Codex Null: Simulation Through Madness

[23 years old, you finally completed the assimilation of the refined blood drop.]

[Just a week later, you also broke through to the next stage — Six Gates.]

[There was no time to linger on the achievement, much less consolidate your strength though. Your soul, which had never ceased its relentless healing, was now on the brink of full recovery — and that did not escape notice.]

[Nearly everyone around you, even Hilda, voiced concern. They could sense the unnatural speed of your soul's restoration, see how little damage remained, and urged you to stop before it was too late. But, uou ignored them all.]

'Even if he wanted to, there's nothing he could do to halt the effects of the Regeneration Talent though,' Noel thought, shaking his head.

[One month later, you began refining your organs, starting with your lungs — the First Gate.]

[Amid the monotony of training, a subtle shift occurred. Serah began visiting more frequently, her company a welcome contrast to the constant cautions of others. She alone refrained from nagging you about your soul, and in fact seemed almost eager to see what the end result would be.]

[It was during one of those visits, as Serah was teasing you over how long your soul was taking to fully mend, that an unexpected guest arrived — Elsa Ravelli.]

[She wasted no time with small talk. Her question was blunt: had you used the Bloodline Source, and if not, would you sell it to her?]

[Instead of answering verbally, you simply drew the blood drop from your storage ring and held it out before her, telling her to name her price.]

So, consuming it even when he could now take the help of a witch to perform a proper ritual for this bloodline, is still dangerous?

Noel couldn't help but ponder as he read this part.

He already knew that a bloodline was bound not only to the body but also to the soul, after all.

Perhaps the him in the simulation had judged that, with his current state, he still wasn't ready to receive another bloodline — and so, choose instead to gain more immediate benefits.

Shaking his head, Noel turned his focus back to the simulation.

[Elsa's gaze moved between Hilda and Serah before settling on you. She finally answered — she could offer resources to accelerate your progress along the Blood Refinement Path.]

[And you haggled over the quantity and specifics for some time before finally striking a deal.]

[Four months later, you were in the midst of training, making steady use of the resources gained from Elsa.]

[But with your soul already teetering on the edge of full recovery, Selena and Lilith pressed the matter — insisting that you go elsewhere so they could be ready to help if something went wrong at that moment.]

[With how earnestly they pleaded — and even Hilda, who normally treated Lilith with open hostility despite her loyalty to you, adding her recommendation — you finally agreed.]

[You followed them to a special dimension, a vast, enclosed space where a massive ritual circle covered almost the entire ground. Faintly glowing sigils ran across it, and various rare items and soul-nourishing resources were placed in neat positions around its edge.]

[The sight made you pause for a moment — the scale of preparation was greater than you expected — but you didn't comment. Instead, you walked to the center, sat down, and closed your eyes, meditating as you waited for the moment to come.]

[One month later, with Selena, Lilith, Hilda, Serah, and several other witches forming a loose circle around you, the moment finally arrived.]

[You could hear it — the faint, almost imperceptible cracks of your soul mending, and your expression changed at once under the sharp pain that came with it.]

[Even with your willpower, it was too much, and before long, your consciousness slipped away.]

[One week later, you woke with a clouded gaze and slowly looked around.]

[With your full memory back, it took only a glance at the surroundings to understand the kind of situation you were in. The preparations — the ones Lilith and Selena had likely spent the last fourteen years arranging — were elaborate, but far from enough to deal with your current condition.]

[And it took only a moment to conclude you were finished.]

[Even then, you didn't lose your composure. While faintly hearing the soft sobbing around you, you turned inward toward your Soul Zone, which you hadn't been able to sense for a long time, and looked at the sealed relic there.]

[The seal was breaking in real time, and your freshly healed soul felt on the verge of shattering again.]

[Instead of panicking, you turned to Selena and calmly told her to activate the ritual, before returning your focus inward and trying to take control of the situation.]

[You felt the immense soul power suddenly pouring toward you, and you seized control of its flow, forcing the torrent into a steady stream aimed at the relic within.]

[You tried to keep the soul power entering the relic at a narrow threshold — just enough to sate it — but as the moments dragged on, that control became harder to maintain.]

[When the relic finally broke free of its seal, it began devouring the soul power within you at a terrifying speed, and your grip slipped entirely.]

[Your soul — the very medium in which all of this was taking place — was quickly being overwhelmed. When it seemed like there was nothing left for you to do, a calm voice spoke beside your ear, "It seems you have reached your limit?"]

[You opened your eyes and looked at the person only a few inches away who had spoken… at Edith, the one you had seen just before closing your eyes during that incident. Your gaze fell, and you remained silent.]

[Edith didn't seem to mind your silence, simply extending her hand toward your back and beginning to help you.]

[Your condition suddenly seemed to stabilize, and you regained control — but that too lasted only for a while. Before long, even with her help, the situation became hopeless.]

[You could feel the relic begin to draw not only your soul power but even your soul itself. And along with the immense pain, your mind began to crumble.]

[Before everything turned dark, you seemed to have heard anguished, pain-filled screams… and then, nothing.]

[You died.]