[Curse: Broken Soul]

Your soul has been shattered into 8 pieces and there is only a piece of soul residing in you.

Effect:

? [Amnesia]

Your memories before June 8 2030 are erased until you recover two pieces of eight souls.

? [Unstable]

You are vulnerable to any sort of mental attack. Your Mental stat is limited to <D-> rank. Recover four soul pieces to undo this curse effect.

? [Weak]

All stats except hidden stats are limited to <C+> rank. Recover six soul pieces to undo this curse effect.

? [Defier Of The God]

Your blessing [???] has been demoted to [Clairvoyance] under the skill category. Recover and fix your soul to undo this curse effect.

Soul pieces recovered: 1

※ Hint: Your soul shards are scattered across multiple realms, and there are two shards in the Earth realm.

How shocked Zio was when he read the curse description. That was an utter bullshit of a curse. How come there were curses inside the curse? This wasn't a math formula!

'This is bullshit.. what the hell? How come there are four other curses inside a curse?! I've never heard of it before!'

He reread the curse descriptions, trying to find if this was an error because that was what it literally said on the notifications when he absorb the mana symbol. He also received the same 'error' notification when he tried to use Retrocognition in his room.

The worst part was that he gained nothing from Retrocognition and was left in a half-conscious state. He was conscious for a few days but couldn't move his body. Luckily, when Ember suddenly appeared and was reaching for him. He regained the control over his body.

Zio had no idea what caused him to be petrified and then freed. If.. If Ember didn't come..only God knows what would happen to him..

'Losing memories from Amnesia curse. Weak mind from Unstable curse. Stats restriction from Weak curse. And..'

His gaze lingered on the last curse's description.

'My Clairvoyance skill was a blessing..?'

Then his eyes fixated on the curse's name.

'Defier Of The God. I'm guessing it must have something to do with messing with the Supreme Beings. Just.. what had this sonuvab*tch been doing in the past?!'

He pulled his own hair out of frustration. He thought at first Zio Varrez was just an ordinary extra and nothing more but.. he actually had a complex history such as these?! If only he knew about his circumstances.

Furthermore, the mystery wasn't only about the boy's identity but many things were different from what he knew such as Ember Crimson, an unknown powerful person who appeared in the great desert, etc.

There were just many things that didn't align with the story he once knew, even though he hadn't changed much of the main plot.. or maybe he was?

'What are the chances that everything was caused by Zio Varrez that I didn't even remember and was aware of?'

Obviously, it would be higher than 50%, right?

..

He was back in the real world after establishing his magic core within his Soul Core. The process was simple, he just needed to channel his mana toward the materialized magic core within the Core realm until it was satisfied.

When he was done, his magic core had now been established, ensuring him to easily utilize his main stats which was magic. It just meant that he would be more skilled to draw or use his mana efficiently like the wizards.

After returning to the real world, he immediately wrote about his curse before he forget. It was a common practice among the Enhanced to write down the curse they got on a paper because once they closed the screen, they couldn't open it again,

Although, just like what he had experienced inside his Soul Core. He could check his curse within the Soul Core but he wasn't sure if he could get inside the Core realm again.

He was aware that once an Enhanced had entered their Soul Core for the first time, they could do it again. The problem was he didn't know how to enter the Core realm as he never wrote it.

The novel was mainly focusing on the protagonist, Lux. He could enter his Core realm through the Odyssey system. Now, what about Zio? He didn't have things such as the Odyssey system.

The way for him to enter the Core realm was to ask for guidance for someone who had opened their Soul Core. But that would be risky. Alternatively, he could just pray and hope he entered his Core realm once again.

Looking at the paper, he thought:

'I can't help but think that it was the original Zio Varrez who caused all of these changes. Considering his Clairvoyance level at that time..'

His words trailed off, seemingly remembering something. Then as he found something was amiss, he clasped his hands together.

'Wait! It doesn't make sense.. The Amnesia curse said that I can't remember anything prior to June 8, 2030. And the Defier of The God curse said my Clairvoyance was demoted to a skill.'

'Then, how come did the young Zio I saw in the memory has the Clairvoyance as a skill and not a blessing?'

'The date doesn't match at all!'

Just when did he get the Broken Soul curse?!

'Hah.. this is giving me a headache..'

Putting the unsolved problem away, he sat in a meditation position on the floor. As he concentrated, he could feel his surroundings. His senses were heightened as though he had ascended into a higher dimension.

After a while, he opened his eyes. They were glowing for a moment as though a flashlight. His body produced hot steam and sweat, shrouding his torso.

With a long sigh, Zio rose to his feet and walked toward the nearby stand mirror.

The handsome face with jet-black hair and eyes greeted him with a smile. The person on the other side seemed to copy everything he did, starting from brushing his hair with a hand, flashing a smile, and taking off the shirt.

Underneath, his athletic build was on full display. Standing at 175 cm tall, his body was well-proportioned and sculpted with lean muscles.

What's amazing was he achieved that body within six months. Well, his build wasn't as toned as this a few hours ago. This change was because he had established his magic core, causing his appearance to morph. His facial features had become even more strikingly handsome.

'Good thing Ember has returned to the academy or else she might fall for me.'historical

Woah! We've got a narcissist right here!

Anyhow, what was left in his house was a preserved breakfast and a note from Ember. The breakfast didn't go cold because Ember kept it warm with her flame on the note beneath the plate.

The note was just her saying thank you and telling him to eat the breakfast she had made, guaranteeing she didn't put anything in it.

Zio stared at the breakfast on the table after taking a shower and putting on new clothes.

It was an omurice, garnished with additional ketchup drizzled on top making a shape of a cat.

'Hmm.. Shannon must have told her about my favorite food.'

As his stomach rumbled, asking for fuel to refill his energy, he indulged in the omurice, savoring every bit of it to the fullest. The plate was clear and empty, indicating how hungry he was.

"It's actually better than Shannon's omurice."

Standing up, he went to his room on the second floor. He rummaged through his room, hoping to find a clue about his forgotten past but found nothing. Disappointed.

He looked under his bed yet also found nothing. It was shocking there wasn't anything under the bed even though there should be at least one guidance, heavenly script there as every man should have.

'What an odd fellow. First, he never spent his monthly allowance. And now this.. Well, let's see what can I find with Clairvoyance.'

And yet, he found nothing. Zio Varrez didn't keep a single copy of the heavenly guidance script!

'Wow.. I can't believe it. I thought as the one who got the Defier of The God curse would be someone with impure thoughts but surprisingly he was a virgin, maybe.'

Without anything left to do in his house, he headed for the academy.

On his way, he witnessed the gloominess that had shrouded the city's atmosphere. The usually bustling city with people walking on the sidewalks or hanging out in the restaurants and vehicles ruling the highway had become quiet.

The people he met on his way to the academy could be counted by fingers. Public transportation seemingly stopped its service today. The restaurants and malls too.

The whole atmosphere was like a holiday. It was just that it was not a happy holiday or a winter holiday. But it was a dreary holiday.

The only place that was crowded with people in the city was the medical centers.

As Zio passed by a medical center building near the southern gate of Academy Island, he recalled that Lux in the novel was treated there after the night of the Voice Impact.

'Yeah. Let's score a friendly achievement with the protagonist.'

With newfound motivation, he strayed from his initial destination and headed toward the medical center.