He was betrayed by the ones who paid him best.
Aisen Rael, master of every blade the old world knew, lay dying in a pool of molten steel.
Alarms screamed overhead. Plasma bolts carved through fractured towers. Artificial skies burned above a planet-wide war.
His twin swords—Ebony Fang and Tempest Bloom—lay cracked beside him.
Systems failed. Blood soaked through reinforced nanoweave.
"All my enemies failed to kill me," he muttered through gritted teeth. "So the ones I protected finished the job instead."
The corner of his mouth twitched.
That cold smirk—unfeeling. Distant.
Just like always.
Then the roof collapsed. Light swallowed everything.
And Aisen died.
System Booting…
[User Detected. Soul Frequency Match: 98.8%]
[Welcome, Aisen Rael.]
[System: "Devourer Sovereign Protocol" initialized.]
[AI Support Interface active. Designation: ISA.]
"Initializing host integration… WARNING: Host vitals incompatible with adult reconfiguration. Reconstructing consciousness for infant vessel."
_"You will not rise through the world."
"You will be born into it."
Somewhere Else…
Warmth.
Pressure.
Muffled voices.
Something cold on his forehead. A heartbeat—near, thunderous.
Aisen blinked, or tried to. His eyelids were heavy. Alien.
He was… alive?
His body didn't respond the way it should. Limbs too small. Muscles uncoordinated.
Then he heard it:
A cry—sharp, wet, and high-pitched.
His.
He was crying.
And not out of fear.
Out of fury.
"ISA… report."
"Vitals stable. Host integration 100%. Soul memory preserved. Body: Neonatal stage – 2 minutes old. Race: Human-Dragon hybrid (Noble-tier variant)."
"Congratulations. You have been reborn."
Aisen didn't cry again.
He stopped the moment he heard that voice.
The Royal Chamber
The room he was born in was vast—wider than most underground compounds he used to breach in his past life.
Silk curtains drifted across spirit-sealed windows. Floating lights hummed gently with embedded mana crystals. Walls hummed faintly with runes of warmth, cleansing, and Qi circulation.
Definitely not a hospital.
Figures in black and gold armor knelt to a woman holding him.
She was beautiful.
And exhausted.
A river of silver hair draped over her shoulder as she looked down at him—not with confusion, but reverence.
"The child doesn't cry," a man whispered in awe.
"He was crying a moment ago."
"No, not like that. I mean he—he stopped. It's like…"
"Like he's watching us."
She cradled him close.
"My son…"
Her voice was soft. Regal. Commanding even in weariness.
"You are of House Val'Thyr. Born of Flame and Wing."
"ISA. Do a scan."
"Designation: Aisen Drakos Val'Thyr. Lineage confirmed: Direct descendant of the Royal House. Latent trait detected: Draconic Mutation (Devourer-Class)."
"Devourer-Class?"
"An ancient bloodline thought extinct. Feared for its ability to consume other spiritual frameworks—techniques, energies, even bloodlines."
Aisen blinked once.
He wasn't just reborn.
He'd been gifted a weapon in his blood.
Or maybe…
A weapon had become him.
Two Weeks Later
Time passed in crawling fragments.
He couldn't walk. Couldn't speak.
But inside, Aisen was busy.
Every time his mother brought him close to Qi-rich incense, he inhaled it like oxygen. Every rune-etched nursemaid that touched him was studied, memorized, categorized.
[Minor spiritual exposure detected.]
[Flame Core: Stage 0 – Embers Forming…]
He was building a foundation long before others would even sense their own.
He didn't just cultivate.
He calculated his cultivation.
"ISA. Give me a report."
[Current Body Age: 16 Days]
[Mental Cognition: Adult Retained – Memory 100% Intact]
[Cultivation Potential: High. Limiter: Physical growth.]
[Current Objective: Awaken Flame Core before 1st year.]
Aisen chuckled inwardly.
Then we'll cheat time.
The Queen and the Fire Oracle
One evening, a woman in bone-white robes visited the Queen.
She entered silently, her veil trailing smoke-like mist. Her staff glowed faintly with starfire.
The Queen gestured to the sleeping child.
"He hasn't cried once in three days."
The Oracle lowered her head.
"His soul is already awake."
The Queen's eyes widened.
"Truly?"
The Oracle nodded once.
"But… it is not alone."
The Queen stiffened.
"Explain."
"I felt an echo within the child. A foreign force. Not malevolent… but calculating. Cold. It speaks only to him."
The Queen stood slowly.
"I will raise him carefully."
"You must," the Oracle said. "He will not simply cultivate. He will ascend like no other."
"No," the Queen said softly, "he will not ascend at all."
"He will rule."
