Chapter Twelve becomes a landmark moment in both tone and character arc—it's the team's **first true mission**, deadly and high-stakes, and it nearly ends in tragedy. But it also becomes the moment Rin begins a strange and hilarious evolution—*unbeknownst to him*, he becomes host to a bizarre "comedy system" from a shattered future. A system that grants him power through laughter… and pain.
It's also a turning point for **Bai Lu** and **Lian**, whose emotions—normally buried under ice and silence—*fracture* when faced with Rin's near-death.
This chapter will blend *darkness, absurdity, and raw emotion*.
---
## **Chapter Twelve: The Joke That Saved a Monster**
> *Location: Forgotten Temple of Varkaash, Lower Xintai Fringe*
> *Objective: Retrieve the Void Binding Sigil*
> *Team: Bai Lu, Rin, Lian, Jane, Zara, Alin, Hollis, Sen*
The mission was supposed to be simple.
In. Steal the Sigil. Out.
It was a cursed ruin, yes, but a dormant one. A leftover battlefield from the Great Hidden War. Supposedly sealed, supposedly dead.
It wasn't.
They walked into a trap older than the Families themselves.
---
### **The Temple Awakens**
Zara's spell misfired.
Sen was knocked unconscious.
Alin's arms were nearly melted sealing a breach in time.
Hollis got separated. Jane screamed.
And Rin—
Rin died.
Just for a second.
Impaled through the chest by a serpentine relic spike, hurled by a monstrous warden forged from sorrow and bone.
He hit the wall hard enough to crack it.
Then… *silence*.
Lian rushed first.
"RIN!"
Bai Lu didn't scream. She moved.
But in that moment, something else moved faster.
---
### **The System Activates**
> *\[SYSTEM DOWNLOAD COMPLETE]*
> *Installing: 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘺 𝘖𝘧 𝘚𝘶𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘷𝘢𝘭™ – Temporal Relic Build v9.3*
> *Host Compatibility: 38% – Close Enough. Launching Emergency Protocol…*
Inside Rin's fading mind, a voice spoke.
It sounded like a sarcastic stand-up comedian with way too much espresso.
> **"Welcome, user! You died! Again! Congrats! Let's make death hilarious!"**
> *\[INITIATING: Absurd Revival — Cost: 1 Near-Death Experience]*
Rin's eyes snapped open.
Blood still dripping. Bones cracked. Heartbeat flickering.
But he was alive.
And suddenly, in his vision:
> **\[You have gained: 1x Drop of Crimson Ancestor Bloodline]**
> **\[Passive: Laugh to Level – Gain Power via Shared Laughter]**
> **\[Side Effect: Uncontrollable Wit under Stress]**
"...What the hell?"
---
### **The Joke Hits**
The monster loomed again.
Jane prepared a defensive rune. Bai Lu unsheathed fire.
And Rin, still bleeding, rose on shaky feet and shouted:
> "Hey! Bone-for-brains! I've seen scarier things in my laundry basket!"
The monster *froze*.
Jane *snorted*.
Zara laughed so hard she accidentally dropped her hex bomb on her own foot.
> *\[LAUGHTER DETECTED – Group Sync x3]*
> *\[REWARD: Speed +3 | Regeneration Unlocked | New Fusion Option Available]*
Bai Lu blinked. "What the hell was that?"
Rin swayed.
"I think I just… powered up by being funny?"
Lian: "That can't be real."
System:
> *\[It's real, baby. Welcome to the Death Comedy Club.]*
---
### **The Fight Turns**
Rin dodged a tail swipe mid-quip.
"Gonna take more than bone-chic fashion and bad breath to ruin my night!"
Zara, nearly crushed, burst out laughing.
> *\[LAUGHTER DETECTED]*
> *\[Bloodline Fusion Unlocked: Nightshroud Fang + Crimson Flare]*
> *\[New Skill: Vampiric Howl of Hysteria]*
Bai Lu paused mid-strike, watching Rin *glow*. He looked wild, ridiculous, grinning through pain with fangs sharp and a new light in his eyes.
He shouldn't have survived.
But somehow—he was *winning*.
---
### **The Cost**
The temple collapsed around them.
They barely made it out—Sigil in hand, wounds dripping, magic burned to cinders.
And then Rin *collapsed*.
Not laughing this time.
Pale. Cold.
His body, overloaded by forced fusion, began to spasm.
He whispered, "I think the punchline got me…"
And passed out.
---
### **When the Jokes Stop**
Lian screamed first.
"Rin—wake up—hey—hey you—idiot—!"
Jane bit her lip, knuckles white.
Zara trembled, blinking back tears. "That wasn't supposed to happen…"
And Bai Lu?
She didn't say anything.
She knelt. Laid a hand to his chest.
Felt no magic.
Felt no life.
Her voice cracked.
"Not like this."
A pause.
A *quiet* unlike anything they'd ever heard from her.
Then she whispered:
> "You laugh, you fool. You always laugh. *So laugh.*"
No answer.
Lian looked at her.
Tears silent.
"He's gone…"
> *\[SYSTEM: CRITICAL FAIL-SAFE TRIGGERED]*
> *\[Host Attachment Detected: ≥3 Active Emotional Anchors]*
> *\[Rebooting with Max Emotional Charge]*
> *\[Bonus Achieved: You Are Too Loved To Die™]*
Rin gasped.
Coughed.
Then croaked:
> "Someone better be crying for me."
Everyone stared.
Bai Lu turned away.
But her hands trembled.
---
> *He shouldn't have made it.*
> *But laughter… kept him alive.*
> *A system from the future, born of paradox and pain, now bonds with a fool-hearted vampire.*
> *And those who almost lost him—*
> *—are beginning to realize what he meant