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System Activated: Divine Talent Granted Chapter Sixteen
Oliver turned to glance back at Iris, who was still leaning on the wall. Her knees were shaking. He had wanted to tell her that it was over and that they were safe. But the crawling discomfort upon his lower spine otherwise said no. He could still feel the system notification in his mind, echoing the words as some kind of threat: Severe Penalty. It hadn't mentioned what this might entail, and he didn't want to find out. "Iris," he said nearer to her. "Are you hurt?" She shook her head, still dazed. "N-no... just scared." He nodded, struggling to breathe. "We ought to get out of here. They might come back." A chilled breeze howled down the alley toward him, making him shiver. His eyes darted to the assassins on the ground—two still out cold, the others long gone. He felt a tingling sensation in his hands, a remnant of controversy, and his heart was pounding furiously. He grabbed her hand. "We can't stay here. Let's go." "But where?" she said, her voice taut with terror.
System Activated: Divine Talent Granted Chapter Seventeen
Oliver’s breathing grew shallow, his heartbeat roaring in his ears. The golden glow of Combat Mastery still clung to his limbs, but the newfound power did nothing to shake off the cold dread pooling in his stomach. Scar Jaw’s gaze was a jagged knife, peeling away at his courage with every unhurried step he took. "Iris, run." The words tore out of his throat in a ragged whisper, but her wide, terrified eyes said she couldn’t move. His fists clenched. Whatever it took, he had to keep her safe.Scar Jaw’s smirk widened, the slow clap of his hands echoing like the ominous toll of a bell. “Oh, I do hope you’ll put up more of a fight than that lot on the floor. It’s been a while since I’ve had real sport.”Before Oliver could respond, Scar Jaw vanished. One moment he was standing there; the next, he was right in front of him, fist already swinging.Oliver barely had time to react. His arms crossed in front of his chest, the impact sending him flying backward. His back slammed into a concr
System Activated: Divine Talent Granted Chapter Eighteen
Oliver’s head pounded like war drums, each breath scraping his lungs raw. He tried to move, but his body felt glued to the ground, blood pooling beneath him. Damn it... He couldn’t just lie here. Not while Iris was in danger. Scar Jaw’s twisted grin lingered in his mind—the way his eyes had lit up the moment Iris’s power flared to life. That monster saw her as something precious, something worth tearing apart just to see what made her tick. Rage welled up within Oliver, but it was drowned out by helplessness. His muscles refused to respond—Combat Mastery was burning out, leaving him with nothing but pain and fading adrenaline. He strained to turn his head, just enough to see through the blur. Scar Jaw circled Iris like a wolf sizing up a cornered rabbit, his movements lazy, almost bored. Iris trembled, her hands still glowing faintly with that pale light, but terror swallowed her whole. “I didn’t expect a little bird like you to pack that kind of punch,” Scar Jaw sneered, his vo
System Activated: Divine Talent Granted Chapter Nineteen
Everything hurt for Oliver. It felt as if his muscles were tearing themselves apart. Quick, shaky breaths filled with stale, cold air seared his burning lungs. His feet were leaden, yet he forced every step to stay upright and backward over the glimmering shards of glass and the shattered crates. Tiny stars of dust floated in the air. The rhythmic pounding of his heart almost made him lose touch with the dying echo of the chime ringing in his mind. Ping! A glow of clear text: [System task: Killing Scar Jaw. Reward: Skill Upgrade - Combat Mastery.] Cold dread gripped him. Kill? He felt a surge of adrenaline, but it was not fear; it was something darker and unrestrained. The system did not grapple with mercy or forgiveness, and neither was Oliver at the moment. But time to mull over it. No time to hesitate. Outside, a low growl slashed its way into absolute quietness, vibrating along the ground. Oliver's eyes flared at Scar Jaw a few paces away. The man was writhing and twist
System Activated: Divine Talent Granted Chapter Twenty
