2025-08-31 23:38:06The weak sunlight that bled through the cracked window was faint, but to Kael it felt brighter than fire. He sat on the edge of the straw bed, his fists clenched as he studied his hands.
Smaller. Younger. But trembling with something new. The words still floated before his eyes: [Quest: Survive the next 7 days without dying.] [Reward: Beginner’s Gift Pack.] [Failure: Permanent Death.] Kael’s jaw tightened. "Seven days… a test." The air in the orphanage was thick with mold and despair. Every corner smelled of rot, every crack in the walls whispered of hunger and beatings. He knew this place too well. The Orphanage. His first hell. And he knew who ruled this place. Brann. The bully of the dormitory, taller and stronger than most boys, a beast who had once broken Kael’s ribs and stolen his food day after day. Back then, Kael had been weak. A rat scurrying in shadows. But Kael was no longer that boy. He was Kael Draven, warlord reborn, branded by the System itself. The door slammed open. “Well, well,” came a sneering voice, all too familiar. “The rat is awake.” Brann filled the doorway. His broad shoulders blocked the light from the hall, his crooked grin stretching across his face. Two other boys hovered behind him, laughing like hyenas. Kael rose slowly, his gaze sharp, his pulse calm. “What do you want?” he asked. Brann cracked his knuckles as he stepped inside. “What I always want. Your bread. Your bed. Maybe today…” His grin widened. “…your blood.” The lackeys chuckled. Kael’s lips curved faintly. "Try." Brann’s grin faltered. This was not the response he remembered. The weakling orphan had never talked back before. But the bully sneered and lunged forward, throwing a fist at Kael’s face. Time slowed. A faint glow appeared on Kael’s forearm. [Optional Quest: Defeat Brann.] [Reward: +5 Strength, Random Skill.] Kael’s eyes lit with dangerous amusement. The fist slammed into his cheek. Pain shot through his jaw, white-hot and sharp. His young body staggered. Blood filled his mouth. But Kael did not fall. He swung back, his fist crashing into Brann’s stomach. The bigger boy grunted, surprised by the force, but anger twisted his face. He shoved Kael hard to the ground. His boot came crashing down, aiming for Kael’s ribs. Kael rolled aside, his eyes catching on a jagged piece of broken wood lying on the floor. His hand shot out, gripping it tight. With a snarl, he thrust it upward. The shard tore into Brann’s thigh. Brann screamed, collapsing to the ground. Blood pooled on the floor. The two lackeys froze, their smirks wiped clean. And then, the System spoke. [Ding! Quest Complete.] [+5 Strength.] [Skill Acquired: Savage Strike.] Power surged through Kael’s veins. His body felt alive, sharper, stronger. His grip on the shard tightened. His presence filled the room like a predator’s shadow. Kael rose slowly, his dark eyes burning. “You should have killed me when you had the chance,” he said coldly. Brann whimpered on the ground, clutching his leg, his arrogance gone. The lackeys stepped back toward the door, fear etched across their faces. Another glow appeared before Kael’s eyes. [New Prompt: Kill Brann for Bonus Reward.] [Reward: +10 Strength, Hidden Skill Unlock.] The shard of wood trembled in Kael’s hand. The System’s hunger pulsed inside him, whispering for blood. Promising power. Brann’s wide, terrified eyes met his. “P-Please… don’t kill me.” Kael froze. The rage in his chest burned. He saw Serenya’s dagger. Darius’s mocking smirk. The betrayal. The poison. Killing Brann would be easy. One thrust. One scream. The System promised power, and Kael craved it. But something inside him stilled. Not yet. Brann was nothing but a small beast. Killing him now would be wasted. Kael needed to learn control. He needed to learn the System’s hunger, not be consumed by it. Slowly, he lowered the shard. The room was silent. Brann sobbed softly. The lackeys pressed against the wall, pale and shaking. Kael’s voice was low, deadly calm. "Touch me again, and you won’t leave alive." He dropped the shard, turned, and walked toward the door. [Ding! New Passive Skill Acquired: Aura of Fear.] Kael smiled faintly. The air around him seemed colder, heavier. The System had given him strength, and now it gave him presence. As he stepped into the sunlight, his heart beat steady and strong. This was only the beginning. Seven days to survive. Seven days to rise. And when the time came, he would carve his path of vengeance with blood.
