Ch 3: Second Chance?

The ding sound echoed, nowhere.

But even if someone were around here, they might not hear this sound…. except Lucifer. That's it. If he was alive, he would definitely hear this sound.

But sadly, he was dead. And now what?

[Ding! After reaching the threshold of hatred, the host managed to awaken the Hatred System.]

[…]

[Warning! Warning!]

[Emergency alert]

[Detecting that the host is currently in the deep slumber of death period. If the host does not get help within some minutes, the host's soul forcefully has to follow the reincarnation cycle]

[Warning: if the host goes through the reincarnation cycle the system will cease to exist]

[Detecting: the host had managed to accumulate enough hatred points to revive himself]

[Hatred Point: 100,001]

[To revive the host, 100,000 Hatred Points will be consumed.]

[Reminder: This process can only be done once, or &#$* would notice the anomaly.]

[Proceed?]

[100,000 points consumed.]

[Proceeding with the revival process]

[After a countdown of 5 seconds, the process will commence]

[5…4….3…2…1]

[The process is beginning]

Just with the command of the system stopped, within the area where Lucifer's dead body lay, a barrier began to form, and then his body stirred.

If there was an onlooker, they could see that his body was recovering visibly.

Thus, his wounds healed slowly, and his heart, which had stopped beating earlier, began to beat again, louder.

But the sound did not go outside the barrier due to its protectiveness.

When he began to revive, his black hair transformed into a brilliant white, reminiscent of freshly fallen snow, and the saddened brown eyes which were lifeless… also turned into striking crimson red eyes.

The process kept on, and unknowingly something deep within him started to awaken alongside.

Though this miraculous event was unfolding within himself, he remained unaware of anything as he was unconscious, trapped in a deep dream akin to a nightmare.

Yeah, the dream was nightmarish, Lucifer was seeing the haunting memories of his past: betrayal, abandonment, struggle, pain, and hunger.

He saw a young boy abandoned by his family on a lonely night, struggling every day and just to fill his empty stomach he had to beg. But all the time he was not that lucky, sometimes he had to sleep empty stomach.

His clothes were tattered, which must be the effect of wearing the same thing every day.

Dirt and grime covered his frail body—seeing this no one thought of coming near the young boy. He was like a lonely silent night, just wanting to see a brighter day.

Well, but that day never came and he thought that it might never come. It was nothing but a hopeful dream for him.

Just like that, his time began to be spent, begging on the streets just to survive, playing in the alleys for fleeting joy, sleeping under the stars in hopes of sweet dreams, and growing up in a world where his childhood was marred by despair and pain.

As if he was a very Shadow, that was covered up by darkness.

Time flew by, the boy grew older, and he found out some little truths about this world after hearing lots of whispers, about different races, beasts, creatures, and the mysterious essence of the supernatural energies within this world.

He also learned about the Ascendents. Who were they actually? Why weak have to respect them and fear them?

They were the chosen ones, who managed to awaken—Talent.

On the other hand, those who failed to do so were deemed commoners.

How would the Ascendents improve their power? How they were connected to the Path of Ascendents?

Well, he learned it. There were lots of factors one could improve their power, but the Path of Ascendents lay on, forming a core within oneself. If one managed to form a core, it would grant them unimaginable strength and the ability to transcend mortal limits.

One thing that should be noted was that only Earthbringer could contain the core within their lower Dantian. But here was the hook, the true Ascendant did not start with awakening talent, the true Ascendent and Path of Ascendent only started from Earthbringer.

However, Lucifer doing lots of research only managed to gather little knowledge about the outer part, he still was unaware of the inner part detailly.

Like: he only managed to gather about Dawnbringer and Earthbringer and little know about their, not fully.

To cultivate core, one needed a technique or other external support to harness the supernatural energies that flow through around the world, and he was painfully aware of his own shortcomings, he was broken as hell.

Still, he tried to do whatever he could to surpass his limit. But to his disappointment, he could not go further than Mid-Level Dawnbringer, because of his lack of talent. The weight of his inadequacy became a heavy burden, blocking his path for improvement.

Then later he became close to other unsavory characters on the streets, learning their ways to survive in this brutal world. He did whatever he could to stay alive. Burglary? He did that. Murder? Bam, no hesitation. Stealing? Most of his earnings came from that.

All in all, he did any dirty work he could to survive. The boy lived a life where he only had one choice: 'Do or die.' But one day, because of a small mistake and a cruel betrayal, he had to die alone on a desolate night.

