When I finally woke up, an overwhelming sense of exhaustion weighed down both my body and mind.
It made no sense. I hadn't done anything remotely strenuous, and yet... my head throbbed violently, as if an iron hammer had been pounding against my skull for hours.
Then, without warning, the world around me twisted.
I was transported — no, pulled — into a different scene altogether.
Before me stood a breathtaking woman, radiant like a goddess, holding me gently in her arms. Her eyes were wide with concern as she shouted toward a man wearing a long black coat.
The setting around us was surreal, almost dreamlike.
It felt as if... I had just been born.
But that was impossible.
Wasn't it?
I struggled to make sense of what I was seeing.
The man the woman called out to was striking in appearance — he had long, dark hair cascading down his shoulders, and his face, though handsome, was cold and expressionless, like a marble statue.
Yet, when the woman gently placed me into his arms, something remarkable happened:
The man's frozen expression melted into a warm, tender smile.
And just like that, the vision continued — images flashing before my eyes in a chaotic blur.
It didn't take me long to understand what was happening.
Through my own eyes, I was reliving an entire lifetime — the life of a man named Michael Von Ashford.
---
When the memories finally ceased, I collapsed backward, gasping for air.
It felt like I had sprinted through three marathons without pause. Sweat drenched my body.
My stomach churned violently.
The things I had seen... they were unspeakable.
If I had to compare him, I would say that Michael Von Ashford was a thousand times worse than any Mexican cartel lord, no matter how cruel they were to their victims.
He had no rules.
No hesitation.
He would slaughter children with the same casual ease one might swat a fly.
I forced myself to stop thinking about it, trying to calm the nausea threatening to overwhelm me. Slowly, I sat up on the edge of the bed, still trembling with disgust.
The first thing I needed to accept was simple, yet horrifying:
I had been reincarnated into another world.
That, in itself, wasn't the problem.
I had always dreamed of escaping my dull, meaningless life.
Of getting away from that hospital bed and the endless drudgery.
But why, out of all possible people, did I have to be reincarnated as Michael Von Ashford?!
The main villain of the novel.
The man destined to become the enemy of every god in existence.
If I had a choice, I would rather have been a random nobody, a background extra, anything but him.
To help you understand why I was so furious, I need to explain the power system of this world.
---
In this world, when a person reaches the age of seventeen, they must go to the Grand Cathedral for an Awakening Ceremony.
There, a god — sometimes several — chooses them as their champion, granting divine blessings in exchange for their loyalty and service.
It sounded noble on paper — pledging allegiance to a higher being, receiving great powers.
But that wasn't the most important part.
The protagonist of the novel, The Chosen One, a man named Leon Wern, didn't just receive a blessing.
No.
He received three.
Three blessings.
From three of the most powerful gods.
First, he was blessed by Zeus — god of the skies and thunder. That alone would have been enough to dominate most battles.
Then, he received the blessing of Odin, the Allfather of Norse mythology.
...Are you stunned into silence yet? Yeah, it's as broken as it sounds.
But the author wasn't done.
Leon also received the blessing of Amaterasu, the sun goddess of Japanese lore.
At that point, it wasn't just unfair — it was a cosmic joke.
Meanwhile, Michael Von Ashford — my new identity — wasn't some tragic antihero.
He was the harbinger of destruction across every mythology.
In Norse myth, he was the one destined to trigger Ragnarök.
In others, he was the one to unleash chaos upon the world.
As if that wasn't enough...
Michael had received a blessing too.
But not from a benevolent deity.
No, he had been blessed — cursed, more like — by Apophis.
The chaos serpent himself.
It was as if someone had painted a gigantic red target on my back, screaming to the heavens:
"Everyone, come kill me!"
And to top it all off...
I was destined to face Leon Wern in battle. A fight to the death.
Here's a little spoiler for you:
I lost that fight.
---
I sighed bitterly, slumping forward.
Even if I ran to the farthest corners of the world, it wouldn't matter.
One day, Leon's blade would find me.
