My Life Changed with the Unlimited System

The night was calm but thick with the cool embrace of mountain air. The faint glow of stars peeked through the clouds, casting a soft, silvery hue over the trail as the four of them—Ethan, Elias, Marie, and Celia—walked slowly back to the hut.

The sound of their footsteps was muffled by the dirt path, and for a moment, the group moved in comfortable silence.

Celia broke the quiet, her tone straightforward as always. "Ethan, how long are you planning to stay here?"

Marie frowned slightly, glancing at Celia. "That's not exactly fair, you know. He doesn't even have his memory yet. How can he know where he's supposed to go?"

Ethan chuckled softly, though his gaze remained ahead, thoughtful. "It's alright, Marie," he said. "I don't mind the question." After a pause, he added, "I just need a little time. But no, I don't think I'll be here for long either. I have this feeling… like I'm needed somewhere else."

Celia's eyes narrowed slightly as she looked over at him, her voice uncharacteristically probing. "Don't take this the wrong way, Ethan, but… what can you do with your current strength? You're just a High Star Apprentice. I'm not doubting your determination, but…"

Before Celia could finish, Marie cut in, a teasing lilt to her voice. "Wait a minute… why does it feel like your question isn't about Ethan leaving quickly but more about him staying longer?" She smirked playfully. "Could it be that you're hoping to train with him? Or, oh, I don't know… spend more time with him?"

If it weren't for the dimness of the night, Ethan might have seen the faint blush creeping across Celia's face. She huffed softly, looking away, and Ethan caught off guard, cleared his throat awkwardly. "I, uh…" he started, but no words came, the weight of both their teasing and Celia's earlier question lingering in his mind.

He glanced at Marie and Celia, their youthful appearances at odds with the power they wielded. A question stirred within him, one he couldn't suppress. "How… how old are you two?" he asked hesitantly. "I mean, to reach such high ranks as Ascendants, you must have been training for years…"

Elias, walking a step ahead, glanced back with a chuckle, sensing Ethan's uncertainty. "Don't think too hard about what Celia said," he said lightly.

"These two? They've been trained by me since they were three years old."

Marie gave a soft laugh while Celia remained quiet, her face still turned away.

"About twenty years of training under my guidance, and here they are," Elias continued, his voice carrying a mixture of pride and humor. "And I can say without much modesty that I'm one of the three most powerful Ascendants on this earth."

He paused dramatically, giving them a sidelong glance. "Sometimes I'm the strongest. Sometimes, I'm second. Sometimes, I'm third. Depends on my health." He laughed at his own remark, a sound both warm and self-assured, and the mood around them lightened.

Elias tilted his head slightly, a mischievous glint in his eye. "You know," he began, his tone almost playful, "if you're feeling so unsure, Ethan, I could always take you under my wing. Train you properly. After all," he added with a teasing smirk, "everything that's happened to you so far is because you're just too weak."

Ethan glanced at Elias, uncertain if the offer was sincere or simply another layer of the man's humor. But before he could respond, Elias continued, his voice gaining a thoughtful edge. "Still, I know you've only been an Ascendant for, what, two or three months?"

Celia and Marie both stopped in their tracks, turning to look at Ethan with wide eyes. "Two or three months?" Marie repeated, her voice tinged with disbelief. "You're telling me he's only been an Ascendant that long?"

"That can't be right," Celia added, frowning slightly. "If that's true, then…"

"…then he's reached this rank faster than either of you did," Elias finished for her, his tone calm but pointed.

The two women exchanged a look, their expressions a mixture of surprise and grudging admiration.

Elias pressed on, his gaze fixed on Ethan now. "And I'd bet my life on this—no tutor, am I right? No one guiding you? Just you and your instincts?"

Ethan hesitated before shaking his head slowly. "No, I don't even know how long I've known about this Ascendant thing, and I'm not sure if I've had proper training or... a tutor," he admitted. "I'm just trying to figure things out as I go."

