The moment the energy was released, the absolute backlash hit Ace like a physical blow.
His knees buckled. He slammed his left hand into the cracked concrete to keep from collapsing entirely. He was completely drained, every muscle fiber in his body trembling violently. Without his spiritual energy to sustain it, the Valley of the Endless Forge shattered like glass. The ash, the heat haze, and the infinite iron tombstones faded instantly, revealing the cold, ruined reality of the 50th-floor rooftop.
The giant cleaver in his right hand vibrated, losing its physical integrity before dissipating into harmless motes of golden light, returning to his soul matrix.
He was stripped of the heavy crimson leather jacket and the wide, patterned hakama that had manifested from his awakened core it began to dissolve into spiritual particles. He was left kneeling on the roof, his chest heaving, reverted to his base armor grid: the reinforced red Demon Hunter's Coat layered over the white and black Arcane Shihakusho.
He forced his head up, a weak, breathless laugh escaping his lips as the system notifications cascaded across his HUD in direct, objective readouts.
[ACTIVE SOULBIND COMPLETE]
Primary: Zangetsu [Shikai]
Integration Level: [Absolute]
Energy Source: [SPIRITUAL ENERGY]
Unlocked Traits:
Moon-Cutter Specialization: Absolute mastery of heavy-cleaver combat and rhythmic spiritual strikes.Soul-Tempered Edge: Physical durability is obsolete. Sharpness scales directly with the Host's Reishi output.Getsuga Tensho: Host may condense Reishi into the blade, releasing a crescent-shaped wave of kinetic destruction.
[ACTIVE SOULBIND COMPLETE]
Ranged: [Ebony & Ivory]
Integration Level: [Absolute]
Energy Source: [DEMONIC ENERGY]
Unlocked Traits:
Gunslinger Specialization: Absolute mastery of dual-wielding ballistics and mid-air juggling.Infinite Arsenal: Physical ammunition is obsolete. Chambers generates rounds using Demonic Energy.Charged Shot: Host may channel and compress Demonic Energy for explosive-yield payloads.
[CORE SLOT AVAILABLE]
Secondary: [EMPTY]
Integration Level: N/A
Energy Source: [Empty]
Unlocked Traits:
[Awaiting Relic Integration...][Awaiting Soulbind...]
[ ARSENAL CLASS EQUIPMENT BOUND]
[SOUL-GARB AWAKENED: INCOMPLETE]
Armor Set:The Moon Hunter's Fanged Regalia
Evolution Requirements:
Final Soulbound Weapon: [REQUIRED]
Defensive Relic: [REQUIRED]
Head:[REQUIRED]
Component The Blood-Moon Devil's Slaying-Duster
A floor-length crimson leather duster saturated in Demonic Energy. It acts as a spiritual radiator, venting excess heat as a predatory red mist and providing high-tier impact resistance.
The Slaying-Moon's Tattered Reaper-Silks
Traditional black-and-white robes forged from high-density Reishi. These silks allow the Host to ignore the laws of physics, moving with the silent, haunting weight of a ghost.
The Style-Master's Shadow-Spine Harness
An integrated tactical rig fused into the duster. Features magnetic-induction anchor points at the small of the back for near-instantaneous manifestation and storage of heavy-caliber relics.
The Shinigami's Crimson Nexus: Key to the Infinite Paradox-Gate
The Absolute Command Link. A crimson gemstone that stabilizes the friction between Reishi and Demonic Energy, serving as the master key to the Endless Forge.
Traits (Passive)Wraith-Step Phantom-Flicker
Passively enhances base movement velocity and reaction time by 30%. While in motion, Ace leaves behind a fading trail of high-pressure Reishi. Any direct physical strike aimed at his wake has a chance to trigger a miniature kinetic burst, staggering the attacker and providing Ace with a momentary speed-burst for repositioning
Sovereign's Obsidian-Skin Aegis
The Regalia's fibers are passively reinforced with Hierro-level density, granting a constant 20% reduction to incoming physical and spiritual damage. Direct impacts are automatically converted into trace amounts of kinetic energy and stored within the Crimson Nexus, slowly building a "Hate Meter" that passively increases the damage of the next offensive ability used.
Crescent-Dance Macabre
Passively negates 50% of the perceived physical weight and air-drag of any equipped weaponry. Increases weapon-handling speed and attack frequency by 25%. Consecutive successful strikes build a "Rhythmic Resonance" that allows Ace to transition between different weapon types with zero recovery frames.
Hado-Trigger Requiem: Bullet-Verse
All ballistic projectiles are passively imbued with a layer of spiritual heat, dealing persistent "Soul-Burn" damage over time. Critical hits on targets have a high probability of triggering a miniature Binding Field (Hadō #4) or a small Incendiary Flare (Hadō #31) on impact, disrupting enemy movements without requiring active channeling.
[THREAT ELIMINATION LOG] Target: Tier 1 Avian-Variant (x28) | Yield: +28 UP Target: Tier 3 Alpha Avian-Variant (x1) | Yield: +25 UP
[ACCOUNT STATUS] Balance: 56 UP
The blinding blue afterimage of the Moon-Piercing Fang was still burned into his retinas by the time Ace finally made it back down to the 40th floor. He pushed through the heavy fire doors of the stairwell, his boots dragging heavily on the carpet.
His safe room was the sprawling Costume Department Storage Area. He navigated the fortified perimeter he had built—a massive, maze-like barricade of cubicle partitions and heavy oak tables. He dragged a heavy office chair into the narrow gap to seal his entrance, effectively locking down his temporary Armory.
The physical toll of manifesting a domain and firing off a Getsuga Tensho was staggering. He stumbled forward, barely making it to a heavy oak table in the center of the room. He slammed his hands flat onto the wood, leaning his entire weight forward just to keep himself upright.
The glow of the system UI pulsed patiently in his vision.
[ACCOUNT STATUS] Current Balance: 56 UP
Ace stared at the glowing text, his breathing ragged. He didn't need to physically touch the weapons anymore; he could feel them anchored inside the Crimson Amulet at his neck. Even with his spiritual reserves running on fumes, the call to his weapons was now a hardwired instinct.
With a mere thought—Flash—the heavyweight of the customized grips materialized perfectly in his palms directly from his soul. He twirled the massive pistols around his trigger fingers in a dizzying, synchronized blur before snapping them downward.
Click. Click. They sat perfectly.
He paused, his hand hovering over his left hip. He felt only the fabric of his shihakusho. There was no weight there. The Tensa Zangetsu replica was gone, consumed by the forge to become his true soul-relic.
Empty, he thought, a tired smirk tugging at his lips. I guess I don't need the extra weight on my belt anymore. Its shiki form is too large
He reached over his shoulder and felt the cold, skeletal crossguard of Rebellion. The demonic claymore was still there, a solid, physical presence that hadn't been pulled into the matrix. Unlike the others, it remained a burden of real steel.
He thought about the twin pistols seated in his holsters. He could have dismissed them back into his soul to save energy, but he decided against it.
"Stay out for a while," he whispered. "I like knowing you're there."
The "Cosplay" phase of this nightmare was officially over. He was the weapon now.
The weight of that realization, combined with the last drop of adrenaline, finally caused his system to crash. His eyes rolled back. Ace dropped like a rock, collapsing face-first onto the hard floor of the Armory, entirely unconscious before he even hit the ground.