Brandon Locke

Biography

Awakening inside an extra

An unnamed reader dies in his original world and awakens in the body of Brandon Locke, a supposedly minor student in a novel whose ending he never finished. Fear of the coming calamity initially makes him imitate the original plot and avoid its important characters. He nevertheless enrolls at Astrea, experiments with the System's Skill Weaver, invests in Charles Deus's company, and discovers that even small interventions can keep people alive. (Chapters 1–14)

Survival quickly demands morally compromising choices. Brandon defeats the assassin Leon by creating Mana Disruption, impersonates the Primordials' First Seat, and turns the confused killer into an operative called Alpha. His friendship with Raven Blackheart also becomes real despite Brandon's expectation that Raven belongs to someone else's story. These decisions establish his habitual method: conceal his fear, exploit future knowledge, and build alliances under identities that keep responsibility at a distance. (Chapters 9–21)

The Battle Royale and Amy's abduction end his hope that the known plot can remain intact. Brandon kills Felix Osborn, uses the Mirage Mask during covert interventions, dominates the academy contest, and joins Evelyn's rescue operation. Jin's rooftop test then reveals an opponent far beyond Brandon's current scale and offers him a place in the Primordials. By accepting, Brandon chooses active interference over the safety of remaining an “extra.” (Chapters 22–54)

Everglade, family, and the curse

Away from the academy, Brandon tries to act like an ordinary brother and friend while financing Sarah Aurae's search for her missing family. The Everglade investigation exposes soul-bearing dolls, the possessed David Aurae, and Oliver White's earlier flight from the same disaster. Brandon destroys the final vessel to stop the Wraith's exploitation of children, but doing so also ends Emma's trapped existence and leaves Sarah grieving a choice she never consented to make. (Chapters 55–85)

That act unlocks the Curse affinity and turns emotional pain into a literal progression path. Brandon trains Cursed Threads through blood and repeated physical agony, while his return to the Locke home confronts him with the body's earlier owner. Hidden notes, an affinity notebook, and visions suggest that the original Brandon anticipated the apocalypse and may have arranged the consciousness transfer, but they never establish whether he died, merged, or remains elsewhere. (Chapters 84–100)

The academy festival gives Brandon a brief public life as a pianist and committee member, yet his underworld activity expands at the same time. He works with Zed Alistar, intercepts Twilight shipments, and grows closer to Rachel Asami, who confesses her feelings and becomes his partner. Mastery of Cursed Threads and the contradictory first display of Cursed Flames accompany a near-fatal confrontation with Dwight, reinforcing Brandon's belief that he must enter the accelerated Azenia incursion. (Chapters 101–145)

Sovereign integration and the auction war

Brandon cannot prevent the calamity he anticipated. After the incursion, a prolonged and unstable integration reframes Skill Weaver as the Sovereign of Creation, raises his mana core, and leaves him dependent on Amelia Constantine to stabilize the foreign power. Their later ranker journey forces him to protect Carl, negotiate with intelligent goblins, and survive repeated Frostwolf battles while Cursed Flames erode his control and expose how readily he treats his own body as expendable. (Chapters 146–195)

Lumian's attack and Belle's apparent death push that self-sacrifice to its extreme. Brandon loses an arm, attempts a life-for-life Binding Vow, and creates a grayscale Zone that cannot restore what he thinks he has lost. When the truth emerges, he kills Lumian but does not recover his former confidence. He trades away Elemental Manipulation and Aeolus's Blessing for Phantasm, then exchanges Mana Disruption and Mana Burst for Retribution, permanently narrowing his arsenal in pursuit of control over threats around him. (Chapters 196–224)

As Moriarty, Brandon assembles a coalition for the Twilight auction, trains with Ironaxe's body-lightening ring, and uses the Twilight Device to enter the syndicate's economy. The operation exposes experimental affinities and the Sevenfold artifact, but Ezekiel's regression vision destabilizes Brandon's identity with memories spanning thousands of failed progressions. He eventually returns to school, accepts the Primordials' First Seat, founds Locke Enterprise, and converts private foreknowledge into organizational power. (Chapters 219–290)

Permafrost, grief, and the requiem

Brandon's methods harden during Zeke Wesley's interrogation and the Aetherwild camp, but his S- breakthrough is not a solitary triumph. The S-rank breakthrough pill resolves only after weeks of pain, and the greater wyvern falls through Amelia's battlefield direction and coordinated support. Later, the tampered Dimensional Tower weaponizes distrust between Brandon and Raven; Raven's decision to return, aided by the Bracelet of Adieu, preserves their friendship even though Yi Jihyeon dies after transferring Permafrost to Brandon. (Chapters 291–367)

