My Soul card is a Reaper-Chapter 961: Before the tournament (Part-2)
Azzy let the silence linger for a moment and then continued...
"Another thing," he said, sweeping his eyes across the younger faces. "Leave the elders’ matters to the elders. If adults argue or fight, do not get involved yourselves. You may stand behind them, but you are not part of that fight."
Several of the teenagers nodded quickly, some out of instinct, some out of nervousness.
"That does not mean," Azzy added, "that you must be silent, meek, or pretend you don’t exist."
A few kids blinked at that, caught off guard by the sudden change of Azzy’s words. It felt in contrast to his earlier statement for a moment, but then Azzy said.
"If you see something wrong, something unjust, then you speak. Loudly, if you must. Even if the matter has nothing to do with the Death Clan. Righteousness is not owned by any clan. When injustice appears, we respond, not as Death Clan members, but as decent human beings. But you must also use your heads. Know your limits before you speak or act."
He looked at them one by one, as if drilling the thought into their bones.
"Jumping into a river to save someone means nothing if you cannot swim. You will drown, and so will they. Courage is good, but recklessness is not. Think. Judge. Then act."
The rookies bowed their heads, understanding, or at least trying to.
*
Azzy’s gaze shifted from the teenagers to the adult representatives, the backbone of the team.
"And as for all of you," he said, "I don’t need to repeat everything I said. The same rules apply. But unlike them," he added, tilting his head toward the teens, "your actions shake the ground when you move."
The adults didn’t deny it. They knew the truth of it well.
"So be careful. Do not provoke war." Azzy’s expression grew heavier, almost distant for a moment. "It took me too much effort to build Genesis. It was a place where all hidden clans could meet, speak, grow, and work together. One careless mistake can crumble the entire foundation. I appointed Lady Yashna to watch over the rookies, but I ask you all to watch them too. Protect them if someone tries to use them against us."
Affea nodded confidently. "You don’t have to worry about us, Your Majesty. No one will touch them while we stand."
Azzy gave a small nod of approval.
***
Moments later, through the portal circle, they all vanished from the Ancestral Temple.
When the world settled again beneath their feet, they found themselves in Sector 0 of Genesis Country, a place unlike anything the medieval-style clans had ever seen.
The rookies froze at the sight of towering glass skyscrapers. It made several teenagers take a step back.
"This... this place..." one of them whispered, their eyes wide with disbelief.
But to Fiona, Affea, Avia, and the handful of others who lived outside or traveled outside, this was familiar. They moved easily through the modern-looking city with their robes brushing against granite floors.
Meanwhile, robots patrolled the area in place of guards, sleek, silver-bodied constructs with glowing eyes and humanoid builds.
One such unit approached, a rank-8 escort model.
"Welcome, Death Clan," the robot said, its voice smooth and polite. "Please follow me to your assigned accommodations."
Its steps echoed lightly as it guided them through corridors of reflective walls and automated doors. The representatives walked behind it in a long line, some nervous, some in awe, some trying hard not to look like country folk in a city.
Finally, they reached the west wing of the grand arena, an enormous stadium-like structure with glass windows spanning dozens of floors. The robot escorted them to the third floor, which had already been completely reserved for them. Ten rooms, each with two beds.
For most of the clan members, the sudden shift from forest huts and stone houses to sleek chrome hallways was quite a bit overwhelming, as this was the first time they had even stepped out of the clan.
Meanwhile, the entire floor was empty, booked exclusively for them.
"This will be your residence until the tournament ends," the escort robot announced before bowing and returning to its patrol route. The teenagers ran their hands along the shiny walls.
*
Meanwhile, far away from the Arena;
The air inside the abandoned Temple of Zeus was thick with ancient dust rising with every faint vibration, cobwebs trembling like something alive. But despite its ruin, the temple thrummed with unnatural power tonight.
At the center of the stone floor, surrounded by broken statues and fallen pillars, a shimmering barrier pulsed like a living heart. Strange artifacts lay arranged in a perfect circle around it.
Inside the barrier knelt Naamah—weak, trembling, and barely conscious. Her once-beautiful, seductive features were pale now, and her body bound by floating chains of light formed from divine artifacts.
