The Forbidden God System

"Marvin, stop dragging that crippled leg of yours around. You're ruining the mood. You'd be better off staying in that room."

The voice was sharp, cutting through the music and lively laughter filling the grand hall of the Sterling Clan. Marvin Sterling stopped walking. He leaned against the wall of the dimly lit corridor, trying to steady his ragged breathing. His paralyzed left leg felt like a burden he was forced to drag everywhere.

"Marco! I just wanted to get some fresh air," Marvin whispered. His eyes searched for another figure. "Where's Xena? She said she wanted to meet me before our engagement ceremony began."

Marco Sterling, his half-brother, stepped out through the main door. His handsome face was adorned with a smile that never reached his eyes. Beside him, a girl in a sky-blue dress walked gracefully. Xena.

"I'm here, Marvin," Xena replied. Her voice was flat, devoid of the warmth she usually showed in front of the elders.

Marvin offered a faint smile, the pain in his leg seeming to disappear at the sight of his fiancée. "Xena, thank goodness. You look beautiful tonight. I have something for you, a necklace that..."

"Keep your piece of trash, Marvin," Xena interrupted coldly. She did not even look at the small box Marvin pulled from his pocket.

Marvin froze. "What do you mean? This is a gift I prepared for you, especially for our happy day, our engagement."

"Our happy day, you say?" Marco laughed, his voice exploding through the silence of the night. He walked around Marvin like a predator circling wounded prey. "My happy day with Xena, you mean. That's more like it," Marco continued firmly.

Marco wrapped an arm around Xena's slender waist. "Did you really think a holy maiden from the Blue Cloud Sect like Xena would marry a meridianless piece of trash like you? You can't even stand upright on your own."

"Xena, what is he talking about?" Marvin stared at the girl, desperately seeking an explanation. "We made a promise. You said you didn't care about my condition."

Xena finally looked at him. Her gaze was filled with contempt, as though she were looking at a disgusting insect. "I used to pity you. But pity doesn't mean I want to destroy my future. I am the pride of the Blue Cloud Sect. My parents want a perfect partner for me."

"But... your father... Our families have already discussed all of this," Marvin said, struggling to remain composed.

"Of course your father agreed, you fool of a brother," Marco chimed in, slapping Marvin hard on the shoulder, hard enough to send the crippled young man tumbling to the ground. "The Sterling Clan and the Blue Cloud Sect have indeed reached an agreement, but not with you."

Marvin tried to get back up, his chest tightening as his trembling hands clawed at the grass. "Impossible. Father would never do that. You're lying!"

"Why would we lie to a cripple who's about to meet his end?" Marco asked casually.

Marvin's blood ran cold. Meet his end?

Before he could react, Marco swung his leg. A devastating kick slammed into Marvin's ribs. The horrifying sound of breaking bones echoed through the silent corridor. Marvin was sent flying several meters, vomiting fresh blood onto the neatly trimmed green grass.

"Ugh... hah... hah..." Marvin curled up, clutching his chest. Every breath felt like a knife slicing through his lungs.

"Look at you," Xena stepped closer, standing directly before Marvin's blood-covered face. "You can't even dodge Marco's kick without Spiritual Power. You should have enough dignity to quietly step aside. Why force yourself to stand on equal footing with us?"

"Quietly step aside? Why...?" Marvin coughed, blood spraying from his mouth. "I love you, Xena. I gave you everything. Even my leg was crippled because I saved you... I did it to help you break through to a new realm!"

"And I'm grateful for that. Thanks to your sacrifice, I can become the perfect woman to bear Marco Sterling's children." Xena smiled faintly, a smile that shattered whatever remained of Marvin's heart. "But now, you're useless. Your existence will only stain my reputation as the future matriarch of the Sterling Clan."

Marco approached again, his eyes gleaming with hatred that had been buried for a long time. "You know, Marvin? Every time those filthy hands of yours touched Xena's skin, I wanted to cut them off. But Father always calmed me down and told me to be patient." Marco stepped on Marvin's right leg, the only leg that could still function properly.

"Don't! Marco, stop!" Marvin cried desperately.

Crack!

Marvin let out a heart-wrenching scream as his shin shattered beneath Marco's spiritually reinforced leather boot. The unbearable pain shot into his brain, turning his world white for a moment.

"Your end is truly here, Marvin." He grabbed Marvin by the hair and dragged his weakened body toward the rear gate, where a stone wall separated the Sterling residence from the Forbidden Forest of the Astrala Continent.

Three of Marco's guards were already waiting at the exit. "Throw his body into the Forbidden Forest. Let the monsters there have him for dinner," Marco ordered as he tossed Marvin's body in front of his guards.

The Forbidden Forest. A place where even light refused to enter.

"Xena! Please help me!" Marvin stretched his trembling hand toward his fiancée. "Please..."

Xena simply turned away, showing him her back. "Finish it quickly, Marco. The celebration is about to begin. We don't want the guests waiting for the bride and groom."

"Of course, darling," Marco replied in a sickeningly sweet tone.

"Do you know why this place is so feared?" Marco whispered directly into Marvin's ear. "Because no one ever comes back. Your body will be torn apart, and your soul will be erased from this world. There will be no reincarnation for you. You will disappear forever, as if you had never been born."

Marvin stared into his half-brother's eyes. All he saw there was cunning. He shifted his gaze to Xena's back as she began walking away. In the world he had believed was filled with love, there was nothing but betrayal and cruelty hiding behind masks of nobility.

"I... I swear..." Marvin's voice was hoarse, barely audible beneath the howling wind.

"Swear what? That you'll take revenge?" Marco burst into laughter. "Even the gods can't save you now."

"If I have to become a demon to escape this forest..." Marvin stared at Marco, his gaze suddenly turning ice-cold, causing Marco's laughter to stop for a moment. "...I'll make sure the two of you beg for death."

Marco snorted, trying to conceal the brief shiver of fear that crawled up the back of his neck. "Before any of your words can come true, I'll make sure your body is completely torn apart by the monsters!"

Marco moved his finger, signaling his guards to dispose of Marvin's body. His body was tied to a wild wolf before the wolf was released into the Forbidden Forest.

Marco laughed uproariously as he watched the wolf sprint away, dragging Marvin's body into the Forbidden Forest. "Goodbye, brother. Enjoy the end of your life in the darkness."

Marvin felt a hollow emptiness amid the pain gnawing at his body. The world outside, the glow of the celebration lanterns, the grandeur of the Sterling estate, the cruel faces of his brother and fiancée, all flashed through Marvin's memories one after another.

Silence descended upon him as his body continued to be dragged deeper into the darkness of the forest.

The pain from his shattered bones began to fade into numbness. Blood from his torn skin dripped onto the forest floor. Tears escaped his eyes and froze before they could even reach his cheeks. In the midst of absolute despair, the only thing left in Marvin's mind was the flame of hatred beginning to consume the last remnants of his consciousness.

Power... I need power...

Suddenly, as total darkness swallowed his body, a strange sensation stirred in the deepest, most extinguished part of his soul. Something strange, cold, and ravenous began to writhe within that darkness, welcoming his arrival.

Marvin did not know how far his body had been dragged or whether he was already dead. All he knew was that his thirst for revenge had now become the only reason his heart was still beating faintly amid the emptiness.

His body slammed into something with a heavy thud, and darkness completely consumed him.