Supreme Hunter of Beautiful Souls-Chapter 396: He Who Devours Chaos

When Kael fell into that core, the world ceased to exist instantly—and yet, everything passed through him at the same time.

There was no pain from the impact.

There was no sound.

There wasn't even the sensation of falling.

There were only… memories.

First came the weight of rebirth.

The raw awareness that he had already died once—in another world, under other laws—and that this second chance had never been a gift. It was a curse disguised as an opportunity. He remembered the exact moment he opened his eyes in that new existence, weak, small, ignorant of what he would become.

Then came the transformation.

The absurd growth.

The impossible speed.

The accumulation of power that should never fit in a single being.

He remembered every broken limit, every boundary crossed with violence and determination. Every time the world seemed to say "enough"—and he answered "no." He remembered the moment he stopped being just someone trying to survive… and became something the world needed to react to contain.

And then came the peak.

The pinnacle of his strength.

The point where there was no one above him in that realm.

It was there that the cruelest thought formed.

For a brief, cruel, and absolutely lucid instant, Kael understood:

He was nothing.

No matter how much he had grown, how much he had become feared, respected, or hated—before the true vastness of that world, the forces that existed below, above, and beyond visible reality, he was just a speck of dust suspended in nothingness.

And that truth echoed.

It echoed endlessly.

Because now… nothing remained but darkness.

There was no body.

There was no pain.

There was no weight.

He tried to move his fingers—there were no fingers.

He tried to breathe—there were no lungs.

He tried to feel his own heart—there was no heart.

Kael no longer existed as matter.

He was only mind.

Thought adrift in an absolute void.

"Damn fucking goddess…" The voice emerged without sound, without throat, without air. Only intention.

A curse hurled into nothingness.

Memories kept coming, indifferent to his will.

He remembered the beginning… and realized how much time had passed.

Ten years.

Ten years since reincarnation.

People appeared in his mind like living fragments: faces, voices, laughter, fights. Friendships forged in mud and blood. Loves that made him human when he was already beginning to cease being so. Conquests. Territories. Fear in the eyes of others. Silent respect.

And… brides.

The thought tightened something he no longer had in his chest.

They were safe.

He was sure of it.

When he was attacked, when everything collapsed, they weren't there.

And, for Kael, that was enough.

If that was the end… then at least he wouldn't take anyone with him.

Then something happened.

Something he hadn't felt in a very, very long time.

A presence.

Not divine.

Not physical.

Artificial.

A message emerged from the void, floating before his consciousness like an ancient scar that refused to disappear.

[You died]

Kael stared at those nonexistent words—and, for the first time since falling into the core, he laughed.

He laughed for real.

A dry, tired laugh, laden with irony.

"Now you show up?"

His mind vibrated with contempt.

"After everything… you decide to show your face now?"

The System.

That entity that had guided his first steps, measured his evolution, tallied each death, each absorbed soul… and that had disappeared the moment he had strayed furthest from what could be called a game.

"Leave." The order was simple. Raw. Absolute.

For a moment, there was silence.

Then, another message formed.

[You have lost your rights to the System]

Kael read it.

And laughed even harder.

A low laugh, almost amused.

"Rights?"

He savored the word as an insult.

"What rights? You took those from me a long time ago."

The answer came too quickly.

Too cold.

[Wrong. The System didn't abandon the User. The System was abandoned by the User.]

The laughter ceased.

"Abandoned?" The word came out laden with disbelief and contained anger. "You have the nerve to say that to me… after simply stopping counting everything I killed?"

The memories came like knives.

There was a time when each defeated enemy strengthened his stats. Each absorbed soul was registered, quantified, transformed into measurable growth.

Then… it stopped.

Without warning.

Without explanation.

He continued killing.

Continued absorbing.

Continued getting stronger.

But the System no longer recognized anything.

"You know very well," Kael continued, his mind sharp as a blade, "that soul absorption disappeared from the status quo a long time ago. Everything I consumed simply… vanished."

There was a pause.

Too long for something artificial.

Then, the answer came—not defensive, not aggressive.

Just… factual.

[Wrong. The System continued to function normally.]

Kael narrowed the focus of his consciousness.

However,

[The User chose to tread a path unwilling to depend on the System. Therefore, according to the user's own will, the system was deactivated.]

The void seemed to expand.

Kael remained silent.

For a long time.

Then, slowly, understanding began to form.

Kael remained silent for a long moment, his mind in chaos, agitated between bubbling memories and thoughts. The emptiness around him, now dense and suffocating, seemed to reflect everything he had lived through, everything he had left behind. He no longer knew what to do. Or rather, he did know. He knew that it no longer mattered. His disembodied mind felt like an echo, a solitary entity, wandering through a meaningless existence.

"I am nothing. I never was," Kael murmured, his voice a shadow in his own mind. "I was never anything other than what I myself created, and even then…"

He thought of all the times he had sought strength. He thought of all the times he had rejected any external help. He believed that independence was the only way to survive. He believed he could achieve infinite power, isolated, free from any system that limited his steps.

