Rebirth System: Blood and Ash

"Now place your hand on your neck, just below your larynx and slightly to the left of the trachea," the guide instructed again.

"I have not the slightest idea what those words mean." Aric glanced at her.

For a split second, Aric thought he heard the guide sigh as she floated towards his face. She then touched a spot on his neck, and he felt something almost like a cool breeze on the spot.

"Please place your hand here," she guided.

"Okay?" Aric awaited the next instruction.

"Now strike that spot as hard as you can."

"What?" Aric turned to the guide.

"Using your finger, strike that point as hard as you can," the guide repeated.

Confused but deciding to follow any and every instruction, Aric did as he was told. With as much force as he could muster, he struck the point. He groaned in pain—well, at least he thought he did—but no sound escaped his mouth.

"You have temporarily paralyzed specific nerves, rendering the vocal cords unable to vibrate and thus unable to produce sound. This step is necessary as you are going to scream during this process, a lot, and to avoid interruption, you must not be able to make a sound."

Aric was already determined to go through this in its entirety, but it didn’t make it sound any less horrific the further they went.

The prince nodded.

"Now, ingest all the contents of the vial and brace yourself."

Aric nodded again. Without another thought, Aric tipped the vial to his lips and drank it all in one swift motion. The liquid was cold, almost burning as it slid down his throat, and within moments, he felt it—a surge of ki so powerful that it nearly knocked him unconscious. Then, the pain began.

It started as a sharp, burning sensation in his core but quickly escalated into something far more excruciating.

The ki was not simply flowing through him; it was tearing him apart from the inside out, carving new channels through his body with brutal force. It was as if molten lava was being forced through every vein, every nerve, every fiber of his being.

Aric’s vision blurred, and his body convulsed, muscles locking up as the pain intensified. His instincts clawed at him to scream out loud, to release the agony building up inside him, but he couldn’t—the nerves in his throat were disabled by his own hand. He could only feel the raw, overwhelming pain and silently endure it.

His hands clawed at the ground, nails digging into the floor, but it did nothing to alleviate the torment. Sweat poured from his body, soaking his clothes, as he fought to stay conscious.

Every second felt like an eternity, and for a moment, he wondered if this was how he would die—not at the hands of his enemies, but consumed by his attempt at power.

But deep within the pain, there was something else—a wisp of strength, of immeasurable energy. As the ki channels were forcibly opened, he could feel the energy beginning to flow, more powerful than anything he had ever known.

The pain was not without purpose. It was the birth of something new, something far greater than what he had been before.

Hours passed, though it felt like days, and slowly the pain began to subside. The ki channels had been carved open, and the Essence of the World had settled within him, merging with his core. Aric’s body trembled, exhausted, but alive. He had done it—the first step at least.

Breathing heavily, Aric opened his eyes, the glow of the system panel still hovering before him. His vision was clearer now, his mind sharper.

However, he failed to understand that within him was a power he could not hold, preying on his being and threatening to destroy him if not used.

"Next, quickly retrieve the Bladed Rock and the poison vial," the guide instructed.

Aric immediately did as he was told.

"Now pour the poison onto the blade and stab yourself in the heart. This must be done immediately; every second wasted lowers the chances of survival."

The words were brutal, but perhaps even more so was the fact he had no time to contest them—he was without options.

Aric smashed the vial on the rock, pouring the poison all over its blunt blade. Then, gripping the small, irregularly shaped weapon with great force and strong determination, he thrust it into his own heart.

Immediately, everything seemed to go black.

Everything faded, leaving him in darkness once more. Aric felt himself float in a void of absolute and utter nothingness and found it greatly familiar to when he had been killed in his previous life.

’So…I died.’

No, it was more, well, less than that. This time, as he floated in the abyss, he had nothing—not even his soul. Even that was gone.

All that was left of him was the fleeting irrelevance of his mortal consciousness.

He was, by all means, worse than dead.

However, just then, in that moment, he felt warmth—a feeling that felt like a forgotten ability, one from so long ago that it seemed unnatural, foreign.

But as quickly as it came, it disappeared, back to the cold nothingness that was his, just like his failure was his.

’Is this where you stop?’

The voice could have been that of another just as much as it could be his own. He didn’t know, and quite frankly, it did not matter.

’What do you have to live for? to continue on for?’

’You blamed your fate, the world…but who will you blame now?’

’You cannot die here…I cannot die here.’

’…not yet.’

Aric flailed his arms in protest of his fading existence, but he had no limbs. He screamed in refusal, but he had no voice.

However, each act, each time he struggled and rejected this end, the warmth returned, and it grew and engulfed him.

And in that defiance, he was born a new man.

[You have obtained the Martial God Foundation.]

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