Evelyn teaches Brandon to reconfigure his circuits for Permafrost and refines his pseudo swordsmanship while concealing the collapse of her own mana core. When a Wraith Seed converts her, Brandon sacrifices four skills trying to save her and gains only a brief farewell. He then kills his mentor with her sword, is framed for murder, and publicly exposes the cult's Wraith Seeds at trial. Evelyn's posthumous Christmas drive becomes both a training archive and proof that his emotional detachment has failed. (Chapters 368–398)

Grief turns Brandon into an obsessive cult hunter. He completes Eternal Glaciate, develops Glacial Bloom, tests the limits of Permafrost and Curse, and uses the Mirage Mask to execute Rian Velante. Suspecting Lianna Venice of being Lust, he stages a breakup with Amelia, infiltrates Lianna's business network, and publicly unveils the Elemental Amulet. At Britannia Dome he webs the venue with Cursed Threads, identifies Lianna, and beheads her during a requiem for Evelyn. (Chapters 399–429)

Lianna's autopsy and the conspirators' recovered evidence confirm forbidden magic and clear Brandon of her murder. Bellion risks his new office to protect him, while the military prepares to force Brandon's early graduation and compare him to Lucian Frost. The victory closes the immediate Lust operation but not the progression, Jin's designs, Raven's contradictory memories, or Brandon's transformation after Curse assimilation. He ends the supplied story alive, S-, and still building power for unresolved Sovereign conflicts. (Chapter 430)

Appearance and personality

Brandon's body is tall and striking, with pale-white hair and ice-blue eyes through most of the story. Elemental and Curse assimilation temporarily turns both black; after Evelyn's death, the black coloring becomes permanent without a displayed System explanation, and he later ties back his longer hair. His outward composure, sarcasm, and calculated cruelty conceal chronic insomnia, guilt, fear of losing his chosen identity, and intense attachment to the people he once regarded as fictional. (Chapters 3, 11, 102, 156, 251–263, 384, 407, 418–426)

Magic and abilities

Sovereign of Creation

Skill Weaver begins as an Anomaly-class passive that creates abilities within Brandon's current capability, with finite capacity and painful transfers of information. The calamity integration reframes that framework as Sovereign of Creation, retaining experience, inventory, status displays, and skill creation while tying the interface to Jin. Because Jin can observe or intervene through that connection and Ciel's tome can omit exchanged skills, neither the interface nor Brandon's apparent progress is treated as a completely neutral record. It also cannot create unsupported concepts on demand: Space is rejected as not being a skill, and attempts to make healing beyond Brandon's capability fail. (Chapters 1, 4, 12–14, 27, 53, 156–166, 207–215, 293, 383)

Curse affinity and vows

Later evidence attributes the Curse branch to the earlier Brandon's attempt to protect the current consciousness from Jin. Cursed Threads cut, bind, suspend allies, transfer energy, and eventually form warning webs across large spaces; strong targets can still break them, and early training causes blood and extreme pain. Cursed Flames sap strength and mana but can erode Brandon's judgment, while Cursed Chains and Mark of Despair expand the branch into restraint and illusory effects. Soul Drain remains locked at the latest complete status display, so its mechanics are unknown. (Chapters 84–85, 92–93, 133, 177, 208–214, 286, 293, 308–309, 316, 401, 429)

Binding Vows turn sacrifice into temporary output, ability exchange, or transfer, but the cost can be bodily, magical, or lethal. Brandon permanently trades Elemental Manipulation and Aeolus's Blessing for Phantasm, then Mana Disruption and Mana Burst for Retribution. Retribution binds a surrendered lower-ranked target with a chain that also pierces Brandon's heart, shares pain and risk, and is shown with a 744-hour term. Later vows briefly raise his mana to SS+, transfer Yi Jihyeon's Permafrost and will, and consume four newly created unnamed skills without curing Evelyn's Wraith conversion. (Chapters 208–215, 224, 288, 361, 366, 383)

Phantasm and Permafrost

Phantasm is acquired through the first permanent ability exchange. Its cursed fog provides pathways for abrupt repositioning, afterimages, disorientation, and battlefield control, but maintaining broad coverage drains mana and sealed-domain interference can block escape functions. Brandon pairs it with the Body-Lightening Training Ring during practice and with Curse techniques during the labyrinth and wyvern operations. (Chapters 214, 276–286, 308–309, 316, 321, 360–361)

Permafrost is transferred from Yi Jihyeon rather than created by the System. Eternal Glaciate freezes and slows a battlefield; Glacial Bloom produces an icy camellia whose blade-like petals can orbit Brandon's sword or attack independently; Winter's Aegis remains incomplete. Reconfiguring his mana circuits is painful, maintaining a broad frozen field taxes his reserves, and controlling several petals divides his attention. Evelyn's live instruction and posthumous recordings help him progress from manifestation to complete mastery of Eternal Glaciate and Glacial Bloom, while Winter's Aegis reaches only twenty-one percent by Chapter 426. (Chapters 366, 373, 377, 398, 406–408, 413, 426)

