Rise of The Virel Absolute Revenge Cultivation

The Tip of the Iceberg

The ground beneath Arka’s feet trembled violently, sending suffocating bone dust into the air. Two giant purple eyes blinked slowly, radiating pure malice capable of freezing blood. The creature crawled out of the darkness a gargantuan mass of thousands of fused human bones, forming a five-meter-tall monster with long arms ending in razor-sharp claws.

Warning: The Guardian of the Traitors' Tomb has fully awakened.

Power Analysis: Death Level. Host's survival probability: 0.02%.

"Only zero point zero two percent?" Arka hissed, gripping the black scroll in his hand tightly. He felt an overwhelming chill from the monster before him. "System, I just learned this hell technique. Use it!"

The Nine Steps of Vengeful Hell technique requires a larger energy base than you currently possess. Your body will disintegrate before you can even take a step.

"Then what? You want me to give up and become the next pile of bones here?"

Option Detected: Activation of Absolute Berserker Mode.

Requirement: Emotional Essence Exchange. The System requires pure happy memories as fuel to trigger an instant energy surge.

Arka froze. The monster growled, its voice sounding like a thousand people screaming in pain simultaneously. A single strike from its claws collapsed the cave wall next to Arka, forcing him to roll over a pile of sharp skulls.

"What do you mean by memory exchange?" Arka asked, his breath coming in gasps.

The System will permanently erase the most precious memory from your soul. In exchange, your physical limits will be nullified for three hundred seconds.

Selected Memory: Mia Virel’s first smile at six months old.

Arka’s heart seemed to stop beating. Mia. He could feel the shadow of that memory in the corner of his mind a tiny face with rosy cheeks, eyes sparkling with trust, and a crisp laugh that had once been his only reason to stay sane in this cruel world. It was his last light.

"Don't... not that one," Arka whispered, his voice trembling. "Take something else. Take my memories of my wealth, my titles, anything!"

Only memories with the highest emotional frequency can trigger the required energy. Time remaining: 10 seconds before physical elimination by the Tomb Guardian.

The bone monster raised both its arms high, preparing to crush Arka into a pulp. Arka stared at the distant ceiling of the abyss, imagining his daughter’s face. If he died here, Mia would never survive. Kael would destroy her. Volkov would use her.

"Will I truly forget her?" Arka asked softly.

The memory will be completely gone. You will never know that the moment ever existed.

Arka closed his eyes. A tear fell, wetting the dust on his cheek. "Do it. Give me the power to destroy this demon!"

Sacrificial Contract Accepted.

Commencing Memory Erasure...

Instantly, Arka felt a gaping black hole open within his soul. Something warm, something beautiful, was suddenly ripped away. He tried to grasp the image of Mia’s smiling face, but the image faded into gray ash, then vanished into total nothingness. The pain was greater than when his bones were being reconstructed. He felt hollow. Empty. And very, very angry.

Absolute Berserker Mode: ACTIVE.

Blood-red light exploded from Arka’s body, so bright that it illuminated every dark corner of the Traitors' Tomb. His hair stood on end, and the veins across his body bulged, glowing with a terrifying dark purple hue.

"Die!" Arka roared.

He lunged forward. His speed was so great it created a sonic boom. By the time the Guardian’s giant claws landed, Arka was already in the air. He threw a single punch toward the chest of the monster made of thousands of bones.

CRACK!

The blow detonated a massive wave of destructive energy. Hundreds of bones were instantly pulverized into dust. The Tomb Guardian howled in agony, trying to catch Arka with its other hands, but Arka moved like untouchable red lightning.

Nine Steps of Vengeful Hell: First Step!

Arka stomped his foot in mid-air, triggering an explosion of black energy beneath his sole. He plummeted like a meteor, his makeshift bone sword now coated in a thick aura of darkness.

"You're in my way!" Arka slashed vertically.

A line of red light split the monster’s giant body from head to base. The Tomb Guardian froze for a moment, then its entire body began to crack. An internal energy explosion shattered the entity into lifeless bone fragments. A rain of bones fell around Arka as he landed calmly amidst the chaos.

Target Eliminated. Obtained 2000 Vengeance Points.

Warning: Berserker Mode ending. High level exhaustion detected.

Arka fell to his knees. His aura faded, leaving behind a trembling body and lungs that felt like they were on fire. He stared at his hands, which were covered in the monster’s black blood.

"System..." Arka’s voice was hoarse. "What did I just lose?"

The target memory has been erased according to the contract. The Host has no data regarding what was lost.

Arka tried to search for something within his mind. He knew there was something important there just minutes ago. Something that made him want to cry. But now, when he tried to remember his daughter’s face, he could only see Mia’s terrified face when she was kidnapped. He knew Mia was his child, he knew he loved her, but there was one piece of pure emotion that felt... missing. Only a cold void remained.

"This power..." Arka clenched his fist, staring into the darkness ahead. "It’s eating my soul, isn't it?"

Absolute power demands an absolute price, Arka Virel.

Arka stood up with great difficulty. Where the Tomb Guardian had been destroyed, a crack in the cave wall now stood wide open. From that crack, a gust of fresh air blew in the smell of damp earth and the scent of a distant forest. It was the way out.

He walked toward the opening, each step heavy with an invisible weight. As he reached the threshold, the dim sunlight from the world above began to touch his pale face.

Arka looked up. Up there, the world that had betrayed him was waiting. He was no longer the kind-hearted young noble. He was no longer a man with a complete memory of love.

"I'm coming," Arka whispered, his eyes flashing with a red color that had now become permanent. "Kael... Volkov... prepare your necks."

He began to climb out of that hellhole, but as his hand touched the surface of the ground above the abyss, a powerful heartbeat echoed from the forest ahead.

Warning: Foreign energy signature detected. Someone has been waiting for your return.

Arka froze at the edge of the abyss, staring at the silhouette standing amidst the morning mist.