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Chapter 1: Death Is Just the Beginning
The rain was annoyingly poetic.
Ray always figured he'd die surrounded by textbooks or experimental mana tech—not sprawled out on wet pavement, blood pooling around his shattered ribs, watching a goddamn ad for toothbrushes flicker above a neon-lit pharmacy.
"Brighter teeth for a brighter future!" chirped the screen.
He snorted, then coughed blood. "Figures. My future's brighter now, huh?"
Sirens wailed in the distance, too far, too late. The car that hit him didn't stop. Just a blur of steel, screeching tires, and the sudden snap of time. He'd pushed the kid out of the way—reflex, not heroism—but now the concrete felt cold and final beneath his cheek.
His fingers twitched. Nothing else moved. He was dying. Definitely dying.
And yet…
The pain dulled. Not because he was healing—he knew what internal bleeding felt like—but because something else was wrapping around his mind. Soft. Heavy. Like velvet over his thoughts.
Then came the voice.
"So. You finally broke."
The world froze. Rain stopped midair, hovering like diamonds. The colors drained, and silence swallowed the city.
Ray blinked.
He wasn't on the pavement anymore. He was… nowhere. A black void stretched endlessly, lit by stars that blinked like curious eyes.
Floating before him stood a figure robed in golden light. Not male. Not female. Not human.
Divine.
Ray groaned. "Oh great. Hallucinations. My brain's buffering into religion mode."
The being chuckled.
"No, Ray. You died. This isn't your imagination. And I'm not your god. I'm the God. Of Humanity, to be precise."
"…Am I supposed to bow or something?"
"You're still sarcastic, even now?"
"I just died saving a snot-nosed stranger. Let me have this."
The God of Humanity stepped closer, glowing with impossible warmth. Ray felt his spine tingle.
"You did something selfless. That earned you a choice. Rebirth… with conditions."
Ray raised an eyebrow. "Catchy. Go on."
"You will be reborn in another world. Not as a blank slate, but as you—memories, personality, and all. I'll gift you three things: a System to guide you, a Domain to shape your fate, and… one secret only you may uncover."
Ray narrowed his eyes. "Why me?"
"Because the world I send you to is breaking. It needs a mind sharp enough to cut through gods and monsters alike."
"…Flattery. Dangerous strategy."
"Truth." The god's smile turned sad. "And a warning: you won't be a hero. That's not your role. You're meant to be something else."
Ray looked down at his hands. They were already fading, dissolving into light.
His heart didn't race. He wasn't afraid.
Just… tired. And curious.
"Alright," he whispered. "Let's see what kind of broken world needs a sarcastic nerd with a grudge against toothbrush ads."
The God laughed.
"Welcome to Aetherra, Ray. System 15 awaits."
And with a final flicker of light, Earth was gone.
------
Chapter 2: System 15 Has Entered the Chat
Ray's first thought after reincarnation wasn't profound.
It was: "Why the hell is everything so loud?"
His ears rang like someone was clanging pots inside his skull. A heartbeat pounded in his chest—too strong, too fast. His limbs ached with unfamiliar weight, and his skin itched as if being worn for the first time.
Then came the voice.
[Initializing… System 15 Online.]
[Analyzing Host: Raymond Elias Talonhart.]
[Welcome back, corpse-boy.]
Ray groaned. "Oh no. It talks."
[You're welcome, too. I'm System 15—last of the experimental batch, scrapped for being 'too unstable.' Lucky you.]
"Unstable?"
[Let's just say I was built to assist, adapt, and—depending on my mood—insult. You'll come to love me.]
Ray sat up slowly, finding himself lying in a bed that was… rustic. Wooden beams, stone walls, an open window letting in golden sunlight and mountain air. Outside, he could hear birds and the distant murmur of life—people talking, animals braying, metal striking metal.
He wasn't in a void anymore. He wasn't in a hospital either.
This was a different world.
His head throbbed as memories—foreign and yet his—slammed into his skull. Childhood laughter. Sword training with a gruff old man. A mother's lullaby. Twin siblings, always running underfoot. A small village. A noble name whispered with both pride and bitterness.
Ray Talonhart.
The boy who died yesterday… and the man who lived before that.
He had been reborn into a young noble body, fifteen years old, third son of a disgraced warrior, living in a village clinging to the edge of human civilization.
Perfect.
[Let's get started, meat puppet.]
[System Interface Online.]
A translucent panel flickered before his eyes.
---
Name: Raymond Elias Talonhart
Race: Human (Awakened)
Class: Class Locked
Title: Chosen of the Human God
System: Experimental – #15
Domain: Locked
Status: Alive (somehow)
---
"'Alive (somehow)'? That's rude."
[It's accurate.]
