Douluo Continent, Spirit City.
"Martial Soul Awakening begins now."
The atmosphere in the awakening chamber of the Sacred Hall's side hall was solemn and reverent.
Qian Anci stood quietly at the center of the formation.
His plain white robe made his tall, slender figure seem even more graceful.
He was only six, yet his eyes were unfathomably deep, calm beyond his years.
Six years. At last, my Martial Soul is about to awaken.
Qian Anci murmured to himself.
He was a transmigrator.
Six years ago, he had arrived in Douluo Continent amid Spirit Hall's suppression of an Evil Soul Master rebellion. Qian Daoliu had found him in the ruins and brought him back.
For all these six years, something no one else could sense had existed in the depths of his soul.
It was a gray-white wasteland of the underworld.
The sky was eternally leaden, the earth cracked and pallid, and gray mist churned without end, steeped in deathly silence and majesty.
At the heart of the wasteland, a colossal Bone Dragon that blotted out the sky lay motionless.
Its bones were like jade, and ghostly blue soulfire flickered in its empty eye sockets.
A slender figure stood atop the Bone Dragon's head, year after year.
Her pale purple hair drifted through the gray mist. Her white-and-purple gown traced an elegant figure, its hem patterned with dark designs like Underworld Flowers.
Her eyes were a gentle pale purple, filled with endless compassion, yet set apart by the detachment of one who had seen through life and death.
Castorice.
From the moment he had transmigrated, she had existed in the depths of his soul.
For six years, whenever night grew quiet, Qian Anci's consciousness would sink into that wasteland.
He listened as she told him of Thanatos's authority, spoke of the loneliness of a touch that meant death, and softly sang the elegy of the River Styx.
They became each other's only companions.
"Thanatos's authority should not be borne by one person alone."
Those were Castorice's first words to him, six years ago.
"Let your soul be our bond, and we will share this breath of deathlessness. I'll stay with you until the day your power awakens."
After six years together, Qian Anci had long since grown used to her presence.
And now, that day had finally come.
"Anci, quiet your mind and focus. Feel the flow of Soul Power within you."
Qian Daoliu's voice echoed through the hall.
He stood with his hands behind his back, his gray robe stirring despite the still air. A trace of worry lingered in his eyes.
Over the past six years, he had spared no expense, using countless rare treasures to improve Qian Anci's aptitude and temper his body.
But a Martial Soul Awakening ultimately depended on inherited bloodline.
The boy's origins were unknown, and Qian Daoliu had no way of knowing what bloodline flowed through his veins.
What if the boy awakened a Trash Martial Soul today...
Never mind. If that happened, he would keep the boy by his side. With Spirit Hall's resources, Qian Anci would have more than enough to live comfortably for the rest of his life.
Qian Daoliu gave a quiet shake of his head, pushing the unease down.
Beside him, a red-robed cardinal carefully arranged the Awakening Stones and guided the ceremony.
On the other side of the awakening master stood a golden-haired girl.
Her features were exquisite, her skin fair as snow.
She was Qian Daoliu's granddaughter, Qian Renxue.
She watched the boy in the formation, curiosity in her golden eyes.
The younger brother her grandfather had adopted would undergo his Martial Soul Awakening alongside her today.
"The ritual begins!"
At the red-robed cardinal's low command, six black Awakening Stones slowly rose into the air, forming an arcane array around Qian Anci.
The formation's lines lit up, but not with the usual golden radiance.
Thick black mist surged from the center of the array, winding around the boy's body like a living thing.
As the mist swirled, Qian Anci's figure became indistinct.
The fog carried a deathly chill, yet, strangely, it harmed no one. It simply wrapped around him in silence.
The instant the black mist completely engulfed him, Qian Anci's consciousness plunged downward, bringing him once more to the familiar Underworld Wasteland.
But this time, things were different.
"At last, the day has come."
Castorice stood atop the Bone Dragon's head, looking down at him. A trace of relief showed in her pale purple eyes.
For the first time in six years, she wore a smile so unmistakable.
"Anci, are you ready?"
Her voice was still gentle as the breeze, but now it carried a note of solemnity.
"Mm."
Qian Anci nodded.
After six years together, they needed no more words.
"Then—"
Castorice raised a hand. The colossal Bone Dragon named Pollux let out a roar that shook the soul and slowly lowered its head.
"Let this scythe be the vessel of my authority; let your soul be our bond, and let us share this breath of deathlessness."
Her figure began to turn into streams of light, merging with the Bone Dragon as they entered the depths of Qian Anci's soul.
