New chapter! Sadly I don't have as much time anymore, Christmas break is over :(. That doesn't mean that I'll slack off! I still have about two hours everyday to spend time writing new chapters. Hopefully I use that time wisely. Anyway, enjoy.

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Kyte woke up within an empty but large bedroom. It was clean and beautifully decorated, with even a thin screen of fabric hanging down the sides of the bed. Everything was red and gold trimmed, except for a few white objects. The bed Kyte was lying on was a king-sized bed with a multitude of pillows and blankets, though his body was placed on top of all the blankets.

After sitting up, Kyte’s memory quickly resurfaced. Everything that happened had suddenly returned. He looked down at his hands to see that they looked completely normal, aside from the fact that his skin was now exponentially higher in quality. His skin was very smooth and there were no blemishes anywhere.

Instead of feeling power struggling to be free from within his body, Kyte felt a mysteriousness that exuded power. His perception had increased by several folds, and just getting used to his greatly improved cognitive abilities was going to take a bit. However, what Kyte felt was something much greater than he thought. It felt almost as if...he had too much power.

Kyte silently laughed at himself for thinking like that, because what’s wrong with having “too” much power? It would take a while to get used to his new power level, and he doesn’t even know what rank he would be at now. Despite this, Kyte chose to relax. Even though he felt full of life and energy, he didn’t know where he was or what to do.

Kyte looked down at himself and noticed a new set of clothes over his body.

Huh? My...my S rank robes...Nooooo! I worked so hard on them!....Oh well.

Kyte moved the fabric on the side of the bed and stood up. Looking around, he saw the door to his right and proceeded to walk toward it. His footsteps were a bit weird because he was still getting used to his stronger muscles.

After opening the door, Kyte didn’t see anyone in the long hallway. It was completely silent. Both ends of the hallway cornered off into a different path leading somewhere else. Kyte had absolutely no clue where he was. Though, he felt like he was inside David’s home.

Kyte spread out his Spirit energy to encompass a very large area, enveloping the entire building. Kyte noticed that his Spirit energy had greatly increased, though it hadn’t broken through into the eighth stage. It was around the seventh late stage.

After Kyte had encompassed the entire building, he could perceive everything within it. It was indeed David’s home, and Kyte was currently on the top floor. He saw a group of people in a room not too far from his, and Kyte remembered that room to be where he met that Mr. Wake the day before.

Was it a day before?...I don’t know how long I’ve been unconscious.

Kyte began to head down the hallway in the direction of that room. He recognized a few of the auras within the room, however, there was one that were not familiar. The ones he did recognize were David, Azali, Rose, and Shadow. The other, he did not know.

After reaching the door, Kyte quickly opened it and stepped inside. Once he did, everyone within looked over in surprise. The first person to get up and run toward him was of course, Rose. Streams of tears were sliding down her face and Kyte could tell that she had taken it hard. He gave her a smile and opened his arms, where Rose slightly jumped into. Wrapping their arms around each other, Rose couldn’t take it and instantly began to cry.

When Azali saw that scene, a complicated feeling grew within her. She relaxed her tense muscles because she was about to get up and go to Kyte as well, but Rose had immediately jumped up from her spot. Azali just frowned as she averted her eyes down to her hands that were on her lap.

Still holding Rose, Kyte looked up toward David who returned his gaze. Kyte had sensed something else within David’s gaze which felt a little like confusion. Whether or not Kyte had assumed correctly, well, he would have to ask directly. There was one person that Kyte instantly recognized after seeing with his own eyes: Akina.

Kyte was instantly surprised to see Akina within the room, mostly because he remembered her to be only a Gold A rank. This time, Kyte could sense a different aura around her than before. It seemed to be no weaker than his, though it may have been a bit weaker. Aside from that, it was like she completely changed.

“Um…” Kyte started.

“Hahaha, I knew you would be surprised. Come, sit down and we’ll talk.” David said.

Kyte looked down and patted Rose, signaling to move. They walked to a section of the couch close to the others and sat down.

“So, I know you have some questions. Go ahead, ask away.” David said.

