Divine-Class Awakening: I Can Steal From Gods!-Chapter 21: After the Breach

The city lights slid past the car window in long bands of white and gold, the reflections stretching across the glass before vanishing into the dark behind them. Dust still clung to Neo’s clothes, ground into the seams and fabric after hours. Even now, with the Breach already behind him, part of him still felt like it was standing in that buried corridor with bone scraping over stone and fire flashing through the smoke.

Richards drove without speaking for a while, one hand resting on the wheel, the other near the gearshift. He gave Neo enough silence to let the fight leave his body a little before finally breaking it.

"How did your first Breach go?"

Neo kept looking out the window. "It wasn’t bad."

Richards glanced at him for a moment. "That sounds like the kind of answer people give when it was."

Neo’s expression barely changed. "You have to pay attention to everything in there. Even people."

Richards did not press right away. The road hummed beneath the car, steady and low, while the lights of the city thickened around them. When he spoke again, his voice was calmer, more measured.

"What happened?"

Neo let the question sit, then asked instead, "What happens if someone dies inside a Breach?"

Richards turned his head slightly, enough to show he understood that was not a random question. "Then they’re recorded as dead in combat, and that’s it. Once someone dies inside a Breach, there’s nothing to bring back. That risk is always there." He looked back at the road. "Though Breaches aren’t even the worst thing this world has."

Neo absorbed that in silence. He had expected something close to that answer, but hearing it said plainly gave the thought harder edges. Nep was gone.

"I made good progress," he said. "I also got a Soul Relic. I want to sell it."

That got more of a reaction.

"A Soul Relic on your first Breach." Richards let out a short breath, something between approval and surprise. "That’s good. Better than good, honestly. If it’s decent quality, it should bring in a solid amount of Creds."

Neo gave a small nod. It was better suited for a mage anyway. Keeping it would do less for him than turning it into something useful, for now at least.

A little later, he asked, "Why is Vivienne so famous? It feels like there are always people around her."

Richards gave him a sideways look. "I told you about her family already. That alone would put attention on her. But this was also her first Breach, and from how it looked outside, she came out as one of the central figures tied to clearing it." He paused, then added, "You were there too, weren’t you? Did you clear it together?"

Neo kept looking at the window. "Something like that."

Richards went quiet again, though this time the silence held a different weight. "That’s... surprising," he said at last. "You went in alone and came out after clearing a Breach with a group. That’s not bad at all." He rested both hands on the wheel for a moment, eyes forward. "It’s good to trust people when you need to. Just don’t make the mistake of doing it with everyone."

Neo did not answer. Coming from Zone 0, he knew too well how people could turn on each other.

Richards seemed to understand that and left it alone.

After a while Neo spoke again. "What about all the others? The hundreds who went in with us."

"They’ll be looking for the exit," Richards said. "Once the core issue of a Breach is resolved, whether that means killing the boss or solving whatever is holding it together, the Soul Beasts stop appearing. After that, it’s just a matter of getting out." He tapped a finger lightly against the steering wheel. "Clearing one that fast is unusual, though. In a single day, no less. There must’ve been quite a few strong people in there."

Neo kept listening.

"That means a lot of eyes will turn in that direction now," Richards continued. "Families, factions, private groups, government branches. Everyone pays attention when new talent appears."

"How do families scout that talent?" Neo asked.

"There are different ways. The government can sell information. Some families have their own channels. And plenty of people go to them directly, hoping to be accepted." Richards shrugged. "They offer a lot if they see value in you. Better education. Better resources. Better protection." He glanced at Neo once more. "Interested?"

"No."

Richards’ mouth twitched faintly. "I figured."

"I don’t like being tied to anyone."

That time Richards did not respond with a joke or an observation. He simply nodded once, as if that answer fit too well with what he had already seen.

The road curved, taking them farther from the Breach zone and deeper into the living part of the city. Neo watched passing buildings, signs, headlights, people still moving outside as if the day had been ordinary.

Then Richards said, almost casually, "Now that I think about it, you don’t have a phone, do you?"

Neo looked at him. "No. I never had the money for one."

Richards was quiet for half a second. "Then we’ll have to fix that, I forgot to think about that the other day, my bad, but you also could have said something about it."

Neo said nothing.

Richards glanced at him again, this time with something quieter in his face. "You did well today, Neo."

The words stirred some strange feeling in him.

They were simple. Even so, they felt unfamiliar in a way that made Neo’s chest tighten for an instant before the feeling faded again. The old man never spoke like that. The last time anyone had said something like that without wanting anything from him was so long ago it barely felt real anymore. A small piece of memory flickered at the edge of his mind, his mother’s voice from years back, soft enough that he almost doubted it.

His expression did not change.

"Tomorrow I want to go out," he said. "I need to sell Soul Relic and see the city."

"Fine." Richards nodded. "We’ll go early. We’ll get you a phone first, then you can go and sell the relic. After that I’ll head to work. You’ll be able to move around without getting lost, and you’ll have my contact."

"Understood."

Neither of them said much after that.

The rest of the drive passed in a quieter mood, the city stretching around them while the Breach receded into the background. But even in the silence, Neo could feel it clearly.

Something inside him had changed.

By the time they reached Richards’ place, the weight of the day had sunk deeper into Neo’s body.

He took a shower as soon as he got inside, letting hot water strip away the dust, the grime, and the stale smell of the Breach. When he stepped out, a towel hung around his waist, his hair still wet, his skin marked by the faint redness and bruising left behind by the fight. He stopped in front of the mirror and looked at himself in silence.

Today was the first time he had killed a person.

The thought stayed there with a strange kind of stillness. Nep had not been a good man, but that meant little. If Neo started counting everyone he disliked, he would never finish. That alone would never have been reason enough. The reason was simpler than that. Nep had tried to control him. Tried to use him. Tried to force a leash around his neck with a smile and a threat. That was different.

Neo had always hated that sort of thing. Being treated like a pawn. Watching people assume they were smarter than him because of where he came from. Seeing the powerful speak about order while using those beneath them like tools meant to break first. The old man had never done that. With him, the terms had always been clear. They used each other and both knew it. Nep had tried something else.

He kept staring at his own reflection.

It still felt strange, less like guilt than distance, as if he were measuring the line he had crossed and finding it already made sense. In the end, the answer came easily. He would never let someone place a hand on him like that and think they could steer his life afterward.

When he finally moved, it was to open his Soul Window.

[Soul-Window]

Name: Neo

Age: 16

Soul Core: Ember

[391/1000 Ember]

Primary Class: Soul Reaver

Rank: Divine

Secondary Classes:

Duskmane Beast - Ascendant

Mastery: Mid

Abilities:

Beast Regeneration - Unlocked

Beast Strength - Unlocked

Soul Reader - Legendary

Mastery: Low

Abilities:

Read Touch: Through physical contact, you can view the Soul Window of an individual. - Unlocked

Mental Read: You can view the Soul Window of an individual without physical contact. - More mastery required.

True Reader: You can read the thoughts and emotions of an individual that is weaker than you. - More mastery required.

Soul Relics:

Hollow Saint Vestments - Epic Rank

Type: Soul Armor

High affinity with mana circulation and spell stability

Increases spell control

Increases resistance against spiritual interference

Best suited for mage type classes

Sword - Common

Neo read the armor’s description once, then let the window linger in front of him.

’I’ll sell it tomorrow.’