Hearing that voice, Sion's eyes widened as he tried to understand what was going on but he had no idea. He looked around him but saw no one else near him to speak as though they were talking in his ear.
He shook his head, thinking he was just imagining things and his brows furrowed when he began hearing a beeping sound.
[System Protocol: Eclipsed.]
[Crown… Awakening tether established.]
The voice was not robotic, nor was it alive. It was old, older than language, laced with power that reeked of something once worshipped, then forgotten. Shadows twisted unnaturally around him, and the mark on his back pulsed with a deep, violent hue, a blend of crimson and amethyst, with the eye in its center now open and glowing.
"You are bound by blood, cursed by silence, chosen by the Remnants, and you are now a host."
His eyes widened upon hearing those words. He did not know what to do or think anymore. He just wanted to survive this trial and get out of there, but now there were more complications, ones he had no idea how to handle and something talking in his head that he did not understand at all.
Sion collapsed to one knee once again due to the energy that was pulsing through his body, one he did not understand and his eyes were dilated, his breath short. The creature hissed, wary now. Whatever power stirred inside him… wasn't supposed to exist.
And for the first time, he heard something else, though it was not a voice but a chant… as though dozens whispered from behind a veil, just out of reach.
"The Phantom Lord stirs…"
The scene ended in a flash of light as everything warped, the mark flaring, the beast lunging, and the shadows biting back, and he looked up at the creature. It felt as though his body knew what to do and he stood up, trying to stay balanced on his feet, his gaze fixed on her.
Sion's vision warped as the mark surged again, blinding heat and cold crashing together inside him. The eye at the center of the mark opened fully now, not just pulsing, but glaring as if it were watching through him. Every nerve in his body lit up. His fingers twitched with unfamiliar energy, and his bones felt too tight for his skin.
[System Fragment Activated…]
[Synchronization: 47%… 60%....80%....90%....100%]
[Welcome, Initiate of the Path.]
Words echoed in his mind, not spoken, not heard, but implanted. Symbols he didn't recognize seared themselves into his thoughts, and along with them, a whispering sense of power—uncertain, untamed.
[Phantom Core: Dormant…]
[Thread: Unbound…]
[Abilities: Unknown.]
[Umbra shift: Phase Movement—Incomplete]
The creature screeched, a sound that shook the cavernous realm. Its body expanded, limbs cracking, jaw unhinging, wings tearing from its back in a web of black.
Its black scales shimmered with something like oil, dripping with blood from past prey. It was not just some summoned test beast—it was something else entirely, probably ancient and deliberately placed in the trial to deal with unnecessary threats and right now, it viewed Sion as a threat, which meant he was in trouble.
Sion didn't have time to process anything further.
The beast lunged.
His body moved on instinct.
He vanished, no, not vanished—shifted.
It was not teleportation. It was as if reality blinked, and he stepped through a sliver of shadow, appearing just beside the creature, staggering to his feet.
The creature howled, spinning around faster than he expected, claws sweeping out. He ducked, barely. The claws scraped across his shoulder, tearing cloth and skin alike.
Pain made his vision flicker, but now, something deeper stirred. His eyes darkened literally. A shade spread from his irises into the whites of his eyes, faint traces of smoke curling around them.
[Phase Movement: Stabilized… 53% synchronization.]
"I do not know what is going on with me, but I have a feeling I will not die, not today at least. Good to know," he muttered bitterly, his heart hammering in his ears. His entire body was trembling from adrenaline mixed with fear and curiosity about what was going on with him.
The creature came again, jaws wide and its eyes glowing. It was clear it was hellbent on killing Sion.
He clenched his fists and for the first time, shadows gathered at his fingertips, thin wisps crawling along his forearms like sentient ink, responding to his will.
A rush of fear, power, and desperation surged through him.
"Come on, then, guide me," he whispered, his voice lower, edged, like someone else spoke through him.
And then the fight truly began.
The creature roared again, its breath a wave of acidic heat as it charged with unnatural speed. Its claws scraped across the stone floor, sending sparks and blood from earlier victims flying. Sion darted left, barely evading a swipe that shattered a nearby pillar.
But he stumbled, his body still foreign to him, stronger, yes, but still slow to obey.
"Oh, my dear god, this is the worst fighting that I have seen in all my ages. You fight like a girl... You are fighting like prey…"
The voice came not from outside, but from within. Deep, resonant, layered like a chorus speaking in hushed tones behind ancient walls. It came from the mark and he knew it, even if it made him slightly annoyed.
"Ugh, you are going to get us both killed, you idiot, listen to your veins. The Phantom is not of body, but of passage. You do not move… You slip."
Hearing its words, Sion's instinct flared like a blade drawn too quickly.
The mark on his back burned, glowing red and dark purple with slight orange. The eye at its center throbbed, and his surroundings bent, like reality itself tilted.
The beast lunged again.
This time, Sion didn't dodge; he shifted.
One moment he was in front of the beast, the next, behind it, the shadows ripping open like a curtain as he passed through. His breath caught in his throat; he had no idea how he did it, but the beast howled in confusion, spinning around and they were glaring at each other, while Sion's eyes flickered in between colours.