The soft embers of their makeshift fire still flickered in the cool night air. The cave had grown eerily silent after the events of the past day. Arjun sat near the opening, lost in his thoughts, the mountain breeze brushing through his hair. His heart was beating fast—not out of fear, but out of something deeper. A resolve.
He had realized something. A memory… not quite a memory, more like an instinct.
His system… it was evolving.
If there's one thing he'd learned by now—it was that the power of his system responded to family. Bonds. Blood wasn't needed, but the choice… the willingness to stand together. That was the key.
Arjun clenched his fist. "I think we now have the numbers…"
He glanced at Manglu, who was lying silently nearby. His wounds hadn't fully healed, and his hollow eye sockets still made something inside Arjun shiver.
"…Let's add Manglu too," he murmured.
Arjun stood and took a deep breath. His voice rang across the cave.
"Everyone."
Heads turned.
The survivors—around two dozen of them—looked up from their seated positions. Some had started gathering what little food was left, some simply stared blankly at the walls. Everyone was still reeling.
"You're free to go," Arjun said clearly, "No one here is bound to me or anyone else. You've suffered enough, and you owe me nothing."
His voice echoed.
"But…" he took a step forward, "I do have one request. And it's only for some specific people. If… if you think you have nowhere else to go—no one waiting for you—then you can stay."
A beat of silence.
No one moved.
Arjun's eyes scanned the group. He could feel the weight of their gaze on him. Some confused. Some suspicious. Some hopeful.
He took another deep breath.
"First of all, the people I am going to name—please come forward."
He stepped aside. Vhim stood behind him, arms crossed. Joxon—barefoot, wild-haired, his once-beastly senses still sharpening—stood like a loyal shadow beside them.
Arjun raised his hand.
"Sarvad."
A tall boy stepped forward. His skin was bronze-toned, and his body bore the signs of months of hard labor. His expression was unreadable, his dark eyes scanning Arjun with calm intelligence. He moved like a panther, controlled and watchful.
"Varad."
A boy with long hair tied behind his back stepped forward. His limbs were lean, but scars marked every inch of his arms. His face had a sternness to it, as if he had learned to never lower his guard. His nose had a slight bend, as if it had been broken and never healed right.
"Kripat."
A stocky youth, shorter than the rest but built like stone. He had a wide chest, thick neck, and fists like bricks. His skin was darker, ash-streaked, and his eyes had an exhausted fire within them—someone who had fought, fallen, and kept getting back up.
"Zinga."
A smaller boy, barely fifteen. Big green eyes full of awareness. He was the youngest of the group, but his steps didn't falter. He had an animal-like lightness in his movements. His hair was a wild nest, and there was a twitch in his fingers, like he always wanted to move.
"Sarion."
He was a pale-skinned boy, quiet, with long lashes and deep black eyes. A faded tattoo—some old slave mark—was on the back of his neck. His presence was soft, almost forgettable, but Arjun sensed a strange pressure from him. Like a still lake that hid something monstrous underneath.
"Hixomaru."
The last to step forward. With tanned skin, silver-white hair, and one eye clouded with blindness, he looked like someone who didn't belong here. His gaze, however, was unwavering. A deep cut ran down from his shoulder to his hip, now stitched crudely. He stood like a man who had seen too much—and somehow survived it all.
The six stood in front of him now, each different, each shaped by cruelty, hunger, and the will to live. The crowd was dead silent.
Then Arjun turned to the side—toward a corner where Manglu sat.
He walked over. The broken boy didn't react at first. But when Arjun crouched beside him, something in Manglu's cracked lips twitched. As if to smile. As if to weep.
Arjun placed his hand on Manglu's frail shoulder.
"For you too," he said softly. "I know you can't speak. But I want you to know… this isn't pity. This is brotherhood."
Arjun stood and walked back to the center.
"I have a proposal," he said. His voice didn't need to be loud. Everyone was already listening. "To all of you—specifically, Sarvad, Varad, Kripat, Zinga, Sarion, Hixomaru, and Manglu."
He pointed to them.
"Join my family. Not by blood, but by choice. Become my brothers."
Silence. Even the wind outside the cave seemed to still.
"I won't ask you to kneel, or to swear loyalty like in some fairy tale. You don't owe me anything. I can only promise one thing—survival, and a path to become stronger."
He glanced around at the six. Then looked at Manglu.
"If you choose to accept, a screen will appear before you. Just say 'yes' if you wish. If not, walk away. I won't stop you."
For a moment, no one moved.
Then…
A hand raised.
Manglu.
His fingers trembled, but his hand lifted high. He couldn't speak. Couldn't see. But his body said enough.
[King level individual MANGLU has joined your family.]
The screen flashed behind Arjun's vision. He smiled slightly.
Then one by one—
Sarvad stepped forward, eyes burning.
[King level individual SARVAD has joined your family.]
Kripat clenched his fists and nodded.
[King level individual KRIPAT has joined your family.]
Varad looked away for a second, then stepped forward.
[King level individual VARAD has joined your family.]
Zinga didn't even hesitate. His hand shot up.
[King level individual ZINGA has joined your family.]
Sarion walked forward in silence, then simply stood beside Arjun.
[King level individual SARION has joined your family.]
Hixomaru, the last, stepped up slowly. He didn't speak, but nodded once.
[King level individual HIXOMARU has joined your family.]
And then—
[MISSION COMPLETED.]
[CONGRATULATIONS!]
[YOU AND YOUR FAMILY MEMBERS GET A CHANCE TO REAWAKENING THEIR SOUL NATURE.]
A faint hum buzzed through the air like static electricity crawling over skin.
