NOVEL NEXT Chapter 356 : 2nd Awakening
[ Few hours ago ]
The elven king had granted Alex a private training room—on his request.
A place isolated from all eyes and all disturbances.
It was time.
To finally drink and test the Essence of the World he had obtained from the World Tree.
The heavy doors sealed behind him with a muted thud as Alex stepped inside.
The room was vast and quiet, faintly illuminated by glowing runes carved into the walls. The air itself felt ancient… alive. Each breath carried a faint smell of sap, stone, and mana that had seeped into the chamber over centuries of use.
He moved to the center.
Slowly, he folded his knees and sat on the cold floor, steadying his breath. His heartbeat slowed, his mind sharpening. There was no sound but the soft hum of the runes and the distant echo of his own pulse.
From his spatial ring, he withdrew a small vial.
Within it shimmered a liquid like condensed starlight—an ever‑shifting blend of emerald and gold, pulsing as if it possessed a heartbeat of its own. Tiny motes of light swam inside it like stars trapped in sap.
Alex stared at it.
Then, inside his mind, he spoke.
'Partner… you ready?'
A familiar voice echoed in his head, calm yet edged with anticipation.
[For you, always, Host. Let's see if we can truly break another curse with this.]
Alex exhaled.
Without hesitation—
He uncorked the vial and gulped down the liquid in a single motion.
The Essence vanished down his throat.
The moment it did—
The world inside him exploded.
The moment it touched his tongue, warmth flooded his body.
Not heat.
Life.
His lungs felt as if they were breathing for the first time. His skin tingled as if kissed by sunlight filtering through leaves. His senses expanded, every sound sharper, every scent richer. Even the faint scratching of dust shifting on stone reached his ears.
'So this is what it means to be close to nature…'
For a brief moment, peace reigned.
Then the agony came.
It did not explode.
It grew.
The essence sank into his bloodstream, and every cell screamed as if being rewritten. Roots of light spread through his veins, colliding with the abyssal power already within him, trying to wrap around it and tame it.
But this time, Alex did not panic.
Unlike the first time when he tried breaking the curses, this time was different. In the recent months he had been through enough pain that pain didn't faze him much at all.
He had burned.
He had been beaten until he was bloodied.
He had felt his bones crushed and his spirit stretched thin.
This pain was fierce, but familiar.
His jaw clenched.
His nails dug into the floor.
System prompts flooded his vision.
[ Attempting to use the Essence of the World Tree as a catalyst ]
[ Initiating Assimilation Protocol ]
[ Catalyst Identified: Essence of the World Tree ]
[ Beginning Curse-Break Sequence ]
The energy surged inward, guided by unseen laws.
The system attempted to pierce the second seal embedded in his physique.
[ Attempting to Break Physique Curse 2 of 3… Failed ]
[ Recalibrating… ]
[ Attempting to Break Physique Curse 2 of 3… Failed ]
[ Essence Output Increased ]
[ Attempting to Break Physique Curse 2 of 3… Failed ]
Alex trembled.
Veins of light spread beneath his skin.
Lightning crackled from his body, arcing across the room, scorching the runes on the walls. The stone floor beneath him blackened in branching patterns.
He felt as if his muscles were being crushed and reforged at the same time.
'Don't stop…'
[ Attempting to Break Physique Curse 2 of 3… ]
The seal resisted, ancient and absolute.
Then something shifted.
The World Tree's essence intertwined with the Primordial Genesis Physique, acting as a bridge.
A fracture appeared.
[ Attempting to Break Physique Curse 2 of 3… Success ]
A shockwave exploded outward.
Alex screamed as his body felt like it was being torn apart from the inside.
Lightning erupted violently, wrapping him in arcs of silver and emerald.
His muscles compressed.
Not shrinking.
Condensing.
Each fiber collapsed inward, becoming denser, heavier, richer with energy. It was as though his body was being rewritten according to a crueler, more efficient blueprint.
[ Physique Update ]
Physique: Primordial Genesis of Creation and Destruction
Status: Partially Awakened
Curse 2 of 3: Broken
[ Ability Unlocked: Cosmic Muscle Density ]
[ Synchronization Level: 30 Percent ]
[ Warning: Further compression is dangerous at current rank; as you grow, the synchronization level will increase ]
Alex's body reshaped itself.
His bones rang like tempered steel.
Every movement felt weighted with impossible strength.
Power coiled beneath his skin like a sleeping dragon.
At the same time, a different transformation unfolded.
The World Tree's essence bloomed outward instead of clashing.
As if each element in existence was resonating with him.
As if the world answered.
[ Title Acquired: Lord of Elements ]
[ All Elemental Affinities Granted ]
New lines of data emerged.