Soul Sea Awakening
Inside Aisen's spiritual core, a flicker of orange fire hovered above still, dark waters.
He sat in the center of his Sea of Consciousness, cross-legged, as his infant body rested in the physical world.
Here, he looked like his past self—tall, lean, scarred. Cloaked in spirit flame.
"It's time."
[Initializing Flame Core Construction…]
[Spiritual Threads aligned – Devourer Structure recognized.]
The flame condensed.
It wasn't clean or pure.
It twisted.
Like a vortex.
Like a hunger.
It didn't burn things.
It absorbed them.
Assimilated them.
[You have awakened your core: Devourer Flame – Variant Class]
[Perk Unlocked: Flame Assimilation – Passive]
[Stage Achieved: Mortal Foundation – Stage 1]
Aisen opened his eyes.
The lantern in the nursery flickered, even though no wind blew.
Outside, a bird collapsed from the air and disintegrated before it hit the ground.
The air around his crib shimmered—distorted for a moment.
"We're online," Aisen whispered in his mind.
"Welcome back, Sovereign," ISA replied.
———————
The Smile of the Servant
The first maid they assigned him was quiet.
Too quiet.
She didn't hum lullabies like the others. Didn't chatter with passing nurses. She simply entered, changed his linens, offered the Queen a practiced smile, and left.
Every step was smooth. Every movement timed. Her eyes never lingered—except once.
When she thought no one was watching, she looked down at Aisen.
And smiled.
It wasn't a kind smile.
It was curious.
Calculated.
Predatory.
She's not palace-born, Aisen thought coldly.
"ISA. Profile her."
[Surface readings suggest Qi suppression cloak. Background scan inconsistent with known royal staff. Identity: Unknown. Surveillance glyph embedded on left shoulder.]
"She's a spy."
"Confirmed."
Aisen stared at her with wide, unblinking infant eyes.
She looked back… and winked.
She knows.
That night, she returned alone.
No attendants. No footsteps.
Just a whisper of fabric and the creak of the nursery door.
She approached his crib with quiet, slow grace.
In her hand: a silver spoon carrying a single drop of glowing fluid.
"ISA. Scan it."
[Substance: Spirit Binder. Suppresses internal core activity for infants under six months.]
"How kind of her to bring me a gift."
He smiled.
A baby's smile.
And just as she leaned forward to feed him—he opened his mouth.
And devoured the drop whole.
No coughing. No choking.
Just a glow that passed over his lips… and vanished.
The maid's eyes widened.
[Substance Absorbed. +1 Spiritual Resistance. New perk: Toxic Conversion unlocked.]
The spoon clattered to the ground.
She took a half-step back.
Aisen's gaze never wavered.
Neither did his smirk.
"Run back to your masters," he whispered in thought. "Tell them I liked the taste."
She fled.
The Queen Notices
The next morning, the Queen noticed the shift.
She sat beside his crib, brushing her hand across his dark hair.
"You're glowing again," she murmured. "Not like yesterday."
She reached for the rune-inscribed feeding bottle—then paused.
Her eyes narrowed at the faint scorch mark on the spoon beside it.
"Who came in here?"
No one answered.
No one had seen her.
No one had heard her.
But the Queen was no fool.
She held her son close and whispered something to the hidden guards outside.
Aisen didn't hear it.
But he saw the runes shimmer in the walls the next night.
She's strengthening the wards.
She's protecting him.
Even though she didn't know what he was becoming.
System Diagnostics
Back inside his mindscape, Aisen sat on the edge of a floating spirit platform, legs crossed, flame coiled beneath him like a loyal beast.
"ISA. Give me the current state."
[Flame Core: Stable – Mortal Foundation Stage 1]
[Cultivation Acceleration: 500% (due to adult cognition, spiritual focus, AI-assisted optimization)]
[New Perk: Toxic Conversion – Allows the host to refine poisons into cultivation materials.]
Aisen smirked.
So even death can feed me.
"Run comparative model. If I had access to more high-purity Qi sources… how fast could I break into Stage 2?"
"Modeling…"
[Projected Time to Stage 2: 13 days (with current exposure). With enhanced source: 3.7 days.]
"And if I devour something again?"
[Projection improves to 2.5 days. Recommend: Seek secondary spiritual catalysts.]
"And they say babies need milk," Aisen mused.
He opened his hand.
A miniature blade of fire formed there—wobbling, unstable, but real.
The first step to recreating the swordplay he once mastered.
He closed his fist.
The flame folded inward and vanished.
Soon.
The Oracle's Return
The fire-veiled woman returned to the Queen's chambers two days later.
Her eyes never drifted toward the crib—but Aisen could feel her attention like a blade behind his neck.
