2025-09-01 00:03:31The moon hung low above the city, silver light spilling through the cracked roof of the orphanage. Most of the children slept in silence, their breathing shallow, their dreams restless after the blood that had been spilled.
But Kael was awake. He sat on the edge of his bed, the Devil’s Dagger resting across his lap. Its faint crimson glow pulsed like a heartbeat, casting thin shadows across his sharp features. His eyes were half-closed, his thoughts lingering on the path ahead. The System’s demand still echoed in his mind. [Main Quest: Path of the Devil.] [Requirement: Gain 3 loyal subordinates within 30 days.] [Progress: 0/3.] It was clear. If he was to walk the Devil’s path, he could not walk it alone. He would need blades, eyes, shadows bound to his will. The door creaked. Kael’s eyes opened instantly. His hand closed on the dagger. But it was not an enemy. A thin figure slipped inside, her bare feet silent on the floor. Her tangled black hair fell over her thin face, but her eyes… her eyes gleamed with something sharp, something hungry. Lira. She stopped before him, her hands trembling slightly, though her gaze never wavered. “You killed him,” she whispered. Kael’s lips curled faintly. “Brann? Yes. I did.” For a long moment, silence hung between them. Kael studied her, waiting for fear, for disgust. But what he saw instead surprised him. A smile. “Good,” she said softly. Her voice trembled, but not with fear. With relief. With something darker. Kael tilted his head. “You hated him.” Her fists clenched. “He starved us. Beat us. Took everything and left us scraps. Everyone feared him, but no one stopped him. No one ever would… until you.” Her eyes burned with something sharp and desperate. “I don’t want to be weak anymore. I don’t want to cower while someone else decides if I eat or starve. I want what you have. Power. Teach me, Kael. Make me like you.” The dagger pulsed in his lap, glowing brighter, and the System’s voice filled his ears. [Ding! Potential Follower Detected: Lira.] [Condition: Form a Devil’s Pact to bind loyalty.] Kael’s gaze sharpened. “A Devil’s Pact?” Another window appeared. [Devil’s Pact: A binding contract between the Host and a follower. Loyalty ensured by soul-binding. Betrayal results in soul destruction.] [Effect: Follower gains strength through the Host. Their growth is tied to the Host’s rise.] Kael smirked. A tool to forge not just allies, but servants who could never betray. The System gave him chains far stronger than trust. His eyes flicked back to Lira. She stood trembling before him, not from fear, but from raw hunger. Hunger for survival, for strength. “You understand what you’re asking?” Kael’s voice was low, cold. “Once this pact is made, there is no escape. You will follow me into shadows darker than you can imagine. You will bleed. You will kill. And when the world curses my name, it will curse yours as well.” Lira lifted her chin, her eyes unwavering. “Then let it curse me. I’d rather be cursed and strong than weak and forgotten.” For a moment, Kael stared at her. Then he chuckled softly. “Very well.” He drew the dagger across his palm. Blood welled instantly, dripping onto the floor in thick, dark drops. The crimson blade pulsed eagerly, glowing brighter. “Then kneel.” Lira dropped to her knees without hesitation, her eyes locked on his. Kael extended his bleeding hand. “Swear it. Swear to walk my path. Swear to follow me until the end of your soul. Swear that betrayal will never touch your heart.” Lira’s voice was steady, unflinching. “I swear. My soul is yours. My strength is yours. My life is yours.” The dagger flared. Crimson chains of light burst into existence, twisting between Kael’s bleeding hand and Lira’s chest. They wrapped around her like fire, searing, binding, sinking deep into her very being. She gasped, her back arching as the chains vanished inside her. Her eyes glowed bright red, a mirror of Kael’s own, and for a moment her body shook as though fire raced through her veins. Then the System’s voice came. [Ding! Devil’s Pact Formed.] [Follower Added: Lira.] [Unique Ability Unlocked: Devil’s Link.] [Effect: Host can share vision, thoughts, and stats with bound followers.] Kael’s mind shifted suddenly. A thread connected him to her, faint but alive. He could feel her heartbeat, her trembling excitement, her burning hunger. He could feel her mind brushing against his, raw and eager. Lira gasped, clutching her chest. “I… I feel it. It’s like fire. Like strength I never had before.” Her lips curled into a smile, crooked and fierce. “I’ll never be weak again.” Kael leaned back, his hand closing around the dagger. The blood on his palm had already vanished, absorbed by the pact. “You’ve taken the first step,” he said softly. “But do not mistake the spark for the flame. Power isn’t given. It’s taken. If you want more, you’ll have to earn it.” “I will,” she said, her voice firm. “Whatever it takes.” Kael studied her for a moment, then smirked. Yes. This one would serve. The dagger whispered in his mind. “One bound. Two remain. Build your court, heir of the Devil. Build it on blood.” --- The next day, the orphanage stirred with unease. The children still whispered about Brann’s death. Fear lingered in their voices, but something else spread now — curiosity. Because Lira, the quiet girl who had always kept to shadows, now walked at Kael’s side. She didn’t cower anymore. She didn’t flinch. Her eyes glowed faintly red, and when she looked at the others, they looked away. “She’s with him now…” “She’s crazy. He’ll kill her too.” “No… look at her. She’s different. Stronger.” Fear spread, but so did awe. Kael saw it clearly in their eyes. The first cracks in their resistance. That night, Kael tested the Devil’s Link. He closed his eyes, focusing, and suddenly he was no longer looking through his own sight. He saw the orphanage yard from another angle, tinted faintly red. He felt Lira’s breath, her pulse, her thrill as she walked past the others, unafraid. The bond was real. She was his eyes. His blade. His seed of shadow. And soon, others would follow. The System’s voice chimed again. [Main Quest Progress: 1/3 Subordinates Acquired.] [Time Remaining: 29 Days.] Kael opened his eyes. A faint smile curved his lips. “The Devil’s court has begun.”
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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
