I stood beneath the wooden awning of a crowded street and watched humanity.
Really watched them.
Not with eyes alone.
With thoughts.
With emotions.
With the quiet whispers leaking from their minds whether they wished it or not.
A child clutched his stomach, hunger gnawing at him so deeply that even hope had begun to fade.
A mother pretended not to notice, smiling weakly while silently calculating how long they could survive without food.
Across the square, nobles laughed.
Music played.
Tables overflowed with roasted meat, fresh bread, and wine expensive enough to feed half the town for months.
Their thoughts were louder than their voices.
Another celebration tomorrow.
The peasants complain too much.
Life is meant to be enjoyed.
I felt nothing at first.
Then something cold settled inside my chest.
"…This is just human nature," I murmured.
Waste beside suffering.
Comfort beside desperation.
Cruelty born not from evil… but indifference.
For a moment, I tried to feel angry.
I couldn't.
Instead, I felt detached.
Observant.
Above it.
And that realization made me pause.
I exhaled slowly.
"…Yeah," I thought. "I've definitely inherited Hao Asakura's mental state."
The change wasn't sudden corruption. I didn't want to destroy humanity.
Not yet.
But ordinary humans…
I couldn't see them the same way anymore.
Their thoughts were shallow. Predictable. Bound by fear and desire.
Fragile creatures repeating the same mistakes endlessly.
A faint smile touched my lips.
"I don't hate them," I whispered.
"…I just don't like them very much."
A pulse of warmth spread through my body.
Golden text appeared before my eyes.
[Template Synchronization Increased]Current Synchronization: 5%
New Benefits Unlocked:
Mana Capacity Increased
Spiritual Control Enhanced
Memory Integration (Partial)
Knowledge Assimilation Complete
Pain didn't come this time.
Instead, memories unfolded gently.
Ink brushing across paper.
Ancient symbols forming precise talismans.
The sensation of spiritual energy flowing through channels within my body.
Knowledge settled into place naturally — reading, writing, languages of mysticism, ritual structures, spirit etiquette.
I suddenly understood things I had never studied.
"…Ofuda talismans," I murmured instinctively, recognizing the concept without effort.
Paper wasn't just paper.
It was a command.
A contract.
A law imposed upon spirits through intent and energy.
More memories followed.
Training.
Meditation beneath moonlight.
A calm voice guiding me — firm but patient.
My first teacher.
No… Hao's first teacher.
But the memories didn't feel borrowed.
I remembered the chill of the air.
The frustration of failure.
The quiet pride after success.
I had lived it.
I staggered slightly, gripping a wooden post.
"…These aren't just memories," I whispered.
"They're experiences."
The system wasn't copying Hao Asakura.
It was merging timelines of identity.
Every increase in synchronization blurred the line between me and him.
His knowledge became mine.
His instincts became mine.
Even his emotional perspective began shaping my thoughts.
I looked back toward the starving townsfolk.
Instead of pity, calculation rose naturally.
Humans were resources.
Potential believers.
Future followers.
Or obstacles.
I froze.
"…Okay," I said quietly. "That thought definitely wasn't old me."
A small laugh escaped me.
"So this is how it starts."
Not corruption.
Evolution.
A faint ripple moved through the spiritual world.
Several nearby spirits gathered at a distance, watching me cautiously like animals sensing a predator.
At five percent synchronization, my presence alone distorted the spiritual environment.
Mana flowed toward me unconsciously.
Even the air felt heavier.
I raised my hand, studying faint energy swirling around my fingers.
"If this is only five percent…" I murmured.
What would fifty feel like?
One hundred?
The thought sent excitement racing through me.
Fifteen hundred years before the modern age.
Fifteen centuries to grow stronger.
To learn every magic system this fusion world possessed.
To surpass every sorcerer before they were even born.
A slow smile spread across my face.
"I'm going to become something ridiculous."
[New Passive Ability Acquired]Spiritual Authority (Minor) — Lesser spirits instinctively recognize you as a superior being.
One of the watching spirits slowly knelt.
Then another.
I blinked.
"…Huh."
I hadn't even commanded them.
They simply obeyed.
Somewhere deep inside, a familiar calm satisfaction stirred — ancient, confident, inevitable.
The mindset of a king among shamans.
And for the first time since reincarnating…
I wondered which part of me was speaking anymore