The Outcast God System: Rise of the Cursed Heir

The silver goblet clattered as it fell, its blood-red contents spilling across the white carpet in the Arbian Clan's main hall. The laughter that had filled the room died instantly, replaced by a horrific choking sound.

"Father? Father, what’s wrong?!" Ravian rose from his seat, his face turning deathly pale as he saw his father, the Clan Head, clutching his own throat.

"Poison... it’s poison..." his father hissed, before thick black blood erupted from his mouth. That powerful body collapsed, smashing the banquet table into a thousand pieces.

"Nobody move!" A cold voice sliced through the chaos.

Ravian turned to find Kael, his half-brother, standing calmly at the end of the table. Kael didn't look surprised. Instead, he was wiping the corner of his lip with a handkerchief, as if their father’s death were merely a minor inconvenience in the middle of dinner.

"Kael! What are you doing? Call a physician, quickly!" Ravian screamed, his voice trembling.

"A physician? For what, Ravian?" Kael offered a thin smile, one that made the hair on Ravian’s neck stand on end. "Isn't this what we’ve all been waiting for? The purge. The Arbian Clan has been led by a weak old man for far too long, burdened by trash like you."

"You... you poisoned him?" Ravian’s voice was nearly gone, lost in disbelief.

"Not just him, my poor little brother. Look around you."

Ravian looked toward the clan elders. They were all silent, but not out of fear. They stood behind Kael, drawing their swords with eyes full of ambition.

"We have reached an agreement," one of the Elders said in a low tone. "The Arbian Clan needs a strong leader. Not one who coddles a child without a Spirit Meridian."

"Shut your mouth!" a woman screamed. Arini, Ravian’s mother, rushed forward and spread her arms, shielding Ravian. "Kael, you’ve gone mad! He is your own brother! Ravian never did anything to you!"

"His very existence bothers me, Stepmother," Kael stepped forward, the tip of his sword dragging across the floor, creating a screeching sound that grated on the ears. "Every time people look at him, they are reminded that the Arbian bloodline can produce trash. It is a stain that must be erased."

"Run, Ravian! Take Elara and run now!" Arini pushed Ravian’s shoulder forcefully.

"Mother, I can’t leave you!" Ravian tried to move his legs, but an overwhelming weakness suddenly struck his joints. "Damn it... he also... was I poisoned too?"

"Of course," Kael chuckled. "But this poison doesn't kill. It only paralyzes the flow of energy energy you don't even possess. Quite funny, isn't it? You’re paralyzed despite having no power to be paralyzed in the first place."

"Kael, I beg of you!" Arini knelt, tears streaming down her beautiful cheeks. "Take my position, take my life, but let my children live! I will take them far away from here!"

"Mother, don't beg him!" Ravian shouted, his own tears beginning to fall. "He’s a demon! Kael, you’re a demon!"

Kael stopped right in front of Arini. He stared at her with a hollow gaze, then with a lightning-fast motion, he grabbed Arini’s hair, jerking her head back.

"You know, Stepmother? You were always the obstacle preventing me from having my father’s full affection," Kael whispered. "Now, you can join him in hell."

Splatt!

The world seemed to stop spinning for Ravian. He watched as Kael’s sword pierced his mother’s chest with ease. Warm blood splattered across Ravian’s face, staining his vision a deep, thick red.

"MOTHERRRRR!" Ravian shrieked, a scream that tore through his throat.

Arini’s body went limp. Kael withdrew his sword without mercy, letting the lifeless body fall to the floor like a broken doll.

"One stain gone," Kael murmured softly. He turned to look at Ravian, who remained frozen, his soul shattered into pieces. "Now, it’s your turn, you cripple."

"He will kill you..." Ravian whispered.

His voice was no longer that of a naive eighteen-year-old. It was a voice that came from the deepest depths of hatred. "Kael... I swear by heaven and earth, I will rip your heart out with my own hands!"

"You? Kill me?" Kael burst into laughter, a laugh that shook the hall. "Look at yourself! You can’t even stand! You have no Spirit Meridian! You’re just a worm writhing under my feet!"

Kael delivered a powerful kick to Ravian’s stomach, sending the youth flying into a stone pillar. Ravian spat out blood, his chest feeling tight as if his ribs had been pulverized.

"Take him to the edge of the Forbidden Abyss," Kael commanded his two guards.

"Young master, wouldn't it be better to just finish him here?" one of the guards asked.

"No," Kael smirked wickedly. "Death here is too quick. I want him to feel the terror of eternal darkness before his life fades. I want him to die knowing that his sister, Elara, will be a servant under my rule forever."

"Don't... don't touch Elara..." Ravian tried to crawl, his fingers clawing at the stone floor until his nails broke and bled. "Kael! You bastard! Kill me now! Fight me!"

"He isn't worthy of being my opponent," Kael turned his back on Ravian as if the boy wasn't even worth looking at. "Throw him away."

The two guards dragged Ravian out of the hall. Throughout the journey, Ravian could only see the trail of his mother’s blood left on the floor. He saw the servants who used to smile at him now turning their heads away. He watched the destruction of his world in just one cursed night.

They reached the edge of the abyss known as the bottomless pit of death. A cold wind carrying the scent of rot and death blew fiercely from below, as if thousands of ghostly hands were calling out.

"Goodbye, trash," one of the guards said, raising his foot and kicking Ravian’s already shattered chest.

Ravian’s body was hurled into the air. For a moment, he felt himself floating under the pale moonlight. He saw Kael’s face in the distance, standing on the palace balcony with an expression of victory.

He could not die here, Ravian thought as gravity began to pull him into the thick darkness. He had to live. If heaven would not give him justice, then he would crawl out of hell to create his own.

"Kael Arbian! I will return!" he screamed with the last of his strength before the darkness swallowed his voice completely.

Ravian fell deeper and deeper. Agonizing pain stabbed through every nerve as his body slammed against the cliff walls repeatedly. His bones snapped, his skin tore, and his consciousness began to fade.

Tepat saat ia merasa ajalnya telah tiba, sebuah suara mekanis yang dingin dan kuno bergema langsung di dalam otaknya.

Suffering detected. Pain threshold exceeded.

Host criteria met.

Commencing initialization of the Abyssal Inheritance System...

Pain Conversion Engine: Active.

Absorbing pain energy for emergency restoration...

Ravian’s eyes, which had begun to dim, suddenly snapped wide open. His black pupils now glowed with an eerie, dark purple light. He was still falling, but his fear had vanished, replaced by something far darker and bloodthirsty.