THE LATE AWAKENER: NEVER MEANT TO RISE

Chapter 4: Fragments of a Forgotten Life

Alexander Kane slammed into the cave wall as the beast’s claws missed him by inches. Stone cracked under the impact. He kept his fingers pressed hard against the glowing jade slip, refusing to release it even as fresh pain shot through his ribs.

“Keep going!” he shouted at the artifact, voice echoing off the walls. “I felt that surge. Don’t stop now!”

The beast turned with surprising speed for its size, jaws snapping open again. Its roar vibrated through Alexander’s bones.

“You want me dead?” Alexander yelled at the creature while scrambling sideways. “Then you’ll have to work for it. I’ve already been thrown away by my own sect today. I’m not letting some oversized lizard finish the job!”

The jade slip pulsed hotter in his grip. Another wave of visions crashed into his mind, clearer and sharper than before. He saw a young cultivator much like himself... betrayed by his senior brother who stole a rare technique manual and left him bleeding in a forbidden zone. The images shifted: the betrayed disciple later returned years afterward, having absorbed broken treasures in secret and evolved them into something far stronger. Elders who had mocked him knelt in fear.

Alexander gasped as the vision ended. “That’s… exactly what Victor Lang did to me with that spirit herb. Stole my hard work and used it to climb higher while I stayed at the bottom.”

He rolled away as the beast’s tail swept across the floor, the wind from the strike whipping his hair. “If those visions are real, then this jade slip is showing me a path. I just need to survive long enough to take it!”

The suppressing formation in the abyss pressed down even heavier, making his movements sluggish. Every step felt like wading through thick mud. Alexander forced himself back to his feet, one hand still locked on the jade slip.

“Talk to me,” he said directly to the artifact, breathing hard. “You showed me betrayals and comebacks. Show me how to turn this pain into power. I’ve got nothing left, no sect protection, no spirit stones, no future. Give me a reason to keep fighting!”

The jade slip responded with a faint hum. A small trickle of ancient energy seeped into his meridians, fighting against the abyss’s crushing force. It wasn’t much, but it eased the pain in his channels slightly and cleared his head.

“Yes!” Alexander said, a fierce edge entering his voice. “That’s what I needed. More of that. Keep feeding me whatever you have.”

The beast lunged again, claws raking the stone where he had stood a second earlier. Alexander dove to the side, scraping his knees raw on the rough floor.

“You’re persistent, I’ll give you that,” he muttered at the creature. “But so am I. Ten years of being called trash taught me how to endure. You think a few scratches will stop me?”

He pushed himself up, eyes never leaving the jade slip. The visions returned in short bursts while he moved: flashes of family members whose cultivation legacies had been stolen by greedy elders, hidden techniques that only activated under extreme pressure, and a distant prophecy about someone who would awaken late — long after everyone had given up on them.

Alexander’s breath caught. “A late awakener… Is that what this is about? Someone who was never supposed to rise but did anyway?”

The beast charged straight at him, jaws wide enough to swallow him whole. Alexander braced himself against the wall and shouted, “If that’s the message, then prove it! Give me the strength to survive this!”

The jade slip flared with sudden intensity. A stronger surge of energy rushed into his body, stabilizing some of his damaged meridians and pushing back harder against the suppressing formation. For the first time since the fall, Alexander felt a small spark of real power stir inside him, unstable, but undeniably there.

The beast’s claws came down. Alexander twisted at the last moment, the strike grazing his shoulder and drawing blood. He gritted his teeth against the pain.

“Not enough yet,” he said through clenched teeth, still gripping the jade slip. “I need more. Show me the full picture. How did those people in the visions turn their betrayals into strength?”

The visions deepened. He saw the betrayed cultivator absorbing a broken heavenly treasure in a similar abyss, evolving it instantly into something far superior. The images included dialogue-like echoes: “The strong take what they want. The weak endure… until they no longer have to.”

Alexander laughed bitterly as he dodged another attack. “That sounds exactly like Victor Lang’s philosophy. He took what was mine and laughed about it in front of the entire outer sect. If this jade slip is offering me the same chance, I’ll take it.”

The beast reared up, preparing for a final crushing blow. Its red eyes burned with hunger.

Alexander planted his feet and stared it down. “You’re just another bully who thinks the weak are easy targets. I’ve dealt with Victor Lang for years. You’re nothing compared to the humiliation I faced today.”

The jade slip vibrated strongly now. The energy flow increased, knitting some of his minor wounds and sending a clear message into his mind: Absorption possible. Evolution threshold approaching. Host must survive to activate.

Alexander’s eyes widened. “Absorption? Evolution? Is that what you’re offering? Then do it! I’m ready. Whatever it takes, I’m not dying as the sect’s discarded trash!”

The beast brought its full weight down, claws and jaws aiming to end the fight.

Alexander rolled desperately, the strike missing him by a hair’s breadth. He slammed into the opposite wall, pain flaring through his body, but he kept his grip on the jade slip tight.

“Come on!” he shouted at the artifact. “One more push. Show me I wasn’t meant to stay weak forever. Prove that ten years of silence can still turn into something unstoppable!”

The jade slip glowed brighter than ever. Unstable energy flooded his meridians, fighting the abyss’s suppression with growing force. The beast roared in frustration and charged again, the entire cave trembling with its steps.

Alexander forced himself upright, chest heaving, eyes locked on the approaching monster.

“I refuse to end here,” he said, voice steady despite the pain. “Not after everything. If this jade slip is my last chance, then activate whatever power you have. I’m ready to evolve.”

The jade slip hummed with building intensity as the beast closed the final distance, its jaws opening wide for the kill.

A faint mechanical-sounding prompt flickered at the edge of Alexander’s mind, barely audible:

[Late Bloomer detected… System initialization at 12%…]

Then it cut off abruptly as the beast’s massive form filled his vision.