"He's different," she said simply.
"Yes," the Queen replied.
"Already conscious."
"I believe he always was."
The Oracle turned.
"He's not the first gifted child I've seen. But he may be the first who isn't blessed…"
"…but chosen."
The Queen blinked. "Chosen by what?"
The Oracle paused.
Then left without answering.
First Manifestation
That night, the palace's northern spirit crystal cracked.
No one could explain why.
No one except the silent warden posted outside Aisen's room.
He had seen the ripple—just for a second.
Not a fire.
Not a shockwave.
Something darker.
Like a void blinked through the wall and took something with it.
He never reported it.
He simply stood straighter and sharpened his spear.
——————————
The Pulse Begins
Three weeks after his birth, Aisen began cultivating.
Not just passively absorbing Qi like other royal infants.
But deliberately.
With intention.
With calculation.
Inside his spiritual sea, flame rotated in disciplined arcs. Every breath in his real body synced with internal compression and release.
He wasn't waiting for natural flow.
He was directing it.
"ISA. Engage Meridian Overlay Map."
[Overlay Active – 32 Primary Meridians detected. 7 partially formed. 2 blocked.]
Aisen focused.
A strand of soul flame spun upward, threading itself into his body's left lung meridian.
His infant chest rose with the motion.
Then the flame expanded—split—threaded toward his lower dantian.
Pain lanced through his nerves.
He didn't scream.
He didn't even flinch.
He absorbed the feedback.
And turned it inward.
[Partial circuit formed: Meridian Loop I]
[Qi Cycle Initiated – Rate: 12% above baseline.]
"Create a feedback loop," Aisen ordered. "Feed half the return energy into core compression. The other half into sensory refinement."
[Confirmed. Adjustment complete.]
His vision sharpened.
His inner flame doubled in density.
The crystal hanging over his crib vibrated visibly.
From the hallway, the nearby nurse paused.
What was that sound?
She opened the door, peeked in—
And saw the baby smiling up at the ceiling, cooing gently.
She left.
Still unsure if what she'd felt had been real.
Outside the Palace – They Watch
Miles away, deep beneath the Spiraling Caverns, the roots of a slumbering dragon twitched.
Old. Preserved. Long since dead.
And yet—
Its eyes opened briefly.
Only for a second.
A child has kindled the ancient flame.
The blood remembers… again.
Then it went still once more.
But not before a pulse left its heart.
A pulse that whispered toward every old beast, hidden sect, and soul-tempered guardian:
He has returned.
And this time… he walks in flesh.
Aisen's First Technique Attempt
Within his soul sea, Aisen stood barefoot in front of a mirror of dark water.
Behind him, the Echo Guardian—his flame-born spirit construct—coiled like a shadowed wolf with no eyes.
He raised one hand.
The fire shaped itself into a blade.
But this time, it wasn't for show.
"Run the Fangbreaker Spiral prototype code. I want it built into the new form."
[Warning: Incompatible for infant body execution.]
"I'm not executing it. Just simulating."
[Simulation running…]
Twin spirals of fire rotated around the blade's edge. One devoured. The other compressed. Together, they created a self-refining cutting arc.
Unstable. Beautiful.
[Success Rate Upon Maturation: 86%]
[Potential Upgrade: Sovereign Rewrite Core Imprint – compatible with Devourer techniques.]
"Make a note. This becomes my primary blade form."
[Logged.]
Aisen closed his eyes.
I may not be able to lift a sword yet…
But I'll carve my name into the world before I can even walk.
The Queen's Warning
Late one night, Queen Ayelith spoke with a robed elder beneath the moonstone balcony.
They stood in silence for some time before the Queen spoke.
"He doesn't act like the others."
"No, Your Grace," the elder agreed. "He acts… older."
The Queen turned toward the stars.
"I don't care if he's a reincarnated sage, or a vessel for a flame god. He is still my son."
"Yes."
"And if any sect, elder, or noble so much as touches him—"
"—they will not survive to regret it."
She smiled coldly.
Her spirit pressure rose.
And in the city below, a minor sect's heir woke up screaming in his sleep.
Unaware his soul had brushed against hers.
Chapter Closing
In the nursery, Aisen lay awake beneath a sky of glowing spirit glyphs.
The ceiling flickered softly with enchanted light.
He didn't move.
Didn't breathe deeply.
He simply watched the stars from behind eyes too young… and far too old.
"ISA."
"Listening."
"They're afraid already."
"Correct."
"Good."
His flame coiled tighter inside his chest.
"Then let them come."
"Let them try."
"I won't ascend."
"I'll consume the path to the heavens instead."
End of Chapter One