[Warning: Proceeding will permanently sever all implicit protections granted to living beings.]

[Warning: This decision cannot be undone, reversed, or corrected.]

[This decision is irreversible.]

[Are you sure you want to continue?]

{Yes} {No}

**

Ash again fell into daze due to the unexpected information he got by just adding the Universe as the material for body formation. The warnings made it very clear that what he was doing was not ordinary. Adding the Universe itself as material for his body was no trivial act. It was something far beyond what any human, or even godlike being, could imagine.

But instead of fear, a strange thrill ran through him. He felt like laughing, even though he had no mouth. Every warning only confirmed one thing: the body he was about to make would be beyond everything he had ever known, powerful in a way that ordinary rules could not measure.

Ash was very ambitious. When he first transmigrated, he had been slightly fearful about this new world because he knew it was destined to be destroyed, but that fear was nothing compared to his desire to grow stronger and become powerful.

Who would be content with being ordinary? Only a fool.

On Earth, success was measured by wealth, influence, and control over the weapons one could command. But at the end of the day, those were just tools. Tools to gain dominance, tools to survive, tools to assert power.

Here, this world was different. Money, land, and weapons mattered far less. What came first, above all, was personal power.

On Earth, humans were limited by racial limits and the natural span of life. But in this world, as long as one grew strong, lifespan increased alongside power. The stronger you became, the more everything else followed: influence, recognition, and survival itself.

Thus, when a person, who had felt the limits of life and talent, got a chance to grow, an uncontrollable hunger was bound to be awakened inside them.

Ash was no different.

It was just that the events after his transmigration had pushed him off his original path. The original soul of this body getting trapped due to the Rune of Stability that led to many emotional changes in his journey.

Sometimes he made bad choices, sometimes even worse. On top of that, his lover from his previous life had somehow appeared in this world, adding more complications he had not expected.

Love is unreasonable.

When it enters the fray, wisdom, intelligence, cognition, and even success all become blurry and unclear.

Even the smartest person could make mistakes when love got involved. But once someone could control their mind, ignore emotions, and focus only on their goal, that was when the real journey could begin.

Many people will argue that love makes life beautiful, that it makes life worth living, that it brings spring after the cold winter. That is true, superficially, but at the end of the day, love is a chain that binds humans, as well as the chains that connect them to weakness, attachment, and distraction.

On Earth, people say love is a virtue, the source of their motivation, the driving force of existence.

But those words, when heard, may feel good, yet they must be taken at face value. They are nothing more than the foolishness of humans, placing love above all else and relying on it as a source of purpose without understanding the cost.

If you are weak, how will you protect someone you love? If someone harms your love, how will you stop them? If someone kills your love, how will you exact revenge? If someone takes your love from you entirely, what will you do then?

In reality, love is a disease that blinds the truth, and humans are creatures that hates the truth.

Truths are bitter, and no one will swallow them willingly.

Love before success leads to demise and Love after success leads to suspicion.

In the end, love is never simple. It is a weapon, a trap, a test of strength, and only those who understand the cost—and can endure the consequences—can ever hope to navigate it without being destroyed.

Nancy's death in his previous life had left a huge hole in Ash's heart. Such a loss was hard to recover from, almost impossible to heal completely. Yet he filled the gap by throwing himself into novels, anime, and the VR game that led him into this world.

Each of those experiences that he realized by reading thousands of novels sharpened his ambition and taught him the value of power above all.

I have the opportunity to become powerful, to follow my own path, to be recognized as an existence that even the Universe itself cannot fully acknowledge and feels wary of. Then why should I hesitate now? If I hesitate because the cost is high, won't I be breaking the Vow I took to pursue power at all costs?

With that unshakable resolve, Ash selected {Yes} without any hesitation.

Contrary to his expectations, the screen did not warn him again, nor did it flash additional alerts.

Instead, a new window appeared in front of him: the Sacrifice Window, or the Equal Exchange Window.

**

‣[Sacrifice] - 0%

‣[Materials] -

[Auto Select] [Manual Select]

**

Ash this time chose the [Manual Select] option and added his trait [Primordial Core] into it. But the sacrifice percentage only went up by 30%.

Hmmm, did the amount of its value decrease because I added Universe as the material..?

If it was true, then things might become troublesome for him.

The body reformation window seemed to calculate not just the material itself, but the complexity and scale of what he was trying to create, and perhaps the Universe's inclusion diluted the relative value of his traits.

I can't sacrifice my Codex of Creation. It would be a paradox if I sacrifice the same thing that is asking the sacrifice. But earlier in the Auto select option it took Codex of creation, which means even if I sacrifice it, my body still will be reformed…

But Ash did not want to sacrifice his codex. It was the only thing that allowed him to come this far and he could not bear to lose it now.

