Shadow Ascension system Chapter 14 — The Artifact That Should Not Obey

The Artifact Hall had not recovered from the earlier disturbance.

Students were still whispering.

Teachers were still unsettled.

And the bronze dagger—now shattered and absorbed—had left a silence that felt heavier than noise.

Kael stood quietly near the exit.

Lyra watched him from a short distance, her expression unreadable.

The instructor finally regained her composure.

“…We will continue.”

But her voice lacked its earlier confidence.

She gestured forward.

“Next artifact.”

A platform rose from the ground.

On it floated a ring.

Black tal.

Cracked edges.

Faint pulses of red light leaking from inside.

The mont it appeared, the temperature in the room dropped slightly.

Even students who had passed earlier tests stepped back.

Lyra’s eyes narrowed.

“…That’s not Common.”

Kael looked at it.

The system flickered instantly.

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Artifact Detected

Na: Unknown

Grade: Rare Artifact (Damaged)

Status: Unstable

Warning: ntal Corruption Risk Detected

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Kael tilted his head slightly.

“…So it’s alive.”

Lyra frowned.

“All artifacts are ‘alive’ in a sense.”

“So just rember more pain than others.”

The instructor spoke sharply.

“This is a Rare Artifact.”

“Unlike the previous one, this will actively resist you.”

“Touch it only if you are confident in your ntal stability.”

A few students imdiately backed away.

Even Inner Division students hesitated.

The instructor pointed forward.

“One volunteer.”

Silence.

No one moved.

The pressure from the ring was too heavy.

Too aggressive.

Then—

A voice cut through.

“I’ll do it.”

Reyn Volkar stepped forward.

Lyra’s eyes widened slightly.

“…Of course it’s him.”

Reyn walked casually to the platform.

“No need to make it dramatic.”

He glanced at Kael briefly.

“You should watch closely.”

Kael didn’t respond.

Reyn placed his hand on the ring.

Instantly—

BOOM!

A wave of red mana exploded outward.

The hall shook violently.

Students staggered back.

“What is that pressure?!”

The ring floated higher.

Its cracks widened.

A distorted voice echoed faintly.

“…Weak… weak… weak…”

Reyn’s expression didn’t change.

“I’ve heard worse.”

Mana erupted from his body.

Wind pressure clashed with red corruption.

The instructor stepped back slightly.

“…He’s suppressing it?”

Lyra whispered.

“That artifact is trying to overwrite his mind.”

Kael watched silently.

The system flickered.

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Analysis

Rare Artifact Behavior: Semi-Sentient

Classification: Corrupted Weapon mory Fragnt

====================

Reyn’s mana surged again.

The ring trembled.

Then—

CRACK.

The red energy stopped expanding.

Instead, it began to compress.

Reyn narrowed his eyes.

“…Submit.”

The ring shook violently.

Then slowly—

It stabilized.

The corruption faded.

The artifact dimd.

Silence fell across the hall.

The instructor exhaled.

“…Successful resonance.”

Students erupted in shock.

“He controlled a Rare Artifact?!”

“At entrance level?!”

Lyra spoke quietly.

“…That’s why he’s top candidate.”

Reyn removed his hand and turned slightly.

His eyes landed briefly on Kael.

Then he smirked.

“Your turn.”

A pause.

The entire hall shifted focus.

Kael.

The unknown classification.

The anomaly from yesterday.

The student who broke a Common Artifact.

Kael stepped forward without hesitation.

Lyra frowned slightly.

“…Kael.”

But he didn’t stop.

He reached the platform.

The ring hovered in front of him.

Still unstable.

Still dangerous.

The instructor spoke carefully.

“If it rejects you, step away imdiately.”

Kael replied calmly.

“…It won’t.”

A few students scoffed.

“Confident, huh?”

“He barely has mana.”

Kael placed his hand on the ring.

For a mont—

Nothing happened.

Then—

Silence.

Not resistance.

Not rejection.

Just… pause.

The ring trembled slightly.

Then its red light flickered.

System alert flashed violently.

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WARNING!!!

Artifact mory Sync Initiating

Unknown Authority Detected

System Stabilization Required

====================

Kael’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“…Authority?”

The ring reacted instantly.

A pulse of darkness spread outward.

Not red.

Not corruption.

Shadow.

The entire artifact froze mid-transformation.

The instructor stepped forward in shock.

“What is happening?!”

Lyra’s eyes widened.

“…It’s not resisting him…”

“It’s responding to him.”

The ring cracked slightly.

Then—

Instead of exploding…

It collapsed inward.

Like it was being swallowed.

Kael felt it imdiately.

Sothing entering him.

Not forcefully.

Not violently.

But willingly.

A fragnt of mory.

Pain.

War.

A shadow battlefield.

Then—

A voice.

“…Finally…”

Kael’s eyes sharpened.

The system exploded with warnings.

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Artifact Absorption Detected

Rare Artifact Converted

Shadow Storage Expansion Complete

New Function Unlock Progress: 12%

====================

The ring disappeared completely.

No explosion.

No rejection.

Just gone.

The hall went dead silent.

The instructor stared.

“…You… absorbed it?”

Kael withdrew his hand slowly.

“…Yes.”

Lyra whispered under her breath.

“That shouldn’t be possible…”

Reyn’s expression changed slightly.

Not shock.

Interest.

“…Now that’s different.”

Far above—

Inside the academy observation tower.

The elders no longer argued.

One of them finally spoke.

“…He is not compatible with artifacts.”

Another replied slowly.

“…Artifacts are compatible with him.”

The head elder closed his eyes.

“…Mark him higher priority.”

And sowhere deep within the academy’s sealed archives…

A forgotten record flickered briefly.

SHADOW COMPATIBILITY ENTITY — ACTIVE AGAIN

Then vanished.