Tears flowed silently.
Yoren lay on the bed, his tears slipping down his cheeks and pooling behind his ears. He could feel the devil's final rage and the goddess' last, unwavering resolve.
Now, he understood—the origin of the Black and White Twins was not as Yuanshan had claid.
The goddess sacrificed herself to save both the world and her beloved. She severed her bond with the devil, hoping to restore peace, to reset everything.
The devil did not fall because of the gods' punishnt—he fell because he shed tears for her.
Black and white twin stones.
A fusion of the goddess' and the devil's tears.
The devil's tears carried no emotion, only boundless fury, driving him to destroy everything.
The goddess' tears held no mories, only her final wish. Whenever the devil's power threatened to consu the world, she would raise her sword and sever everything once more.
Thus, everything would return to the beginning, and the cycle would begin again.
From a modern perspective, it might be difficult to grasp the choices of those ancient beings, whose very existence defied the laws of nature. Their actions seed like myths, unreal and distant.
But who could say with certainty that this existence—their existence—was wrong?
Wiping away his tears, Yoren reached a hand toward the ceiling.
As the successor to the Black and White Twins, he had seen their origins, heard voices lost to ti. And now, he had a feeling that the four ancient stones represented four different histories.
Lisha, Styx, Fire Demon, Black and White Twins—each stone had its own story.
Yoren pushed aside his thoughts and sat up.
The past could not be changed. But now that he had inherited this power, his purpose was clear—to change the events that had already played out before his eyes but had yet to unfold in this world.
His body felt... normal. The abnormalities that had tornted him were gone.
Of course, the Originium crystal embedded in his neck remained—he was still infected.
Now, he needed to find Her and use science and data to fully understand what had changed within him.
When Yoren returned yesterday, Her had imdiately run an ergency blood test.
By early morning, she and her team had already prepared a series of follow-up experints.
Yoren lay on a strange device, allowing them to conduct whatever tests they deed necessary.
Three hours later.
After undergoing countless experints he didn't fully understand, Her approached him and handed him a dagger.
"You know what to do."
Yoren nodded. "Yeah."
Walking into the training room, dagger in hand, he pressed the blade against his palm and made a clean cut without hesitation.
Black veins streaked through his left eye, but this ti, the corruption didn't spread to his pupil—it was halted by the intricate black pattern encircling it.
Yoren felt sothing stir within him, a force rising in his left hand. But unlike before, this power didn't rampage through his body. It lay dormant, waiting for his command.
The Black and White Twins' mutation had always been triggered by pain, but now, he could control it. The power remained on standby, requiring Originium as fuel—or his own body as the cost—to unleash its full potential.
A chanical arm extended from the wall, holding an Originium shard.
Yoren reached for it. The mont he touched it, the power within him ca alive, surging through his body.
A white cylinder rose from the floor.
Her, watching through the observation window, gave him a nod.
Transferring the Originium's energy from his left hand to his right, Yoren clenched his fist and struck the cylinder with full force.
Bang!
Evening.
After dinner, Yoren lay sprawled on his bed, chewing on a piece of bubblegum that Ifrit had given him earlier that day.
Turtle had returned his scarf, and now it lay folded neatly beside his pillow.
He puffed out his cheeks and blew a massive bubble.
Pop!
The gum burst, leaving a sticky ss on his face.
Unfazed, he licked the candy off and resud chewing absentmindedly.
Sothing was wrong.
Sothing was definitely wrong.
The next day.
Her took Yoren back to the lab for another round of tests, similar to the ones from the previous day.
In the training room, he once again drew on his dark power and struck the cylinder.
This ti, he shouted, "Serious Fist, hi!"
Bang!
His punch landed.
Then, he tossed the Originium aside and walked out, visibly dejected.
Ten minutes later, he sat next to Her, staring at the screen in confusion.
"Her, is this my current strength data?"
"That's right."
