Silence, cold and absolute, settled over the frozen battlefield. Saquin stared at his handiwork—the magnificent Purple Lion, Viva, locked in a prison of perfect stillness. The thrill of victory still hummed in his veins, but the World Will's last words hung in the air, a lingering question mark.

"Alright," Saquin said, cracking his neck. "She's not dead. What does that mean? And what's this 'half of it' business?"

[ It means, ] the World Will began, her tone shifting into that of a lecturer, [ that you have successfully paused a natural disaster. To understand the scale of the disaster, you must understand its place in the ecosystem. Observe. ]

A series of glowing, holographic lists materialized in the air before him, superimposed over Viva's frozen form.

Earth-Born Senarbeast Kind – Threat Hierarchy (By Species Trait)

Leviathan

Whalekin

Great Feline (Lionkin)

Eight-Pec Beast (Bearkin)

...

Senarbeast Individual Power Ranking – Known Variants (Post-Fall)

Golden Leviathan

Sea Leviathan

Behemoth Leviathan

Killer Whale

Great White Bear

Golden Lion

...

12. Purple Lion

Brown Steel Bear

...

Saquin's eyes scanned the lists. "Okay. So she's a 'Great Feline,' which is up there. And individually, she's ranked twelfth. Strong, but not the top. What's the catch?"

[ The catch, Young Master, is that every beast ranked thirteenth through twenty-first possesses more raw destructive power than a Purple Lion. A Brown Steel Bear could shatter a mountain she could only scar. Yet, she ranks above them. Do you know why? ]

"Because she'd win the fight."

[ Precisely. Nine times out of ten. Her raw power is not her defining feature. Her life force is. She is a nightmare to kill. A plague of resilience. ]

"The Damage Absorption. The healing."

[ That is merely the surface. It is their inherent trait—a form of potent, self-directed necromancy that constantly pulls them back from the brink. But the true horror, shared with their lesser feline cousins, is more… literal. ]

A cold that had nothing to do with Dead Cold seeped into Saquin's gut. "Literal how?"

[ They do not have nine lives. But three? That is common. ]

Saquin's gaze snapped back to the frozen statue. "Three. You mean that 'Life Exchange'…"

[ Was just a unique Ability gained from her status as a Divine beast, ] the World Will finished. [ It is originally a racial trait, but then copied by her Divine nature into a seperate skill. But make no mistake, she still possess her racial Trait. She has not just one, but three full resurrections in reserve. And with each death, she returns significantly stronger. Under specific, stressful conditions, ones so that only beings like me possess knowledge of, she can even recharge those lives. This is why I said you could not truly kill her as you were. Sure, with your immense power, you could have triggered her first and even second death, but the power boost upon her third and final life would have been of a magnitude that would have allowed her to… 'trounce you,' as you put it. ]

Saquin was silent for a long moment, staring at the list, then at Viva. The victory felt suddenly fragile, like he'd managed to cap a volcano with a piece of plywood. He'd been proud of outsmarting her once. She was built to be outsmarted multiple times and keep coming back angrier.

"Right," he said finally, pushing the unease aside with a force of will. He had more immediate problems. "Not my problem right now. I've got a mountain of loot to sort and this," he gestured at the frozen beast, "is just another piece of furniture for now."

He turned his attention inward, to the swirling reservoir of power he felt within—the excess Senaressence. Even after topping off his Cores, it felt vast, like a second heart pumping pure potential. A grin touched his lips. With this much fuel, he could upgrade everything. He'd be set until Adept.

[ Your optimism is, as ever, charmingly naive, ] the World Will interjected, shattering his reverie. [ Unabsorbed, volatile Senaressence has a shelf life. The System will reabsorb it within three to seven days. You cannot simply hoard it. ]

The grin vanished. "What? It just… vanishes?"

[ It returns to the universal pool. Consider it a motivational deadline. ]

Saquin cursed under his breath. All that essence, the staggering yield from slaughtering an army of higher-level Empowered and two Adepts… it was ticking away. He needed to spend it, now.

As if on cue, two notifications, held in abeyance during the fight, finally flashed in his vision.