But wait...
Maybe, just maybe, whoever reincarnated me into this world gave me some kind of cheat ability?
A system?
Something to level the playing field?
I waited.
And waited.
Nothing happened.
"Fuck this!" I cursed aloud.
---
Just as despair began to creep in, a soft ding echoed in my mind.
A bright blue screen materialized before my eyes.
A mechanical voice devoid of any emotion spoke directly into my consciousness.
> Host should refrain from swearing just because things aren't going their way. :)
I stared at the screen, dumbfounded.
Was this system serious?!
They reincarnated me into the most dangerous world imaginable, into the body of a man who was guaranteed to die horribly, and now they were scolding me like a child?
I couldn't hold it in anymore.
I exploded.
"YOU BASTARD! Send me back to my original world!"
The system, unfazed, delivered a cold response:
> Should I send you into a coffin instead?
That shut me up real fast.
I realized, with a sinking feeling, that the system probably couldn't send me back to my original world even if it wanted to.
And being slowly suffocated in a coffin didn't sound like a great alternative either.
Taking a deep breath, I forced myself to calm down.
"...Fine," I grumbled. "What can you even do?"
The system answered — and managed to irritate me even further.
> Be a good boy and stay quiet. I'll show you. :)
It took everything I had not to punch the nearest wall.
I clenched my fists, forced myself to stay silent, and waited.
---
A new window popped up in front of me, detailing my "status."
---
Name: Michael Von Ashford
Titles: Genius, Evil Bastard (Fitting), The Doom Of The Gods,
Current Rank: C (Struggling at the lower end of B-Rank, but with potential)
---
► Attributes:
Strength: C+ (0/900 XP)
You're barely managing to swing a sword without falling over. Keep training, and maybe you'll stop embarrassing yourself.
Speed: C+ (0/1000 XP)
You're too slow to dodge a real fighter, but there's hope if you keep moving.
Endurance: C+ (0/800 XP)
You can survive a few rounds in battle... maybe. Toughen up or die.
Intelligence: C+ (0/1300 XP)
You're not completely stupid, but don't get cocky.
Mana Control: C+ (0/600 XP)
You're leaking mana like a punctured water balloon. Learn control, or explode.
Charisma: C (0/700 XP)
Your noble blood fools no one. Try not to get laughed at.
Mana Reserves: S- (0/4000 XP)
You have the power of a tidal wave... but you have no clue how to surf.
---
► Progression System:
Listen up, idiot.
You rank up when all your attributes hit S in your current tier. Then you ascend to the next Rank — but all your stats reset to F of that higher Rank.
(Example: C-Rank stats at S → become B-Rank stats at F.)
Skills don't reset — only stats.
Climb the ranks properly and maybe, maybe, you'll survive.
---
► Blessing:
None.
(Yeah. Zero. Nada. You're that unlucky.)
---
► Skills:
Blood Magic (C+): Control blood, create weapons — if you don't bleed yourself dry first.
Shadow Magic (C+): Command shadows. Sometimes they obey. Sometimes they eat you.
Enchanted Senses (C+): You hear and see more than most... if you can focus.
Ashford Style Swordsmanship (C+): Cut swiftly. Cut surely. Kill before they blink.
Physical Conditioning (C+): Slightly less pathetic than before.
Blood Sense (C+): You can smell blood — not much else.
---
► Quest:
None
---
► Special Skill:
Blood Cleaver (C-Rank):
Forge a blade from your own blood. Lethal, but wasteful.
Shadow Pierce – Shadow Magic (C Rank)
"A spear of shadow that pierces anything in its path. It's a deadly weapon, but if you don't focus, it'll dissipate before you even get to strike."
---
And that was it.
No divine gift.
No secret power.
Just blood and Shadow, sweat, and a chance to survive.
A tiny chance.
I stared at the glowing blue screen for a long time.
"...
This is gonna suck," I muttered.
And thus, my journey began — a journey to defy fate itself.
Or die trying.
---