It started with a single line.
[You are awakening a spirit nature.]
One after another, everyone saw it. A glowing notification. It wasn't loud, but it echoed within their minds, like the whisper of an ancient force long buried.
Vhim blinked, his mouth parting in awe. Sarvad, Zinga, and the others turned their heads toward one another, confusion flashing in their tired eyes.
Then it hit them.
A wave—no, a storm—of dizziness slammed into every one of them. Their knees gave out. Bodies collapsed to the cold, rocky ground of the mountain cave.
Groans echoed in the cavern, not of pain—but numbness. Every part of their body was going silent. As if the nerves had forgotten what sensation meant.
Even Joxon, once a beast, now human, curled up near the fire, clutching his chest, eyes glowing faintly under shut lids.
One by one, the new brothers fell.
Except Arjun.
Arjun was glowing.
A faint light enveloped his body—silver at first, then shifting into deep shades of indigo and black. It wasn't light that brought warmth. It was light that pulled shadows closer.
His breathing quickened. Something was happening inside him—more than what he could name.
Then—
His mind cracked open.
Visions poured in. Like water through a broken dam.
Memories. His childhood. His school years. That alley where he got beaten up. The humiliation. The helplessness. Every time he wanted to scream but didn't. Every time he wanted to fight but failed.
He regretted it.
All of it.
The cowardice. The isolation. The day he watched a girl being dragged away, crying for help—and he didn't move.
The day he cried alone in his room, writing stories where he was powerful.
Where his mother hugged him without bruises on her face.
Where he wasn't a loser.
Then—
He saw him again.
That boy.
The same boy who had once appeared in his dream, the one who called him "My King".
The boy was standing in front of him, lips trembling, trying to say something—when suddenly…
A shadow punched through the vision.
BAM!
Like a meteor strike, a figure in black appeared and slammed into the boy, sending him flying into the endless void.
Arjun's eyes widened.
The attacker stood tall, wearing a dark suit. Black shirt. Black pants. Even his tie flickered like a shard of darkness.
It was him.
Another Arjun.
But not like him.
This one smiled wide, evil and cruel, with eyes that looked like obsidian swallowing light.
From below, the ground cracked and a black slime-like creature surged up, like oil made alive. It wrapped around Arjun's legs, dragging him down into the ground.
"My king…" the dark version said, voice echoing unnaturally.
"You can't take the throne now. You're not ready."
"Just rest. I'll take care of things for you."
He laughed.
A horrible, twisted laugh that seemed to bend the air around him.
Arjun felt himself sinking. Darkness rising over his head, closing in.
But just as he was about to be swallowed completely—
He reached up.
His hand gripped something.
A leg.
His leg.
The dark version.
"No," Arjun growled, voice trembling but fierce. "You're not me. I won't let you rule me anymore."
The dark version kicked down at him. Fists rained like thunder. But Arjun held tight. He pulled, not with strength of body, but something deeper.
He wasn't pulling up a body.
He was pulling himself out of the abyss.
The slime screamed. The shadows cracked.
And then—
Light.
Blinding light.
---
Arjun's eyes snapped open.
He gasped, chest rising as if he'd just broken the surface of the ocean.
[Congratulations on your awakening of your soul nature.]
He blinked. A new message appeared in golden font.
[Soul Nature: Dark Amiba]
Skill Unlocked: Poison – Can poison any dangerous cells or germs in your body.
Skill Unlocked: Eater – Can eat the dead cells to gain energy.
Arjun looked down at his hands. They didn't glow anymore, but they felt dense, like they carried new weight. A quiet pulse flowed through his veins—something different than before. Not power. Understanding.
He had awakened.
His own soul—his own path—born of his regrets and carved through resistance.
He exhaled, then looked around.
The others were still on the ground. Some groaning. Some twitching slightly. All of them were glowing, faintly, dimming slowly like lanterns after the oil was gone.
And as the first golden light of dawn crept into the cave, more screens began to appear.
One by one:
[Vhim: Soul Nature – Divine Human]
Arjun turned to his brother. Vhim's brow was twitching in his sleep, as if dreams were fighting inside his head.
[Joxon: Soul Nature – Cold Tiger]
Even in sleep, Joxon's body shimmered with frosty breath. He had curled like a tiger again, heat rising from his back.
[Hixomaru: Soul Nature – Red Kijin]
His single visible eye sparked faintly red. His broken scarred arms now radiated faint fire-like veins.
[Sarion: Soul Nature – Golden Lotus]
A serene glow surrounded him. His hands rested on his chest like a meditating monk, and golden petals shimmered briefly on his skin before fading.
[Zinga: Soul Nature – Star Pegasus Rider]
A ghostly silhouette of a winged horse flickered behind him for a second. Zinga's hair fluttered though there was no wind.
[Manglu: Soul Nature – Seven Dead Realm Eyes]
Even without physical eyes, dark marks appeared under his sockets. Faint symbols danced across his skin, like forgotten curses reawakening.
[Kripat: Soul Nature – Parsu]
His fingers curled tightly. The muscles in his arms tensed unnaturally. His breath was deep and warlike.
[Sarvad: Soul Nature – Fishman]
Gills had appeared behind his ears. His jawline was more angular now, and scales shimmered faintly on his collarbone.
[Varad: Soul Nature – Orc]
Even asleep, he growled. His fists clenched. His body looked thicker, denser. He looked less like a boy now, and more like something forged in combat.
Arjun stood silently, watching the changes. Watching the people he had just called brothers transform before him.
No one spoke.
The wind brushed softly outside the cave.
And all around him, a new family was being born.
Each soul awakened.
Each path just beginning.