Chapter 1: The Abyss Beckons
The world was ablaze with war. Empires rose and fell like the tides, kingdoms devoured by the unrelenting chaos of steel, magic, and ambition. Amid it all, one truth echoed through the lands—power reigned supreme. And in a small village tucked away in the human realm, a nobody named Kael lived a life of quiet insignificance.
Kael had never known greatness. The son of a dead mercenary and a vanished herbalist, he scraped by doing odd jobs and avoiding trouble. But fate, or perhaps something darker, had other plans.
It started on the eve of his eighteenth birthday.
The air was cold and still, the sky above choked in ash-gray clouds. Kael wandered into the forest chasing a rumor—a rare herb that bloomed under the blood moon. He needed the coin. The village taxes had risen again, and the baron's men were anything but forgiving.
But instead of herbs, Kael found a crater.
Or perhaps, the crater found him.
It pulsed with a low, hellish hum, carved into the earth like a wound left by a god's fury. As he stepped closer, the earth trembled. A voice echoed in his mind, ancient and terrible, dripping with amusement and hunger.
"Chosen... at last, a vessel worthy."
Kael staggered back, clutching his head. "What the hell—?"
Then came the searing pain. His veins lit up like fire, his bones cracked, muscles stretched beyond mortal limits. He screamed—but no one heard. His very soul twisted as a foreign presence seeped into his being.
SYSTEM INITIALIZING…
Welcome, Kael.
You have been selected as the Host of the Great Demon Lord System.
Your path to dominion begins now.
Objectives will be provided. Failure will result in soul annihilation.
Good luck.
A black window of crimson runes appeared before his eyes—intangible, but undeniable.
New Skill Unlocked: [Infernal Command]
New Quest: Establish Your First Domain
Reward: Demon Seed Core (Rank F)
Kael fell to his knees, panting. His vision swam, his mind raced.
"This… isn't real. Systems don't exist. That's fiction, that's—"
"Then let fiction become truth."
A surge of energy flooded him, snapping trees in a ten-meter radius. His shadow lengthened unnaturally behind him, curling like smoke. His once dull brown eyes now glowed with faint red embers.
Kael wasn't just changed.
He was reborn.
And far below, in the deepest pit of the Abyss, ancient eyes stirred. The System had chosen its champion—and the realms would tremble.