Oliver opened her eyes and stared straight ahead, slowly beginning to realize that he had been trampled with a wild iron stampede. Every muscle in his body screamed with fluctuating pain. The worst spots were his arms and chest, which felt as if he had been trying to lift something which was way beyond heavy and now were torn and bruised.Slowing his eyelids as they felt heavy, more stubborn than lead, he finally managed to suck them apart. All opened up was just black. It was black and thick, as though black mud were clinging to his body. Everything looked like water from under-the-water, but even with his eyes open, it looked blurry.He realized he was lying on some hard and uneven surface making painful pressure against his back and sides. Wood, he guessed. The hard, rough-scratchy feeling rubbed against his torn clothes. The air was gross. It was thick with the smell of dust and something that had rotted, like damp old wood left to decay. But there was something else mixed in with
System Activated: Divine Talent Granted Chapter Twenty-One
Oliver suddenly found himself awake. The sound of a war drum-like pounding in his head sent shock waves through his already-chaotic mind. Leaning back against the cold, hard concrete, he realized his wrists had been tied. The coarse cords bitten into his skin causing him pain.Where the hell was he?He blinked, trying to focus in the dim environment, with a shattered moonlight illumining the area through broken windows, while dust particles danced in the weaving air currents. The place reeked of mildew and rust. But that didn't matter; it was void of any other presence. No guards, no Iris.“Iris!” he croaked. His voice sounded cracked and weak. A vice-like grip constricted his chest with panic now.[New Objective]Like a brand with searing heat, the sudden appearance of the System's message imprinted itself on his mind: ["Clear the downtown hideout within one hour. Reward: $1,000,000; Failure: You will lose a limb."]His heart raced, the adrenaline rushing into his system. This was n
System Activated: Divine Talent Granted Chapter Twenty-Two
Sad news, Oliver's head, which was heavy, had blurry vision in moving through the narrow and dull-insufficiently lighted hallway. His body, all of his body, ached. It was as if every part of him was metaphorically on fire burning away. His whole muscles had wounds across the skin, and he almost wanted to fall to the ground and stay there forever. But the System assigned him a task and he did it. Even though he accomplished what the System required, however, deep down he knew it was not the end.He reached the hollow end of the hall, finally pushed the creaky double doors open. Outside, the air cooled, but brought no heat relief to his burning body. The world outside the hideout was shadowy and messed up. Streetlights flickered across bleak sidewalks with a sick-sweet yellow glow, twisting and stretching shadows along their cracked pavement. He could hear distant sirens wailing like monsters in the dark. Everything made his head pound all the more."Iris said softly, 'Oliver, you're
System Activated: Divine Talent Granted Chapter Twenty-Three
The pistol was gripped in Oliver's shaking hands. His fingers were slick with sweat, but he could not afford to lose the grip. Pain pierced through his body like hundreds of sharp little needles. Pain was here, but he couldn't fall. Fear and anger forced him to remain standing."Iris, get back!" he yelled, rasping like glass. He did not look back. He clamped his gaze upon the men streaming inside the warehouse. The boot of the men stepped on the shattered glass and sharp metallic remains, eyes glinting with cold precision. These weren't mere thugs. They moved like an army, with every step careful and with the gun firmly held. He pulled the trigger. The gun roared in his hands, and he felt the painful kick against his wrist. Then he didn't care. He aimed again and fired. One of the assailants hit the ground, the blood pooling around him. The gunshot was a sound ringing deafeningly within Oliver's ears, mixing with the wild pulse of his heart.Bullets zinged by his head, so close he co
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Chapter One Hundred-Twenty-Six
