2025-08-31 23:53:23The orphanage creaked in the silence of midnight. Most of the children lay asleep on their thin mats, their breathing heavy, their dreams filled with hunger and fear.
But Kael was not asleep. He sat on his bed, the Devil’s Dagger resting across his knees, its crimson glow faint under the pale silver light of the moon. His eyes were sharp, his thoughts restless. The System’s message still floated before him. [Side Quest: Spill Blood Under the Moon.] [Requirement: Kill an enemy before dawn.] [Reward: +15 BP, Skill Upgrade.] Kael’s chest rose and fell steadily. He could feel the System pressing against his mind, whispering, demanding. “Kill. Feed me. Do not waste the night.” His hand tightened around the dagger. He had spilled blood earlier, but the hunger of the System was endless. It wanted more. And so did he. This wasn’t just about points. It wasn’t just about quests. It was about his path. The boy who had once cowered under Brann’s fists was gone. Tonight, he would prove it. A creak sounded in the hall outside. Heavy footsteps, dragging, careless. Brann’s voice muttered, low and drunk with anger. “I’ll gut that rat… show him who’s master…” Kael’s eyes narrowed. Fate had delivered the answer. Brann. The bully was too blind with rage to realize what he was walking into. He thought Kael was still weak, still a rat to be crushed under his boot. But tonight, Brann would be Kael’s offering. Kael rose silently, his dagger clutched tight. He slipped from his room, his feet light against the wooden floor. The torch at the end of the hall flickered, casting long shadows across the cracked walls. Brann stumbled into the corridor, half-dressed, his leg still bandaged from Kael’s earlier strike. His two lackeys trailed behind him, whispering nervously. “Maybe we should wait until tomorrow, Brann…” one said. “Shut up,” Brann growled. “I’ll end him tonight.” Kael stepped from the shadows. The dagger caught the torchlight, its glow sharp and menacing. Brann froze. His face twisted into a snarl, though Kael could see the flicker of fear in his eyes. “You—” Brann spat. “You dare show your face?” Kael’s voice was low, steady, like cold steel sliding from its sheath. “You wanted me. Here I am.” The lackeys shifted uneasily. One whispered, “Brann, maybe—” But Brann roared, charging forward. His fists swung wide, reckless. Kael’s body moved like water. He sidestepped, the Aura of Fear pressing against Brann’s chest like a weight. The dagger slashed across his arm. Blood sprayed. Brann cried out, stumbling back. Kael advanced without pause. His dagger gleamed red, his eyes burning. He struck again, this time cutting across Brann’s thigh. The bully fell to one knee, his face pale, his breath ragged. The lackeys panicked. One rushed forward, swinging a broken stick. Kael’s dagger flashed. The stick clattered to the floor, and the boy’s forearm split open, blood running fast. The second lackey fled down the hall, screaming. Kael’s gaze returned to Brann. The bully was on the ground now, clutching his bleeding leg, his eyes wide. The arrogance, the cruelty, the smirks—gone. All that remained was terror. “P-please,” Brann stammered, his voice cracking. “Don’t—don’t kill me. I’ll leave you alone. I swear!” Kael crouched in front of him. His face was calm, but his eyes were colder than ice. “Do you know what it means to be powerless?” Kael asked softly. “To kneel, to beg, to suffer under someone else’s boot?” Brann’s lips trembled. “I—” Kael’s dagger pressed against his throat, silencing him. “That was my life once,” Kael whispered. “But no more.” The blade slid across. Blood gushed, warm and thick. Brann gurgled, clawing at his neck, his eyes wide with shock. His body convulsed once, twice, then stilled. The hall was silent. Only the sound of Brann’s blood dripping to the floor remained. The System roared. [Ding! Quest Complete.] [+15 Blood Points.] [Skill Upgrade: Savage Strike → Crimson Slash.] Kael’s body trembled as the power surged through him. His veins burned, his muscles tightened. The dagger glowed brighter, drinking deeply from the fresh kill. [Crimson Slash: A strike infused with bloodlust. Deals double damage when the enemy is bleeding.] Kael rose slowly, the dagger in his hand alive with dark energy. His chest heaved, his breath sharp. Brann’s corpse lay at his feet, eyes frozen in terror, mouth open in a silent scream. Kael stared down at him for a long moment, then whispered, “You were the first. But not the last.” The lackey who had run away would spread the word by dawn. Fear would ripple through the orphanage like fire in dry grass. And Kael welcomed it. Fear was his ally. Fear was his weapon. The System’s whisper curled in his ear, cold and satisfied. “Yes. More. Always more.” Kael smirked. He sheathed the dagger beneath his cloak, his steps steady as he returned to his room. The night outside was silent, but the world had shifted. Kael Draven, reborn with the Devil’s System, had claimed his first true life. And the Devil’s heir had begun his reign.
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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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