Earlier elements and pseudo swordsmanship

Before the binding-vow exchanges, Elemental Manipulation lets Brandon shape ice, lightning, fire, wind, water, and nature, while Mana Disruption scatters forming mana at one selected location. Accelerated Cognition remains a timed perception-and-thought boost, and Mana Burst briefly improves physical performance. Elemental Manipulation, Mana Disruption, and Mana Burst are no longer available after Chapters 214 and 224; the corpus does not show Accelerated Cognition being sacrificed. Evelyn's Pseudo Swordsmanship remains accessible, using economical motion and precisely timed reinforcement to conceal changes in speed and force, although it improves rather than replaces Brandon's limited conventional sword training. (Chapters 4, 12–14, 21–27, 43, 53, 96–97, 111, 133–134, 214, 224, 237–242, 373, 406–408)

Power progression

Relationships

• Amelia Constantine: His partner, emotional stabilizer, and operational equal. Their apparent breakup is a joint deception aimed at Lianna.
• Raven Blackheart: Friend, rival, and fellow Sovereign whose hidden histories repeatedly complicate trust.
• Belle Locke and Brianna Locke: His older sister and mother, respectively. Their acceptance helps Brandon treat the Locke family as his own rather than a stolen role.
• Evelyn Cessna: Mentor in magic, ranker work, Permafrost, and swordsmanship; her engineered death defines Brandon's final campaign.
• Jin and Ciel: Architects of the Sovereign plan. Jin tests Brandon and seeks access through the Sovereign framework, while Ciel rescues and stabilizes him before manipulating events intended to break that framework; the two roles should not be conflated into a single attempt at assimilation.
• Zed Alistar: Underworld broker and operational partner who connects Brandon to Twilight and later supports his investigations.
• Rachel Asami: Close friend and former romantic partner whose care persists after their separation.

Items

• Mirage Mask: Brandon recovers the dwarven runic mask and repeatedly uses its reshaping disguise for Moriarty, Jack the Ripper, and later cult-hunting operations. (Chapters 21–247, 387, 413–416)
• Curse Doll: Brandon destroys the final soul-bearing vessel in Everglade, ending the Wraith's hold and Emma's trapped existence while unlocking his Curse affinity. (Chapters 71–85)
• Original Brandon's Affinity Notebook: Research hidden in the Locke home preserves the earlier Brandon's affinity studies and contributes to the unresolved consciousness-transfer mystery; Brandon stores and later consults it. (Chapters 94–100, 293)
• Ciel's Dimensional Ring: This remains Ciel's artifact rather than Brandon's possession; she combines its fixed-coordinate portal with Tracking to retrieve his unconscious body after the calamity. (Chapter 162)
• Ciel's Fate Tome: Ciel uses the tome to monitor Brandon's System, and Brandon later consults it himself. Its disintegration and incomplete displays make it evidence, not an infallible status record. (Chapters 200–215, 293)
• Body-Lightening Training Ring: Obtained from Ironaxe, the mana-fed ring lightens Brandon's body and loosens his muscles during repeated physical and sword training, with neurological danger if used carelessly. (Chapters 227–239, 276–278)
• Twilight Device: Brandon uses a Moriarty-linked terminal and account to communicate, enter Twilight's underground economy, and coordinate the auction infiltration. (Chapters 223–259)
• Syndicate Entrance Ring: Brandon distributes one of Ironaxe's copied portal rings to Amelia for the auction raid; he is an operational custodian, not the artifact's demonstrated activator. (Chapters 245–246)
• S-rank Breakthrough Pill: Brandon buys the dangerous threshold aid, stores it until Aetherwild, and endures weeks of pain before it resolves into an S- displayed average. (Chapters 228–229, 307–316)
• Elemental Amulet: Brandon and Ironaxe reconstruct the Sevenfold prototype into Locke Enterprise's affinity-granting product, giving Brandon commercial and military leverage rather than a personal combat accessory. (Chapters 247–282, 373, 424–427)
• Nexus Link Rings: Brandon and Amelia hold the paired emergency-transport rings. They work during ordinary crises but fail across the tampered Dimensional Tower's sealed interference. (Chapters 305–317, 360, 385)
• Evelyn's Sword: Evelyn gives Brandon this conventional training blade, which he later uses to pierce her transforming core. (Chapters 377, 383)
• Evelyn's Christmas Drive: Evelyn's posthumously delivered archive preserves Permafrost pathways, swordsmanship research, and her final message, allowing Brandon to continue her curriculum. (Chapters 397–398, 406)