No.: 020-SP
Somatic cell fusion rate with Originium: 12%
Blood Originium crystal density: 0.48u/L
State of abnormal substances: Stable
Physical function test level: A2
Individual strength: 512
Physiological tolerance: 107
Somatic cell activity: 384
Originium Technique Adaptability: Unknown
Originium energy conversion rate: 424
Yoren stroked his chin, deep in thought.
His individual strength after the mutation was 512.
Wasn't that almost identical to his data from a month ago, when he first arrived at Rhine Life?
Now he understood what had been bothering him since he returned.
His strength had decreased.
He pointed at the screen and turned to Her.
"Doctor, please explain. I'm a little lost here."
Her adjusted her glasses. "After analyzing yesterday's and today's data, we've confird a significant decline in your power levels. Essentially, your strength has reverted to its previous state."
"Why?"
"This isn't a bad thing. In fact, it's the reason your body didn't tear itself apart. Your endurance hasn't increased—instead, your overwhelming power was reset to zero. But that doesn't an nothing has changed. Your energy is now far more stable. We also discovered sothing new."
Yoren perked up. "What did you find?"
"A new substance has appeared in your body, alongside the usual cell-destroying compounds. This substance enhances your self-recovery. However, its effects are subtle and difficult to detect with the naked eye."
Yoren examined his hand.
The cut from yesterday had already scabbed over, but today's fresh wound still looked raw.
"Her, I don't get it. Can you summarize my current condition?"
She stood up, a flicker of confidence in her eyes.
"To be honest, I wasn't certain yesterday. But after today's data, I finally understand."
"Go on."
"Your body has undergone a complete transformation—a cycle of destruction and rebirth. Over ti, the dark power within you will continue to grow until it threatens your life. When it reaches its limit, another force will intervene, cutting it down and resetting everything back to zero."
This ti, Yoren understood.
The Black and White Twins had turned his body into a world of its own. The black power would grow stronger each day, demanding an outlet. Originium could sustain it—until, eventually, it wouldn't be enough. Then, it would consu him entirely.
But at the final mont, the white power would intervene, severing the black force and restoring balance.
Yoren's expression turned serious.
"Her, you're saying I'll go through this cycle again?"
"That's right."
"How long?"
Her checked the records.
The first recorded transformation occurred exactly thirty days ago.
Yoren exhaled. "A month?"
"Correct. Your power will reach its limit again in thirty days."
Yoren leaned back, hands behind his head.
Now he understood.
He was stuck in an endless cycle.
A cycle that would reset, every month, without fail.
Returning to his room from the underground laboratory, Yoren felt a swirl of emotions.
He wasn't exactly disappointed, nor was he happy.
How could he describe it? It was like finding a wallet on the street, stuffed with crisp banknotes. But instead of spending it all at once, he was allowed to use only one bill on the first day, two on the second, and so on. By the 30th day, however, he had to pay back everything he spent—with interest.
Then, just as he hit rock bottom, the wallet would refill itself, and the cycle would start all over again.
It seed repetitive, but each cycle carried subtle changes—so small they were barely noticeable.
This periodic fluctuation of power was the reason Yoren felt a little dejected.
To be honest, this situation complicated things.
If a fight broke out, he couldn't rely on a consistent level of strength. If he had solid intel, he could at least gauge his options: run if he was weaker, fight if he was stronger. That was basic survival instinct.
But for him, things weren't so simple.
Just because he couldn't defeat soone today didn't an he wouldn't be able to in a few days. Likewise, just because he could crush an opponent now didn't an he could do it again in a week.
Every 30 days, he went from being the strongest to the weakest.
In this unpredictable world, the only thing he could control was his own choices. But life was full of coincidences. Reality wasn't a perfectly scheduled martial arts tournant—his enemies wouldn't wait for him to be at full strength before making their move.
June 1st, Rhine Life Science Experintal Base No. 4.
A week had passed since Yoren had last hit the critical threshold. In other words, today marked the seventh day of his second cycle.
