Revenge: A Path of Destruction
Chapter 143: NOVA 2 (Flashback)

Chapter 143: NOVA 2 (Flashback)

Alex lay on his back, eyes half-lidded, body still recovering from the pain. The voice that echoed through his mind caught him off guard.

It wasn’t Nyxara’s.

Thanks to their bond, she could speak telepathically—but she hadn’t done so since regaining her normal voice. That in itself was strange. Beasts weren’t supposed to speak until they reached Grandmaster rank, yet here she was, a Queen rank beast.

The world was changing. Or maybe it always had been, and he was starting to notice.

But this voice... it wasn’t like hers at all.

It lacked emotion.

Precise. Polished. Mechanical.

That’s when the thought hit him.

The system.

He was right.

"My name is NOVA," the voice said.

"I am the AI integrated into your system interface—the core component of all system functions. I act as your assistant, managing and executing commands per your instructions. I am here to help you navigate and utilize the system efficiently. Do you have any questions, sir?"

Alex didn’t respond right away.

He lay there in silence, his eyes scanning the translucent interface still floating above him, as he processed everything.

Nyxara’s breathing was steady beside him, soft and slow. The tigress was sound asleep. He looked at her and couldn’t help but smile; since the operation, she had been trying to hide her tiredness, but he could see that everything had begun to take a toll. As soon as the smile appeared, however, it faded away, as if it were the most natural thing.

If she can speak to me telepathically, he thought, then I should be able to speak back to NOVA the same way.

He gave it a try.

"NOVA... give me a rundown. The system components. How it works. How it operates."

There was a pause.

Then her voice returned—still smooth, still calculated.

"Apologies, sir. I am restricted from revealing the full functionality of the system. Your mother has designated that information to be shared personally."

Alex’s brow twitched slightly.

"However," NOVA continued, "I can provide a brief overview.

The system is similar to those found in fictional novels, except unlike in stories, it does not assign missions or quests to help you gain strength.

Instead, it serves as an informational aid, capable of identifying entities, reading basic statistics, scanning objects, and analyzing combat data.

However, please note: Stat readings are not always accurate, especially against targets with high concealment, higher energy, or unique constitutions."

Alex said nothing.

He didn’t need to.

If he was being honest with himself, he was a little disappointed.

Some part of him had hoped—naively—that this would be like the systems he used to see about when reading novels. Missions. Powerups. Dramatic level-ups. A clear path forward.

But who was he kidding?

Reality didn’t play out like fiction. It never had.

Still... this was more than he ever expected.

Far more.

The interface flickered in front of him again, asking if he wanted to proceed.

He blinked, then closed it with a thought. The blue screen faded into nothing.

The strain was growing.

His head throbbed. His muscles were beginning to twitch again.

If he didn’t rest soon, the damage could set deeper. Even the system wouldn’t be able to stop that.

So he closed his eyes.

And for the first time in what felt like weeks, Alex allowed himself to breathe.

Deep. Slow.

Final.

He was asleep in less than two minutes—the kind of sleep that pulled him under like ocean tides.

----

As Alex sank further into the depths of unconsciousness, the room enveloped him in an almost suffocating stillness, broken only by the gentle, rhythmic rise and fall of his chest. The air was thick, almost tangible, with a quiet urgency.

Beside him, Nyxara shifted ever so slightly; her breath was a whisper, soft and velvet-like, as her enormous form curled protectively around him. The contours of her body created a cocoon of warmth and safety, yet she remained in slumber, oblivious to the world outside their intimate sanctuary.

That was when it began.

A faint shimmer danced across Alex’s skin, almost imperceptible at first, like moonlight flickering through water ripples. Then, slowly, the pale hue deepened—his entire body taking on a soft, bluish tone, as though his blood had turned to liquid sapphire beneath the surface.

If Alex had been awake, he would have heard it, NOVA’s voice saying.

["Host is currently unconscious," NOVA’s voice echoed softly in the silence, its tone clinical and calm.

"Due to the extreme pain involved in systemic integration, the host has been placed into a forced sleep state. All nerve clusters relevant to the restructuring process have been safely paralyzed. Commencing physical adaptation phase."]

Then came the glow.

Not from the surface of his skin, but within.

A soft luminescence pulsed from his muscles, bones, and connective tissues as the nanobots—awakened. Having spread throughout his body during the earlier operation, they now moved in synchronized purpose.

They weren’t rebuilding him.

They were redefining him.

From the inside out, every fiber of his being was being adjusted—restructured for optimal efficiency. Muscles were compacted, re-threaded, and realigned to generate more explosive output with less energy. Ligaments and tendons were reinforced. Cellular waste was vaporized at the molecular level.

The nanobots worked silently and relentlessly, using their internal map of human biology, cross-referenced with Alex’s unique genetic signature and elemental affinity, to optimize his body far beyond natural limits.

It wasn’t a mutation.

It wasn’t even an enhancement.

It was a reforging.

What had once been the body of a 17-year-old was slowly evolving into something else—something more precise, durable, and compatible with the energy that now resided within him.

The bluish glow intensified momentarily, then dimmed, pulsing like a heart.

Once.

Twice.

Then it steadied, as if the system had finished its first stage.

"Phase One: Complete," NOVA whispered in his mind, though he heard nothing.

"Structural optimization at 43%. Rest cycles must continue uninterrupted to reach full conversion."

Outside, the moonlight spilled through the bedroom window.

Nyxara stirred again, her feline senses picking up the unnatural hum in the air—but sensing

no threat, she nuzzled closer and settled.

And Alex remained still.

Sleeping through the quiet storm raging inside his flesh.