[ Mayanar of Eternal Blood has been slain by you. ]

[ Kind: Dead. ]

[ Species: Vampire. ]

[ Origin: Eternal Blood. ]

[ Rank: Senar Adept – Lesser. ]

[ Bloodline: Yellow-Spark (Unique) extracted. ]

[ Underessence – Undead Essence – extracted. ]

[ A human has been slain by you. ]

[ Kind: Living. ]

[ Species: Empowered Human. ]

[ Origin: Humanity. ]

[ Rank: Senar Adept – Lesser. ]

[ Talent: Hyper. ]

[ Senaressence extracted. ]

[ Lifeessence extracted. ]

[ Skill gained – Gravity Field (Hyper). ]

[ Core gained – Gravity Pin (Pinnacle-Class, Grade Two). ]

The spoils were immense. A Unique Bloodline. A rare Undead essence. A Hyper-grade Skill and a high-grade Core from the Gravity Adept. And beneath it all, the ocean of raw Senaressence, slowly draining away.

"Okay, no time to admire the treasure," Saquin muttered, mind racing.

He had always thought that the Cores were a way out of having excess Senaressence/Underessence, but unfortunately, it was impossible to possess a Core of a higher Grade than oneself. Even if one looted one, there would just be the option to either keep it sealed till one ascends to that Grade or degrade it to the highest Class of your Grade.

As for using it on himself?

No way.

After the feeling he just experienced, he might never choose advance through any subsequent level or Grade till he gets it in each of them.

[ If you have a surplus, ] the World Will suggested, her voice sly, [ and you wish to invest in something with a higher ceiling than yourself, you have two viable repositories. Your foundational Abilities: Assassin Rune and Unliving. ]

Saquin paused. "They can eat Senaressence?"

[ They are the core of your human and unliving halves. They are not merely abilities; they are wells of potential. Assassin Rune can integrate essence to unlock new Runes or derive Skills from its nature. Unliving can absorb it to strengthen your undead physiology, awaken deeper inherited memories, or crystallize latent abilities from your lineage. It is a direct investment into your… constitution. ]

A choice. Power his mysterious, Supreme-grade human core, or fortify the ancient dead thing that shared his soul.

Saquin stared at the frozen lioness, a creature with three lives and necromantic resilience.

He thought of the vampire's extracted Underessence, a dark, potent fuel for the dead.

He felt the cold, patient power of Dead Cold still whispering in his veins.

And then he looked at his own hands—the hands of an assassin, a prince of space, a being whose human side carried a Unique-Supreme mystery he barely understood.

The path wasn't obvious. It was a split road.

"The Underessence goes into Unliving," Saquin decided. "Feed the dead with death. Let's see what memories that shakes loose." He paused, feeling the vast, ticking clock of the pure Senaressence. "And pour all the excess Senaressence into Assassin Rune. It's time I learned what my human half's crown jewel actually does."

[ An… interesting allocation, ] the World Will noted, her tone unreadable. [ Investing in both cores simultaneously. Ambitious. Initiating integration. Brace for dual-channel assimilation. ]

The process was not one stream, but two.

A dark, cold trickle began—the Underessence of the ancient vampire, Mayanar. It slithered into the hollow well of his Unliving Ability, a drop of ink in a pool of stillness.

No immediate knowledge came, only the profound sense that a deep, slow process had begun. Alright, he thought. From now on, the Underessence of what I kill feeds the Unliving. Let it build.

That was the slow, patient investment.

The other was immediate and violent.

The vast, churning reservoir of excess Senaressence flowed into Assassin Rune.

Agony, sharp and branding, seared across his body. It wasn't the deep cold of death, but the precise, white-hot pain of inscription.

On his chest, just over his heart, a complex, angular rune the size of a coin burned itself into existence. It glowed with a silver-white light before settling into a faint, permanent scar. {Speed}.

Along his lower ribs, on his left side, a second, more fluid and shifting rune etched itself. It seemed to blur at the edges, its form subtly unstable. {Disguise}.

Then, the grand piece. A fire spread across his entire back. It wasn't a single point of pain, but a constellation of agony connecting, weaving, forming a vast, intricate tapestry of power. The rune was enormous, complex, and terrifyingly profound. It covered him from shoulders to the base of his spine, its patterns suggesting locking mechanisms, wards, and silent retaliation. As the final line connected, the searing light faded. The rune didn't vanish, but it receded, becoming invisible to both sight and sense. Only when Saquin concentrated, turning his awareness inward to the Rune itself, could he feel its massive, dormant presence etched into his very being. {Assassinbane}.

The torrent of Senaressence was gone, fully absorbed.

Saquin gasped, staggering slightly as the branding pain subsided, replaced by a thrilling, humming awareness. Three new marks. Three new keys to power he could now feel sleeping within him, waiting for his Senar to activate them.

His status updated before his eyes:

Rune(s):

- Conceal

- Speed

- Disguise

- Assassinbane

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