First of Many

'Now that you are done, let's deal with things,' Draven's voice sounded the moment Nero was done with the last spider.

He felt a pull on his mind, and knowing what it was, he did not fight against it. His senses slowly melted away, only to return a moment later as he was pulled into his mind space.

Nero saw Draven draped in his usual dark robes, standing next to a dark square, not quite a square, but a diamond with four sharp points, each angled toward a different direction.

It was pitch dark, about a foot in both length and width, suspended in the center of his clean white mind space. He imagined it to be the creation of Draven since the last time he had been here, he had not noticed anything like it.

"This is the devourer system. Try to communicate with it," Draven said, making Nero think back and realize that he was so absorbed in watching the system in action that he did not pay any attention to his surroundings, so he must have missed it.

"So this is the Architect? I thought it would be like a humanoid entity," Nero murmured as he stepped closer, his eyes scanning the dark diamond suspended mid-air.

"Hello, Sir Devourer. It is a pleasure to meet you," Nero said out loud, but he did not receive any physical or mental response.

"Try to communicate with it mentally, the same way you do with me," Draven said, and Nero nodded, giving him a thumbs-up.

'Great Sir Devourer, You have my eternal gratitude for choosing me,' Nero said, focusing on the system, but there was still no reply, so he continued, 'I know about Architects, and I fully support your agenda, and I am willing to learn the laws of reality that you wish me to,'

Nero still did not receive a response, which made him wonder if the system needed some time to fully complete the bond and be capable of communicating, but then there could also be another reason.

"No response," Nero said and followed, "Maybe he needs some time to be able to communicate, or he is just worried about you because I don't think, even with his vast experience, he had seen a situation like ours,"

"Maybe, and Maybe it is just different," Draven said, masking his real thoughts.

While Nero could not sense his soul bond with the Devourer system because of his inexperience, the same was not true for Draven.

All Draven felt from the bond was a few emotions, a bottomless abyss, creeping madness, and the ever-present insatiable hunger, something that was not quite normal.

It was normal to feel such emotions since they reflected the nature of the soul, but he should also be able to feel the desires of the Architect since understanding certain aspects of reality was their greatest goal and desire.

There were good and bad Architects, just like humans and other races, and just like in nearly all races, every individual had the fundamental desire to live, similarly, all Architects had the base desire to acquire knowledge.

But from the Devourer system, all he felt were maddening emotions that seemed to be completely suppressed by the other side, something that was worrying even for him.

'As I expected, it is an anomaly, but let's hope I can control it long enough,' Draven thought, not bothered by the Devourer system.

Nero was silently looking around, thinking about how he should get some new gear and test his improved strength against some real creature, and while deep in his thought, a sudden realization struck him.

"Draven, You said we would get the Lunar Dominion System from the Spider Queen," Nero blurred it out, but his excitement died mid-sentence as he realized another thing.

"The Spider Queen has been dead for some time, so can we still devour the system?" Nero questioned, realizing that since a system was a sentient being connected through a soul bond, it could be gone the moment its host died.

"A Soulbond is a bond between body and soul, and while the spider's soul is gone, the same is not true for its system, and the Architect will stay connected to it for days if not months unless the spider's body is not burned to ash," Draven answered, bringing a goofy smile back on Nero's face.

"I will bring out the spider, but you will be the one to devour the system," Draven said as his body turned to light and faded away.

He returned mere moments later, having cleaned the chamber of the four spiders and only leaving their queen out.

'I did not think of it before, but by devouring the system, I will be killing the Architect, and if it lives within me, then great, but if not,' Nero thought, as he felt the warmth of body.

'I don't think the systems will stay alive since if it was the case, then the presence of the Devourer system would have been exposed long ago,'

'So, to get the powers of systems, I will need to kill architects, who I don't even know if they are good or bad individuals,' Nero thought, realizing the price of power and questioning if it was worth it.

"The Crysindora Arachna Queen was a heartless monster, as she had killed hundreds, she decimated entire villages, and you know who gave her a great deal of her strength,"

"The System," Draven said, after a long pause and followed, "The majority of Architects are just heartless bastards, who see all races as tools,"

"I am not saying that they are evil or good since, in their eyes, it does not matter what their host does. All they care about is his progress and what they could get from him,"

 "If you are unwilling to do it, then I will do it," Draven said, leaving Nero to contemplate a decision.

It was true that the world was full of powerful figures who used the systems for the good of society, but knowing the nature of living beings, it was also certain that there were others out there who only worked for their own good and spread carnage with the gift they have been given.

Nero also realized that in some time, the Lunar Dominion System would pick another host, a host who could kill or save hundreds, something no one can say for certain, but by taking it for himself, he could use it for good.

'It's a cold world out there, and if I want to grow in power, I need to first grow up mentally,' Nero thought, reaching his decision.

'Let's see what you have to offer,' Nero said, a smile returning to his face as he pressed his hand on the spider.

It took a few minutes before the long list appeared, making Nero swallow a few times to get comfortable with what he was seeing.

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{Target Identified: Crysindora Arachna, the Spider Queen}

{Initiating Devour Analysis…}

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{Attributes Available for Devour}

[Strength: 8,522] 

[Vitality: 7,291]

[Agility: 5,642]

[Dexterity: 9,194]

[Mind: 10,246] 

[Endurance: 9,634]

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{Skills Available for Devour}

[Seismic Stomp] Allows the user to cause a minor localized earthquake.

[Stone Carapace] Creates a hardened exoskeleton of stone, granting increased defense against physical and magical attacks.

[Crystalline Web] Create nearly invisible strings from a crystal that have razor-sharp edges and are extremely resilient to slashing and magical attacks.

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[Glacial Mist] Create a freezing mist that quickly blankets the area, freezing anything it comes in contact with and chilling the air to sub-zero temperatures.

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{Essence Traits Available for Devour}

[Crysindora Arachna Bloodline] - Assimilate the bloodline to adopt traits of the Spider Queen, including heightened strength, venom potency, and innate affinity with Earth, Illusion, Ice, and lunar elements.

[Lunar Affinity] - Greater Grade Lunar Element Affinity.

[Ice Affinity] - Lesser Grade Ice Element Affinity.

[Illusion Affinity] - Lesser Grade Illusion Element Affinity.

[Earth Affinity] - Greater Grade Earth Element Affinity.

[Posion Affinity] - Greater Grade Posion Element Affinity.

[Venom Imunity (D+)] -

[Crystal Essence (D+)] 

[Shadow Sense (D)]

[Aura of Fear (C-)]

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{Unique Traits Available for Devour}

[Lunar Dominion System] The Lunar Dominion System uses a set of aspects deeply connected to the moon. Its abilities center around the ethereal power of the Moon, reflection, emotional influence, and illusions.

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"I like this, I really like this," Nero said, grinning ear to ear, enjoying the view before him.

The letters with plus and minus marks before the passive traits were their grade, going from (F-, F, F+ to S-, S, S+), with each grade defining the usefulness and limitation of the passive trait.

The ranks of the elemental affinities were divided into five grades in the sequence of Minor, Lesser, Greater, Superior, and Perfect.

Nero took a few deep breaths to prepare for the pain before he selected the system, and almost instantly, he felt the foreign energy flowing inside him, tendrils of raw power snaking into every muscle and vein. 

He felt a headache creeping over his mind. The pain started as a dull ache but slowly grew in intensity, clawing its way through his mind until it felt like a relentless cold freezing his very being.

Nero clenched his jaw to fight the growing pain, dropping to his knees and holding his head with both hands. His entire body shivered from the unseen, ever-growing cold.