Chapter 162: Rin

[Switch To Roam Mode?]

Damian blinked, the message interrupting the flow of his thoughts. He had been deeply immersed in everything he had just uncovered, from the Abyss’s intentions to the nature of his soul fragments, and now this appeared out of nowhere. It lingered at the edge of his awareness, waiting.

“What is roam mode?” he asked, his brows knitting slightly as he tried to make sense of it.

[Roam mode allows me to assume my true form as your primal beast. However, you will lose all silent guidance provided by the system.]

Damian’s confusion did not fade. If anything, it deepened, but curiosity rose faster than caution. He could keep asking questions, dig deeper through words and explanations, or he could simply see it for himself.

He chose the latter.

“Yes… I guess so,” he muttered under his breath.

The moment he accepted, something shifted.

It felt as though a part of him had been removed, not physically, but mentally. A presence that had always been there, quietly observing, guiding, suddenly vanished. The constant awareness at the edge of his mind went silent. The familiar stream of information that hovered just out of sight disappeared completely.

The emptiness was immediate.

Then, in a burst of soft purple flames, something appeared before him.

A small figure materialized within the veil, its form compact yet distinct. It was a fox, no larger than a house pet, with sleek black fur and three elegant tails swaying gently behind it. Purple flame-like patterns traced across its body, glowing faintly as if alive.

Damian’s eyes widened slightly. It was the same fox he had seen resting beneath the lust talent tree. Slowly, the fox opened its eyes and its gaze met his directly.

“Sire, we finally meet face to face.”

The voice echoed in his mind, clear and direct, yet the fox’s mouth did not move. The tone was youthful, almost that of a young boy, carrying an odd mix of immaturity and confidence. It should have felt out of place, yet somehow, it fit perfectly.

Damian stared at it, momentarily speechless.

“You… are…”

The words failed to form properly.

“Rin,” the fox replied, its voice steady despite its youthful tone. “I am your primal beast. An entity born from your inheritance, refined and improved by the accumulated knowledge of your predecessors.”

Damian slowly nodded, the explanation settling into place far easier now that he could see it. Hearing it directly from this creature made everything clearer than the cold, detached system messages ever had.

“You left my mind, didn’t you?” he asked, his gaze sharpening slightly.

He could feel it clearly now. The space that had always been occupied was empty. The quiet guidance, the subtle presence, the instant responses, all of it was gone. Even the faint interface that used to linger at the corner of his vision had vanished completely. There was only silence.

Rin’s tails swayed lazily behind it.

“My support mode is a specialized system created by your predecessors to guide your growth,” it explained calmly. “It was designed in the likeness of games, a universal language that transcends race, culture, and era. Something all mortals can understand instinctively.”

Damian’s eyes widened slightly as realization dawned on him.

That made perfect sense.

He had never questioned it before, but now that it was said aloud, everything clicked into place. The structure, the notifications, the progression, all of it mirrored something familiar.

“Do all the other princes possess this too?” Damian asked, his gaze fixed on the small fox before him.

Rin nodded without hesitation, its tails swaying calmly behind it. “Of course. However, the knowledge each system contains is limited to what its predecessors knew. There are things I know that others do not, and there are things they know that we do not.”

Damian nodded slowly, though his mind was anything but calm. Thoughts raced through him as pieces began to fall into place. For the first time since gaining this power, he felt like he was finally receiving clear answers, not half-truths or carefully withheld details like those his wives often gave him.

He raised his hand slightly, palm facing upward, and with a simple thought, a tongue of white flame flickered into existence. There was no notification. It simply appeared, natural and effortless, as if it had always been a part of him waiting to be used.

His eyes narrowed slightly as he studied it.

So that was how it worked.

The system was not the source of his power. It was merely a guide. The power itself had always belonged to him.

Understanding settled deeper within him.

He let the flame fade and shifted his attention back to Rin, his expression growing more serious.

“So what do you think about me so far?” Damian asked, his voice steady. “Am I doing okay?”

Rin did not hesitate. It shook its head immediately.

“Nope. You are an idiot.”

Damian almost choked, his expression twisting in disbelief as the blunt response hit him harder than any attack. He opened his mouth to argue, but Rin spoke over him before he could even form a word.

“Each sin has a personality type that suits it best. For Lust, cunning is your greatest weapon. If Lin Qui had been a brute like you, do you think he would have achieved what he did?”

Buzz.

The words landed heavily.

Damian’s heart sank, not out of wounded pride, but because he knew it was true. When he thought back to Lin Qui, he remembered a man who seemed harmless, almost gentle, someone who spoke softly and carried himself without aggression. Yet that same man had thrown the entire underworld into chaos. Not through overwhelming strength, but through calculated moves and careful manipulation.

Even the power of the Abyss he now possessed had been obtained through cunning, not force.

Huff.

Damian exhaled slowly, his gaze drifting as his thoughts aligned.

“While you possess impressive abilities that allow you to stand against elites, you are not built for direct combat if you look closely,” Rin continued, its tone calm but firm. “Before you gained offensive techniques, you acquired multiple supportive and defensive abilities. That was not random. There is a reason for it.”

Damian listened quietly, no longer interrupting.

“The inheritance chose you because you have the traits necessary to wield it,” Rin said. “You are capable of being cunning and diabolical when pushed into the right situation. The problem is that you default to brute force now that you have power. You choose the easier path. You avoid thinking when smashing things is faster. It is disappointing to watch.”

The words did not anger him. They embarrassed him.

Damian felt a quiet heat rise within him, not from rage, but from shame. The dull, indifferent gaze he had once seen in that fox within his mental garden now made sense. It had never been mindless. It had been watching him all along. Judging him.

And for the first time, someone looked down on him and he could not argue against it.

“Okay… okay… I will work on that,” Damian said, nodding slightly without resistance. “But there is something I do not understand…”

“Because you have not been asking the right questions,” Rin cut in immediately.

The fox turned its head, its gaze drifting toward the distant gray world beyond the veil, taking in the lifeless scenery with calm indifference.

“I am meant to be your companion, both in and out of battle,” Rin said. “The mental garden is your sanctuary. It is where you rest, where you escape the chaos of this world, and where you strategize with the aid of your predecessors. Everything has been prepared for you.”

Its voice remained steady.

“If you learn to use all of it properly, I can assure you of one thing.”

Rin’s eyes sharpened slightly as it looked back at him.

“You will become a prince so terrifying that even the heavens will be forced to acknowledge you.”

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