Her demonic aura flickered like a dying flame.
Outside the barrier stood Alexander Magnolis, his expression unnervingly calm. The faint blue glow of his holographic screen reflected in his eyes as he turned an object over in his palm, Azazel’s core.
He lifted his other hand, gathering power.
"Good... the first step is over," he muttered, voice low and unsteady with excitement. "Now for the next step."
The runes on the floor lit up all at once.
"Absorb."
The moment the word left his lips, Naamah’s back arched in pain. "Argh..."
Her mouth opened in a silent scream as wisps of demonic essence—black, liquid-like threads—were ripped out of her body, yanked toward Alexander like smoke.
The sigils around her glowed brighter, strengthening the extraction.
As Naamah’s essence flowed into him, Alexander closed his eyes, his breathing turning deeper, heavier.
He raised Azazel’s core.
The instant the core merged fully with him, a second consciousness stirred inside Alexander, Azazel, whom he killed.
Azazel’s consciousness began to slowly take shape in Alex’s mindscape
But before Azazel could fully awaken... Naamah’s essence surged in, crashing into him like a tidal wave.
The demonic energy didn’t nurture him. Instead, it suppressed him as Namaah’s pure demonic essence. After all, she was the daughter of Lilith, the queen mother of all the demons. And Azazel was merely a converted demon.
Soon, Azazel’s forming consciousness buckled, crushed under Naamah’s unstable but potent demonic essence. His roar faded, swallowed by the incoming corruption.
And then, Alexander’s spirit appeared in the mindscape, watching it.
With a smirk on his face, he reached forward, grabbing the unstable Arcana spirit forming from the fused energies. The creature, or rather, the cluster of demonic-divine essence, twisted violently in his grasp. At the moment, it had no shape...
"Now..." Alexander whispered under his breath... "The next step. Separate..."
With a push of his will, he forced the soul energy of Azazel to come out of his core, sending it into his soul core and withholding the pure essence with him.
While the additional energy was rapidly being refined into his soul energy and increasing his soul power, meanwhile, inside the mindscape, slowly... both pieces elongated, stretched, and solidified.
Two blades emerged in their place: One looked black and violent like an abyss—the Demonic Sword. And the other looked bright and pure like sunlight—the Divine Sword.
Hours later, outside, Alexander’s physical body jerked violently. Energy surged around him with winds tearing loose rocks from the ground.
Naamah collapsed as the last wisp of her essence left her, turning into a lifeless corpse in no time.
And then, cracking through the doorstep, a blinding beam of energy erupted from Alexander, shooting through the ceiling at once, reaching for the clouds for a moment.
When it was over...
"RAAAAAAAA—HAHAHAHA!"
Alexander laughed aloud as he summoned the two swords.
Meanwhile, his interface flashed wildly before him.
[BREAKTHROUGH ACHIEVED. You have become a Rank-10 Arcana Master]
[You received 10,000,000 credits.]
.
.
.
[Congratulations! You have awakened a Second Arcana Spirit. Please name it.]
"Hahaha! I did it!" Alexander yelled, lifting the swords high, enjoying the surge of power in him while a series of notifications filled him, "Rank-10 at last!"
But then, as he remembered something, Alex opened the character interface with great enthusiasm, to the one detail he’d been waiting for.
The part that mattered most.
His lifespan.
However, the number didn’t change a bit.
Life Span: 75 Years Remaining
Alexander froze as soon as his eyes spotted that figure. For a heartbeat, he didn’t move. at all. "What?"
He didn’t speak and even forgot to breathe for a few seconds.
"why?"
Then, his voice trembled.
And then...
"Why...? WHY!"
A scream tore from his throat as power surged uncontrollably from him, shaking the entire temple...
"WHY?"
He swung the demonic sword in rage, releasing a wave of black energy that obliterated a statue of Zeus. The divine sword followed, carving through the ceiling with a beam of white light.
"WHY DIDN’T IT CHANGE?"
The temple trembled under the force of his rage as his aura exploded outward.
"WHY CAN’T I HAVE THE SAME LIFESPAN AS OTHERS?"
"I AM A FUC*ING DEMIGOD..."
"WHY?"
"WHY?"
"WHYYYY?"
