First Awakening

Back in the fray, the forest seemed to hold its breath as Shin and the beast clashed with relentless ferocity.

Each strike of their weapons reverberated through the air, cracking the ground beneath them as if nature itself trembled at their confrontation.

With lightning speed, the beast's tentacles shot forward like whips, lashing out with deadly precision.

Shin's longsword met them with an equally swift movement, the clash of steel against thorny edges creating a symphony of battle amidst the silence of the forest.

As they fought, the ground beneath them churned with their movements, creating a chaotic battlefield where every step was fraught with danger. Shin danced nimbly, his movements a blur of calculated strikes and evasions, while the beast pressed forward relentlessly, its eyes gleaming with primal fury.

Despite the odds stacked against him, Shin refused to yield as he drew upon every ounce of strength and skill at his disposal to keep the beast at bay.

With each exchange, he found new openings, exploiting them with surgical precision and chipping away at the creature's defenses.

But the beast was not without its own tricks, its tentacles moving with an almost supernatural speed and agility. They lashed out unpredictably, forcing Shin to constantly adjust his tactics to avoid being ensnared or struck down.

Steel rang against steel thorns as Shin's blade met the beast's sweeping tentacle in a sparked parry. He riposted swiftly, driving forward in a lunging attack, but his sword only found empty air as the creature bounced back with startling agility.

They circled one another, two apex predators locked in a deadly match. Shin's eyes narrowed, reading the tautness of the beast's muscles and the twitching anticipation of its barbed appendages.

At that moment, Northern arrived, seeing the effect of battle in just the short time he had not been around, made him appalled. This was definitely not a battle for him!

An instant later it attacked, tentacles erupting toward him like striking snakes.

Shin moved between them, each near-miss drawing a line of fire across his skin.

The razored tips made furrows into the trunk of the tree where he had been standing mere seconds ago.

Shin went on the offensive, his blade seeking out the root of each lashing tentacle.

But the monster seemed to have endless limbs to throw against the lone warrior's steel. For every gash Shin carved into its corded muscle, three more appendages emerged from the underbrush to drive him back.

With a grunt of effort, he hacked through half the width of a tentacle even as another coiled around his leg.

Thorns pierced his calf to his very bone as Shin was ripped off his feet, the tentacle slicing its way up from his thigh.

Shin crashed into a tree, his back erupting in fresh agony against unforgiving bark.

He saw stars, but through blinking tears made out the dark shape hurtling toward him for the kill.

With no time for thought, Shin moved from his huddled state and then threw himself beneath the monster's strike.

Shin stood tall, his sword held at the ready, his eyes bloodshot yet focused on his foe.

The tattered remnants of the shirt Eisha had lovingly made him, flapped in the wind, revealing the wounds underneath.

Northern blinked back, surprised to see his normally joking father so grim and determined. Shin radiated tightly coiled danger like the monster facing him amidst the shattered trees.

As the creature hunkered down, digging its claws into the earth, Shin exploded into motion. His blade whipped backward before he shot forward, shattering the ground where he stood.

He appeared within the beast's guard, striking like a thunderclap.

Caught off-balance, the beast retreated frantically on six piston-like legs. But Shin pressed his advantage ruthlessly, another copy of himself bursting from the brush to hack at the creature's flank.

It contorted wildly to evade the blows, its uncanny flexibility allowing it to duck impossibly low while its tentacles lashed out defensively even as it scrambled away.

But a third Shin appeared, his sword carving deadly arcs through the air. For a few desperate seconds, the tentacles blurred as they countered the simultaneous strikes until an ungodly cacophony of steel on steel thorns drowned out all else.

Northern's eyes widened with so much exhilaration as he saw several copies of his father battling the monster-like exarch of power, themselves.

He had never seen it until now, but he was sure... this was Shin's talent! The ability to clone himself.

Despite the trio of relentless attackers, the beast refused to fall, its uncanny speed and instincts allowing it to twist away from every killing thrust.

Abruptly the beast reared up with a spine-chilling bellow and launched itself skyward. Shin moved faster than Northern's eye could track, all three of him closing the distance as the creature landed lightly.

