Blood Artifact consumed. Reawakening of Origin in progress. Well done, Host.

Like with each power-up, Isaac expected the pain to come the moment the notification appeared in front of him. Only none did. Sure, his throat still burned from drinking the Essence, and a faint tingling spread across his skin, but compared to what he was used to, it barely registered as more than a minor annoyance.

No, the true effects of the reawakening were much, much different.

The song playing within his veins soared as he became intimately aware of everything going on inside his body. He could feel it… feel every single drop of blood within him. It whispered to him, telling thousands of different stories at once. Of change, of strength, of life… of Death.

He squeezed his eyes shut, burying his head in his hands as the voices grew louder, pressing on his mind. He wanted to understand them all. Needed to. Yet, no matter how hard he tried to listen, there was just no way for him to comprehend the thousands of whispers.

He was still only a human, after all.

"Are you really?"

These three words, loud and clear, cut through the chaos like a knife. Isaac flinched, feeling as though someone had driven a spike through his skull. Worse yet, the voice sounded like his own… just deeper. Stronger. Wiser.

What… Who? he tried to ask.

"Trust yourself, youngling. Trust your Blood."

Before Isaac could react to those words, the link to his Origin and even the spark holding his Legacy expanded. Power, pure raw power, flooded his body, wave after wave. His blood ignited, but again, he felt no pain, only an odd sense of comfort. The constant whispers also vanished, finally allowing him to think clearly. Or at least pay full attention to what was happening to his body.

Because something definitely was.

Not that he could even put it into words. It went far beyond his understanding, especially with his Origin and Legacy involved. He could only hope that whatever they did to him was for his benefit.

Trust your Blood, huh? He thought. Fine then. Do what you have to. I'm waiting.

Despite feeling almost no pain during the reawakening, Isaac stayed still, staring off into the distance as the night wore on. Sometimes, the whispers would return, dragging back a familiar headache with them. At those times, he would just grit his teeth and wish for the process to finish quickly.

Of course, his prayers went unanswered.

It wasn't until the first hints of dawn colored the horizon that the overwhelming presence of his Origin and Legacy receded. The tingling across his body also vanished, replaced by a weak ache coming straight from his veins and eyes. Why the latter? He had no idea.

Still, the process was done, as signaled by the next Interface notification.

Congratulations, Host! You have successfully undergone the reawakening of your Origin. May the power of your Cursed Blood only grow stronger.

Isaac let out a long, exhausted breath. As much as he trusted his instincts nowadays, having an official confirmation from the Interface was quite welcome. At least, assuming it wasn't lying again.

Cursed Blood, though? He frowned, stopping the next notification before it could appear. Instead, he flicked open a small portion of his status screen.

Origin: Cursed Blood | LVL. 17

Okay, now I'm a little concerned… he thought. Better see what it's all about.

With no more hesitation, he allowed the next notification to manifest before him.

The path of Death has led your Origin toward a new goal. Please familiarize yourself with the following information.

[Cursed Blood - Despite embodying the ancient Origins of Life and Death, you chose to follow the second path. You are the herald of destruction and pain. Never hesitate, or the curse will consume you. Trust your Blood.

Resistance to Broken Strain and Curses increased. Regeneration attribute efficiency greatly enhanced.]

Due to your Reawakening, your Ascension Power distribution has changed to the following:

Power (Peak -> Enhanced Peak) | Agility (Normal -> Peak) | Toughness (Low) | Regeneration (Enhanced Peak -> Overcharge) | Insight (Normal)

Isaac blinked, quickly suppressing any more messages before his head exploded from information overload. He needed a second to process what he was looking at.

As ominous as it sounded, it made sense why his Origin shifted more toward the path of Death than Life. Even if he had saved a couple of people here and there, he doubted that it could outweigh the mountains of monster corpses he had left in his wake. Then again, maybe this wasn't about that at all, and he was just running on assumptions.

Maybe under different circumstances… I could have been a healer? He wondered for a moment. Sure, none of his abilities were remotely useful for healing, but who knew if he couldn't have awakened one if things had gone differently.

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

Isaac shook his head. Now wasn't the time for pointless what-ifs. The world was waking up, and he still had some notifications to go through.

Curses…

He had yet to encounter anything related to them, but wouldn't say no to increased resistance. Both to them and Broken Strain. His Pain Resistance showed just how much those things were worth.

Finally, his gaze dropped to the final listed change.

While, at this point, Isaac understood a lot more about Ascension Power distribution than before, the precise difference between ranks still eluded him. This was something he could explore only through leveling up a few times. That said, having three of his attributes strengthened was no small feat.

Guess I will see how it goes, he mused, allowing the remaining notifications to manifest.

Your Reawakened Origin has broken the shackles of the following skills: Blood Draw (Superior) -> Cursed Draw (Mystic) Harden (Superior) -> Harden (Mystic) Sacrifice (Normal) -> Burnout (Arcane)

Isaac whistled even as his eyes grew wide. Deep down, he had hoped for this. Hoped that the reawakening would allow his bricked skills to grow stronger again. And for once, his wish was granted. Better still, one of his oldest skills skipped over two grades, all the way to Arcane.

