Astral villain system: The saint's demonic ascension

CHAPTER FOUR

For two whole minutes there was silence. Broken only by the sounds of Theon’s heavy breath.

“That’s a very dangerous question. You’re not ready for the answer… because the answer has teeth. And right now, you don’t.”

Theon’s throat bobbed, eyes burning. Sure. He understood.

He was weak. So weak. Way too weak.

And he knew what happened when incompetent people reached for vengeance — what devoured their fathers would devour them too.

“Good.” The warmth in the system’s voice thinned, then vanished like smoke in a draft. “You didn’t argue.”

Silence stretched for a heartbeat. “Most people do.”

The stillness grew heavier this time.

“They guess. They assume. They act… and end up causing an irreversible mess.”

Something changed in the system’s pitch. Like it was finally shedding its skin to reveal its true form. Cold, analytical, precise.

“Revenge isn't done on deductions. It should be based on the cold certainty that each strike of your blade is hitting the right target. Then, you can be brutal and evil without remorse.”

The words settled into Theon’s chest like hot coals. Burning, branding into his mind.

“The answer lies in your father’s Void Clairvoyance sword. It stores his memories and thoughts. What better way to learn the truth than from your father himself?”

Theon’s heart sank. “Void Clairvoyance?” It was his father’s companion soul weapon. Solvyn wouldn’t let him touch normal assets, there was no way he would be allowed anywhere near it.

A dark chuckle came from the system. “Your father’s Void clairvoyance had gained sentience and was on the verge of taking human form before the tragedy. Your father was that amazing that he made mere metal develop a soul. Attachment made it dangerous.”

Theon’s jaw tightened, eyes burning. Sentient weapons had loyalty. Now it made sense why his father’s sword was subdued with spirit suppression chains. Locked using numerous layers, like an evil artifact.

“If you want to get answers, take over the Aether Lake, climb the Stygian Tower’s twelfth floor and reclaim Void Clairvoyance.”

“Aether Lake.” Theon’s fingers clenched till his knuckles turned white. Aether was jointly operated by the five powers of the Celestial realm’s human faction. They were not always at peace or in tune with one another. But after his father’s death, they suddenly became best friends, inseparable allies. Now, he had a great cause to suspect that the Aether pact was made using his father’s blood.

What exactly did his father possess that made the five behemoth push aside their animosity to work together? He would never know if he didn't recover the sword. However, taking back the sword meant raiding the lake’s forbidden zone and making an enemy of the five world powers.

Something occurred to Theon, and his heart skipped. “System, during host analysis, you mentioned I possessed a primordial physique. Wasn't my physique said to be the cursed physique which cannot absorb aegis?”

“You're learning.” The system chuckled. “Ever heard of star crusher poison?”

Thud. Theon's heart dropped. Dread curled in the pits of his stomach. Star crusher poison?

Of course he'd heard of it. The abomination whispered about in forbidden texts. Fed to genius babies to crush their stars, turn heaven's chosen into trash worse than chicken.

A jealous concubine had used it on the crown prince once — the dragon princess’s son. That union was supposed to bind the human and beast realm stronger than heaven’s pillars. Instead it turned to war.

After that came the emperor's decree: anyone caught with anything resembling star crusher was executed instantly. Medical texts burned. Trade channels destroyed.

By Theon's generation, it was a myth. Something drunks joked about in taverns.

Yet this myth was in his body. Breathing.

He staggered, his mind going blank. “Star crusher doesn't have an antidote.”

“For the rest, yes. But for your Astral villain system, nothing is impossible. The question is, are you willing to pay the price?”

Fury flowed in Theon's veins like molten magna, hatred fueling each thud of his slowly darkening heart. “No price is too much to pay. Tell me what I must do to eliminate this abomination and regain full control of my primordial physique.”

“Excellent.” A blue panel appeared before him. His hatred count had increased to two hundred.

Theon's eyes narrowed. “What's going on? Why is it climbing so fast?”

“Because the host is evolving. Outside, people are slandering you, gathering hate points for you. In here, your heart is boiling, attracting resentful energy.”

Theon finally understood. “People hating me also counts as cultivation.”

“The antidote is available. However, the detoxification process is agonizing. Can you bear the pain?”

Something settled in Theon’s mind, firmly, like it had come to stay. His face flickered. It was the look of a man seeing hell and walking into it with two eyes open.

The system didn't tell him the price for eliminating the poison. He couldn't care less. He would pay the price no matter what was asked. The world could go ahead and burn.

He checked the stats board.

[Available system points: 1000]

The points there were part of the welcome package. He was sure that the antidote wouldn't be that cheap.

[Host, the barrier needs to be strengthened. It would cost you eight hundred points. Do you wish to make the transaction?”

Theon's eyes moved along the screen, he could see many items in the welcome package which had ‘locked’ signal attached to them. Only the points were accessible. And some of the items were really interesting.

“Why can't I access the rest of the welcome package?”

“Because you're too weak.” The system answered almost simultaneously. “To unlock all the welcome packages, your dao has to reach the heaven’s path rank.”

Heaven's path rank? Gears moved rapidly in his brain. Heaven's path was the third level for cultivators.

There were eighteen bridges of cultivation. The lower nine, and the higher nine. Most people in the celestial realm barely make it past the lower nine phases. Touching even the sixth bridge was considered promising.

According to Theon’s calculations, if he undergoes detox now, he would reach heaven's path within a year. But that was far too long.

“Initiate the transaction.” His eyes were glacial as he spoke.

“Eight hundred system points deducted. Barriers reinforced.” The barriers thickened, runes glowing around him. Beneath him, an altar-like platform formed.

A bottle filled with dark green liquid appeared in his hands. He knew it instinctively. This was it, the antidote.

He was really doing it, staking his life and everything on this unknown existence, just for a sliver of chance. Power. To gain absolute power, it was all worth it.

He opened it, his hand trembled the moment the nauseating scent hit his nose. Theon shut his eyes tightly, chugging the entire bottle down with zero hesitations.

“Detoxification in progress. You have to survive the agonizing torture. The moment you close your eyes and give in, you die. And your bones would be left to rot on the wasteland’s sun bleached soil.”

Theon’s skin turned red, burning hotter than a furnace. Green veins appeared on his face, one throbbing prominently on his forehead. The first scream tore from his throat; raw, visceral, animalistic, his eyes rolling back in his head.

His path to power had finally begun, and the first step was so painful that death seemed like a better option.