“Alright...How long was I out?” Kyte asked.

“It’s only been a day since you went unconscious actually.”

“I see. Why are you all in here?”

“We were discussing about the future.”

“Why is Akina here?”

“That’s...a little difficult to explain. The last thing you remember about Akina is that she was unconscious, right?”

“Yea.”

“Well, I went and personally helped her. Thanks to that, she recovered quicker and her power even rose a bit. I honestly did not expect her power to jump so much.”

“Oh? Why would you go personally help her?”

“Well, Dan and I go quite a ways back. I’d rather not talk about the circumstances, but Dan saved my life during a siege on an AHAD HQ. If Dan wasn’t there, I wouldn’t be here.”

“Wow…I would have never expected that. I guess I should be a bit grateful to Dan, then.”

“Why is that?”

“Oh, nothing. Anyway, what...exactly happened in the arena?”

“That. Well, from the looks of it, you seemed to breakthrough a barrier in your power. Your aura is several folds stronger than it was before. Your entire being is...different. I don’t even know what exactly happened. The entire stadium turned into a zero-gravity zone, and then you were enveloped in a sphere of spatial distortions. Inside that was...weird cracks around you where that black light poured out from. It all ended in about an hour, and everything turned back to normal. Though, the stadium is completely trashed at the moment.”

Spatial distortions? Cracks? What?...I'll just figure it out when I practice my new power.

“Oh...sorry about that.”

“Hahaha, no problem. It’s taken damage before, though not to this extent. Anyway, is there anything else?”

“Hmm...not at the moment. However, I do want to be included in your conversation. Right now, what rank would you think I am?”

“You’re most likely a Gold S ranker. A top ranking one at that. Since the tournament has been put on hiatus for the time being, an official ranking can’t be given. You’ll also need to wait three years to gain a new badge. Though, it’s different in the Core so I guess it won’t matter much.”

“Right, the Core. What exactly is it?”

“The Core is where the war between AHAD and GG is most prominent. You’ll see when you get there that there are no regular humans. It’s quite difficult to explain, but there’s a giant illusion barrier around the entire Core. On the outside, it’s a gigantic lake. The inside, it’s like an entirely separate world.”

“So that’s what it is. I always thought that a giant lake of that size was weird. No one really questions it.”

“That’s because everyone is born seeing the lake. Besides, regular humans that go too far into the Core die from the atmosphere within it. Like I said before, it’s an entirely different world in there. It’s partially because the size of it is enormous, about ten cities put together. Also, we try preventing regular humans from passing through. It’s just a giant lake from the outside, anyway.”

“That makes sense. So, how do you enter the Core? Or, uh...what do I do to get into it?”

“You’re already qualified, just like everyone else in this room. Entering the Core can be said to be hard or easy. You just have to be a Mutated Gifted or under a certain age at A or S rank to enter your first time. For A rank, it’s sixteen years or younger. For S rank, it’s twenty years or younger. Anything above S rank has already been inside the Core, so it doesn’t matter for them.”

At this moment, Rose spoke up:

“But I’m twenty-two and an A rank.”

“You’re right. However, you’re also a Mutated Gifted.”

“What?”

“You haven’t noticed it yet, but your energy has traces of Kyte’s black light. Those traces will get stronger and stronger until it reaches a point of significance. At that moment, you will become a true Mutated Gifted. Especially now that Kyte has apparently gained an enormous amount of that black light, your mutation process should quicken.”

“Something like that is possible?” Kyte asked.

“Of course. There are some items in this world that have special properties. When used correctly, they give enormous amounts of potential energy. However, a Gifted’s energy is different from the energy from these items, so sometimes a mutation occurs. Unfortunately, there’s not a lot of these special items. They only form within areas that hold large amounts of natural energy given off by the-...Well, all of you will be briefed on the main objective in the Core once you get there. Kyte, that’s why Mr. Wake came here. I found a small area that has a significant amount of these items, which is a rarity. That’s why I was gone for a while. I was busying clearing the place out.”

“I see. So, that means that the Core has these items as well?”

