Tenebrous Wolf
Chapter 114: Flaws

Chapter 114: Flaws

[Aether Fragments: 397/1000]

Klaus summoned the chaos runes to check his progress and smiled.

It was... impressive. He’d started with almost nothing. In just a month, the number had grown significantly. Since descending into the Chaos Realm, he had become stronger, faster and most importantly, more experienced.

At this point, he was likely stronger than most Dreamless Creatures of his rank.

Of course, it was still far too early for him to tear apart those monstrosities with his bare hands.

A bitter truth but one he had to swallow. There were still Hollows out there who could do the same to him with ease, if luck turned against him.

And thanks to the cruel mechanism within Chaos, survival alone wasn’t enough. If he wanted to awaken his dormat soul seed, he had to first make it back to the Living World alive.

’Speaking of spirit cores and dormant abilities...’

Focusing his intent, Klaus manipulated the chaos runes to draw out the information he desired.

Mysticism Ability: [Adaptation]

Mysticism Ability Description: [You can adapt to anything, this includes changes in physicality and spirituality.]

He frowned.

Possessing such a vaguely defined ability filled him with quiet displeasure. It had been three months since his awakening as an Ascendant, and in that time, he had only just begun to grasp the edges of his adaptability.

Then again, perhaps it was a miracle that young Strider had uncovered anything at all. The ambiguity of his mysticism made self-discovery a frustrating endeavor. Still, the old saying echoed in his mind: To gain great power, one must first understand themselves.

And in Klaus’s case, he barely understood anything — about himself or the true nature of his so-called adaptation.

Still, he had managed to deduce a few truths, though he wasn’t particularly proud of how he came to learn them.

The first was his accelerated healing. Compared to an ordinary human or even most Awakened, his body recovered from low to mid-tier injuries at an impressive rate. He discovered this after taking a devastating blow from Teacher Rex, only to watch the damage on his hand mend itself far quicker than expected. Of course, it wasn’t absolute or an omnipotent ability. Just because he could heal didn’t mean he was invincible. If he were sliced in half or decapitated, death would still claim him. Worse yet, his adaptability came at a cost. After each regeneration, his body demanded energy, specifically, calories. Without them, healing stalled.

This was the inherent "defect" of his mysticism ability.

Every awakened individual acquired a unique power — yet inevitably, a corresponding flaw manifested as a defect, specific to that power. The severity of these restrictions varied widely: for some, the flaw was inconsequential; for others, it could be brutal or even lethally ironic, while occasionally the defect bordered on the absurd.

For instance, one person might gain the ability to produce fire, only to suffer intense burns each time they used it. Another might awaken the power to manipulate shadows, yet lose the ability to tell a single lie for the rest of their life.

Meanwhile, Klaus belonged to the first category. But depending on the situation, his defect could escalate into something lethal or brutally crippling.

He grimaced at the memory of that bloody skirmish where the nightmare carapace hiding in the mud, initiated a sneak attack and tore open his stomach with its powerful scythe. He’d been helpless, bleeding out in the muck, forced to rely on his team as they shoved monster meat into his mouth just to keep him alive.

Having the ability to heal was undoubtedly rare and a blessing. But in that moment, he hadn’t felt blessed. He was lucky the creature’s scythe hadn’t cleaved him in two, yet the damage was still catastrophic: torn flesh, ruptured organs, and pain that burned into his nerves like acid. His entrails had threatened to spill out, and he’d felt every agonizing second of it.

During the long days of recovery, Morgan took it upon himself to explain the situation to Adrian and Seraphim, who complied without complaint. Klaus was grateful for that. His teammates really had good hearts. Anyone else might’ve made a very different choice. If he were lucky, they would’ve just left him behind.

Of course, he already knew that Morgan would never leave him even if she wanted to, but still, if something like that happened, he wouldn’t be able to stop them or defend himself.

His self-regeneration wasn’t instantaneous. That was the real flaw. In critical moments like that, he had to rely on others, which he loathed from the depths of his soul.

And it was understandable.

Who would ever want to be rendered defenseless, forced into a position of complete helplessness?

But more than anything, Klaus hated the idea of placing his life in someone else’s hands. Growing up in Undertown, he’d seen firsthand the darker sides of human nature; cruelty, opportunism and betrayal. Add to that the trauma of the Fujita gang’s actions and the bitter sting of betrayal from his ex-girlfriend, and the damage was done. Mentally and emotionally, he was beyond wrecked.

