The Broken Heaven's Path

The morning dawned gray and bleak, the sun struggling to pierce through the thick canopy of the Blackwood Forest. Feng's body was stiff and chilled from the damp night.

His mind was a storm of thoughts, replaying the encounter with the altar and the cryptic dream. Yet, there was no time to dwell on it.

He was still deep in the forest, and the dangers of the Blackwood were many.

As he emerged from the hollow, the forest greeted him with oppressive silence. The faint drizzle had stopped, leaving the air heavy with the scent of wet earth.

Feng shivered, wrapping his arms around himself. His thin, tattered clothes offered little protection against the chill, and his stomach growled in protest.

"Food first. Good thing I know how to hunt," he muttered, scanning the area for anything edible. His village may have shunned him, but years of rejection had taught him to fend for himself.

He recognized a few herbs and roots growing nearby, their dull green leaves peeking through the underbrush. Carefully, he dug them out with his hands, wiping the dirt away.

He found a small stream trickling through the forest and washed the roots, drinking deeply from the cold, clear water.

It wasn't much, but it was enough to stave off the gnawing hunger for a while. The forest's stillness was unsettling, and Feng couldn't shake the feeling of being watched.

The shadows among the trees seemed to shift when he wasn't looking, and the faint rustle of leaves set his nerves on edge.

"No point in sitting around. It's probably better if I try to look for shelter," he said to himself, his voice barely above a whisper.

He gripped a sturdy branch he'd picked up, using it as a makeshift staff as he trudged forward.

The forest seemed endless, its twisted trees and dense undergrowth stretching as far as the eye could see. Feng kept moving, forcing himself to focus on each step.

Hours passed, the silence broken only by the occasional call of a distant bird or the rustling of unseen creatures.

Feng's muscles ached, and his throat burned with thirst. The stream he'd found earlier was long behind him, and the forest showed no signs of yielding.

"Crap, I should have brought some of that water from the stream with me. Or better yet, before I left the village, I should have packed something to help me survive,"

Feng muttered, frustration evident in his voice.

He paused to rest, leaning against a tree, when a low growl sent a jolt of fear through him.

His eyes darted around, searching for the source of the sound.

A pair of glowing yellow eyes stared back at him from the shadows.

Slowly, a beast emerged into the dim light. It was a wolf, its fur matted and dark, with scars crisscrossing its muscular body.

Its lips curled back, revealing sharp, gleaming fangs.

Feng tightened his grip on the branch, his heart pounding. "Stay back," he said, his voice steady despite the fear clawing at his chest.

The wolf didn't retreat. Instead, it crouched low, preparing to pounce.

When the beast lunged, Feng swung the branch with all his strength.

The crude weapon struck the wolf's side, eliciting a sharp yelp, but it wasn't enough to deter it.

The wolf snarled, its claws raking against Feng's leg as it lunged again. Pain shot through him, and he gritted his teeth.

"First I get kicked out of the village, then I meet some mysterious old monster that could have killed me with a flick, a storm leaves me half-dead from the cold, and now I encounter a Blackwood wolf,"

Feng muttered bitterly, as if he had lost all hope. Yet, contrary to his words, he fought back.

Feng forced himself to move and quickly drove the branch into the wolf's throat.

The beast howled and tried to fight back, but a wound to the throat would be fatal for any living being.

It collapsed with a final growl, its body going limp. Feng stumbled back, panting and clutching his injured leg.

Blood seeped through the torn fabric of his pants, but he couldn't stop to tend to it.

The scent of blood would attract other predators.

And yet, before he could move forward, something happened—something that would change his life forever.

[Would you like to try and absorb the Blackwood Wolf's Heaven's Pact?]

"What? Absorb a Heaven's Pact?" Feng was stunned. Before he could think further, he heard the voice again.

[Would the host like to try and absorb the Blackwood Wolf's Heaven's Pact? You have approximately 10 seconds to decide.]

[10, 9, 8…]

Feng stared at the screen that appeared in front of him, the numbers slowly ticking down. Panic surged through him. Without thinking, he blurted out, "Yes!"

[Acknowledged. The system will attempt to absorb the Blackwood Wolf's Heaven's Pact for the Host.]

Suddenly, the wolf's body began to shine with a bright silver light. Before Feng could react, he felt a sudden heat surge through his body, as if his insides were being burned.

"AHHHHHHHHHH!!" he screamed, collapsing to his knees as the pain overwhelmed him. It was as if every fiber of his being was being torn apart and remade.

His vision blurred, and he felt his consciousness slipping away.

Yet, through the haze of pain, he heard a mechanical voice speak. 

[The host is suggested to endure through this pain]

The words echoed in his mind, giving him a sliver of strength to hold on.

The pain began to subside, replaced by a strange, thrumming warmth that radiated from his core.

Feng's breathing was ragged as he collapsed fully onto the forest floor, his body trembling from the ordeal.

When he finally opened his eyes, the world seemed sharper.

He could hear the faint rustle of leaves far above, the distant chirp of insects, and even the gentle flow of a hidden stream.

His injured leg no longer throbbed with pain; instead, a faint silver mark glowed where the wolf's claws had struck.

"What just happened?" Feng whispered, sitting up slowly. He felt different, stronger somehow, though he couldn't quite explain it.

Before he could think further, the voice resounded again in his mind.

[Would you like to check your status?]

Feng looked around in shock. "What the hell is even happening to me?" Resigned, he eventually decided to go along with it. "Yes," he said.

[Name: Feng]

[Race: Human]

[Heaven's Pact: Blackwood Wolf (Incomplete 1/10)]

Feng stared at the screen in front of him, his thoughts racing. "Aren't I a Broken Soul? How is it possible for me to have a Heaven's Pact? And what does 1/10 mean?"

Once again, the system answered.

[Due to a chance encounter with the Usurper, the host has gained the blessing of the System and is now able to absorb the Heaven's Pact of other living beings under certain conditions.]

"WHAT? I can absorb other people's Heaven's Pacts? Isn't that ridiculous?" Feng looked shocked, but a flicker of excitement glimmered in his eyes.