Chapter 30: Change in Demeanor

Raphael woke up early the next morning in his throne room. He hadn’t left the place and had apparently fallen asleep there after making his choice. Unlike usual, he didn’t wake up feeling weak or dizzy. He woke up feeling new, light, and powerful.

He could tell that his recent comprehension and evolution had changed him more than he could tell. He quickly left the throne room and appeared in his room. The instant he appeared, he immediately saw the changes in full.

Raphael had always considered himself fairly standard in height, standing at an even six feet, but as his feet touched the hardwood floor of his apartment, he felt as though he were floating while standing.

His eye line was entirely wrong. The top of the doorway, which usually sat well above his head, now seemed dangerously close to his forehead. He was sure if he made a mistake, he would hit his head pretty bad on the frame.

’This... this feels... amazing,’ he thought.

Walking toward the washroom, he stood in front of the full-length mirror and stared at his reflection with wide eyes. Yet, beneath the initial shock, a deep, unsettling stillness anchored his thoughts. It felt as if this drastic transformation was entirely natural, something that had simply been restored rather than given.

There, in the quiet morning light, he remembered the system’s words: Our compatibility has surpassed 100%. I’m like your brain...

The mind was responsible for shaping the body’s perception, driving its physical adaptation, and governing its presence. Now, that processing power was being reflected directly upon his physical form.

Raphael looked down at his frame. He was no longer just six feet tall; he had stretched to a towering, imposing six-foot-five. His shoulders had broadened significantly, filling out his silhouette with lean, dense, and perfectly balanced muscle that surged with hidden power under his skin.

The awkward, slightly slouched posture of an unclassified civilian had vanished, replaced by an effortless, dangerous grace. His facial features had sharpened into a carved, sculpted perfection that commanded immediate attention; a striking handsomeness that was entirely devoid of softness.

Then his gaze locked onto his eyes.

The familiar, ordinary black pupils were gone. In their place sat a pair of striking, luminous silver eyes that seemed to drink in the surrounding light, faint ripples of violet mana swimming deep within the irises.

"Is this... the Sovereign’s mark?" Raphael murmured.

The moment he spoke, he froze.

His voice had completely changed. The light, defensive cadence that usually carried a subtle edge of humor had vanished. What remained was a voice that was deep, resonant, and dripping with absolute, quiet authority. It was a voice designed to issue commands, stripped entirely of frivolity or hesitation.

Raphael stared at his reflection for a moment longer before turning away without another word. The time for marvelling at his own reflection was over. He pulled on a dark grey tactical tracksuit and a pair of black running shoes, leaving his apartment door behind.

As he stepped into the carpeted hallway of the Bureau’s high-security residential complex, the atmosphere shifted immediately. Several early-rising personnel, lower-tier Awakened, and maintenance staff were moving through the corridor. The moment Raphael walked past them, conversations died.

In the past, the looks directed toward him were subtle, filled with quiet disdain, light amusement, or pity for the civilian who had almost been torn apart by F-Tier goblins. Now, those gazes were entirely different.

People instinctively backed away, pressing themselves against the walls to grant him a wide berth. Their eyes were wide, filled with a mixture of sharp respect, deep confusion, and an instinctual, primal fear. They didn’t know who he was, but every nerve in their bodies screamed that a predator was walking among them.

Raphael ignored them completely, his cold silver eyes fixed straight ahead as he walked toward the floor’s exit.

Before he could reach the stairwell, a junior Bureau official holding a tablet stepped directly into his path, looking up nervously. The man had been assigned to monitor the floor’s civilian assets, but as he looked up at Raphael’s towering six-foot-five frame and met those piercing silver eyes, the official visibly swallowed hard, his breath catching in his throat.

"M-Mr. Matthews?" the official stuttered, his hands trembling slightly against his tablet. "Where are you... You are not scheduled for physical clearance until ten this morning. Captain Vale requested that you remain in your quarters until-"

Raphael looked down at him coldly. The sheer air pressure around them seemed to plummet, a quiet, suffocating weight settling over the official’s shoulders.

"I’m going for a jog," Raphael said.

His deep, resonant voice hit the official like a physical wall. There was no argument, no joke, and no attempt to justify himself. It was a simple statement of fact delivered by a ruler who owed no explanations to anyone. Before the official could gather his thoughts or formulate a response, Raphael’s form blurred.

A faint gust of wind swept through the corridor, rustling the papers on the official’s tablet. The man blinked in sheer shock, looking at the space where the towering young man had been standing a fraction of a second prior.

Raphael was already twenty meters down the hall, stepping fluidly through the stairwell door instead of waiting for the elevator. His movements were impossibly fast, an effortless execution of spatial control that left no afterimages- just pure, blinding speed.

The official stood frozen in the hallway for three full seconds, his heart hammering against his ribs as he stared at the closing stairwell door. Panic seized him as he frantically tapped his tablet, bringing up an encrypted line to the highest authorities in the facility.

"Captain Vale! Operative Elena!" the official shouted into his comms, his voice cracking with urgency. "We have an emergency on Floor Four! Subject Raphael Matthews has just breached local protocol- he’s... he’s completely transformed! His physical metrics have skyrocketed, and he’s moving at speeds exceeding E-Rank capabilities! He’s heading toward the lower levels on foot right now!"