Primordial Lust System

Shhhhhhh! Aurelian inhaled sharply, feeling his chest light up in resplendence, his talent stirring deep within him. The air around him buzzed softly, shimmering like water at the onset of unseen power. Before he could grasp all that was unfolding, sizzling sounds echoed before him, and with them, magnificent blades came into view, hovering before him.

Only this time, they were far different from before. Their surfaces glowed with a light laced in black and grey, shimmering with an otherworldly glow. Their edges were serrated, giving off a menacing aura, with bluish wisps dissipating from them, creating a surreal sight.

As they hovered before him, something deep inside clicked. Their connection to him was far stronger than ever, their description flowing into his mind:

(Illusion and reality, life and death—all supreme concepts merged into illusory death. With your will as the conduit, summon blades that hover between illusion and reality, becoming soul-severing blades. They absorb the souls of the fallen to grow stronger while imbuing you with the power to see beyond the physical, into the metaphysical for a short while, and granting the power to alter it. Your foes shall be your fuel, your death your rebirth. The battlefield your haven.)

"Go forth!" he willed, his eyes widening. "Let's see what you can really do!"

His words had barely left his lips before the twenty or so blades tore through the air, their forms streaking with a grey hue before flickering in front of the first wave of beasts.

Only what happened next was beyond his expectations. As if they had a mind of their own, their forms streaked across the grey wolves, grazing across their surfaces, drawing lines of blood before moving on and leaving him wide open.

Have they grown sentient? he mused, his obsidian eyes fixed on the still-charging wave of beasts. Curiosity welled up inside him. He was about to continue his brutal assault to figure out what was wrong with the blades, but the faint buzz from them held him back. Something far greater was at play, something he couldn't yet grasp. The distance between him and the wolves shrank fast, impact was seconds away.

"Huh?" Seraphina blinked, staring wide-eyed, her lips twitching. "Quit playing around and finish them already!" she muttered under her breath. Even with his impeccable combat ability, if the beasts overwhelmed him with sheer numbers, he would have a rough time. But more importantly, why were the blades he conjured only scratching their surfaces?

"Fine, I'll do it myself..." Her words stuck in her throat as she froze, her eyes glimmering with a deep emerald sheen. She felt something that should have been impossible.

"Soul power? But it... can't be... how?" she whispered, her gaze piercing far beyond the physical, staring into the souls of the beasts. Her eyes widened in horror.

"It's diminishing? But...?" Multiple questions flooded her mind, and before long, her doubts were answered.

The blades that had swiped through the first wave, and part of the dire wolves left each beast with faint bloody marks. Then it all unfolded.

The blades lit up in splendiferous light, and like beacons, the charging beasts suddenly froze in place. Their bodies lit with an enchanting grey glow before coalescing into balls of energy.

Then came the true terror of the blades. The wisps shot forth into the blades, and as they did, the beasts all collapsed to the ground, lifeless.

<Ding! The host has slain a Level 14 Grey Wolf! 1400 dungeon points awarded!>

<Ding! The host has slain a Level 15 Grey Wolf! 1500 dungeon points awarded!>

<Ding! The host has slain a Level 13 Grey Wolf! 1300 dungeon points awarded!>

<Ding! The host has slain a Level 17 Grey Wolf! 1700 dungeon points awarded!>

<Ding! The host has slain a Level 16 Grey Wolf! 1600 dungeon points awarded!>

<Ding! The host has slain a Level 18 Dire Wolf! 1800 dungeon points awarded!>

<Ding! The host has slain a Level 19 Dire Wolf! 1900 dungeon points awarded!>

Multiple notifications flared across his vision, but he ignored them, staring instead at the carnage before him, processing everything.

"So they really do sever the souls of foes, but they need contact first. That's why they grazed the beasts." Streams of information flowed through him as he reviewed the battle in his mind. His brows arched as he tried syncing his thoughts with the blades, and then his mind was blown apart.

Feelings of joy rushed through him, overloading his body with bliss. His brows furrowed, his eyes snapping open as he looked at the blades. A thought confirmed itself:

"So you really are sentient," he whispered. He couldn't establish direct communication, but he felt a connection linking their emotions. He could sense their joy.

As he should, because as the wisps flowed into them, a mystical change unfolded. Their surfaces glinted with ethereal light, and slowly, prominent changes began to take shape.

Their one-metre lengths expanded, their widths widened, and the energy they radiated multiplied. Cracks spread across their surfaces, causing his brows to furrow, but their emotional link reassured him. A smile cracked across his lips as realization dawned.

"They're evolving!" he rasped, watching the cracks light up. Pieces of energy dissipated from them as their final forms unfolded.

Now fully devilish blades, their surfaces glowed with a pitch-black light, shedding the grey. Their lengths extended to two metres, serrated edges glowing with a darker, more menacing hue. Corrosive wisps of energy drifted from them, sizzling the air just by their presence.

"Holy... fucking... shit!" Aurelian gasped as information surged through him. His mid S-rank Embers of Illusory Death had fully unlocked. He almost felt as though he was one with it. But that wasn't even the craziest part.

A shit-eating grin crept across his face as the full magnitude of his talent revealed itself.

Reaching out his hand, he breathed, "Merge!"

The blades responded to his will. They overlapped for a second, flickering between reality and illusion, then slowly began merging. Twenty turned to ten, then five, before detonating into spectral energy. With a rippling boom, the energy coalesced into one abominable blade.

It drifted into his hand, its structure shifting and reshaping itself. When it reached his palm, the most beautiful sword came into sight.

Cool against his skin, it pulsed with power. As he grasped it tightly, part of its energy flowed into him, his eyes glowing fully black. His mind cleared, refreshed. His figure shot forward toward the retreating dire wolves.

It was time to unleash the full might of his talent.

Seraphina, on the side, stared wide-eyed, her lips twitching, unsure how to react. To wield soul power at F-rank... it was absurd. But that wasn't what shook her most.

"An evolving talent?" she whispered. Her mischievous demeanor fading, replaced with reverence. Her face grew serious, her eyes burning as she breathed, "The signs are complete. The prophecy has been fulfilled. The chosen has...arisen!"