Elias chuckled, the sound deep and knowing. "Thought so. You remind me of someone." His words hung in the air for a moment, weighty and deliberate.

"Who?" Marie asked, her curiosity piqued.

Elias's gaze grew distant, his smile tinged with something softer—nostalgia, perhaps. "Captain Cole," he said simply.

At the name, all three of them turned to him, their attention sharpened.

"What do you mean?" Celia asked, her voice quieter now, almost hesitant.

Elias chuckled again, this time more softly. "Maybe I should continue the story," he said. "There's more to it than what you've heard before. And perhaps, a few details I've never shared with anyone—not even you two."

Celia and Marie exchanged a glance, their curiosity now unmistakable.

Ethan, too, leaned in slightly, his steps slowing as he prepared to listen. Elias smiled faintly, the faintest trace of mystery in his expression as he began to recount the next chapter of the tale.

***

The air around the battlefield seemed to shimmer and twist unnaturally, a faint hum vibrating through the ground as the Feroshian soldiers moved with calculated precision.

They gathered in a wide, deliberate circle, their dark cloaks billowing in the cold breeze. At the center, a massive structure began to materialize—a teleportation portal, its jagged edges glowing faintly with an ominous, pulsating light.

Elias, Tanner, and Mara stood at a distance, their gazes locked on the unsettling sight. The portal rippled like disturbed water, its surface an unnatural blend of black and crimson, each pulse accompanied by an eerie, low hum.

The first figure to step through was a Feroshian soldier clad in dark armor etched with unfamiliar sigils. He carried no weapon, his movements confident and unhurried as though the battlefield posed no threat to him.

Behind him came more soldiers, a steady stream that filled the area around the portal until the air grew thick with their oppressive presence.

Then, the real horror began.

From the portal emerged children—dozens at first, then hundreds, their small forms stumbling forward in confusion and fear. Their faces were pale, their eyes wide with terror as they clung to one another or reached out blindly for comfort. Many wore tattered clothes, their tiny frames barely able to withstand the cold wind that swept across the desolate battlefield.

Tanner's fists clenched at his sides, his breathing heavy. "What are they doing?" he muttered, his voice tight with barely restrained anger. "Why are there children here?"

Elias didn't respond, his gaze fixed on the growing crowd of little ones being herded forward like cattle. Mara, standing beside him, took an involuntary step back, her hand flying to her mouth.

"They're... they're just kids," she whispered, her voice trembling.

The Feroshian soldiers showed no sign of compassion or hesitation. With sharp commands and harsh movements, they lined the children up in neat rows before the portal.

Some of the younger ones began to cry, their wails piercing the heavy silence, but the soldiers paid them no mind.

As the last of the children stepped through the portal, it began to close, the edges folding inward until it vanished entirely. The sudden absence of the portal's hum left the air unnaturally still, amplifying the muffled cries and sniffles of the terrified children.

Elias's heart pounded in his chest as he watched. He didn't need to understand the Feroshian language to know that whatever was about to happen would be monstrous. He glanced at Captain Cole, standing a distance away, his jaw set and his expression grim.

"Why would they bring them here?" Tanner demanded, his voice rising. "This doesn't make sense!"

Mara shook her head, her voice barely audible. "No… it does. It makes all the sense in the world. This… this is a sacrifice."

The words hung heavy in the air, their meaning sinking into Elias like a blade. He felt his stomach churn, his breath catching in his throat as his mind raced to make sense of the unfolding horror.

At this time, the three armored demons seemed to have little interest in what was happening. "Now, now," one of the demons said, his voice a dark melody that sent shivers down every spine. "This is going to be a feast for us."

The second demon, leaner and more sinister, traced a gauntleted finger along the edge of his twin daggers. His lips curled into a cruel smile as he nodded in agreement. "Their souls… so pure, so untainted. They will taste divine," he murmured, his voice dripping with a chilling hunger.

