Author's Note
Before anything else, I want to thank you for choosing to read my book. That means a lot to me, and I hope the story manages to touch you in some way. But I need to be honest: you might find some mistakes in the English translation. I sincerely apologize for that, in case something doesn't sound natural or causes any confusion.
Portuguese is my first language, and English... well, let's say it's not my strong suit. I'm not very proficient or fluent in it, and that limited me quite a bit. To bring this story to you, I used artificial intelligence to help with the translation. It was the best resource I had at hand, but I know it's not perfect and some slips might have gotten through.
Writing this book in Portuguese was something I did with a lot of care and dedication. I wanted to share this journey with readers in other languages, and the English translation was my attempt to make that happen. Even if the result has its flaws, my wish is that the spirit of the story still reaches you.
So, I ask for a bit of patience and understanding. If you can look past the possible mistakes, I hope you find something special in the pages I wrote. Thank you for being here and for giving my voice a chance!
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Ding!
I was torn from my daydreams in an instant, as if time itself had splintered into shards. That sound—"Ding."—sliced through the stillness, yanking me back to the present with an almost insolent jolt. It was a familiar, relentless chime, one that never dulled its knack for grating on my nerves, no matter how often it rang.
I'm not the sort to bare my soul. Perhaps I've grown into a reflection of the chill I've claimed as my sanctuary. Over the years, I've mastered the art of tucking away my emotions—rage, joy, sorrow—into a recess so deep within that even I struggle to reach them. I've forged a wall of ice around myself, and letting a crack show in that armor is a gamble I refuse to take.
"You have unread messages," came the voice—flat, hollow, more a breath from the abyss than a living sound.
"Show me," I answered, my tone as mechanical as ever, though my words carried a hidden weight, a command laced with mysteries I couldn't yet unravel.
Ding.
With that reverberation, a spectral screen shimmered into being amid the shadows, displaying words stark and precise, stripped of flourish:
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Ding!
Achievement Unlocked: Crafted a Primordial Technique
Reward:
➤ 3 Supreme Weapon Talent Tickets
➤ 3 Supreme Tickets for Enhancing Weapons and Techniques
➤ 10 Supreme Tickets for Awakening Talents
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I studied the message with care, my expression a mask of stone. Why does this stir me so? To birth a Primordial Technique wasn't merely a feat—it was like stepping into a forbidden domain, beyond the grasp of the world's laws. Yet the words before me were frigid, as if this were nothing more than a dry entry in some cosmic ledger I never signed up for.
The rewards were lavish, almost absurdly so, but what truly gnawed at me was the enigma of how it came to be. In fleeting glimpses, I recalled a strange force guiding my hands, molding something I hadn't known could exist—a creation drawn from a shadowed, uncharted well within me.
"How did I manage this?" I murmured, my voice quivering with an emotion I fought to cage. Does this lurking void I've always felt know me better than I know myself?
As the system droned on with its lifeless updates, each line felt like a seal on a pact between the man I was and the one I'd become. A faint sigh escaped me—soft, yet heavy with meaning—and I claimed the rewards without a flicker of hesitation.
Still, a question clung to me, echoing through the labyrinth of my mind: How, in a life so dim and unremarkable, did I transcend the mundane? Perhaps the answer lay in that abyss staring back at me, brimming with truths I'd rather not face.
In that moment, as the "Ding" pierced the air once more, I realized it wasn't just noise. It was a summons, a call to tread a path where every step unveiled a new riddle—and I, cloaked in my frosty shell, could no longer turn away.
Even the flood of tickets—rare treasures by any measure—didn't rattle my calm. I accepted them, of course. Who wouldn't be swayed by such bounty? But I never let the thrill sweep me off my feet. Control isn't pride; it's the bedrock of my being. My inner stillness is the prize I cherish most.
Ding.
The sound returned, deeper, more pressing, as if tugging me from the darkness that cradled me. A new message glowed on the screen, cold against the storm brewing inside:
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Ding!
Achievement Unlocked: Uncovered and Shattered the Soul Essence of Three Chaos Sovereigns
Reward:
➤ Two Mysterious Twin Eggs
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Soul essence of Chaos Sovereigns. The memory struck like a bolt from the heavens. It wasn't just vanquishing mighty foes—I'd unraveled the very threads of chaos itself. Those souls, once fierce and fearsome, crumbled to ash on the wind, leaving a silence that still hummed in my bones. Two twin eggs… a puzzle offered for an impossible deed.
Before I could draw breath, the system pressed on, relentless:
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Ding!
Achievement Unlocked: Reforged Your Body, Evolved Your Species, Advanced Your Lineage, and Forged a Physique of Level (???)
