed, the sounds of everything else fading into a distant echo.

Her mana stilled… as her eyes started darkening.

A strange silence washed over her.

And then her vision began to fade, color draining from her irises until her eyes darkened completely.

She could see Bearlo and Cedric, falling on the ground as well due to the wave of power that Lucien had released.

Her knees gave out as well.

And just before everything went black, a flicker of golden-blue light shimmered before her eyes.

[BLESSING OF ??? IS RESPONDING.]

[YOUR NEXUS IS EVOLVING.]

—

As she opened her eyes, Seraphina found herself standing in a dark void. Her body was ethereal but her mind clearer than ever.

In the center of that empty expanse floated a single black orb. It pulsed slowly like a heartbeat.

Its darkness was so deep that even the shadows surrounding it couldn't swallow it.

It was darker than the dark itself.

Each pulse sent faint ripples through the void and every ripple that reached her skin made her soul tremble.

For a long moment, she just stood there,

watching it breathe.

The orb felt familiar as if it was part of her own soul… the part she had always discarded.

And then—

"So… you are finally here, my child."

The voice came from everywhere at once, soft and feminine…

… and yet it was heavy enough to crush thought itself.

Seraphina's heart skipped.

She wasn't alone here.

A blinding golden light erupted, painting the void orange. Seraphina instinctively closed her eyes, shielding them.

And only after a few minutes passed did she open them again.

Standing some distance away in the void was a gigantic feminine figure, radiant or luminous, standing on the backs of lions.

A horned crown marked her as divinity, shining in radiant golden hue. The figure held a spear in one hand and a ring-rod of justice in the other.

Eight-pointed stars surrounded her like person sigils.

Seraphina couldn't see the face but even the blurry figure of the being was enough for her to understand that what she was facing was something completely beyond her comprehension.

Her knees trembled as if even they wished for her to kneel.

She obeyed.

"Oh my child, you the one who holds the dual soul, carry my lantern and shine the …darkness within and without."

The voice echoed within the endless void.

Seraphina didn't understand what was happening.

Her thoughts stumbled over themselves, collapsing under the weight of that presence.

The goddess, for there was no doubt that's what the figure was, lowered her head ever so slightly as if looking directly at Seraphina.

Even faceless, Seraphina felt that gaze pierce through every layer of her being.

"You were born carrying two halves that reject and crave each other,"

"Light and the shadow of it. Pity and the fear of it. In your despair, you called me and so, I have answered."

Seraphina's lips trembled. Her voice was barely a whisper. "W–Who… are you?"

The figure's golden aura dimmed slightly, revealing fleeting outlines of flowing robes woven from constellations themselves.

"Names mean little when you have forgotten yourself," the goddess said softly. "But you may call me… ISHTARA."

The word that followed didn't reach her ears, it burned itself directly into her soul instead. Each letter thrummed with power.

Her body trembled. "Why… me?"

The goddess extended her hand and the black orb floated toward her.

"Because, my child," the voice answered gently, "you are both mercy and judgment. The world has forgotten what it means to love and destroy in equal measure."

The orb halted in front of Seraphina.

"Take my lantern walk as my envoy, the Keeper of Equilibrium."

And before her mind could process anything more, she heard the same proud celestial whisper.

"Shine, my child. Shine… until even the gods remember balance again."

Then the light shattered and the void collapsed into her.

[FLAW: DUALITY OF SOUL IS ACTIVATED]

—

Meanwhile, in the outside world, Lucien opened his eyes and for the first time since awakening in this world, power was overflowing through him.

His entire form had shifted. His hair was now pitch black and his eyes the same void-dark hue.

His ears had elongated and his muscles rippled with new density. But what stood out the most was the mana surging through him, it was far beyond anything he had ever felt before.

The scroll that was supposed to be an opportunity to contract with a god… had been something else entirely.

A container for the soul of an elf.

Until just a few minutes ago, he and that spirit had been locked in a brutal struggle for dominance.

But when the elf sensed danger after its curses failed to inflict any damage to the attacker, it made an offer.

A deal to kill everyone in the cave and offer the elf the body of that annoying bastard.

And in return, he will be left alive and maybe even gain more power.

The elf had promised to make him an official member of A.S.S and how could he refuse? Even in the game, not a single playable character could ever become one.

Many online players on forum had tried doing that but no one succeeded.

This was a new path, a route never seen before.

His gamer instincts and his desperation to survive screamed to accept.

So he did and as for killing his childhood friend, Cedric? He didn't care.

Even if fragments of the original owner's memories still clung to him, he wasn't that person anymore.

Cedric was just another NPC. Unimportant and replaceable.

Why should he feel anything for someone who was never meant to matter?

The only one worth caring about… the only one who mattered at all… was Arza—the protagonist of this world.

And from what he had seen of her, she was gorgeous and exactly like how he imagined her to be.

Lucien smiled faintly, the black veins on his face pulsing with new life.

He had no intention of settling for anyone less than her but for that, he needed to survive first.

And to survive… he needed to capture the annoying bastard.

What was his name again?

He frowned slightly, sifting through fading memories.

There hadn't been any character with that name in the game but Cedric had mentioned him.

Ah. Rael Ashborn.

The name clicked.

Cedric had told him all about the little plan to kill the boy because he annoyed some duke.

Lucien's smile widened.

Dark mana surged from his arm, gathering at his palm as the shadows rippled and condensed.

A pitch black spear, humming with killing intent, formed in his hand.

"Let's see what kind of bug you really are," he muttered, his voice cold.

And then he stepped forward to fight.

—

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.