The Ossuary King: Infinite Power

Chapter 1

The iron chains rattled against the frozen ground, making a sound like the teeth of a dying man.

Lucien was dragged face-first through the dirt. His skin was torn. His clothes were nothing more than blood-soaked rags. Every time he tried to dig his fingers into the earth to stop himself, a heavy leather boot slammed into his ribs, forcing a gasp of agony from his lungs.

"Stop struggling, you waste of blood," a cold, mocking voice rang out.

Lucien looked up through the matted hair falling over his eyes. Standing above him was Julian Saint-Aurelius. Julian was everything Lucien was not: tall, handsome, and radiating a golden light from his skin. That light was the sign of the Golden Lion bloodline—the pride of their family.

Behind Julian stood twenty armored guards, their capes snapping in the biting wind. They were at the edge of the world, standing before the Great Iron Gates. Beyond those gates lay the Eternal Ossuary.

It was a place where the sun never shone. It was a graveyard that spanned thousands of miles, filled with the corpses of ancient gods, fallen angels, and demons from the first era. To be sent here was not a punishment; it was an execution.

"Please," Lucien croaked. His throat felt like it was filled with broken glass. "Julian... we are cousins. We grew up in the same hall. You know I didn't choose to be born with Null-Veins."

Julian laughed, a sharp, cruel sound that cut through the whistling wind. He knelt down, grabbing Lucien by the hair and forcing his head back.

"That is exactly why you must die, Lucien. The Saint-Aurelius Clan is the pillar of the Empire. We are the descendants of the Solar God. To have a member who cannot hold a single drop of mana? To have a 'Null-Vein' freak in the main lineage? It is a stain that must be washed away."

Lucien’s heart hammered against his ribs. "My father... he won't allow this. When he returns from the border, he will—"

"Your father?" Julian’s grin widened, revealing white, perfect teeth. He reached into his silk tunic and pulled out a rolled piece of parchment. It was sealed with heavy purple wax—the personal seal of the Clan Head. "Who do you think signed the Decree of Abandonment? Your father didn't want to look at your pathetic face anymore. He said that giving birth to you was the only mistake of his life."

Lucien froze. The physical pain in his body was nothing compared to the sudden, icy void opening in his chest. His father? The man who had once promised to find a cure for his condition? The man he had looked up to as a hero?

"He... he signed it?" Lucien whispered.

"He didn't just sign it," Julian hissed, leaning closer so only Lucien could hear. "He suggested the Eternal Ossuary. He wanted you somewhere so deep and so dark that even your ghost could never find its way back home."

Julian stood up and signaled to the guards. The massive iron gates, etched with ancient runes of sealing, began to groan open. A thick, grey mist spilled out from the darkness beyond. It smelled of wet earth, old bone, and something bitter that made Lucien’s eyes water.

The guards unhooked the chains from their horses but left the collars locked around Lucien’s neck and wrists. They dragged him to the very edge of the threshold.

"The Corpse Miasma will eat your flesh within the hour," Julian said, his voice full of boredom now. "And if you’re lucky, the Grave-Wraiths will find you before the hunger does. Goodbye, 'Cousin'."

Julian delivered a powerful kick to Lucien’s chest.

Lucien flew backward, tumbling into the grey fog. He rolled across the hard, uneven ground, hitting rocks and fragments of bone until he came to a stop. Behind him, the heavy iron gates slammed shut with a deafening thud. The sound of the locking bolts echoed like a funeral bell.

He was alone.

Lucien lay on his back, gasping for air. But the air here was not normal. As Julian had warned, the Corpse Miasma was everywhere. It was a thick, supernatural fog created by the rotting remains of thousands of powerful beings.

For a normal person, mana acted as a shield. For Lucien, who had Null-Veins, there was no shield. He felt the mist enter his lungs. It felt like breathing in hot acid. His skin began to itch, then burn. Small, black veins started to creep up his neck.

"It hurts..." he wheezed.

He forced himself to sit up, his vision blurry. As the mist shifted, he saw where he was. He wasn't on a road. He was in a valley of giants. Towering above him were petrified skeletons so large they looked like white mountains. A ribcage the size of a cathedral arched over his head. A skull, cracked and covered in moss, sat half-buried in the ash nearby—it was the skull of a Titan, its empty eye sockets larger than a house.