Reward:
➤ 10 Supreme Wish Tickets
➤ 1 Supreme Level Mystery Box
➤ 10 Supreme Species Evolution Tickets
➤ 10 Lineage Evolution Tickets
➤ 10 Supreme Talent Tickets
➤ 1,000 Congenital Talent Evolution Tickets
➤ 10,000 Cosmic Evolution Tickets
➤ 100,000 Chaos Level Evolution Tickets
➤ …
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Every word, every figure, roared that I'd shed all I once was. The system couldn't even name what I'd become.
Then, another notice snapped me from my daze:
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Ding!
Achievement Unlocked: Unlocked the Divine Brain Gate
Reward:
➤ Mirrored Domain
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I inhaled deeply, steadying myself as I pondered what it meant to cast my essence into so vague a mirror. Does this Mirrored Domain reflect what I bury within? Or could it be something more?
The messages rolled on:
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Ding!
Achievement Unlocked: Erected True Supreme Foundations
Reward:
➤ 100 Supreme Foundation Upgrade Tickets (4 at 81-Turn, the rest at 9-Turn)
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I'd raised pillars beyond dreaming, so unshakable and alien that legends dared not whisper of them. Now they were mine—a silent ode to daring the impossible. "This doesn't change me," I breathed, anchoring myself in my own steadfastness.
And the sound pressed on:
Ding.
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Ding!
Achievement Unlocked: Formed a Spiritual Sea of Supreme Compression Spanning 10 Kilometers
Reward:
➤ Supreme Herb Garden (In Development)
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In my mind's eye, I saw an ocean of radiance and power, boundless and pulsing, far grander than I'd dared imagine. What I thought a mere pond unveiled itself as a universe of energy, defying all I'd known. I'd crossed every limit…
At last, a final achievement landed with a weight all its own:
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Ding!
Achievement Unlocked: Forged a Supreme Innate Sword for the First Time
Reward:
➤ Eternal Celestial Fire
➤ The Supreme Intent of Your Heart Etched into Your Entire Being
➤ Your Natal Sword Evolved into a Weapon Mutable to Any Form, Yet Ever a Sword at Its Core
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The glow of the Eternal Celestial Fire warmed not just my hands but something buried deep within. This sword, now fused with my spirit, transcended mere craft—it was a living testament to all I'd bled for, an undying echo of what forged me. "Every scar, every triumph, now breathes in me," I thought, embracing the fate I bore.
Surrounded by wealth and power few could fathom, I stood unchanged. Mastery of self, serenity, unwavering resolve—these were my true riches. Amid such gains, my greatest victory was ruling my own heart.
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Ding!
Achievement Unlocked: Subdued an Innate Storage Treasure Housing a Separate Dimension of True Chaos Level
Reward:
➤ A Small Lake of Creation Water
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The "Creation Water"… its name whispered of the dawn of all things. So vast was its promise that a shiver ran through me, as if it stirred some ancient root in my soul.
The messages flowed on, a torrent of deeds and rewards, each outshining the last. I received them with measured grace, like a wanderer pacing a long road. This was but a chapter of the path I'd carved. What I've wrought is vast, yet what lies ahead looms greater still.
When the system fell silent, a chill certainty took root within me. The world beyond had no inkling of what was taking shape.
Sinking into a stillness that stretched forever, I wore the same distant mask. Inside, my thoughts churned without end. So many twists in so fleeting a span—it defied belief. Yet, unchosen as each step was, they were mine, sculpted in moments when my mind roamed free.
"If someone asked how I know all this, I'd have no answer," I mused. "It's not taught; it's something that's always been here, buried in the marrow of who I am."
My life was a lone pilgrimage, a void draped in quiet, where freedom dwelled—and weighed heavy, like a shadowed cloak. "Freedom," I whispered. "Few grasp the price of walking solitary. Only then do you taste its truest sting."
Snapping back, I opened my eyes to the tundra sprawled before me—my cage and my haven. Without the orbs of light, it morphed into new shapes, and the statues rooted there began to draw me in.
To the left, a woman carved with near-divine elegance, her flawless lines mocking reality. "She's not of this realm," I thought, curiosity flickering.
At the center, a youth with gentle features, his stone eyes glinting with hidden truths. "His stare cuts through time," I observed, hushed.
To the right, a rugged old man, six-armed, claws poised to rend. "An azura, maybe?" I wondered, recalling tales of ruin-hungry beasts.
The tundra thrummed with thick mystery. A faint, sourceless light traced the statues and the frozen waste encircling me. Each breath bore an unseen load, as if history yearned to speak. The wind, sharp and unyielding, lashed my skin, carrying whispers of voices long lost to the ages.