Now, faced with the immensity of what surrounded him—and in the abyss of his own consciousness—Kael understood the futility of it all. He was not immortal. He was not the center of everything. It was merely a piece in a game far greater than anything he could control.

"Now, it doesn't matter." He chuckled softly, without conviction. "I lost. One way or another… this end was inevitable."

The System's response was swift. The words appeared before him, but this time, with a different tone, almost… hopeful.

[Not all is lost, Kael.]

Kael felt the irritation rise instantly, but his mind calmed before he lost himself in another fit of rage. He was beyond that. That conversation no longer mattered. Nothing mattered. He didn't even know why he was still there, in an endless void, debating with an artificial intelligence he had already abandoned.

"I don't need this now," he murmured, with a tone of profound weariness. "I don't need you."

[You don't understand, Kael.]

The message seemed heavier, more… urgent, as if the System was finally showing its true face.

[You distanced yourself. That's true. You didn't want to depend on me, but now you need to accept something more complete. It's not about strength alone. It's not about endlessly fighting something greater than yourself. You made your choice, but balance requires you to understand that your journey is not complete without the integration of all elements, including this system. You can no longer fight against your own nature.]

Kael felt something inside him stir. Those words struck against his mind, challenging his deepest beliefs, his conceptions of freedom and strength. He had always believed that the only path to true strength was solitude. Independence. There was no room for dependence. But something in that instant, something in the System's words, seemed to question that.

He shook his head, trying to push the thoughts away, but they continued to surface.

"What do you mean by 'accepting the complete system'?" Kael asked, his voice lower than he had imagined. "Isn't it too late for that?"

The System responded quickly, as if it had been expecting the question.

[You've overcome so much on your own, Kael. But there's no denying that the world around you isn't made for an isolated man. The System has its own limits, and so do yours. You distanced yourself, but now, with the chaos of Chaos and the growing strength of the witches, realities collide. You can continue to fight alone, but you'll be just an insignificant speck before the force of the universe. Accept your connection to the System, not as a weakness, but as the only way to secure your path—to ensure that you and everyone around you can continue to exist.]

Kael remained silent, processing the words. He knew what this meant. He knew that accepting the System didn't simply mean gaining more power. It wasn't a simple exchange of forces or levels. It was reconnecting with what he had rejected. It was opening himself to the fact that true strength didn't come from solitary struggle, but from interaction, from the union between what he rejected and what, deep down, he knew he needed.

"So, you're saying that without you... I'll die?" Kael asked, more to himself than to the System. He already knew the answer. But he needed to hear it.

[Yes, Kael. It's not about being strong alone. It never was. Even the greatest warrior needs allies to continue. And you... you've already proven your strength. But the journey is no longer about you. If you truly want to survive, if you want to defeat what comes next... then you need to accept the entirety of the system. No longer as a tool, but as part of your own essence.]

Kael remained silent. Something inside him wanted to resist. He wanted to scream, to fight against it, but the rational part of his mind, the part that knew this could be his last chance, accepted the bitter truth. Power alone wouldn't be enough. The system was no longer a prison. It was a key.

And, in that moment, Kael decided.

"Alright," he said, his voice dark but resolute. "I accept."

The void surrounding his consciousness contracted, as if pressure were being applied to him, forcing him to mold himself to something greater. Kael felt the presence of the System expand, intertwining with his own thoughts and essence. He didn't fully understand what this meant. But something new and dangerous was emerging within him. Something he couldn't control, but that he would have to learn to guide.

And, as he accepted his connection to the System—to its totality—the world around him began to change.

[Initiating Artemis Systems]

[Reconnection achieved]

[You have received System authority, the user has returned to control]

[Unread messages 60403+]

[All undevoured and devoured souls in the absence of the system are being reallocated]

[You gained +300 points in all Statuses due to the Azalith invasion]

[You gained +500 points in all Statuses due to the war in the Elven Kingdom]

[You gained +800 points in all Statuses due to the war in Azalith]

[You gained +1200 points in all Statuses due to the war in Skaldi]

[You obtained the Beautiful Soul of Exelia, Irelia, Amelia, and Sylphie]

[Beautiful Soul: Eva, Elion, Eleonor, Exelia, Irelia, Amelia, and Sylphie]

[Recalculating Existence]

[The Supreme Hunter Title has evolved] [For "Hunting Authority"]

["Hunting Authority" is an authority given by the goddess of the hunt to survive in the cruel world.]

[Current Status: Kael Scarlet]

[STR: 3253]

[VIT: 3260]

[INT: 3240]

[AGI: 3420]

[Sacrificing 4000 Status points to create a new Body molded by Chaos]

[You lost 1000 points in all attributes]

[Creating Body]

Kael felt himself being devoured and expanding at the same time as his body began to form. First his head, then his limbs.

[Divine Body of Celestial Chaos created]

[You have obtained the achievement "He Who Devours Chaos"]

[You have absorbed a lot of Chaos!]

[Ability, Mastery of Chaos created!]

[Welcome back, Kael Scarlet]