The ground under Oliver’s boots was strange. It wasn’t hard like stone anymore. It felt soft, like walking on an old sponge. It moved a little when he stepped, almost like it was breathing.Oliver’s heartbeat was so loud in his ears that he could barely hear anything else. His hands were shaking, but he kept walking. He knew he couldn’t stop, no matter how scared he was.Ahead of him, Ailith walked slowly. Her long silver hair shone faintly in the dark, making strange, thin shadows stretch out on the walls. The light around her wasn’t bright, but it was enough for Oliver to see the path.Behind him, Seren followed. Seren didn’t make a sound. It was like he was a ghost, barely touching the ground.As they walked deeper, the air grew colder. The whispers around them became louder too. At first, the whispers had sounded like random words, a hundred different voices talking at once. But now, Oliver was beginning to understand something. The voices weren’t just random. They were saying nam
Chapter One Hundred-Twenty-Five
The mist was thick, clinging to Oliver’s skin like wet cobwebs. It wrapped around his arms and legs as if trying to hold him back. Each step he took felt harder than the last. His boots squished in the muddy ground, making soft, wet noises. His coat was heavy with rain, sticking to his body and making him shiver.Beside him, Ailith moved quietly. She barely made a sound, slipping through the mist like a shadow. Her silver hair floated behind her, catching what little light there was.Neither of them said a word for a long time. Only the sound of their footsteps and the rain filled the air. The ruins they left behind grew smaller and smaller, swallowed up by the mist.Oliver stared ahead, trying to see through the thick white fog. His heart was heavy in his chest. His mind was still full of the things they had seen inside the ruins—the mirror, the terrible truths, the faces he wanted to forget but couldn’t.Then, something changed.At first, it was only a soft humming sound. It was low
Chapter One Hundred-Twenty-Four
The rain came hard the next morning, cold like sharp knives against Oliver’s skin. It was not a gentle rain—it was angry and wild, soaking through his thick brown coat in just a few minutes. The water dripped from his hair and trickled down his neck, making him shiver. He pulled the collar of his coat up as high as it would go and lowered his head against the wind. His boots slipped and slid in the mud as he walked forward on the broken road. His fingers were numb from the cold.Winterfell’s crumbling outskirts stretched out around him. The houses here were half-fallen, their roofs caved in, their walls leaning like tired old men. Weeds and vines twisted up through the cracks. The sky above was heavy and gray, almost pressing down on him.Each step felt harder than the last. Oliver’s legs ached, and the cold seeped deep into his bones. Still, he kept walking. He had to.Ahead, standing under the broken arch of what had once been a grand cathedral gate, was Ailith. She looked like a s
Chapter One Hundred-Twenty-Three
Oliver awoke with a start, gasping for air as if he'd just surfaced from a deep ocean. His sheets were tangled around his body, cold sweat clinging to his skin. The room was dim, the early light barely filtering through the curtains, casting long shadows that made the walls feel alive.He blinked, his mind struggling to catch up with reality. For a moment, everything seemed normal—safe. But something felt off. His heart beat harder, faster, like it had just been jolted awake too.“What... was that dream?” He wondered. It was more than a dream, though. It felt like a memory, a vision, something ancient and terrifying. He remembered the dark presence of Illyr-Kai, his mocking laughter, the weight of the world crashing down on him. Hhe could still hear the hunger. It whispered to him even now.You will serve me, it said. You will feed me.Oliver shivered, pulling the blanket tighter around his shoulders. He stared at the ceiling, hiss breath coming in quick bursts. It was a feeling she'd
Chapter One Hundred-Twenty-Two
Oliver stood still, his heart pounding in his chest. The darkness in front of him seemed to move, like it was alive. It wasn’t just a shadow; it was something much worse. The air felt cold, heavy, as if the darkness was pressing in on him from all sides. He could feel the weight of it, like a thick blanket suffocating the light.And then the figure appeared. It wasn’t like anything Oliver had ever seen. It was tall and thin, its shape hard to make out, like it was made of shadows and fog. It didn’t have a face, not really. But Oliver could feel it staring at him, its eyes hidden in the darkness."You can’t save him," the figure whispered, its voice quiet, but so full of mockery that it made Oliver’s blood run cold. "You’ve failed before. You’ll fail again."Oliver’s body tensed. He didn’t want to hear that. He couldn’t bear it. The pain in his chest grew stronger as the figure’s words echoed in his mind, over and over. The faces-the ones he couldn’t forget—flashed before his eyes. Ail
