2025-04-20 09:38:13Chapter One: The Betrayal
The rain didn’t fall gently that night—it slashed through the darkness like knives from the heavens, drenching the once-proud Blackwood Estate in icy sheets. Thunder cracked across the sky as if mourning what was about to happen.
Ethan Blackwood stood on his knees, chained, bloodied, and bruised, his breath shallow. The courtyard that once echoed with his childhood laughter now rang with nothing but silence and the cold stares of his own family.
His father, Alaric Blackwood—the head of the clan—stood before him with disappointment etched into every line of his stern face. Around him stood council elders, distant cousins, and his own elder brother, Marcus, whose smirk twisted like a knife in Ethan’s gut.
“You were never meant to inherit the Shadow Flame,” Alaric said, voice booming and heartless. “Your existence was… a mistake.”
Ethan tried to speak, but the blood on his lips made it impossible. Everything he thought he understood was crumbling before him. The whispers, the cold glares, the secrets—they all made sense now. He had been set up.
“You were born of a commoner,” Marcus added, stepping forward. “Mother always knew. Father just… tolerated you. But that ends tonight.”
Ethan’s eyes burned, not from pain—but betrayal. His own brother. His own blood.
“I trained harder than any of you,” Ethan managed to whisper through clenched teeth. “I earned my place.”
“But you were never chosen,” Marcus snapped. “And now… you’ll die forgotten.”
Without another word, Marcus raised his hand. A circle of crimson runes ignited beneath Ethan, binding his limbs with dark energy. The forbidden execution seal—used only on traitors.
“I’m not a traitor,” Ethan whispered, eyes locked on his father’s. “I’m your son…”
Alaric turned away.
That was all it took. The spell activated, erupting in a pillar of red light that swallowed Ethan whole. Pain seared through every nerve. It wasn’t death—it was worse. The seal didn’t kill instantly. It erased you—body, soul, and spirit.
But just as his vision blurred, and the world slipped into shadow, something strange happened.
Ding.
[Shadow Heir Detected.]
[Initiating System Reboot…]
A cold wind whooshed through his collapsing mind, and then…
[Welcome, Ethan Blackwood. You have been chosen by the Forgotten System.]
[Would you like to survive?]
Ethan’s soul, adrift in a sea of darkness, latched onto the voice. It echoed with calm, mechanical certainty—a system interface. He had heard legends of such things, but none had been seen for centuries.
Yes, he thought.
[Initializing… Uploading Host Memories… Reconstructing Body…]
He felt a jolt. Suddenly, he wasn’t in the courtyard anymore. He was lying on a cold stone floor in a dim, abandoned ruin. Moss clung to cracked pillars. The air was heavy with ancient energy.
He sat up, breathing hard. His wounds were gone.
“Where… am I?” he muttered.
[Location: Shadow Vault, Realm 0]
[Tutorial Mode Engaged.]
[Host has been Reborn.]
“What the hell is this?”
[System Objective: Reclaim your destiny. Level up. Surpass your enemies. Become the Shadow Sovereign.]
Ethan’s heart pounded in his chest. He had died. And yet… here he was. Reborn, in a realm forgotten by time, with a power no one else had.
He opened his hand. A glowing menu appeared in the air before him:
Name: Ethan Blackwood
Level: 1
Class: Shadow Heir
Affinity: Darkness, Flame
System Perks:
– Phantom Step (Active)
– Flame Veil (Locked)
– Sovereign’s Will (Locked)
A low growl echoed in the distance. Ethan stood, trembling slightly as he took in his surroundings. The vault was ancient—made for trials. He could feel it.
“Alright…” he muttered, eyes narrowing with purpose. “If I’ve been given a second chance, then I’ll use it. I’ll rise from the shadows.”
His fist clenched, shadows wrapping around his arm like a second skin.
“Marcus… Father… The entire Blackwood Clan. I’ll come back for all of you.”
From above, a massive beast dropped down—a wolf-like creature with glowing red eyes and bones laced with metal.
[Tutorial Enemy: Shadowfang Lv. 5 - Initiating Battle.]
Ethan didn’t flinch. “Let’s test what this system can really do.”