Everywhere he looked, there were bones. Small bones, large bones, shattered weapons, and rusted armor. The silence was heavy, broken only by the distant, haunting howl of something that didn't sound human.

I’m going to die here, Lucien thought. A bitter tear tracked through the dirt on his face. Betrayed by my blood. Discarded like trash.

Suddenly, the ground vibrated.

From behind a pile of shattered shields, something emerged. It looked like a rat, but it was the size of a large wolf. Its fur was patchy and falling off in clumps, revealing grey, dead flesh. It had three glowing red eyes and teeth that were jagged like saws.

A Grave-Rat.

The creature hissed, thick strings of black saliva dripping from its jaws. It sensed Lucien’s weakness. It sensed a living being without a shred of mana to defend itself. It was an easy meal.

Lucien tried to crawl backward, but his strength was gone. The Miasma had paralyzed his muscles. He watched, terrified, as the monster crouched, its powerful back legs tensing for a leap.

Is this it? Lucien closed his eyes. I’m sorry, Mother. I couldn't even survive a single day.

Suddenly, a sound rang out.

It wasn't a growl or a scream. It was a clear, crystalline chime. It sounded like a silver bell struck in a quiet room. It echoed directly inside Lucien’s brain.

[Ding! Scanning Host...]

[Condition: Critical. Life Signs: Fading.]

[Soul Compatibility: 100%.]

[The Infinite Sign-In System is binding to the Host!]

Lucien’s eyes snapped open. "What...?"

A glowing blue screen appeared in the air before his eyes, invisible to the world but bright as a star to him.

[Ding! System successfully bound.]

[Current Location detected: The Eternal Ossuary - The Gate of Lamentation.]

[This is a 'High-Grade' treasure location. Would the Host like to perform the first Sign-In?]

The Grave-Rat let out a blood-curdling shriek and lunged. Its jaws opened wide, aiming directly for Lucien’s throat. Time seemed to slow down. Lucien could see the rot on the creature's teeth. He could smell its foul breath.

He didn't understand what the voice was. He didn't know what a "System" was. But he knew he wanted to live. He wanted Julian to pay. He wanted to look his father in the eye and ask why.

Yes! Lucien screamed in his mind. Sign in! Do whatever you have to do! SIGN IN!

[Ding! Sign-In Successful!]

[Congratulations! You have received a 'Supreme-Grade' Reward: The Primordial Chaos Body!]

[Initializing Reward Integration...]

The moment the words appeared, the world turned white.

A pillar of pure, blinding light erupted from Lucien’s body. It shot upward, piercing through the thick grey Miasma and hitting the dark clouds above like a spear of the gods.

The Grave-Rat, caught in the mid-air leap, didn't even have time to howl. The moment the light touched it, the creature’s body disintegrated into ash, scattered to the winds.

Lucien didn't see the monster die. He was too busy feeling his own body being torn apart and rebuilt.

The "Null-Veins" that had cursed him since birth—the veins that were supposedly "empty"—suddenly began to expand. They didn't fill with mana. They filled with something darker, deeper, and infinitely more powerful. They turned a shimmering, abyssal black.

His bones snapped and fused, becoming as hard as divine metal. His skin, once pale and sickly, took on a healthy, marble-like glow. The black veins of the Miasma that were killing him didn't disappear—they were sucked into his pores, swallowed by his new body and converted into pure energy.

[Ding! Integration Complete.]

[Your 'Null-Veins' have evolved into 'God-Devouring Veins'.]

[The Miasma of the Ossuary can no longer harm you. It is now your fuel.]

The light faded.

Lucien stood up slowly. The chains around his wrists felt like wet paper. With a small tug, the heavy iron shattered into a dozen pieces. He looked at his hands. He felt a power coursing through him that he had never even dreamed of. It was heavy, ancient, and hungry.

He looked around at the dark, terrifying graveyard. For the first time in his life, he wasn't afraid.

He looked toward the Great Iron Gates, far in the distance.

"Julian," Lucien whispered, his voice sounding deeper, vibrating with a hidden power. "Father. Wait for me."

But the System wasn't done.

[Ding! New Daily Task Triggered: Explore the 'Tomb of the Nameless Knight' and Sign-In for more rewards.]

[Warning: Something ancient has been awakened by your transformation. It is approaching quickly.]

From the darkness of the titan’s ribs, a deep, rhythmic thud began to shake the earth. Thump. Thump. Thump.

Something much, much bigger than a rat was coming.