Chapter 165: Awakened

They felt like relief, like mercy, like he finally was freed from that endless blindness. Like he had finally returned to humanity.

[You have completed the Darkness and Petrification Trial!]

[You have awakened {Basilisk’s Gaze}]

[Awakening Acquired]

Basilisk Eyes: Growth Type Ability.

[Petrifying Gaze] – Active

By focusing your gaze upon a target, you may force their body to stiffen under the weight of stone.

Effects:

Briefly petrifies a living target for a short duration.

Targets affected gain temporary resistance to further petrification.

Predator’s Sight- Passive

Your vision sharpens under predatory instinct.

Effects:

Increased perception of movement.

Lore:

Basilisks are considered the fallen kin of dragons. Where dragons dominate the hearts of the living through fear, basilisks command the flesh itself.

Their gaze denies motion and life alike, reducing the strongest prey into unmoving stone.

Though their bloodline is thin and corrupted, a fragment of this authority may be inherited by those who endure their curse.

You now carry a fragment of that power.

***

Kael’s vision immediately returned to how it was before.

Not gradually. Not fading in. It snapped back like someone had lifted a cloth off his eyes. The corridor had shape again. Depth. Edges. The world wasn’t just interface and touch anymore; it was space.

However, there was a slight tinge of yellow in it that soon disappeared afterward.

For a second, everything looked sunlit even though it wasn’t. A predator tint, like his brain was sharpening contrast and lighting in the way a hunting animal’s brain did. Then it settled. Normal-ish. Normal for a place that housed an apocalypse.

He read the notification again and felt slightly bummed.

“I guess I can’t complain anyway,” he thought, after all, this wasn’t at the level of [Bloodlust], but it was still incredible.

He’d expected something flashier, something that screamed power. Instead, he got a tool that was sharp in a specific way, control, timing, and a forced pause. Not glamorous. But Kael had never needed glamorous. He needed practical.

He wasn’t planning on competing against Yenna anyway; all Kael wanted was survival, and this is a proper tool for that.

Even a half-second pause in a fight could decide everything. A stagger. A missed swing. A breath stolen. Those little moments were where people died. He knows it well, he felt it well. And now he was the one with that power.

’But,’ he thought, it wasn’t very helpful here at all.

The condition said, “Living Target.”

And Zombies were anything but alive.

Kael’s mouth twisted as he absorbed that limitation. Of course. The Tower gave him a control ability and then surrounded him with things that didn’t qualify as “living.” It was almost funny in that cruel, mathematical way the Tower loved.

You cannot petrify what has no fear. Though the word ’petrification’ might sound overpowered, it basically means slowness or paralysis. The same thing that happened to Kael.

Not to mention, Kael didn’t know what ’living’ being meant. The Ifrit, for example, can it be even petrified? Can you even freeze stone and fire?

“It’s still good enough,” Kael thought, to be able to petrify an enemy and take the advantage in a fight is far more than anyone would want.

A second is all one needs to lose their lives. A second is usually the difference between a corpse and a living body.

And Kael now has an ability that could grant him that precious time.

He clenched his hands tight, waited a bit, just in case he got petrified again, fearing that the trial hadn’t ended. That old fear lingered: what if the Tower lied? What if this was just phase one? He stood still, listening to his body for the familiar stiffness.

But seeing nothing happening, Kael nodded to himself and looked forward.

Something wasn’t right.

Kael frowned.

He was certain that the corridors underneath the metro station, or even the city itself, were pretty much out of juice. There was no electricity here whatsoever.

But everything was incredibly clear.

Far too clear in fact.

He could see details that should’ve been swallowed by darkness: fine cracks in the concrete, dust patterns where something had dragged itself, even the faint outlines of cables overhead. The shadows weren’t just “visible.” They were defined.

Kael closed and opened his eyes many times, doubting them.

The corridor didn’t blur. It didn’t dim. It stayed crisp. His vision snapped to movement, tiny shifts in dust, a drip of water, the subtle sway of a hanging wire, and his brain registered them instantly. Like his eyes were no longer human eyes. Like they were tuned for prey.

How was he able to see that far away in what felt like almost complete darkness?

The eyes themselves were the only answer. The predator’s sight. A predator in fact is able to see through dark and light for its prey.

For a second, Kael felt a bit of thanks for this horrid tower. Thanks not for the trials he suffered through, but for the award these cruel trials gave.

“This might not be that bad after all,” he thought to himself as he walked forward.

The ability wasn’t just a combat trick. It was utility. It meant he could navigate without wasting Presence. It meant he could move faster without tripping. It meant he could read danger in motion.

To the side of his vision, he looked at the blue energy bar. It was creeping up slowly. But it was moving; it was no longer in the red.

Though it’s still not enough for him to use a single offensive attack, it was enough for him to grant him a few seconds of [Presence] just in case.

Kael felt thankful that he now has a bit of control over his life again.

Not safety. Not comfort. Control. The ability to choose his next step instead of being dragged by panic.

He looked behind him and then looked forward. There was only one path to go through right now, and he needed to take it.

Once he’s outside, on the surface, only then can he use the many things he obtained from this risky raid.

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