"We will... walk together along that endless River Styx."
Her final words echoed across the wasteland, tender with the warmth of six years together:
"From now on, I'll no longer be a Ferryman who can only watch you from afar."
"I'll fight by your side, Anci."
Outside, in the awakening chamber.
"Th-this... What's happening...?"
At last, a grave expression appeared on Qian Daoliu's usually composed face.
Though he had already prepared himself for the worst, he still couldn't help worrying for Qian Anci.
BOOM!
The black mist coiling around him was torn apart in an instant by a deathly yet magnificent gray-white radiance.
Qian Anci's body floated slightly into the air, and brilliant light burst from him, illuminating the entire hall.
"What is going on?"
The red-robed cardinal was aghast. He had never heard of an awakening phenomenon on this scale.
Qian Renxue hurried forward, her golden eyes fixed on the heart of the light, her small face full of worry.
Qian Daoliu quietly released his Soul Power to protect everyone, his eyes flashing with brilliance.
"Roar!"
A deep, majestic dragon's roar rang out.
A gray-white dragon-shaped phantom swept out from behind Qian Anci and circled the scythe in his hand.
Deep within that phantom, the faint outline of a pale purple figure could just be seen.
She was no longer an unreachable Ferryman of the underworld.
She was a companion, her soul bound to the boy's, standing truly at his side.
The red-robed cardinal held out the crystal ball with a trembling hand.
"Quick, test his Soul Power!"
Qian Anci gathered himself and placed his hand on the crystal ball.
In an instant, it erupted with light as dazzling as the blazing sun. The intense Soul Power even caused fine cracks to appear across its surface.
"Th-this... Innate Level 20 Soul Power!"
The red-robed cardinal cried out, his eyes alight with fervor and excitement.
Qian Daoliu's eyes also flashed with delight, and his lips curved into a smile.
"Excellent! Innate Level 20 Soul Power, Anci. You really haven't disappointed Grandpa."
However, Qian Anci didn't let Qian Daoliu's praise distract him.
"It's not over yet."
He could feel that the awakening hadn't ended.
Even as the Scythe of Death appeared, the deathly power inside him continued to surge.
A flash of gray light crossed his eyes.
A nearly transparent gray-white mist blossomed beneath his feet.
Amid the billowing Death Qi, a huge, indistinct shadow flickered behind him and vanished.
It was a solitary, proud Bone Dragon. With its skeletal wings folded, it resembled a silent god of death, radiating an aura that could end all things.
Second Martial Soul... Shadow of Pollux!
"Such a terrifying phenomenon! The young master's Martial Soul... is extraordinary," the red-robed cardinal said, his gaze burning.
In the eyes of the others, this was merely the afterimage of a powerful Martial Soul awakening, an attendant phantom accompanying the Scythe of Death.
After all, the light radiating from the Scythe of Death was so brilliant that it eclipsed everything else.
No one knew that the gray-white Death Qi concealed a Ferryman from the underworld, along with her primordial Death Qi, powerful enough to end deathlessness and command the underworld.
And no one knew that the purple-haired figure had been with the boy for six whole years.
Qian Anci lowered his head, feeling the icy black scythe in his hand. Ripples stirred in his heart.
"Castorice..."
He called her softly in his mind.
"I'm here."
Her familiar, gentle voice answered from the depths of his soul, carrying a hint of a smile.
A smile unconsciously appeared at the corner of Qian Anci's mouth.
He withdrew his Martial Soul, and the light around him gradually faded.
"Grandpa, I did it."
Qian Anci grinned at Qian Daoliu and raised the Scythe of Death in his hand, its blade wreathed in dragon-shaped Death Qi.
"Good. Very good."
Qian Daoliu said "good" twice and strode over to grip Qian Anci's shoulder.
"Anci, go wait to the side for now. Once Xiao Xue has finished awakening, I'll arrange for two of the Elders to take you both to the Star Dou Great Forest to hunt for Soul Rings."
Qian Anci smiled and agreed.
He lowered his head to look at the pitch-black Scythe of Death, its edge wreathed in gray-white Death Qi, and asked in his heart:
"Castorice, tell me... does my Scythe of Death count as a god-level Martial Soul?"
Deep in his consciousness, in that gray-white Underworld Wasteland, the pale purple-haired girl let out a soft laugh.
"God-level?"
Her voice held the tenderness of six years together, yet carried a hint of pride:
"That is... an authority even the gods should fear."
"And from now on, we will wield that authority together."
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