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Chapter 100: When the Light Remembered
Kael awoke to silence.No sky. No ground. Just a faint, steady pulse beneath his hands — like the heartbeat of something ancient. Then, light bled into the void, soft and trembling, until color began to form.He opened his eyes. The world around him shimmered like glass reflecting a dream. The air itself glowed faintly.Beside him, Seren lay still.Kael reached out, brushing his fingers over her face. “Seren…”Her lashes flickered. “Kael?” Her voice was soft, barely there.He exhaled shakily. “You’re alive.”She sat up slowly, looking around in awe. “Where are we?”Kael scanned the horizon. The ground beneath them pulsed faintly with golden veins. Above, rivers of light flowed through clouds shaped like symbols. Every few seconds, the world flickered — unstable, as if trying to remember what it was.“It worked,” Kael murmured. “The collapse. The rewrite.”She turned to him. “You remember everything?”“Yes.” He hesitated. “I anchored us to the new world before the Spire fell. You and I
Chapter 99: The World That Shouldn't Exist
The wind carried no sound. Only dust and silence.Rhael stood at the edge of what was once the Spire. The great monument that had reached into the heavens now lay in ruins, its foundation split open like the scar of a dying god. Where divine light had once bathed the land, there was now only a dull grey haze. The air itself felt fractured, as though reality hadn’t decided whether to hold or collapse.He walked slowly across the broken plain, his boots crunching against glass-like shards that had once been divine metal. The scent of burned energy hung thick — acrid, metallic, almost human. His cloak fluttered in the faint wind, the sound too quiet for a world that had seen such destruction.Rhael’s eyes, sharp and cold as steel, scanned the horizon. No life. No movement. No Kael.Only the aftermath.He crouched beside a pool of liquid light — remnants of the Architect’s energy — and dipped his fingers in. It pulsed faintly, then dimmed as if recognizing him. His jaw tightened. “So it’s
Chapter 98: The Light That Lies
The plains were quiet now. The ash still fell like snow, faintly glowing with the remnants of divine energy. The war had ended hours ago, but the air still trembled as if the world hadn’t realized it yet. Kael walked in silence, his sword sheathed across his back, his body covered in light scars that pulsed faintly beneath his skin. Beside him, Seren kept pace, her steps light but steady, her eyes fixed on the horizon where the Spire rose.It looked like it touched the stars, its golden glow piercing through the haze. From this distance, it was beautiful—almost divine—but Kael knew what lay behind that light. Lies. Machinery. Endless death wearing the skin of holiness.Seren finally broke the silence. “You’re quiet again.”Kael’s lips twitched faintly. “Thinking.”“That’s what you said last time,” she muttered, kicking at a pebble. “Then you nearly collapsed after burning through half your soul.”He smirked faintly. “And yet, I’m still walking.”“Barely.”They passed through a valley
Chapter 97: The Song of Ruin
The sky burned.Dozens—no, hundreds—of Celestial Wardens descended from the fractured heavens, their wings made of radiant steel, their halos spinning like rings of light. Each one was a weapon forged from the Architect’s will — programmed to destroy anything carrying the Abyssal mark.Kael stood at the center of the storm, his shadow stretching across the cracked plains. Around him, the wind howled with unnatural force, carrying the metallic cry of the Wardens. His blade pulsed with gold fire, runes crawling across the metal like living veins.“Stay close,” he said quietly, his voice calm despite the thunder overhead.Seren nodded, her heart racing. “You think I’m letting you take all the fun?”Kael smirked faintly, then stepped forward — straight into the army of light.The first Warden struck, a spear of radiant energy slicing down like lightning. Kael raised his sword and caught the blow midair. The impact sent a shockwave across the ground, shattering stone and dust. He twisted,
Chapter 96: The World Begins to Break
The wind howled through the shattered plains.Kael stood at the edge of the ruined city, his coat whipping in the violent gusts. The horizon was no longer steady — the sky fractured like cracked glass, threads of molten gold and shadow splitting across the heavens. Every tear pulsed with unstable light, distorting reality itself.Seren stepped beside him, shielding her eyes. “It’s spreading faster than you said.”Kael’s gaze stayed fixed on the horizon. “The Architect’s trying to force a system reboot. He’s pulling energy from the lower planes to stabilize the Spire. Every world linked to this one will feel it soon.”“And the people?”His jaw tightened. “If the collapse reaches them… they’ll be erased. No rebirth, no aftercycle. Just nothing.”Seren’s stomach turned. She’d seen death before — but this was different. This wasn’t dying. This was unmaking.She took a slow breath and turned to him. “Then we stop him before it gets that far.”Kael glanced at her, and for a fleeting moment,
Chapter 95: Shattered Light
The ground trembled beneath their feet. The Vault’s ceiling split with a thunderous crack, shards of radiant stone tumbling from above like pieces of a dying star.Kael instinctively moved in front of Seren, his hand glowing faintly with unstable energy. “Move!” he shouted, grabbing her wrist and pulling her toward the edge of the collapsing platform.“What’s happening?” Seren gasped, struggling to keep her footing as the floor disintegrated beneath them.“The Vault’s link to the Source is collapsing,” Kael said through gritted teeth. “When you broke the seal, it rewrote the energy threads. The Architect’s control here is gone—but so is the stability holding this dimension together.”He leaped forward, dragging Seren with him. A wave of molten light surged across the floor where they’d just stood, dissolving everything it touched into nothingness.Seren glanced over her shoulder and froze. The space behind them had already begun folding in on itself. The air rippled like shattered gla
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