Ray stood, wincing as a dull ache settled in his ribs. This body had just undergone a soul merge. No wonder it felt like he'd been in a bar fight with gravity.
Footsteps echoed outside the room. A knock, then a woman's voice—warm, familiar, tinged with worry.
"Ray? Are you awake, sweetheart?"
His breath hitched. Mother.
"Yeah," he called out, voice cracking like a kid's. "Just… had a weird dream."
The door opened. She entered—and everything stopped.
She looked like his real mother, and nothing like her at all. Gentle face, warrior's posture, a scar along her jawline. Her eyes—gods, those eyes—held the storm of someone who had lost too much and kept walking.
She ran to him and hugged him tightly. "We thought we lost you."
Ray hesitated, then hugged her back. It wasn't just warmth. It was home.
And yet, behind the affection, he saw it—the exhaustion, the hidden fear. This world wasn't safe. This family wasn't strong. Not yet.
But they would be.
He would make sure of it.
System 15 chimed again.
[New Quest: Survive your new life.]
[Optional Objective: Do something mildly impressive.]
[Reward: Not dying.]
Ray grinned.
"Challenge accepted."
---
Would you like Chapter 3 next, or would you like to edit this one first?---
Chapter 3: Portals, Barriers, and Bloody Birthrights
Morning in the Talonhart household began with shouting.
Not battle cries or alarm bells—just domestic warfare.
"No! The sheep are mine today!"
"They were yours yesterday! I need them for the purification ritual!"
Ray blinked as he walked out of his room into the stone hallway. The voices were familiar—his younger siblings, the twins. A boy and a girl, twelve, energetic, and apparently very possessive of livestock.
Before he could greet them, they shot past him, both barefoot and half-dressed, chasing a goat through the hallway like it owed them money.
Ray turned to his mother, who stood in the kitchen doorway holding a pan like a shield.
"You okay?" he asked.
She smiled. "It's just a normal morning."
Normal?
His mind flashed back to his modern life: sterile hallways, synthetic meals, and the constant drone of machines. There were no goats in those halls. No magic either.
And certainly no portals to other damn worlds.
Over breakfast—bread, eggs, roasted vegetables, and something that might've been wolf meat—Ray began asking questions. His mother answered with patience, though occasionally with a worried glance.
The world was called Aetherra. It was one of three realms known to humans.
Aetherra had six continents, each once protected by divine barriers. But things had changed.
One continent was lost, overrun by the Insect World through a Tier 2 Dimensional Gate.
Another had barely survived an attack from Beast World—still scarred and unstable.
A third continent had a Gate that would open in five years.
The remaining three? Safe… for now.
Ray's village, Ashveil, rested on the eastern edge of the central continent—one of the "safe" ones. But the barrier was weakening.
"How do people defend themselves?" he asked between bites.
"Some awaken," his mother said. "They gain a Class. Skills. A Domain if they're lucky."
"Like nobles?"
She hesitated. "Yes. And hunters. Mercenaries. Even farmers. Class Awakenings are rare, but not limited to blood."
"And our family?"
Her lips tightened. "We used to be from the main Talonhart bloodline. Your grandfather is still a powerful man. But your father... chose a different path. We were exiled."
Ray's jaw clenched. "Why?"
"Because he married me," she said softly. "A blacksmith's daughter. No titles. No magic. Just steel and scars."
Ray looked at her, truly looked. Calloused hands, faded burn marks, and strength in every movement. She didn't need magic. She was steel.
"He has good taste," Ray muttered.
She blinked. Then smiled. "Eat."
He did. And as he chewed, System 15 whispered into his ear.
[Quest Updated: Discover the truth of your bloodline.]
[Bonus Objective: Be less subtle about it.]
[Reward: Unlock noble blood affinity.]
Later that day, Ray stood at the village edge, overlooking the fields and forests beyond.
He saw farmers, hunters, small merchant caravans.
He also saw two armored men in the distance—barrier wardens, scanning the horizon for signs of cracks or mana flux.
It was a peaceful world, but the peace was fragile.
And he? He was done being fragile.
Ray clenched his fist. The wind stirred. A voice echoed in his mind—not System 15 this time, but something older.
"You are chosen."
And for the first time, he believed it.
------
Chapter 4: The Man Beyond the Stars
That night, Ray dreamed.
But this wasn't the kind of dream where you forget everything when you wake up. No, this was etched into his soul.
He stood in an endless space—stars scattered above like shattered diamonds, and a sea of ink below that shimmered with floating constellations. Time didn't exist here. There was no gravity, no air, no sound.
Yet… he breathed.
And then, He appeared.
A figure—not man, not god, but something between. Cloaked in light and shadow, his face blurred and flickering, like a candle struggling to remember what flame felt like.
"Ray Talonhart," the voice said—not loud, but vast. As if the universe was speaking in whispers.
