The corridors of Blackthorn Keep felt longer than they ever had before.
Every step I took echoed too loudly. The distant sound of servants moving in the lower halls, the faint crackle of torches, the cold stone under my boots — everything felt sharper now that the system was awake again. Silver text floated quietly at the edge of my vision, no longer screaming warnings, just watching.
[Host Status: Mentally Exhausted]
[Physical Condition: Stable]
[Emotional Residue: High]
[Recommendation remains unchanged: Rest]
I ignored the last line.
My feet still carried me toward my chambers, but my mind stayed behind in the solar — on the ruined couch, on the thick trails of cum that had run down my stepmother’s thighs, on the way her eyes had looked when Kael forced her to meet my gaze while he took her.
I had no idea what that business was.
I had no system window showing me their conversation.
The moment those thoughts formed, my system reacted.
[Thought Pattern Detected]
[Host desires information beyond current reach]
[Analysis: Host lacks sufficient authority and system strength to observe high-level targets]
[New Guidance Unlocked]
[Recommendation: Visit the lower markets of Blackthorn City]
[There are individuals who awakened their systems far too early — weak, incomplete, and unprotected.] Visit g.com for the full chapter.
[Standard method used by most systems: Kill the host and devour the system whole.]
[However… your system is different.]
The silver text pulsed with unusual weight.
[Unique Function: System Copy]
[Instead of devouring, this system can create a perfect copy of another system’s core structure and abilities.]
[Limitation: Current system rank is low. Attempting to copy a system significantly stronger than itself will result in immediate detection… and death.]
[Advice: Begin with the weak. Grow in silence. Only then will you have the strength to look into places you are currently blind to.]
I reached my door, pushed it open, and stepped inside.
The room was dark and cold. No fire had been lit. I didn’t bother calling for one. I simply walked to the bed and sat down on the edge, elbows on my knees, head in my hands.
For the first time since Kael had entered the keep, there was no one watching me.
No warlord.
No stepmother.
No blood-red system scanning for threats.
Just me… and the elegant silver interface that had shut itself down to keep me alive, and was now quietly pointing me toward a darker path.
[Additional Path Unlocked: Silent Growth]
[Description: Copy the weak. Hide from the strong. Rise without being seen.]
[Authority Shards stored: 8]
[Host is advised to sleep. Body and mind require recovery.]
[Tomorrow, the lower markets will still be there.]
I lay back on the bed without undressing.
Somewhere deeper in the keep, behind a heavy oak door, my stepmother and the barbarian warlord were discussing business I could not hear and could not see.
My system dimmed its light, almost gently.
[Good night, young duke.]
[Grow stronger in the dark.]
[Only then will you stop being a spectator.]
I closed my eyes.
Sleep did not come easily.
But eventually, exhaustion dragged me under — and the last thing I saw before darkness took me was the image of Seraphine’s face twisted in ahegao… and the cold promise of a power that could only be stolen from those weaker than myself.