The ceiling was low, cracked, and dripping with the scent of mold and memory.
Lin Kai opened his eyes.
The wood above him creaked softly as if the house itself was surprised he'd returned. The mattress beneath him was thin, the air damp, and his chest ached like it had been hollowed and filled with stone.
For a moment, he said nothing.
Then, a sharp gasp.
A maid standing by the doorway dropped the bowl in her hands. Porridge splattered against the floor.
> "Y-Young Master…?!"
She spun on her heel and darted from the room, shouting down the narrow hallway.
> "Old Master! Young Master Lin Kai is awake!"
Kaelen—now within this strange body—sat upright slowly, bones creaking in protest. He glanced down at his hands, pale and trembling. Weak. Starved. Unfamiliar.
But his eyes… his eyes were calm.
Steps approached.
The door flung open.
**Lin Wei**, elder brother, stormed in with storm-colored robes and sharper eyes. His face twisted into a grin that held no warmth.
> "You really survived that jump?"
He stepped closer, voice dropping to a venomous whisper.
> "Next time, try tying a rock to your neck."
Kaelen didn't respond.
Not to the insult. Not to the presence.
His gaze simply drifted past him—toward the second figure who entered behind.
**Lin Zhen.** The father.
A man of rigid posture, graying hair tied tightly back, and eyes as hard as the jade seal he wore on his belt. He looked at the boy in the bed. And then…
He walked away.
Not a word. Not a glance.
Just the turning of a back that had long ago forgotten its child.
> *So this is how they received him,* Kaelen thought.
> *Fascinating.*
Lin Wei scoffed and followed his father out, muttering curses under his breath. The door creaked shut.
Only the maid remained.
She stood awkwardly near the wall, her hands clenched in her dress.
Kaelen turned his eyes toward her.
> "Tell me," he said quietly. "Who am I?"
She flinched as if struck.
> "Y-Young Master…?"
> "I don't remember you. Or this place. Just darkness. Water. Pain."
The words were delivered with careful clarity, but inside, he raged.
In his true form, he could have peeled this world's secrets apart like old scrolls. Soul memory extraction. Linguistic pulse readings. Dimensional resonance.
But here?
No mana circle. No staff. No arcane lexicon.
Only flesh, failure… and silence.
The maid looked stunned, her lips trembling.
> "I… I'm Shen Mei. Your personal maid since you were twelve. You really don't remember?"
He shook his head.
> "Tell me everything, Shen Mei. From the beginning."
She hesitated—then lowered her eyes and began.
> "You're the second son of the Lin family. You were born without a spiritual root. No ability to cultivate, no qi resonance at all. After your testing, things changed. The clan began to ignore you. Your brother… he took your place in the outer sect trials. And the Old Master…"
She glanced toward the door.
> "He stopped calling you his son."
Kaelen listened without a flicker of emotion.
> *No root. No hope. No honor.
> And yet this body pulses beneath the surface like a sealed artifact…*
> *Born for magic. Rejected by qi.*
Shen Mei continued, voice gentler now.
> "You started drinking… fighting… You stopped speaking to anyone but me. I… I always brought your meals, even when others refused."
He nodded once.
> "You've done well."
Her face flushed slightly.
There was a silence—awkward, but not empty.
She knelt to clean the spilled porridge, muttering apologies.
As Kaelen lowered his gaze, his fingers twitched.
A spark. Faint. Fleeting.
Blue light curled across his knuckle—then vanished.
He hid his hand beneath the blanket, lips curling into the faintest smile.
> *Let them think I'm still broken… still hollow.*
> *Let them believe the ashes remain cold.*
He looked out the window at the gray morning beyond.
> *Before long, they'll see what rises from them.*
A low grumble echoed through the quiet room.
Lin Kai blinked, slightly startled, before realizing it was his own stomach protesting its neglect. His expression remained unreadable, but inwardly, Kaelen sighed.
> *"Even if the soul transcends, the body still demands rice."*
Across the room, Shen Mei stirred from where she'd been sitting near the corner, half-dozing with her arms wrapped around her knees. She smiled faintly.
> "You must be hungry. Please wait a moment, Young Master—I'll prepare something."