Ray didn't bow. He didn't kneel. He didn't even blink.
Instead, he crossed his arms. "Took you long enough."
The figure paused.
Then, a chuckle. Like galaxies grinding against each other.
"You are different. Good."
The god stepped forward. With each stride, stars bent around him.
"I am the last echo of the God of Humanity. My brothers are long gone. My worshippers are dying. The world you were born into is on the brink of collapse."
Ray raised an eyebrow. "So you decided to send in… me?"
"You were clever. Ruthless. In your world, you manipulated systems, data, people. In mine, you will manipulate something greater: realms."
Ray's smirk faltered. "You expect me to be a hero?"
The god raised a hand. A golden cube pulsed into existence—shifting, alive.
"No. I expect you to survive. And perhaps... carve out something worth remembering."
The cube shot forward, embedding itself in Ray's chest. He gasped. Pain and power surged through him like lightning across a steel spine.
[System 15 Installed.]
[User: Ray Talonhart. Status: Reborn.]
A second item floated into view. A cracked seed, black and veined with silver roots. It radiated death—and possibility.
"Your Domain," the god said. "Your land. Your truth. It will grow with you. Or die with you."
The god turned, already fading.
"Wait," Ray said. "Why me?"
The god paused.
"Because you looked at the world that broke you… and laughed."
And then—
—he was gone.
Ray woke with a gasp, eyes glowing faintly with ghostlight. His sheets were soaked, his heartbeat thunderous.
He looked at his hands.
[Welcome to Aetherra, Ray Talonhart.]
[Let the games begin.]
[– System 15.]
And from deep within his soul…
Something smiled back.
------
Chapter 5: The Voice in His Head is a Jerk
Ray blinked at the glowing blue text still hovering in his vision. It flickered like a hologram on caffeine.
[Welcome, Host. System 15 has successfully bonded with your soul. Warning: permanent installation. No refunds.]
He sat up, rubbing his face. His breath steamed in the morning air.
"Great. I get reincarnated into a fantasy world, and the tutorial screen is already being sarcastic."
[Correction: I'm not sarcastic. I'm emotionally efficient. Unlike you, who cried for twenty minutes after birth.]
Ray froze. "You were awake for that?"
[Oh, I was born with you. Except I didn't scream. You did. Loudly.]
He groaned and slid out of bed, stepping onto the cold wooden floor. "So, what now? Do I get a sword, a glowing tattoo, or a prophecy shoved up my ass?"
[You get me. Which, honestly, is way worse for everyone involved.]
A menu blinked open in front of his eyes:
---
[System 15 - Reaper Protocol Online]
Bound Soul: Ray Talonhart
Class: Hidden – Necromancer (Locked)
Title: Newborn of the Domain
Available Features:
[Domain Access]
[Undead Control – Level 0]
[Skill Tree – Locked]
[God Shop – Locked]
[Undead Encyclopedia – Basic Beasts Only]
---
"Necromancer," Ray muttered, eyes gleaming. "So that's what he gave me."
[You're welcome. Most people get farmer or baker. You? You get to play corpse-dress-up.]
"Is that supposed to be comforting?"
[It's supposed to be true. You'll thank me after you raise your first wolf corpse to bite your enemies in the face.]
Ray stretched, bones popping, and walked to the window. His gaze swept across the quiet village—the distant fields, the hilltop windmill, the dense forest that curled around their world like a sleeping beast.
He felt something else. A pulse under his skin. A magnetic pull.
"System. Open Domain."
[Ah. You want the tour? Fine. Try not to cry again.]
A flash.
The world twisted—and then unfolded.
---
He stood in a completely different place.
Sky black. Ground gray. The land before him was empty, silent, and… his.
A vast, dark plain stretched into mist. In the center, a single sapling with bark like obsidian: the No-Bark Tree. Next to it, a cracked stone gate, half-sunken into the soil.
And to the left, a patch of earth that felt… wrong. Bones peeked from the soil like forgotten memories. Cold. Still. Hungry.
"This is my Domain?"
[Currently: two acres of useless dirt and existential dread. Congratulations.]
Ray walked toward the tree. It didn't sway. It didn't rustle. It just… watched.
"Why is it called a 'No-Bark Tree'?"
[Because it doesn't bark. Obviously.]
Ray stared blankly at the tree.
[I'm kidding. It's silent. It absorbs sound. No animal will go near it. And soon… it'll grow.]
He touched the tree.
It pulsed.
And somewhere, far beneath the earth, something stirred.
---
Ray stepped back.
"This… this is going to be fun."
[Or fatal. Or both. But hey, at least you're not bored anymore.]
Ray grinned. "You know what, System 15? I think we're going to get along."
[Don't get attached. I've killed my last five hosts.]
"…what?"
[Kidding. Mostly.]
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