Level 1 to Infinity: My Bloodline Is the Ultimate Cheat!

Morzan carried Ethan like a shadow following the ancient will, the two of them tearing through the void until they emerged in a world drowned in absolute darkness.

"So this is where it's been," Morzan said casually as he set Ethan down. "I've been searching for over a year and still couldn't find it. Quite the elusive one, aren't you?"

From within the sphere of shadow, a voice, sharp with disdain, echoed back. "Without my key, you could search for a hundred years and still never find it."

Morzan's lips curled into a faint, knowing smile as he fixed his gaze on the orb. "Oh? And now that we're here, tell me—do you still serve a purpose?"

The orb, nothing more than a lingering will, trembled violently. Ethan's eyes widened. 'Is this guy really about to cut ties? Not bad though. Even if there's only a fragment of power left in this thing, it would still be a potent boost.'

"Relax," Morzan chuckled, his tone light. "You're just like your master—no sense of humor."

Ethan felt that familiar pang of disappointment again, while the will of the Spirit Realm let out a silent sigh of relief, almost imperceptible in the oppressive dark.

And then, a voice broke the silence. Weary. Fading. "Is… that… you…?"

"Still alive, old man!" Morzan's eyes gleamed as though he could see through the pitch-black veil itself. Ethan tried to follow his gaze, but his senses were utterly useless here.

A dismissive snort came from the unseen depths. Then silence again. Morzan only smiled and chose not to press further.

Without sparing the will another glance, he guided Ethan through the suffocating void. Ethan had no idea what lay around them, until—

A pinprick of light appeared in the distance. In this smothering black world, it burned like a beacon. In the blink of an eye, Morzan brought Ethan right before it and then stopped.

"Go on. This part is yours," Morzan said, halting some distance away.

"What is it?" Ethan whispered, his throat tight.

"You'll know once you reach it."

Driven by curiosity, Ethan staggered forward. Every step made his battered body scream, every bone aching as though it might splinter. Yet he pressed on until he finally stood before the source of the light.

A stone. Roughly his own size. Glowing with an otherworldly brilliance.

Ethan circled it slowly. 'Looks like a rock. Just… glowing. Did Morzan really drag me here all for this?' His confusion only grew.

Still, almost without thinking, he reached out his hand. The moment his fingertips brushed the stone, something surged into him, spreading from his touch through every nerve and vein. The world around him warped. The light vanished. The darkness dissolved.

The stone was gone.

In its place stood a towering skeleton, its entire frame glowing with shifting, multicolored light.

Ethan stumbled back, heart pounding. Anyone would, no matter how brave.

"You've finally arrived," the skeleton said. Its empty sockets flared with twin flames of many colors, yet its voice was surprisingly calm, almost gentle, so at odds with its terrifying form.

"Who… who are you?" Ethan asked, eyes darting around. Beneath his feet swirled pale mist, and all around him, colossal mountains floated in the void like islands in the sky. The sight struck him speechless. It looked like the Celestial Realm spoken of in legends.

"My name is Jared," the skeleton answered, its jaw stretching into what could only be called a grin. It seemed to smile, though the sight alone sent a shiver crawling down Ethan's spine.

"Where is this place?" Ethan asked.

"Inside the stone you touched," Jared replied softly. "Everything you see is an illusion, yet it reflects the realm many search their entire lives for… the Divine Realm."

The Divine Realm? Ethan's breath caught as he looked around again. Even if it was only an echo, the sight was breathtaking.

"This is not the true Divine Realm," Jared continued, his voice heavy with a sorrow that seemed older than the mountains themselves. "It is only where I once lived, a fragment of my will left behind. The real Divine Realm is vast beyond measure… but now…" He let the words trail into silence.

Ethan, caught between awe and yearning, imagined bringing those he cared about here. A place where they could live without fear, without struggle. One day, with the Shatterstar mech, traversing the stars and reaching such realms might not be a dream.

"Earlier you said I'd finally arrived. What did you mean? Did you know I was coming?" Ethan asked.

"Of course," Jared replied. "The moment that little one outside appeared, I knew the one I was waiting for had come."

Ethan almost choked. That little one? He suspected Morzan had lived longer than nations, yet Jared dismissed him as if he were a child.

"Then why wait for me?" Ethan pressed.

"The reason is simple," Jared said. "Because you carry the Vessel."

Ethan sighed inwardly. Here we go again. Do you really need to rub it in? I get it—I'm a 'Vessel.'

"Of course, that is what later generations called it. In my time, it had a much greater name."

"What name?" Ethan asked, despite himself.

"The Primal Divine Body." Jared's voice grew solemn, almost reverent.

Ethan's eyes widened. The name itself carried weight, a sense of something both ancient and powerful.

"But the problem," Jared said, "lies in those very words—Primal Divine."

"Why?" Ethan asked, his excitement dimming.

"Primal is the origin of all things. All returns to Primal. It is the natural vessel for all that exists…" Jared's explanation grew long and winding, like a sage rambling about philosophy that no one had asked to hear.

"Alright, stop, stop," Ethan cut him off with a wave of his hand. "You're saying the name sounds impressive but the body itself is still useless, right?"

"Yes… and no," Jared answered.

Ethan nearly rolled his eyes at the "yes," but the "no" caught him, a spark of hope flickering back. Surely this ancient thing hadn't been waiting for him just to insult him.

"Then tell me directly," Ethan said, his patience thinning. "Why were you waiting for me?"

"To give you something." Jared's voice hardened, steady as iron.

"What?" Ethan asked, curiosity reigniting.

The skeleton did not answer. Instead, the flames in its sockets drifted free, swirling through the air. Ethan instinctively stepped back, but they didn't come for him. They gathered beside Jared, forming a blurred, humanoid shape without features.

Then, with a simple wave of its hand, Jared's skeletal body broke apart into a beam of light and shot straight toward Ethan.

His body screamed in agony. Every nerve seared. He tried to resist, tried even to call upon his Druid transformation, but the pain overwhelmed him. He could do nothing but brace as the light consumed him.