We both resumed walking towards the ominous-looking temple in the distance.

This temple was the site of the evolution, and like all Inner Sanctuary temples, it contained an altar. Upon that altar, we expected to find the object that would trigger my transition to the next Grade.

The unique object which usually appeared on the altar after the condition for evolution was met, could be anything. It could be a simple trinket, a fruit, or even a living creature.

I remembered that when I first played the game as Leon, the object on his altar then was a golden sword forged entirely of ethereal, blinding light.

…As we got closer to the temple, I grew curious of what sort of object would be on my altar.

I turned to Aika and asked, "Hey, what do you think we are going to find on our altar?"

She pushed back her hair and shrugged. "Hopefully a chalice of alcohol."

I chuckled and returned my gaze to the temple.

After a few hundred meters, the field of daffodils came to an abrupt end, leaving only cold, cracked earth until the ruined temple.

When we finally reached the leaning entryway, I halted as I could suddenly hear cracks of crumbling stone. I let out a shaky breath and thought aloud, "Jeez, this temple looks like it's going to bury us inside it."

Aika turned to me and asked, "What do you think will happen if it collapses on us?"

I turned to her. "I don't know…" Then my eyes widened slightly, "Wait… can someone die in their Inner Sanctum?"

She gave a wicked smile and waggled her eyebrows, "Maybe…"

My jaw dropped in disbelief as I watched her immediately walk away after successfully implanting fear in me.

I gulped, raising a hand to shield my face from the sand and dust that fell occasionally from the collapsing ceiling. I then carefully followed close behind Aika into the large vestibule of the temple that opened up into a massive chamber.

It wasn't entirely dark, as large parts of the roof had collapsed, and the moon cast a spectral, white glow across the rubble-strewn floor.

In the center of the chamber was an altar made of obsidian stone, and a raven was perched atop it. When the raven registered our presence, it immediately flapped its wings and flew out of the temple through one of the openings in the roof.

'Hm?'

Both Aika and I immediately shifted our gaze from the opening in the roof to the obsidian altar, and we quickly began walking towards it. When we finally reached the cold stone slab, we saw the object waiting for us.

It was a small, impossibly black feather that kept oozing smoke and gave off a chilling aura of decay.

Aika and I exchanged a quick, meaningful glance before we both turned back to the altar. I then reached out, picked up the feather, and brought it close for us to study.

But right as we were studying it, the feather suddenly imploded. It dissolved into a burst of black smoke that flared outward, violently engulfing both Aika and me in darkness.

However, before we could even process what happened, the smoke that engulfed us began to creep into the openings in my body. Black, acrid smoke flowed into my nose and ears in a chilling rush. As this happened, even Aika dissolved into black smoke that flowed up my hand reforming into a tattoo.

Before long, the last tendrils of smoke were sucked inward, leaving the entire chamber silent, and leaving me standing alone.

Then right at that moment, I felt a cold sensation suddenly wash over me.

…And then my evolution began.

My vision immediately warped and the light from spectral moonlight seemed to dim and die, replaced by an internal, absolute darkness.

However, even though I was now completely blind, I could feel the seismic changes that had begun within my body.

As the cold sensation surged through me, I felt as if all my muscles were being violently shredded and instantaneously rebuilt. Yet, I could not feel any pain. Instead, I felt as if I were being wholly remade, and after only a few seconds, my entire body felt undeniably, profoundly stronger. Truth be told, the entire experience was nothing less than pure, crystalline euphoria.

I wasn't sure exactly how long the entire process took, but after what felt like an eternity, I felt the cold sensation recede and finally settle on the tattoo on my right arm, after which the coldness vanished entirely.

The moment it did, my eyes snapped open and my vision returned. But rather than see the darkness of the ruined temple's interior, I saw the granite of the overhang above us that was now painted in the soft, ethereal hues of dawn.

I blinked a few times, then quickly sat upright and rubbed my eyes, my mind still foggy from the experience. Then I ran a scratching hand frantically through my hair, trying to ground myself.

A few seconds passed before I looked around. The others were all still sleeping, except for Julius, who appeared to be keeping watch.

When he saw me looking at him, he gave a subtle nod in greeting, then said in his usual polite tone. "You are up early."

I offered a brief nod in return. Then as I shrugged myself out of my sleeping bag and stretched, I muttered over my shoulder, "Yeah…"

I then turned and stepped out of the overhang, the cool morning air immediately hitting my face. But unlike before, it was a tiny bit more bearable now.

I walked until I was a few meters away, then driven by haste, I commanded my Gamer privileges to pull up my profile. A large, familiar screen immediately materialized before me in response.

~~~~~~~~ Character Profile ~~~~~~~~

Character Name: [Cedric Anele Martini]

Age: [17]

Level: [12]

Grade: [2]

Element: [Darkness]

Exclusive Class: [Gamer]

Exclusive Class Attribute: [Gamer Privileges]

Bond Name: [Aika Soryu]

Bonded Ability: [Chrysalis]

Exclusive Skill: [Flames of decay - Lv2], [One with the Ravens - Lv1]

EXP: [6,230 / 10,000]

Karma points: [N1,875 / P910]

~~~~~~ ============== ~~~~~~

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