Lior Croft: The Storm They Never Saw Coming!

A GOD'S VESSEL

A while ago, Lior had passed out and when he awoke, the storm outside had passed.

The sanctuary was silent except for the faint hum of power coursing through his veins. His body felt… different. Stronger. Lighter. Sharper.

The jade pendant was gone, absorbed by his body.

He pushed himself upright and caught sight of his reflection in a cracked bronze mirror leaning against the wall.

"Woah!" He froze, his wide in disbelief.

His face hadn’t changed dramatically, he still looked like himself, but something was undeniably different.

His eyes.

They glowed faintly, like embers hidden beneath ash. Not bright enough to alarm anyone, but enough to make him look… awakened. Alive in a way he had never been.

“Do not be concerned,” Arkanos murmured in his mind. “Your appearance remains mortal. I merely repaired what was broken.”

Lior touched his chest. The pain he once felt there was gone. He was once damaged beyond healing, now, he pulsed with vitality.

“Woah, this is just like in the novels. Can I cultivate now?”

A soft chuckle echoed.

“Cultivate? Child, you can do far more than that.”

“From me, you have inherited years of experience in medicine, hidden technology, powerful martial arts, forbidden alchemy, a strong mind control, a thousand talents,

and a cultivation path which will make you so powerful beyond imagination. You will literally become a God, immortal amongst mortals.”

Lior's eyes widened in surprise, his heart beating faster in excitement.

Arkanos continued,

“ But... All this power will not be given to you at once. I want to make sure you actually work for what you desire, else all the sudden power would drive you crazy.

Even as a God I did find it hard to control my mind with such power. So I shrinked myself to avoid going crazy.

You will unlock the more rewards, with the quests you complete. Some of those quests will originate from you, and the rest from the Divine cultivation system.”

As Arkanos explained, Lior was nodding, sinking everything being said, deep down into his mind.

“Now look at the items you have collected tonight from the scraps.” Arkanos ordered.

Lior shifted his gaze and noticed something which wasn't there before: he could see details about every object, their name, where they come from, their life span and value.

He also had the knowledge of combining some of the scraps together to form a new kind of technology which hasn't been discovered yet.

“Wow, this is incredible. This talent is very handy, it can bring me great wealth. I wonder if it works on people too.” Lior said, his excitement swelling up.

“Yes it does.” Arkanos replied.

“ I see… if I return to the city I can make a fortune appraising rare artifacts.” Lior smiled mischievously.

“However, the amount of information you get from an item or being depends on your level up, and the tier of the item or being. You level up the more you use the Divine eye skill. So we have some work to do.”

Lior's brain was about to explode with joy, but soon his smile faded. He knew he couldn’t simply walk back into the city gates of the Azurefang clan.

They had branded him an outcast by tattooing his forehead. And his was a special tattoo different from the rest of the exiled because he was the son of the leader of the Azurefang clan.

Returning openly would only get him the death penalty.

So he decided that he would buy a head band to cover up the Mark. And as for his hair, he would dye it green, instead of the white it was. He was depending on his improved looks to conceal his identity.

Arkanos nodded in approval. He was getting more convinced he was working with the right host.

Arkanos could read Lior’s deep feelings, but not his final decisions.

“You seek justice,” the god said. “But justice is not taken by force. It is taken by inevitability.”

Lior frowned. “Meaning?”

“You will not return as the disgraced heir they cast out. You will return as someone they cannot afford to ignore.”

The system interface flickered before Lior’s eyes, lines of glowing text only he could see:

[Divine System Activated]

[New Path Unlocked: The Hidden Ascendant]

[Objective 1: Rebuild strength without revealing identity]

[Objective 2: Amass Wealth Beyond that of the city's GDP which currently stands at one trillion dollars.]

[Objective 3: Gain Power beyond that of those who kicked you out of your clan]

Arkanos continued:

“You will grow in the shadows. Train where no eyes can see. Build power quietly. And when the time comes, you will reveal yourself and claim your place in the clan not as a beggar seeking forgiveness…

…but as the storm they never saw coming.”