The third demon, the crimson-haired woman, stepped forward, her movements smooth and predatory. Her gold-etched armor seemed to hum with anticipation as she regarded the children with cold, calculating eyes. "Flesh and soul alike," she said softly, her smile widening. "There's nothing in this world more satisfying. And they've brought us so many."

The three demons exchanged a glance, their shared understanding and malice palpable. To them, this was not an atrocity—it was an opportunity, a banquet prepared in their honor. Their anticipation was evident in the way their claws flexed, their auras growing heavier with each passing moment.

The cultists' chanting filled the air, a cacophony of guttural tones that twisted and writhed, vibrating through the ground. The atmosphere grew heavier as if the very air had been tainted by their dark intent.

Symbols etched into the stone began to glow faintly, pulsing like a heartbeat, building toward some terrible climax.

The leaner demon let out a sharp, humorless laugh, the sickly green hue of his armor flaring briefly. "A waste of time," he sneered, his daggers glinting in the dim light. "We act when we choose, not because your meaningless rites demand it."

Without warning, each of the demons raised an armored hand, their fingers splayed wide as a crimson energy surged around them. The air crackled with dark power as massive, spectral hands began to take form.

Bloody red and grotesque, the hands were enormous, their jagged edges shifting like mist. The sight alone sent chills down the spines of anyone watching.

The first hand lunged forward with terrifying speed, scooping up a cluster of children, their terrified screams piercing the air. The broad-shouldered demon tightened his grip with a sickening squelch, lifting the trembling bodies effortlessly. "Ah," he murmured, his voice a low, sinister growl, "so fresh. So pure. The taste of fear... exquisite."

Without hesitation, the other two demons also began to feast. The lean demon moved with cruel precision, his strikes calculated as he drained both flesh and soul, his expression one of dark satisfaction. The crimson-haired demon, for all her elegance, consumed her victims with a chilling glee, her laughter soft but filled with malice.

"The young ones... their souls are unspoiled. Their essence—priceless," said the lean demon.

"Children's flesh and souls," the woman demon purred, her voice like velvet laced with poison. "The finest delicacy. So tender. So... nourishing."

Elias, Tanner, and Mara stood frozen, their breaths caught in their throats. The sheer brutality of the act, the complete disregard for life, and the overwhelming presence of evil left them stunned.

Tanner's breath came in heaving gasps, his crimson aura flaring wildly around him like an untamed flame. His hands trembled, not with fear, but with a rage so profound it drowned out every warning Captain Cole had given.

"This… this is too much!" he growled, his voice a guttural roar. "I can't just stand here and watch!"

"Tanner, don't!" Elias barked, stepping forward as if to stop him, but it was too late.

With a furious shout, Tanner launched himself into the air, his fiery aura blazing brighter as he streaked toward the broad-shouldered demon. The air rippled with heat in his wake, his entire form consumed by the drive to act, to punish, to stop the horror unfolding before him.

"Tanner!" Elias yelled, his voice laced with desperation.

The broad-shouldered demon, who had been mid-bite, paused, lowering his prey slowly. His malice-filled gaze shifted toward Tanner, his runes glowing ominously. "Foolish little spark," he muttered, a cruel smirk tugging at his bloodstained lips.

Before Tanner could reach him, a blur of crimson streaked through the air. The woman demon appeared between them, her golden filigree armor gleaming like a sick mockery of light. Her eyes, sharp and glowing with a twisted delight, locked onto Tanner.

"Bold," she said softly, her voice laced with a venomous charm. "But terribly foolish."

With an almost lazy motion, she raised her hand, a massive, blood-red claw forming in the air beside her. The energy crackled and twisted, its edges razor-sharp and dripping with malice. The claw swung toward Tanner with a speed that defied comprehension.

Elias and Mara's eyes widened in unison, horror flooding their expressions.

"Tanner!" Mara screamed, gripping her spear tightly.