End of Chapter One
Previous Chapter
Latest Chapter
Chapter Twenty-Seven: The Origin Beckons
Chapter Twenty-Seven: The Origin BeckonsThe world did not end in fire or silence—it paused, holding its breath for what came next.Ethan floated in the eye of the Spiral Plain. Around him, ley lines trembled, the Eclipse Sigil pulsed, and the Hollowed child stood at his side. Where once his veins thrummed with Shadowfire, now there was something older—quieter. A hum that resonated with the bones of the world."System," he whispered.[Recalibration complete. Core alignment stabilized. New designation: Origin Protocol Initiated.]His body cracked—not in pain, but in becoming. Memories flooded in—millennia of whispers, glimpses of Dreamers long before him, echoes of the first beings who shaped existence with word and will. He saw the birth of realms, the Sundering, the forging of the Eclipse Sigil by a nameless Weaver."I see it now," he murmured. "The system was never just code. It was memory. Legacy."The Hollowed child tilted its head. "Are you leaving?"Ethan looked down. "Not leavi
Chapter Twenty-Six: Shadows Beyond the Dawn
Chapter Twenty-Six: Shadows Beyond the DawnPeace, once earned, is never permanent. It must be tended like flame in a winter storm, fragile and flickering.Ethan stared into the rising city of Eldrane, where memory sculpted stone and the First Dreamer floated before him, draped in robes woven from constellations. Her presence trembled the ley lines beneath their feet."The gates were never meant to be singular," she said softly, the words settling into Ethan's bones like gravity. "The Celestial Gate was but one keyhole in the great lock of existence."Lio gripped his sword tighter, glancing at Ethan. "What does she mean?"Ethan exhaled slowly. "There are more gates. More doors that should never open."The First Dreamer nodded. "And some have begun to crack. Not through malice, but through imbalance. Magic once tethered to harmony now bleeds unbound. You sealed the convergence. But the echo of that act ripples outward."She raised her hand, and a tear in the air revealed another realm—
Chapter Twenty-Five: Embers of the Afterlight
Peace is not the absence of struggle, but the quiet in which new echoes are born.The Celestial Gate had been sealed, the Dark Sovereign unmade, and the realms—fragmented for eons—were now stitched together by threads of hard-won unity. Yet, beneath the surface of triumph, a subtle unease stirred like ash beneath still-burning coals.Ethan walked through the Vale of Silence, a place untouched by war, nestled between the rising cliffs of Halrin and the mist-veiled shores of the Crescent Lake. Once forgotten, it now glowed faintly with reborn ley energy. Wildflowers unfamiliar even to Sylvan scholars bloomed in strange constellations, and birds sang songs no one remembered teaching them.He felt it—the residual hum of the Heartstone, though far from Orenth. It pulsed not with urgency, but with invitation. Something in the world had shifted. Or perhaps, awakened.He knelt and touched the earth. A flicker of memory—no, something else—brushed against his thoughts. A whisper not from the pa
Chapter Twenty-Four: The Convergence
Chapter Twenty-Four: The ConvergenceThe storm that had brewed over realms and hearts for so long finally reached its eye. The winds of fate, once subtle whispers, now howled with clarity. Ethan stood on the precipice of convergence—where past choices, future hopes, and present struggles collided like stars in a collapsing galaxy.The city of Orenth, once a bastion of ancient knowledge and hidden power, had awakened. Its streets, now alive with flickering magic, pulsed beneath Ethan's feet. The Eclipse Sigil on his palm shimmered violently, resonating with the ley lines beneath the city. This place was a nexus—a final gathering of all forces.Allies had come. From the Ashen Plains rode the Stormborne, their thunder-marked steeds galloping with purpose. From the Sapphire Coast came the Tidecallers, trident-bearing warriors clad in armor of seafoam and coral. And from the whispering woods of Lyra, the Sylvan Elites marched in harmony with their spirit beasts.Ethan, now bearing the titl
Chapter Twenty-Three: The Reckoning
Chapter Twenty-Three: The ReckoningThe winds howled over the Obsidian Crags, a relentless roar that drowned even the screams of the dying. Fire and ice clashed across the battlefield, the sky above torn between a crimson eclipse and thunderclouds that bled lightning. The final war had begun.Ethan stood at the vanguard, his armor scorched, his hands clenched around the hilt of his sword—no longer just a blade, but an extension of his will. The Trials had carved into him something unbreakable, and now, as the armies of the fractured realm surged together like tidal waves meeting in fury, he understood what it had all been for.The Ashen Legion bore down from the west, shadows spilling from their cloaks like smoke, while the Sanctified marched from the east in gleaming lines of gold and white. And in the heart of the chaos, Malrek—clad in obsidian, eyes burning like twin infernos—descended from the black tower that spiraled into the sky.Ethan breathed deeply. He felt the presence of th
Chapter Twenty-Two: The Shattered Horizon
Chapter Twenty-Two: The Shattered HorizonThe sky over the Realm of Radiance had never known darkness—until now.As Ethan and his companions stepped beyond the Obsidian Arch, the final gate that separated the Spiritlands from the mortal plane, a heavy silence greeted them. The light that once bathed the realm in gold now dimmed to an eerie gray, as if the very essence of hope had been drained from the air. The vast citadel of Haldrith, once a monument of shimmering spires and celestial gardens, now stood cracked and marred. Shadows lingered where none should exist.Aeris gripped her staff tightly, her knuckles pale. "This isn't just corruption. This is devastation."Lirael knelt and pressed her palm to the broken stone path. Her eyes flickered as visions danced in her mind. "They came through here not long ago. The Soultakers. Led by the Hollow King."At the mention of that name, a hush fell over the group.Ethan turned toward Kael, his brother-in-arms and the ever-watchful sentinel o
You may also like
Son Of The Universe
Evanscapenovel22.7K viewsSwordsman Chronicles: Art of the Sword
Kurt Dp.18.6K viewsTales of the Slime Tamer
Rapture Tales57.5K viewsHoly Demon God
LuoFeng91518.6K viewsThrilling Storm
Raising Moon3.0K viewsGUN GOD IN FANTASIA WORLD
Shame_less0073.4K viewsThe Promise of No Words
Sageous74 viewsMy Dragon Beast System
ECM_MANGA13.4K views