[ New Physique Abilities have been detected ]
5. Law Sovereign Vessel (Unlocked)
Allows the body to house multiple elemental and conceptual laws without conflict.
6. Genesis Metabolism (Locked)
Converts any form of energy into nourishment for growth.
7. Reality Anchor Frame (Locked)
Prevents spatial collapse and dimensional erosion of the body.
8. Adaptive Overdrive [Unlocked]
Temporarily accelerates the Supreme Physique of Adaptation during extreme danger, forcing rapid evolution within moments.
But the storm did not end there.
The remaining surge of World Tree essence did not fade. Instead, it was drawn deeper—past flesh, past bones, past the physique itself.
Toward the Stellar Genesis bloodline.
A pressure formed around Alex's heart, as if a second sun were being challenged by a foreign sky.
System prompts reappeared.
[ Residual Catalyst Detected ]
[ Target Shift: Stellar Genesis Bloodline ]
[ Attempting to Break Bloodline Curse 2 of 3… ]
Alex's heartbeat thundered.
For an instant, the world dimmed.
Within him, the core of his bloodline flared like a miniature sun restrained by ancient seals. The World Tree essence rushed toward it, radiant with life and growth, attempting to bind, harmonize, and pierce.
But the bloodline rejected it.
Not violently.
Dismissively.
The stellar core radiated a pressure that made Alex cough blood.
The World Tree essence trembled.
It was vast.
Ancient.
But it was still not enough.
The Stellar Genesis bloodline was born from the cosmos.
The two forces touched—
And the bridge collapsed.
[ Attempting to Break Bloodline Curse 2 of 3… Failed ]
[ Reason: Catalyst Insufficient ]
[ World-Grade Essence Unable to resonate with the Bloodline ]
[ Bloodline Seal Integrity: Stable ]
A sharp pain stabbed through Alex's chest.
He coughed, as blood stained his lips.
'So even this… isn't enough for that… but at least I managed to break the one on my physique, huh.'
The remaining World Tree essence dispersed harmlessly through his body, no longer able to climb higher.
The system concluded.
[ Bloodline Curse Remains Intact ]
[ Requirement: A set of High-Grade Blood-Resonant Elixirs capable of harmonizing with the cursed bloodline ]
Silence returned.
Smoke rose faintly from Alex's skin. Errant sparks of lightning flickered once, then died.
One final message appeared.
[ Essence Threading Unlocked ]
----
After a while....
Alex stood up.
The moment his feet touched the ground, the training room trembled.
An invisible tide surged outward from his body—not pressure… but presence.
It was an aura that carried divinity itself.
Golden‑white light seeped from his skin in soft waves, mingled with faint emerald threads, as if the World Tree's breath now lived within him. The air bent. Mana resonated with him.
Even the runes etched into the walls dimmed in reverence, as though the room itself acknowledged a higher order.
He flexed his fingers once.
The simple motion sent tiny cracks racing through the floor.
The doors creaked open.
Elaria and Jacob stood outside.
The instant their eyes fell upon him—
Their bodies moved before their minds could.
Their knees hit the floor.
Not in fear.
Not in command.
But in instinct.
Every cell in their being screamed the same truth:
This existence stands above you.
Alex blinked, startled—
Then suddenly, his gaze twisted upward.
Beyond the ceiling.
Beyond the palace.
Beyond the world itself.
The sky unraveled in his vision.
A colossal, tree‑like structure—woven of light, fate, and law—stood across the heavens. Its branches stretched over continents, roots sinking into the fabric of reality itself.
And then…
It began to dissipate.
Threads of destiny loosened.
Alex murmured softly,
"I'd really love to see my status window right now…"
But his gaze shifted.
Flowing.
Expanding.
His perception washed across mountains, seas, forests, and cities—until it reached Avaloria.
There.
A colossal presence coiled around the capital.
The Dragon King.
Alex's eyes narrowed slightly.
"So he's already there…"
A faint exhale escaped him.
"But I don't have time for that now."
'Guess I'll check it out later.'
He turned his head slightly, feeling distant ripples of battle—the clash of giants and undead, the roar of dragons, the flare of familiar auras struggling to hold the line.
Faces flashed through his mind: Alicia, Reynard, Ethan, Alden, Azrael. For a heartbeat, the weight of responsibility tugged at him, heavier than any curse.
The wind howled beneath his feet.
The world dropped.
With a single step—
Alex vanished.
The air shattered behind him as he pierced the sky, becoming a blur of light streaking toward Avaloria.
Only a fading echo remained in the sky.
As Elaria and jacob only started in silence.
As jacob said " He promised to take me with him. Looks like he forgot "
As Elaria could only stared at him stunned as she said "Seriously that's what you're worried about, Right now. That guy just went supernova infront of us."