He nodded silently, and the maid disappeared through the creaking wooden door, footsteps fading into the hallway.
As the room grew still once more, Kaelen let his gaze drift back to the ceiling. His mind wandered.
The word pulsed through him—softly, like an echo from across time.
**Arcane.**
He hadn't thought of it during the confrontation. Or the silence. Or the pain.
But now, in this moment of calm, it emerged—unbidden, and undeniable.
> *"I heard it... before I died."*
Not just during the Gate ritual. He remembered it whispered again when Lin Kai's soul was fading in the river. The voice wasn't his. It wasn't Lin Kai's either.
It belonged to the Codex.
> *"Arcane..."*
He whispered it aloud.
And the air shifted.
> **[ SYSTEM DETECTED – ARCANE CODEX ONLINE ]**
A translucent pane appeared before his eyes—weightless, flickering like soft blue flame. Kaelen flinched, instinctively twisting out of bed. His foot hit the side table. The bowl fell with a loud **clatter**.
Footsteps.
The door slammed open again. Shen Mei stood in the frame, eyes wide.
> "Young Master?! What happened?"
Kaelen, now crouching beside the bed, let out a slow breath.
> "Nothing. I slipped."
A moment of pause. She hesitated, clearly unsure, then nodded.
> "I'll… I'll finish your meal."
She vanished once again.
Kaelen stood slowly, exhaled, and whispered again.
> "Arcane."
The window reappeared.
---
### **[ CHARACTER ]**
* **Name:** Lin Kai (Kaelen)
* **Race:** Human Male
* **Age:** 16
* **Spiritual Root:** None
* **Cultivation Realm:** None (Mortal)
* **Sorcerer Layer:** None
---
### **[ PSYCHIC ]**
* Ultimate Mage Psychic
* Rootless Psychic
---
### **[ TECHNIQUE ]**
None
---
### **[ STATS ]**
* Strength: 2
* Defense: 1
* Speed: 1
* Mana: 10
* Qi: 0
---
Kaelen's eyes narrowed.
> *"No qi, of course. But ten points of mana… in a world like this? That's a fire waiting to burn."*
He tapped on the unfamiliar label: **Rootless Psychic**.
---
### **[ Rootless Psychic ]**
A rare condition caused by **Manavine Sickness**—a soul-born disease originating in the Arcane world.
This illness suppresses the development of qi channels and spiritual roots.
If cured, the host will develop an **Ultimate Spiritual Root**, compatible with all elemental attributes.
---
Kaelen let out a small breath of laughter.
> *"Manavine Sickness? This world calls it a curse.
> I cured it before I was twelve."*
> *"They shunned him for this? They buried a divine vessel in the mud."*
He turned to the next tab—**[ QUESTS ]**.
---
### **[ MAIN QUEST ] – Combine Cultivation with Sorcery: Stage 1**
1. Reach Qi Refinement Realm Level 9 – X
2. Reach 1st Circle of Magic – X
**Rewards:**
* Pill for Foundation Establishment
* +1 Spell Memory Slot
* +5 Strength / +5 Defense / +5 Speed
* +10 Mana / +10 Qi
---
### **[ SIDE QUESTS ]**
None
---
### **[ DAILY QUEST ] – Mana Meridian Awakening**
* Meditate for 10 minutes
* Open 1 of the 96 mana meridians
**Reward:** +1 Mana
---
Kaelen's finger hovered over the last quest for a moment.
> *"So that's how we'll do it. Meridian by meridian. Thread by thread. Until the Codex sings again."*
---
The door creaked open once more. Shen Mei entered, balancing a wooden tray.
> "Here you go, Young Master. It's still warm."
Kaelen accepted it with a nod and began eating without complaint.
For the first time in two lives, he tasted porridge made without magic or servants. Just warmth and effort.
He finished quickly and set the bowl aside.
> "Where's the road to the nearest medical store?"
Shen Mei blinked.
> "Medical… store?"
> "Yes."
He paused, then offered a rare smirk.
> "Don't worry. I don't plan to jump again."
She blushed faintly, eyes dropping.
> "Then… let me take you."
Kaelen stood, spine straighter than it had been in years. The morning light outside had turned gold.
> *"Then let's begin."*