------------------------------

Suddenly, Lucifer jolted awake from the nightmarish dream, where his end came under the tree.

"Haaa… haaaa… haaa," he panted heavily, finally escaping the grip of the nightmare.

"Wait… I'm still alive? I should've been dead." His eyes bulged to see here and there, leaning his head to left and right, in an attempt to fathom the situation, he was in.

How was he alive again?

'Huh? Everything I saw and felt was just a dream?' Confusion washed over him.

Lucifer's mind raced as he tried to grasp the bizarre situation.

"No... if that was a dream, then why do my clothes like this?" He glanced down at his garments, soaked and filthy. 

"And why am I lying in this murky water?" The more he thought about it, the more confused he became.

Like, every thought he was thinking was a mesh of uncertainty that wrapped him further and tighter.

However,

A deep voice suddenly broke through his contemplation as he turned his head towards the person, who was talking to him and saw a man, probably in his thirties or forties, speaking.

"Hey, kid! What in hell are you doing here, sleeping out in this crappy place? are you perhaps drunk, eh? Where's your home?" His tone had a tinge of annoyance and irritation that made Lucifer raise an eyebrow at it.

'Huh?' He looked around, noticing the mix of confusion and disgust etched across the faces of the bystanders watching him.

'Drunk? What's this old fart rambling about?' Just as he opened his mouth to reply, a panel suddenly appeared before his eyes, startling him.

[Ding! Gained 1 Hatred Point (Annoyed)]

"Hmm, Huh… what is this?" Lucifer tried to touch it but he couldn't.

'Is this some kind of prank?' He thought, staring at the glowing text, but to the onlookers, he looked like a fool, staring blankly ahead into space.

"Oi Brat, stop drooling, I'm talking to you!" The middle-aged man tried to grab Lucifer's collar but was startled by Lucifer's sudden cry of pain.

"Argh... ahhhh!" Lucifer cried out, grabbing his temple and bending down to the ground. Seeing this, everyone stepped back, not wanting to get involved.

"Yooo, I did nothing" The middle-aged man also backed up by denying he did anything wrong. 

'What the fuck, what the fuck?' Lucifer thought wildly as his head throbbed with pain, he did not know what caused this to happen.

[The protection of the system is worn out; the pain the host has felt has returned.]

'What system? What protection?' The confusion spiraled deeper.

"Arggg…" The pain he felt was eerily similar to what he had endured the day before.

'Damn it... this pain…'

As he writhed on the ground, the spectators looked on in growing bewilderment, their eyes filled with distrust. Yet, none were willing to help him; they only took a step back, wary of becoming entangled in the scene.

After what felt like an eternity, the torrent of agony faded. Lucifer took a moment to catch his breath, "Huff... Huff..."

'What is going on? Am I going nuts? Looks like everything that I saw and felt was real, I must have been saved by someone or something... but who?'

'Hmmm, what am I hearing? system? Where is this coming from?' Lucifer thought seriously about this situation. Who wouldn't? He had defied death—a miraculous event.

'Whatever'

Lucifer pushed himself off the ground, a manic grin spreading across his face. He could hardly believe he had been granted another chance.

"So it seems like even heaven is scared to take me away…. Ufff… Maybe the God of death is telling me to kill everyone that needs to die?" Lucifer smirked, even more like a devil.

'Just you wait, all. I will tear apart your every limb, bit by bit. I'll return the pain you've inflicted on me a hundredfold. No, more than that... the greater the agony, the better you'll understand the true despair that I felt.' A chilling resolve settled within him as he clenched his fists tightly.

[Ding! Gained 1 Hatred Point (Angry)]

[Ding! Gained 1 Hatred Point (Annoyed)]

[Ding! Gained 1 Hatred Point (Disgust)]

"Kill? What the hell are you talking about, bastard? Just minutes ago, you were lying there like a dead dog. Now you look ready to cause chaos! Has this idiot gone nuts?" An onlooker exclaimed, bemusement lacing his voice.

Criticism buzzed around him like a swarm of mosquitoes, each word irritating his already frayed nerves.

He just glared at everyone as if he was not afraid to fight, each and every one.

Something changed within himself after he was revived but he was unaware of it, even if found out he would not care about it, however, the impact was deeper.

After yesterday's incident, he knew one thing, if you move your foot one step back, they would not even hesitate to attack you.