Their swords sang, Shin's clones coordinating seamlessly to attack from all angles.

Northern always felt there was more to this talent thing. Everyone treated it like there was, but ultimately no one was really comfortable talking about their talent.

But this experience. What he was witnessing was the peak. The movements were sharp, shooting from one place to another. Making cracks in trees.

Three of his fathers followed the beast with lightning speed, easily warding off its tentacles and thrusting vicious attacks.

The beast was just too strong, it was persistent, it was smart, it was innovative, and most of all, no matter the attacks that scrapped its body, the abhorrent creature was never bothered. Instead, it responded with an even deadlier ferocity that would cause Shin to be on the tip of his feet even more than before.

All of the three Shin's were smooth, Their movements unfailing in any way. His footwork was amazing, in the places that one lacked, another filled in. They were like the movement of the ocean waves on a dark night.

Calm and serene but deadly in force and strength.

Yet the beast was fast, it either escaped by the skin of its teeth or one of the Shin's escaped by a hair's breadth.

Northern was filled with so much awe for the Shin's combat style. It was not the usual one that he had always seen. It had a flow— shockingly calm and wavy, one Shin connected to another, in a mesmerizing yet bloody manner.

If the beast was not as fast or as strong, it probably would have died a long time ago.

A realization dawned on him. The amazement, the level of comprehension that filled his head with each of Shin's movements made his head fizzy.

He couldn't say he particularly understood anything but it was overwhelming. He felt like everything was connecting in his head.

Then something happened…

Northern's agonized cry cut through the din.

<Congratulations >

<The rift is breaking a space in your soul>

<Your soul will be taking a new form>

<A soul core is being created>

A warm sensation entered his chest. He could feel something struggling to burst out of his entire being, but it was so hard. Because of this, a fiery pain shot through his bones.

In just a second, Northern was filled with so much pain that he felt like he could die from it, a guttural cry escaped his mouth as he folded on the ground and tried to hold himself together.

A dead silence filled the place immediately after the cry. All three Shins— their eyes froze in shock, monitoring the abhorrent creature as it also paused, a ferocious spark appearing in its eyes.

With a rumbling growl, the beast gathered itself to spring towards the sound.

But Shin was a heartbeat faster, fear and desperation fueling his movements. He became a whirling typhoon, his paired clones adding their strength to the assault. The very air screamed at their passage as Shin placed himself firmly between predator and prey.

As the beast landed, Shin whizzed towards him with extraordinary speed. Pushing himself past what he was capable of was how he was able to meet the beast.

He lashed out his blade in a macabre frenzy, the beast's tentacles lunged at him, and they both became locked in an even greater speed of assault— before the other two Shins joined.

Tentacles and blades clashed wildly, all precision and technique lost to raw fury on both sides. Blood was sprayed in great arcs with every blow.

<Process failed>

<Retrying process>

…

<Process failed>

<Retrying process>

…

<Process failed>

Northern bit his tongue strongly, while he writhed from the pain of having his entire soul torn to shreds over and over again, his father fought desperately to protect him from the death gnash of the beast.

For a moment he didn't know what to think about or what this feeling was. There was a monotonous voice in his head, repeating the same thing over and over again.

<Process failed>

<Retrying process>

…

<Process failed>

<Retrying process>

…

<Process failed>

What was this voice?

Tearing apart his soul and forcefully trying to form a soul core.

{System Notice}

Soul damage has been detected.

Soul damages can be healed using [Nexus' Blessing]

Suddenly a panel along with a cold feminine voice appeared. Somehow, it soothed Northern's ear. He had never heard the voice before or wasn't even sure what he was seeing but it offered him salvation.

'Yes! Yes!'

{System Notice}

You have used ×1 [Nexus Blessing]

You have gained a 1% chance to resist soul attacks

Finally, the pain began to simmer down.

<Soul core creation failed>

<Talent unable to manifest>

A frown creased Northern's face... but another voice, different from this sadistic one rang in his ears again.

{System Notice}

Your Soul cannot take a form.

Searching for a unique System Ability for your soul.

Searching…

Result found.

Unique System Ability has been found…

Unique System Ability [CopyCat] has been gained.

Awakening ability [CopyCat]