Though, he thought, a bit amused. Now Blood Manipulation's buff doesn't work on any of my skills.

To advance your Origin further, you must perform a Fusion.

No more notifications appeared after that one. The space before him cleared, the red text vanishing from view. Yet, Isaac didn't move, not when a single word still rang loud in his head.

Fusion.

Obviously, like the Interface had already stated, it was the next step for his Origin. The problem was that no one had explained what it actually meant. The term had only come up once before. In his Blood Core's description, no less.

I mean, if I go by the word's meaning and how skill fusions work, then the answer is pretty obvious…

He had to somehow combine two Origins.

Isaac rubbed his brow in thought. Even if his assumption was right, it only opened more questions than it answered. Where the hell was he supposed to get another Origin? Was that even possible? Did it mean stealing one? Creating one? Or was there some buried piece of him he had to discover?

Don't. Just don't, he told himself. I just finished reawakening. Worry about this fusion later.

He nodded and instead focused on what was important now. Like his new, improved skills.

[Cursed Draw | Grade: Mystic | Tier I] An Origin ability with two sides. Passively, it enhances the cutting power of all your strikes by infusing them with a sliver of Viron. Any open wounds you cause will be cursed to heal slower. Actively, you may unleash waves of deadly blood whenever you want.

Isaac hummed. So the new ability pretty much amounted to unlimited Blood Draw with some fancy passive effects. The mention of a curse also told him what to look out for in the future.

Not bad at all. Next then…

[Harden | Grade: Mystic | Tier I] An improved version of a lesser Origin ability. Uses Viron to harden your blood vessels and the surrounding tissue. While by no means a perfect defense, it offers decent protection against threats of a similar level to you.

Like with most abilities that kept their names, the difference wasn't that massive. That said, with his lower-than-average Toughness, any improvement to his defense was priceless. If it saved him from one less broken bone per fight, he would call it a win.

And finally, evolved Sacrifice…

[Burnout | Grade: Arcane | Max Tier] A powerful active Origin ability with two modes. Sacrifice - by sacrificing some of your blood, you may enhance certain Origin-related skills. Burnout - by constantly drawing on your blood, you can push your body beyond its limits. While Burnout is active, the efficiency of Power, Agility, and Regeneration is significantly enhanced. Beware: Your blood is far from limitless.

As expected from a two-grade jump. Isaac chuckled. Still, he would have to be careful with it. Becoming a drained, lifeless husk wasn't exactly on his to-do list. Or on any list, for that matter.

That said, he still reached for his blood and Origin, forcing Burnout to activate.

Holy shit! Isaac gasped as a surge of power exploded through his form. He stood up and took a few experimental steps. It was as if his body was weightless, simply gliding across the ground. He could only imagine how it would feel once Symphony of Blood also activated.

A thought for later. For now, he cut off Burnout and checked on the blood reserves inside his Core. After just a dozen or so seconds of use, about a tenth of them were gone.

Isaac grimaced.

So I should really only use it when my Core is full or when I am in a pinch… Or maybe I could try it in short bursts? Could be one way to prolong the effects.

Either way, the skill had definitely earned its grade despite its drawbacks. If he had it during the fight with the Wyvern, he probably could have killed it even in the air. Or maybe not. In the end, his aerial combat hadn't improved one bit since then.

Whatever…

With a light shake of his head, Isaac quickly went on to test the new version of Harden. And as expected, the skill didn't feel any different. As such, he moved on to his last evolved skill.

Cursed Draw.

The moment the Root landed in his hand, he spotted a light crimson sheen along its edge, one that definitely hadn't been there before. He hadn't even felt the tiniest drain on his Viron reserves, and yet, the passive effect of Cursed Draw still somehow activated.

Is this your work? Isaac wondered, looking at the Root.

The blade pulsed in his grip.

Thought so. He smiled. Let's see if the "Draw" part of the skill changed at all.

And so, with another pull on his Viron, crimson liquid spilled on the Root. With a quick, clean swing, an arc of blood cleaved through a human-sized boulder. The cut it left in the ground was also quite telling.

Isaac hummed before swinging the Root again and again. Explosions of blood followed his every motion, obliterating the two halves of the large boulder. Once he stopped, there was almost nothing left of it.

Faster, definitely faster, he admitted. A bit stronger, too. The real test will be against monsters.

Nodding to himself, Isaac dismissed the Root and looked around the camp. By some miracle, neither James nor Marie had woken up during his little tests. He also couldn't hear anything from the tent, so Elaine had to be asleep too.

Not for long, though.

With the sun already rising on the horizon, it was time for them to pack up and move out. The fourth day of their journey had begun.

Now… how do I avoid making everybody mad about me staying up almost the entire night and training?

Isaac sighed.

Oh well. Time to face the music…

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