---
He had learned how to fight above his "number," how to run, how to endure, how to bite when the only victory available was being too stubborn to die.
He swallowed slowly.
"If this is my old self... then what am I now."
The key stone pulsed.
Fzzz...
The hum in the air shifted. It was not a sound anymore. It became a pressure, like the world was squeezing his chest and then releasing it in controlled stages.
The restraint inside him resisted first.
Sekhmet felt it like a hand tightening around his core, refusing to let go.
Then the key stone answered.
A deep vibration rolled through his bones, and the restraint loosened again, like a knot finally admitting it had lost.
FZZZZZ...
Sekhmet’s vision blurred.
His stomach clenched.
His muscles tensed so hard his fingers shook.
For one long heartbeat, he thought the "rebound effects" would be pain.
Then he realized it was not pain.
It was him.
Something that had been pressed down for years surged upward like a tide returning to shore. His chaos energy did not just expand. It roared.
It filled his veins with heat.
It filled his lungs with weight.
It filled his skin with a sharp buzzing sensation that made every nerve feel awake.
His body felt too small for what was inside it.
Sekhmet clenched his teeth, forcing himself to stay seated, forcing himself not to scream like a fool in his own bedchamber.
Then the suppression snapped completely.
The hum vanished.
Silence returned.
And in that silence, a new window replaced the old one, the numbers changing so violently it felt like being punched by truth.
[Ding! System notification-
New status window
Chaos Energy: 5000
Chaos Body: 5500 (strength, speed and stamina)
Chaos purity: 11%
Overall battle power 10500]
Sekhmet froze.
His eyes did not blink for several seconds.
His mind tried to reject the information like it was a trick.
"Ten thousand five hundred."
He could not even properly imagine that number in his own body. His hands looked the same. His arms looked the same. His chest rose and fell like any human chest.
And yet the system was not joking.
The training tool had not just lowered his visible output. It had anchored him at a fake baseline, forcing the world to measure him like a child when his body had been climbing the ladder anyway.
Sekhmet’s throat went dry.
"Eleven percent purity."
That number hit harder than the battle power.
Battle power could be inflated by tools and temporary boosts and lucky blood. Purity could not be faked easily. Purity was the quality of what lived inside you.
He had walked into purgatory with five percent and survived like a starving dog.
Now he was at eleven.
Sekhmet’s lips parted slightly.
"I...," he started, then stopped because his voice sounded too normal for what he was seeing.
Bat Bat was still in the room, perched on a corner shelf like an overeager guard. The bat’s eyes widened at Sekhmet’s aura shift, feathers on its tiny wings fluffing up as if the air had turned spicy.
Bat Bat flapped in a panic circle.
Flap Flap Flap!
"Master big," Bat Bat said, voice trembling in excitement. "Master smell... strong."
Sekhmet exhaled slowly.
His body felt different too. Not just stronger.
Lighter.
As if he had been walking with chains around his soul for years and only now noticed how heavy he had been.
He clenched his fist.
The air around his knuckles trembled slightly, a faint distortion from raw chaos pressure.
Sekhmet stared at his hand like it belonged to someone else.
Then the system chimed again.
Ding!
[Congratulations. The host has reached Chaos Rank 1.]
Sekhmet blinked.
"Chaos rank," he murmured.
The words made something click inside him. He had heard the term all his life, but it had always sounded distant, like a mountain someone else climbed. Merchants spoke about chaos ranks the way children spoke about gods, with awe and fear and a little envy.
Sekhmet swallowed.
"I stepped on the first step to godhood."
He sat very still, mind racing, then spoke internally as if daring the system to tell him he misunderstood.
"I did not realize I was already that strong."
The system’s response was calm, almost dry.
[Ding! System Response
Training restraint prevented accurate self-measurement.
Host growth continued under suppression. Release restored true readings.]
Sekhmet exhaled slowly.
Then his mind demanded clarity like a hungry animal.
He needed structure. He needed to understand where he stood, not just what the numbers said.
That was when the system did something unusual.
It did not just answer.
It provided an explanation as if it knew Sekhmet was about to spiral if left alone with a ten-thousand number and no ladder to put it on.
(Author and system Note:
In Null, chaos strength is commonly measured in two ways. The first is overall battle power, a broad estimate that combines chaos energy, body reinforcement, purity, skills, tools, and combat stability. The second is chaos rank, a simplified milestone system used by most cities and organizations to classify progress toward godhood.
There are nine chaos ranks, numbered from one to nine.
Chaos Rank 1 begins at 10,000 overall battle power. This is the first recognized threshold where a mortal’s chaos energy becomes dense and stable enough to be considered "ranked." Many cannot reach this point in their entire lives.
Chaos Rank 2 begins at 20,000 overall battle power. At this level, most mortals can dominate common beasts and low-tier warriors in the lower realms. Their bodies begin to handle stronger chaos reinforcement without tearing.
Chaos Rank 3 begins at 30,000 overall battle power. At this rank, a mortal’s chaos control becomes refined. They can sustain prolonged combat, resist many poisons and curses, and travel harsh terrain without collapsing.
Chaos Rank 4 begins at 40,000 overall battle power. This rank marks the beginning of true regional power. Many city elites and veteran commanders fall in this range. At this point, even a single ranked warrior can shift the outcome of battles between tribes.