Sitting in his room, he pulled out a dagger and made a shallow cut on his finger.
He could now precisely control the flow of dark power. While activating it still required a wound, he could now decide whether to continue drawing it out or not.
Drip.
Blood trickled onto the table.
One drop.
Two drops.
Three drops.
Yoren watched the slow drip, silently counting in his mind.
Drip.
On the seventh drop, the bleeding stopped on its own.
Not only was his strength gradually increasing again, but his body's self-recovery ability was improving as well. However, it wasn't anything significant. Compared to the effectiveness of dical treatnts and Originium Arts, his healing ability was like carrying around a tiny Band-Aid.
Her had explained it.
The white light within him—the one capable of dispelling everything—would only erge at the final mont of the 30th day. In other words, it didn't appear in response to physical injury, but rather when the dark power reached its absolute limit.
His current self-healing ability was likely just a lingering effect of that white power.
His physical endurance hadn't improved much, either. A fatal wound would still kill him.
Morning.
Yoren sat on a bench in the first-floor lobby, staring at the ceiling. Over the past month, this had beco his go-to way of passing the ti.
Her had told him that his oripathy had stabilized. Though the infection rate was high, its progression had been controlled.
All the data they could gather from him had already been collected. If he wanted, he could leave Rhine Life.
Of course, if he chose to stay, no one would stop him.
At that mont, he spotted Snowsant hopping down the stairs.
"Turtle, get a cup of coffee."
"Oh."
A mont later, she returned with two cups. She handed one to Yoren and started sipping from the other.
Crossing his legs, Yoren took a slow sip before looking at her with a serious expression.
"Turtle, let ask you sothing."
"Sure."
"Am I handso?"
"So handso."
Yoren nodded in satisfaction. "You're a smart kid. You always tell the truth."
Snowsant tilted her head. "Actually, I didn't think you were handso before. But after seeing you bald, I changed my mind."
Yoren coughed awkwardly. "Ahem, well, appearance is fleeting. What matters is the heart."
"Mhm."
Putting aside the joke, a hint of lancholy crept into Yoren's voice.
"Turtle, do you want to leave this place? I an, together."
She blinked at him. "Big Windmill, are you feeling better?"
"Almost."
"Well... there's food and drinks here, but sothing about this place feels off."
"Yeah."
Snowsant smiled. "But where would we go? Are we going to find Vina? I'm fine with either. If you want to leave, we'll leave together. If you want to stay, I'll stay with you, hehe."
Yoren kept his face calm, but deep inside, he was so moved he could cry.
With a friend like this, what more could he ask for?
Afternoon.
Her called Yoren to the lab.
Since childhood, Yoren had always believed himself to be incredibly handso. In his mind, he was the best-looking guy around, so much so that he didn't care about anyone else's opinion.
But after the baldness incident a few days ago, he had beco... sensitive.
Sitting down, he spoke before Her could say a word.
"Her, am I handso?"
"Handso."
She didn't even look at him. Her tone was utterly perfunctory.
Yoren pressed on. "And if I lost my hair? Would I still be as handso as I am now?"
He stared at her with anticipation.
Her ignored him completely. Instead, she perford a few quick operations on a nearby console before turning around.
"It's done."
Then, she handed him what looked like a bracelet.
Yoren examined it. The device resembled a watch, made from highly durable material, with a small translucent screen in the center.
"What is this?"
Her took a sip of her coffee. "A critical tir. I designed it specifically for you. It has a few other useful functions as well."
"Huh?"
"Try it on."
Yoren fastened the bracelet to his left wrist. The mont it made contact, he felt a strong suction, as if it were latching onto him like an octopus.
A mont later, data appeared on the small screen.
[Somatic Cell and Originium Fusion Rate: 12%]
[Blood Originium Crystal Density: 0.48u/L]
[Individual Strength: 81]
[Critical Cycle: 2]
[Countdown to Next Cycle: 23 Days]
Yoren exhaled, staring at the numbers.
The countdown had begun again.
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