Nikolai floated in a familiar space. The darkness around him was absolute, and his physical form was ethereal—unfelt, unanchored.

  He wanted to sigh. He had likely advanced to the next stage after passing out; that was his best guess, at least. But would it be like this every time? And did everyone experience this in the same way? He would have to ask Kaelith about it. It was… comforting, having someone he trusted—someone he could actually ask questions.

  Time seemed to rush past him, yet crawl agonizingly slowly all at once. Then came what he had been waiting for.

  From his perspective, he was approaching an enormous cluster of bright stars. At the center of it stood the figure of light, waiting for him. Or perhaps the stars and the figure were coming to him instead—there was no way of knowing, and no real point in thinking about it.

  The figure bowed, and its voice spoke from everywhere, just as it had before.

  “It is time to choose.”

  Despite himself, Nikolai felt a surge of excitement at the prospect of selecting some kind of power-up.

  He opened his status first, the familiar screen popping into view before him—and he froze, shocked by what he saw.

  Nikolai stared at the screen, stunned by how much his stats had increased. He had nearly doubled several of them. The cause was obvious—he had apparently skipped an entire stage.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

  Then there were the upgraded runes, which was incredibly satisfying to see. His healing spell had even taken on a new name, which might—or might not—be significant. That was something to ask Kaelith, or perhaps Lazgrim, about later.

  Finally, there were the new information regarding bonded servants.

  Kaelith’s name was there, a visceral reminder of their bond and her role as an official servant of his. Beneath it was a name he didn’t recognize. It seemed his promised butler had finally arrived—or had been chosen at least.

  He was curious about how that would play out, but the thought also brought a fresh pang of unease. Two individuals were now bound to him like that.

  He had to remind himself they weren’t slaves—but the words felt hollow even as he thought them..

  Instead, he made a quiet vow to himself. He would never treat them as such. Through his actions, he would prove—to them, to others, and to himself—that they were not thralls to be used and discarded.

  Satisfied with that conclusion for the moment, he turned his attention to the smaller screen, just as he had before.

  That was it.

  He had to admit, he was a little disappointed that he wouldn’t be choosing a new spell. Still, there were ways to obtain runes outside this space. He could always go rune hunting later—an exciting thought in its own right. They seemed kind of rare though, he idly wondered if normal people even had them.

  For now, he had a skill to choose, and that deserved serious consideration.

  He needed to shore up his weaknesses. Ethereal Grace had been phenomenal so far. Discerning Eye was useful, but it hadn’t had quite the same impact.

  So where was he lacking?

  In combat, he felt solid—for now. He had grown stronger, faster, and his magic was developing nicely. He had Kaelith, a companion who, despite his conflicted feelings about it, would be loyal unto death and fight beside him when needed. Lurk came with her as part of the package.

  So perhaps something else.

  He thought about himself. About what he wanted for the future.

  The bargain he had made with Kaelith had, objectively, granted him a massive asset—one he was certain would repay whatever he had to do to keep her alive many times over.

  His nature as a Fey demanded bargains like that. He would have to lean into it. He would need to negotiate, to always strive to come out ahead in any deal he made.

  So… something related to that?

  Fey charm? Was that even a thing?

  A few stars drifted closer, as if in response. It seemed that, indeed, it was.

  Then another thought struck him.

  Did he really want to be charming all the time?

  By now, he was acutely aware that there were two sides to him—dark and light, merciful and, though he hated to admit it, capable of unconstrained brutality.

  What scared him wasn’t just what he could do physically, but how easily he could turn his emotions off entirely.

  Still, he needed to accept himself as he was. He had to look at himself honestly, without veils or illusions—without clinging to what he thought he should be.

  Veils.

  Illusions.

  Nikolai lingered on the thought.

  Perhaps…

  He addressed the figure of light, and a single star drifted closer. One skill—perfectly aligned with what he had in mind.

  Nikolai would have grinned if he could. He chose the ability without hesitation.

  To his mind, it was perfect.

  He had made his choice. He had become something more than human—perhaps, in time, something else entirely.

  He could complain about it. He could delude himself into believing he was still the same person. That would be easy enough to do in many ways.

  It would also be idiotic.

  He was still himself, yes—but he was no longer Nikolai Travelion of Earth, third son of a wealthy entrepreneur.

  He was Nikolai Travelion, court noble of the Twilight Court, a potential future prince.

  And he would have to do what he could to not shy away from that role.

  He would embody it. Embrace it fully.

  No half measures. No more fucking around.

  He would choose his own path.

  And woe unto those who stood in opposition to it.