Regardless, it wasn’t all bad. As long as he survived and recovered smoothly, the second benefit of his adaptation would kick in.

Each time his body endured the effects of Adaptation, it grew stronger and more durable than before. It wasn’t a tremendous boost by any means; at best, it was subtle, a gradual reinforcement rather than a dramatic leap in power. His strength didn’t skyrocket, and his abilities didn’t evolve overnight.

After all, his Soul Seed was still dormant. The true potential of his Adaptation would only reveal itself once his Soul Seed awakened.

Indeed, once he reached the Awakened rank, the effects of his Adaptation would surge dramatically, especially his regeneration. Perhaps, in time, he might even survive having his heart pierced or his head severed.

But realistically, that was wishful thinking.

From what he knew, not even Saints possessed such an extreme level of regenerative ability if any at all.

Still, Klaus wasn’t the type to ignore possibilities, no matter how slim they were.

Who knew? Maybe it was all just a pathetic attempt to convince himself he was different, maybe even special, compared to everyone else.

Then there was another flaw he’d come to notice during those painful days of recovery.

The moment that gruesome wound was inflicted — while the Crimson Slayer tore the nightmare carapace to shreds — Seraphim had rushed to his side, urgency in her eyes, and tried to mend the devastating wound with her light-based healing.

Klaus remembered it vividly, as if the moment had been carved into his mind like a scar.

Seraphim held him close, her silver hair falling over as she stretched out her hand. A soft, radiant brilliance ignited beneath her skin, reflecting in her icy-grey eyes like two flickering white sparks.

Her expression twisted with pain and urgency as she brought her glowing palm to the gash across his abdomen, where blood poured freely.

Almost instantly, a strange sensation washed over him. It was chilling, warm and more importantly, overwhelmingly comforting. It felt as if all his pain and burdens were being lifted. For a fleeting second, he could’ve sworn it was his late mother holding him.

But just as the whitish flame reached for the wound to begin its healing, the spell shattered with an unnatural sound.

It wasn’t an illusion.

Her unique healing aspect had been completely negated.

Seraphim stared, stunned and confused. Panic flared in her eyes as she tried again. And again. Each time, the light failed, dissolving before it could take hold.

Desperation crept in. But nothing ever worked.

At the time, he was too disoriented, drifting between consciousness and oblivion, to grasp what was happening. The world was a blur, and understanding was beyond him.

But later, teetering on the edge of death and lost in deep contemplation, the truth finally came into focus.

The reason for the phenomenon was clear.

Innate Trait: [Chaos Blood]

Description: [Grants formidable resistance to Sorcery and Psychic-type Mysticism. Additionally, it enhances the host’s adaptability, allowing them to gradually counteract and reject foreign influences on both body and soul.]

The answer was maddeningly simple.

His uniqueness, Chaos Blood, rejected external mystical influences, even benevolent ones like the healing of light. To his body’s instincts, it made no distinction between harmful sorcery and restorative magic. Everything foreign was treated as an invader to be resisted and ultimately destroyed.

In a realm saturated with madness, this trait was a blessing. It shielded him from the corrupting forces of the Chaos Realm that sought to erode his mind and soul. It made him harder to curse and manipulate.

But blessings often carried their own curses.

If Klaus was injured, he couldn’t rely on external healing unless the caster possessed overwhelming force or specialized methods capable of bypassing his natural resistance. In most cases, that meant he was on his own.

Self-reliance was no longer a philosophy. It was a cruel necessity.

Worse still, he realized that Chaos Blood wasn’t something he could simply "turn off." Much to his misfortune, it was something that was utterly passive just like his Fateless attribute. He wasn’t aware the drawback of his uniqueness would be this massive but thinking deeply about it wouldn’t change anything either

He let out a slow breath, feeling the weight of that reality settle deep in his bones.

I can’t depend on anyone... not even when I want to.

That thought cut deeper than any blade.

Still, Klaus wasn’t the type to wallow for long. He understood the truth of the world, the brutal and unchanging law: adapt or die.

Hadn’t his life always been like this? It’s not like he was experiencing anything fundamentally different.

For that matter, there were other Striders who had it worse than him. Most of them would definitely not endure what he had been through or survive the devastating blows inflicted upon him due to his unique healing factor. In the end, it was because of his uniqueness that he was able to survive the ordeal that has come his way till this moment.

Perhaps he would have to endure worse in the future but what was the use thinking about that?

There was only one thing he could do: keep going.

Endure.

Adapt.

And more importantly, survive.