The day had come.
Lucien Arkanveil sat cross-legged inside the Family's Trait Awakening Hall, a secluded chamber hidden deep within the Arkanveil estate—sealed with ancient runes and invisible to the eyes of the world.
Most people felt a mixture of anxiety and anticipation before awakening their Trait.
Lucien felt neither.
He already knew what Trait he would awaken. After all, his soul wasn't new to this world. This body, this family, even this moment—it was all part of the original novel's plot.
> It'll be the SSS-grade Trait — Adaptation,
he thought, his eyes calm, his heart steady.
In the novel, Lucien Arkanveil had awakened Adaptation, an auxiliary trait that let its wielder slowly adjust to any condition, environment, or even combat style over time.
It was powerful, yes—but its slow nature had become a curse in the original timeline. It made the original Lucien feel inferior, overshadowed by faster, flashier talents. Twisted by jealousy, he had fallen into darkness.
But Lucien wasn't that version. Not anymore.
> With my Proficiency Panel, Adaptation will be a monster.
I'll do what the original Lucien couldn't—turn a support Trait into a god-tier powerhouse.
He opened his eyes, blood-red and gleaming.
The ritual began.
Around him, golden arrays floated into existence—wheels of ancient glyphs, spinning silently in the air, drawn from the foundation of the world itself. The magic was dense, almost suffocating. The very air felt like it had thickened into honey.
Lucien closed his eyes once more and let the runes dive into him.
The glyphs resonated with his soul, pulling at something deep within—the seed of his power, hidden until now.
A tremendous warmth filled his chest.
Then—
> [Trait Acquired: Adaptation (SSS Grade)]
→ Synchronizing with host's physique…
→ Boosted compatibility due to ancient soul…
→ Adaptation success rate: 100%
Lucien felt it immediately.
A shift in his existence.
Like water filling a new vessel, Adaptation poured into him. He could feel his body and mind subtly rewiring themselves, optimizing, aligning. Every breath, every heartbeat became more efficient. Every cell in his body sang with newfound potential.
The expected result.
But then—
The glyphs didn't vanish.
Instead, they shifted.
No, not shifted—warped.
The golden runes cracked, as if a deeper force was pushing through them.
And from within his very soul, a second surge of power exploded—darker, colder, infinitely deeper.
It wasn't golden.
It was black.
Like the void between stars.
The air trembled. The ground beneath him vibrated.
> [Warning: Dual Trait Awakening Detected]
[Trait Acquired: ...…]
[Analyzing second trait…]
Lucien's eyes snapped open.
For the first time in years—he felt a flicker of shock.
> This wasn't supposed to happen… not yet.
He knew the lore.
Only one other in the original novel had awakened two Traits at once.
Ignis Vaelthorn.
The golden child of the Vaelthorn Family.
The one who awakened Sword God and Combat Genius—and who rose like a meteor to challenge the Arkanveils' supremacy.
Yet here he was.
Lucien Arkanveil.
No longer just the villain. No longer bound by fate's chains.
He was rewriting the story, line by line.
Lucien gritted his teeth, locking his mind down. His instincts screamed at him to hide. To conceal. If others found out he had two Traits, it would shake the entire political structure of the great families.
He summoned his will, forged through a lifetime on Earth and honed by this world's brutal training.
He wrapped the second Trait in mental chains, suppressing its aura, suffocating its awakening until it shrank into the depths of his soul—silent, hidden, unseen.
> No one must know.
Not his mother, Aria.
Not his father, Raelam.
Not his siblings.
Not even Aleron—the brother who taught him the blade.
Secrets were power.
And right now, he needed all the power he could hoard.
Just like Tang San hiding his second spirit in Douluo Dalu, Lucien would bury his second Trait deep until the time was right.
> Let them think I'm the same old Lucien. Let them underestimate me.
The light from the runes faded, the thick air thinning back into normalcy. The ancient chamber grew silent once more.
Lucien rose to his feet, brushing invisible dust off his robe. His reflection gleamed back at him from the polished obsidian wall—the same golden hair, the same blood-red eyes.
But something was different.
There was a fire in those eyes now. A quiet certainty.
The Proficiency Panel slid into view at his mental command.
> [Trait 1: Adaptation (SSS Grade) – Active]
[Trait 2: ...… (Hidden)]
He exhaled slowly, letting a faint smile curl his lips.
> Heh... So, what exactly are you, second trait?
The second Trait pulsed faintly in the dark corners of his mind—like a slumbering beast, waiting to be awakened.
He would not force it.
Not yet.
There were preparations to make. Power to gather. Allies to earn. Enemies to crush.
The world would soon learn—
The villain they feared…
The monster they scorned…
Was becoming something far more terrifying.
Lucien turned on his heel and walked out of the Awakening Hall, each step silent yet powerful, his crimson eyes gleaming with the promise of the future.
The storm had not yet arrived.
But its harbinger had awakened.