After thinking some more and checking his status window repeatedly, Ash tried to put other materials he had in his Soul Vault for exchange, but they were rejected ruthlessly.

With a deep sigh, he finally added his Unique Class [Magic Swordsmen] as the sacrifice. He did not feel much pity for it, after all, while other classes were supposed to grant class-based skills whenever a person ranked up, Ash had never received any benefits from it.

Perhaps it was due to meddling from fate, but Ash didn't care.

[Magic Swordsmen] had only allowed him to have two cores that transformed into Primordial Cores because of his trait, and now that he was sacrificing his [Primordial Cores], the class itself would lose its entire purpose. All its meaning and utility would vanish, leaving nothing behind.

Thus the Equal Exchange screen updated, showing the new configuration, the percentages and numbers glowing ominously.

**

‣[Sacrifice] - 60%

‣[Materials] - [Primordial Cores] (Trait) , [Magic Swordsmen] (Class).

**

Its still not enough...

Ash already expected it after he saw the reduction of the percentage earlier. The number clearly reflected that the system wanted something far deeper, something fundamental that could not be replaced easily.

I don't have anything unique left with me to sacrifice. I can't use the Runes, nor can I use my Codex...

Ash fell again into a dilemma. He thought for a few minutes, carefully reviewing all his options with the help of [Omni Thought], letting his mind process faster and more clearly than normal. He weighed everything he had, every material, every power, and every possibility for exchange.

And then, a thought struck him.

Wait!! My bloodlines....

Ash possessed two unknown bloodlines. They were completely opposite in nature, which was why neither of them had been able to fully surface. But what if he sacrificed one of them instead? If one was removed, perhaps the balance would no longer restrain the other.

But...

Ash hesitated.

The problem was simple yet terrifying. He had no idea what those bloodlines truly were, and even if he did, he would still hesitate to sacrifice them.

After all, he had personally experienced what just a tiny fragment of their awakening had done to him. Even that incomplete reaction had caused his power to shoot up by a massive amount.

In truth, Ash had been hoping for something else.

He hoped that all kinds of bloodlines he had added will finally broke their fragile balance, the Runes would intervene and allow them to merge into something better, something greater.

It was then that Ash realized something else, and he couldn't help but sigh.

I am such an idiot.

He had the [Eye of Omniscience] skill with him. As long as he actually used it, wouldn't he be able to know exactly what his bloodlines were? For such a long time, such an obvious thought had never crossed his mind.

Moments like this make me realize that I am still a human and not a machine...

He was not perfectly logical. He could still overlook things. He could still hesitate and make mistakes.

Still, realizing it now was better than realizing it too late. With that thought, Ash activated his skill and turned his gaze inward, choosing to finally look at himself properly.

**

[Status]

Name – Ash Burn

True Name -

Title -

Race – Human

Biological Age – 16 years

Soul Age - 630 years

Class – Magic Swordsmen (Unique)

Rank – Expert (C- Rank) – (0%)

Affinity – Lightning, Life, Death, Space, Time.

Bloodlines - Primordial origin bloodline (Dormant), Abyssal null bloodline (Dormant), Ancient Dragon King bloodline (Dormant).

Lifespan - 30 years

***

[Attributes]

Strength – 601

Agility – 601

Vitality – 601

Intelligence – 601

Stamina – 601

Charm – 601

Mana – 601 (X 2)

[Hidden Attributes ]

Luck -> -12 (Still fluctuating.)

Willpower -> 101

Soul power-> 83

***

[Traits]

- Codex of Creation (Expert)

- Primordial Core (Completion: 48%) (Rank- Immeasurable)

***

[Skills]

[Active] - Omni Thought , Hundred Poison Immunity, Absolute Concealment, Transcendent Step, Soul Vault, Soul Library, Eye of Omniscience], Arcane Foresight.

[Passive] - Blind Authority, Immortal, Void Born , True Equilibrium , Mirror Growth, Unified Self, Crown of Thought, Immutable Vitality, Truth Sense.

***

[Runes]

Rune of Stability, Rune of Knowledge, Rune of Life , Rune of Balance, Rune of Concealment, Rune of Death, Rune of Space, Rune of Harmony, Rune of Truth, Rune of Time, Rune of Wish (Fragment).

***

[Magic Circle Replacement]

Novice - Rune of Knowledge

Apprentice - Rune of Life

Adept - Rune of Concealment

Expert - Rune of Truth

***

[Soul Bound]

-Eclipse

-Primordial Serpent

****

A/N - FINALLY!!! THE BLOODLINES ARE REVEALED!!!!!!

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