“That’s correct. However, AHAD and GG have already cleaned out the ones on the surface. I don’t want to say anymore, it’s Core Law to keep whatever the Core does a secret from Outer Sectors. GG Law in Outer Sectors is quite lenient, but in the Core, GG Law is absolute.”

“So, when do we go?”

“The closest date to send Gifted is three weeks away. You guys can prepare to depart. It may seem sudden, but I had already decided to input your information within the database. Also, Kyte, I know you definitely need time to adjust to your new power, so these three weeks is a good time period to do that. Don’t forget, the Core is a very dangerous place. It is a place where neither AHAD nor GG hold back. Competition there is also quite intense, because the potential rewards from missions and other things are significant to your power. That’s all for now. Kyte, I’ll let you use the arena to train. I’ll notify the construction workers that you’re using it.”

“-Oh, thanks. That helps a lot. I definitely need the space.”

“Alright. You guys can go. Akina and Azali, you two stay behind.”

The two of them were a bit confused, but nonetheless they stayed. Kyte, Rose, and Shadow left the room.

“I’ll see you two later. I promised Light and Jol I would walk around with them. Also, there’s a buffet dinner tomorrow night.”

“A dinner?” Kyte asked.

“Yea. There’s always a buffet dinner after the tournaments are over. Everyone goes, mostly because there’s a lot...a lot of free food. And, it’s all really, really good food. So, you guys should go.”

“Sure, free stuff is always welcome.”

“Alright then. See ya.”

After Shadow quickly left, Kyte and Rose were left. Rose slightly increased her grip around Kyte’s arm, and Kyte inwardly sighed. Due to that hellish, death-like event he had when he did technically die a physical death, Kyte’s mentality changed. It wasn’t a significant change. Rather, how he viewed the world and himself had slightly changed.

Creating a path for himself with his own power, that’s the way Kyte wants to proceed. However, not everything he wants can be achieved with just that. Although his resolve has been strengthened, his feeling of companionship had strangely not changed. Maybe it had increased, Kyte honestly doesn’t know. It’s only been several minutes since he woke up. He doesn’t mind having friends, just as long as they were able to take care of themselves for the most part. All of a sudden, Kyte got slightly confused at what he wanted. Close friendships or push others away?

Kyte silently laughed to himself. Of course he wants friends. To Kyte, there’s a clear difference between loneliness and solitude. Just because he likes being alone doesn’t mean he likes to feel lonely. Or, to be around people that make him feel lonely. Although he hasn’t had that feeling since he graduated high school, he was still some-what anxious.

Aside from relationships with others, Kyte hardened his heart against the normal morals and apparent moral obligations placed upon him for having power. He didn’t care about normal people, why should he? Just because they’re living humans that have friends and family doesn’t make them any different from anything else. Animals have friends and family too. Some animals even have large ranges of emotions while others don’t have as much. Everything feels pain, why are humans different? Because they have a higher intelligence? Get real. Kyte no longer cares about these things.

The higher up the ladder of power you go, the less you care about the things beneath you. This also applies to other intelligent races that are far, far more advanced than humans. Those races only care about their own survival, why should they care about a tiny speck inhabited by ants in the vast cosmos? They don’t. Going along this thinking, Kyte doesn’t even consider himself fully human or human at all anymore.

His body was reformed by a black light that escaped cracks in reality, his skeleton system is basically a heavenly material from an entirely different universe, and even his soul is filled with foreign energy that is not apparently supposed to be in his universe. The only thing left of Kyte that is actually human is his mind and memories. If Kyte was human, would he be able to create spatial distortions with an unknown, mysterious energy? Kyte definitely doesn’t think so.

At that note, Kyte just remembered. He had broken through into the seventh stage. However, it wasn’t a breakthrough with the Bloodrage Technique. Kyte had created his own path, so the path of the Bloodrage Sect was no longer his to walk on. Although he can still use the Bloodrage skills, he wouldn’t be using the Bloodrage abilities as his main focus. His new, main focus is the black light that seems to be endlessly flowing within him.