Chapter One Hundred-Twenty-One
Oliver stepped forward, his foot lifting and crossing into the swirling lights of the Star Gate. As soon as he did, the world seemed to vanish beneath him. He felt a strange, cold emptiness as if everything around him was slipping away into nothingness. It wasn’t just a feeling—it was like the very fabric of reality was being torn apart. He gasped in shock, his heart pounding in his chest.There was a deep silence at first. A heavy silence, one that pressed down on him, making it hard to breathe. The air was thick, and the darkness stretched endlessly in every direction, like a giant, endless void. He couldn’t see anything. He couldn’t hear anything except for the echo of his own breath. He had no sense of time. Everything felt wrong.For a moment, Oliver thought he might be trapped forever in this vast emptiness.Then, suddenly, the silence broke with a bright, blinding light. It came out of nowhere, crashing into him with such force that he staggered back. The light was so bright, s
Chapter One Hundred-Twenty
There was no up. No down. No left or right. Only light. A rushing, roaring sea of white light.Oliver floated in it, weightless, like a leaf in a wild river. His body tingled all over, the memory of pain still fresh on his skin. He tried to move, but there was nothing to grab onto. There was no ground, no sky, nothing at all. Only the endless white.Somewhere close to him, Ailith held onto his hand. He could feel her fingers, small and tight around his. Her silver hair whipped around her face, flying in the invisible wind. She looked so small here, so fragile, but she didn’t let go.The white light pulled them deeper, spinning them slowly, like falling into a dream they couldn't wake up from.Oliver’s heart hammered in his chest, so loud he could almost hear it.Ba-dump. Ba-dump. Ba-dump. Every breath he took felt thick, like breathing smoke instead of air.Where are we? he thought. What happened? Azrael...The image of Azrael flashed in his mind—Azrael, broken and chained, reaching
Chapter One Hundred-Nineteen
Oliver plunged through blackness, which oozed over his skin like oil. The world wobbled and roared, streaking colors merging into din. His lungs seared. His mind shrieked. Above him somewhere, Azrael's voice echoed, broken and distant, "You can't save me."Something morose slammed into him, stone-like. The impact rattled him to the marrow, expelling all the air from his chest. He briefly lay stunned there, gazing up at a vast sky rife with broken stars.Then— A whisper in an ear."You failed him."With a start, Oliver jerked upright, heart racing. This was no voice of his own. It was something different, something cold; heavy, a weight pressing down on the inside of his ribs.He stumbled to his feet on a slick and freezing stone, while mist coiled around his ankles, hissing and writhing almost like some living creature.Ahead of him was Ailith. Curled into the ground, silver hair hanging in disarray around her face, her body trembled.He staggered in her direction."Ailith!" Silen
Chapter One Hundred-Eighteen
The creature lunged. Oliver twisted aside at the last second, the thing’s tendrils ripping the air inches from his chest. He staggered, boots skidding on slick stone, heart hammering against his ribs. The Lost Name pulsed above the pedestal, so close he could almost reach it—almost.The monster hissed, a wet, tearing sound like rotting cloth being ripped apart. Its body flexed, stitched from old memories, broken laughter, whispered regrets.Move!Oliver dove forward, sliding across the cavern floor. His fingers brushed the pedestal—cold, humming, alive. The Lost Name burned against his skin, sinking into him like a brand, not hurting, but changing.The creature howled.Oliver turned, wild-eyed—and Azrael was there, silver fire burning in his hands. He slammed a blast of magic into the stitched-together nightmare, sending it flying back into the shadows.“Move, kid!” Azrael barked. “We’re not done yet!”Oliver staggered to his feet, the Lost Name singing in his blood. It felt right. Li
