My Life Changed with the Unlimited System

The air inside the warehouse thickened the moment Steve took another step.

It wasn't just tension anymore. It felt like the very air had turned to iron, pressing down on every chest, every breath, every thought.

His presence was no longer just something seen—it was something felt. A quiet storm, unseen but impossible to ignore.

A wave of energy rippled from him, invisible but unmistakable. The lights above flickered faintly. Dust drifted in slow motion through the stillness. Even the walls seemed to creak.

Jessica gasped, one hand on her chest. Jordan gritted his teeth, trying not to groan as the pressure made his wound throb worse. Joseph, already weak, could barely stay conscious.

Steve didn't raise his voice. He didn't need to.

His eyes locked onto Donald.

The arrogant smirk Donald wore earlier began to crack. Sweat broke across his forehead.

"W-What... What is this?" he muttered.

Then louder, panicked, "Protect me, you fools!"

The three Ascendants rushed in without hesitation, forming a loose shield between Steve and Donald. They summoned their aura, each one pushing their strength to the surface.

But even combined, their presence felt like trying to stop a tidal wave with sandbags.

Steve remained still, calm, unreadable.

His voice cut through the silence like steel.

"Are you sure you want to do this?"

He wasn't bluffing. But he wasn't eager for bloodshed either. If they had any sense left, they'd back down. His reputation alone should be enough.

Then Dravik stepped forward.

The Fire Ascendant's movements were heavy, deliberate. A different kind of heat began to seep through the warehouse. It was not physical, but thick and stifling, like standing too close to a furnace that hadn't yet exploded.

His aura flared, dark and volatile.

"What about now?" Dravik asked, voice low. "Still think you're in control?"

He stared straight at Steve, eyes burning with challenge.

Steve didn't answer immediately.

He simply met the man's gaze.

And the silence that followed said more than words ever could.

The moment Dravik unleashed his power, it collided with Steve's presence like two storms crashing head-on.

A deafening boom echoed through the warehouse, followed by a violent shockwave that tore through the space. Cracks raced across the concrete floor. Chunks of dust and grit rained from the ceiling.

The flickering lights above stuttered and buzzed, some of them shattering outright from the pressure.

The air trembled.

It was no longer just an exchange of power. It was a full-blown collision of wills.

Auras flared like walls of invisible fire and wind, twisting and colliding in bursts that rippled through the room. It felt like being caught between two hurricanes fighting to tear each other apart.

Kaida and Verran flinched from the force. They weren't in the direct line, but even standing nearby left their bones rattling and their skin prickling with heat and cold.

Their eyes met for a moment, a silent question passing between them, 'Was this really worth it?'

Going against one of the Five Ghosts of Nemesis would never be a good idea. They stared to question everything now.

Jessica stumbled back, barely keeping her footing. Her ears rang. Her body shook. She clutched Jordan's arm like it was the only thing anchoring her to reality.

"Jordan..." Her voice trembled as she whispered, "What… what is happening? What in the world are we seeing?"

Her wide eyes darted between the clashing forces. The world she knew, the one where money and power ruled from behind desks, had just been torn apart in front of her.

Jordan coughed, his hand pressing harder against his bleeding side.

Each breath hurt more than the last. But the pain wasn't what made him feel like throwing up.

It was the truth.

It was the realization.

"This is…" he struggled to speak, his voice hoarse. "This is real. They're not bluffing. This isn't just strength. It's something else."

His thoughts flickered to a conversation he once had with Ethan. A light one, nothing serious. He had joked about a robbery in the neighborhood, laughing that maybe superpowered people were behind it.

He remembered Ethan smiling but never answering.

And now here he was, watching men who could shake buildings with their presence.

'Monsters in human skin…' That was the only phrase that fit. 'They really exist.'

He then said, "This is more than what we could take, Jessica. This is no longer our world."

Jessica couldn't speak anymore. She just stared, her mouth slightly open, as another pulse of power cracked through the warehouse and made the entire building groan.

Jordan leaned closer and whispered, "We were never ready for this."

And Jessica, for once, didn't argue.

She couldn't.

Because deep down, she knew he was right.

Lucien stood calmly near the edge of the chaos, hands tucked loosely behind his back, as if he were simply watching a stage play unfold.

His eyes moved with unsettling precision, shifting between Steve and Dravik like he was dissecting every flicker of movement, every flare of aura, every ripple of killing intent in the air.

Then he smiled. It was subtle, knowing, and far too confident.

"Fascinating," he murmured, almost to himself. "So this is what you're really like… Ghost of Nemesis."

The warehouse groaned under the pressure of the clash between Steve and Dravik. The air itself seemed to tremble with the force of two titans preparing to collide again.

But Lucien?

He didn't even flinch.

While everyone else was struggling to breathe under the sheer weight of their aura, Lucien remained steady, unnervingly steady. Like a man walking through a storm and somehow not getting wet.

And that was what caught Steve's attention.

His gaze snapped briefly to Lucien, eyes narrowing. Even in the middle of an impending fight, Steve's instincts screamed.

'He's not affected. That shouldn't be possible.'

Lucien was supposed to be a Low Three-Star Ascendant. Skilled, maybe. Cunning, certainly. But not strong enough to stand unfazed in a clash like this.

'Unless… he's been hiding his true strength all this time.'

Steve didn't have time to dwell. A sudden crack split the floor ahead.

Dravik stepped forward. "Die!"

The cement fractured under his boot, and a heat wave rolled outward, warping the air. His presence became heavier, more violent, as if a volcano was stirring inside him.

Flames curled along his fingers and wrists like hungry serpents. His deep-set eyes locked onto Steve's with unwavering focus.

"You're strong," Dravik said, his voice like distant thunder. "But don't think for a second that you'll walk out of here untouched."

The air darkened further, as if the flames themselves had begun to steal the light.

And Lucien?

He chuckled softly, still unmoving. His smile remained, but there was a sharpness behind it now—like a blade hidden beneath silk.

Jordan and Jessica stood frozen, still trying to make sense of it all.

But Steve's gaze no longer wandered.

Dravik was stepping forward, and something told him this was only the beginning.