Thunder cracked the sky like it was splitting the world apart.
A crimson storm churned over the battlefield ruins, clouds coiling like serpents above scorched earth. Shattered columns jutted out of the ground like broken spears, and divine symbols flickered weakly across the stones—remnants of a war long buried in silence.
Amid the ruins, something stirred.
Fingers twitched.
A man lay sprawled across the cracked marble, bare-chested, covered in soot, ash, and dried blood. Runes—ancient, forbidden, and pulsing faintly—were etched along his spine and arms. His silver hair was matted with dust. His body was lean but carved from something more divine than flesh.
And then, his eyes snapped open.
One burned with hellish crimson.
The other glowed with a faint golden rune.
"...Where… am I?" he whispered, his voice hoarse but laced with something deeper—authority, anger, confusion.
He sat up slowly. The world groaned around him as if reality itself recognized his return.
His hand reached for his heart.
Silence.
No heartbeat.
But he was alive.
The man looked to the storm above, to the spiraling flames and the torn sky.
And then—like a knife being twisted in the void—a voice echoed in his mind. Cold. Mechanical. And ancient.
> [Chaos Crown System Rebooting…]
[Host: Lucifer. Title: The Morning Star.]
[Godhood: Locked.]
[Status: Erased from all pantheons.]
[Divine Core Sync: 3%...]
His eyes widened. "Lucifer…?"
Memories flickered in broken flashes—blades of fire, golden thrones, angels screaming, gods judging, and the sound of chains clamping around stars.
He stood.
As soon as he did, the earth beneath him cracked, black lightning crawling across the ground. The pillars nearby shattered into dust.
The name felt familiar—too familiar.
"I… am Lucifer," he whispered again, stronger this time. "The one they sealed."
> [Memory Fragment Restored — Divine Lawbreaker.]
[System Skill Unlocked: Chaos Theft Lv.1]
Above him, a massive sigil of fire appeared in the sky.
And suddenly—they arrived.
Five beams of divine light crashed down around him like meteor strikes. Out of them stepped five figures—each adorned in symbols of the pantheons.
A man in Greek armor, his eyes glowing with Zeus's lightning.
A cloaked priest of Vishnu, with hands of fire and illusion.
A Norse berserker, his axe humming with bloodlust.
A golden-robed warrior of Ra, his body wrapped in solar fire.
And a pale-skinned monk from the East, his eyes empty, unreadable.
"You should not exist," the lightning warrior said.
Lucifer tilted his head, lips curling into a cold smile.
"And yet, here I am."
"You are an abomination," the Egyptian hissed. "The gods erased you from time itself."
> [Warning: Divine Assassination Protocol Activated.]
[Survive or be annihilated.]
Lucifer cracked his neck. "I just woke up and already they want me dead."
The Norse berserker lunged first.
The ground split as he came down with a thunderous roar, his axe trailing with runes of war. Lucifer dodged to the side, barely regaining control of his own body. The blade sliced through the stone, igniting a pillar in flames.
Lucifer caught the monk's fist as it neared his throat. "You're quick."
"Quicker than a fallen star," the monk replied—before spinning and kicking him into the air.
Lucifer slammed into a wall of divine energy. Blood spilled from his mouth. His body wasn't fully awakened. His power was sealed. He was outnumbered, unarmed, outgunned.
> [System Tip: Chaos Theft skill allows you to absorb a fraction of power from any divine strike you survive.]
The next moment, the priest of Vishnu unleashed a wave of illusion—ten thousand hands of fire rushing at Lucifer.
He screamed as the magic tore into his mind and soul.
> [Skill Activated: Chaos Theft Lv.1 – Target: Vishnu Fragment.]
[Power Absorbed: 1% - Divine Illusion Arts Lv.1 Acquired.]
The flames vanished.
Lucifer stood amidst the attack, completely unharmed.
The attackers froze.
He raised a hand, and a phantom hand of fire rose with it—his version of the spell.
The monk whispered, "Impossible…"
Lucifer smirked. "Thanks for the gift."
He flicked his wrist. A burning illusion hand grabbed the Norse warrior mid-charge and snapped his spine in mid-air, slamming him into the earth.
The others moved in, furious, but too late.
Lucifer's body was glowing now. The runes on his arms surged violently.
> [Divine Core Sync: 12%...]
He began to remember how he once fought. How he once ruled.
He dodged the bolt of lightning from the Greek. Caught it. Ate it.
> [Chaos Theft Lv.1 – Zeus Lightning Fragment Acquired.]
[Skill: Thunderbite Lv.1 Unlocked.]
With a flick of his finger, he returned the bolt—only this one twisted, darker, laced with chaos.
It exploded on impact.
The Greek avatar screamed as he was consumed.
The monk stepped back. "We must fall back. This isn't a seal—this is a rebirth."
But Lucifer was already moving.
He was faster now. Sharper. Relearning every godlike instinct.
The battlefield became a blur of crimson sparks, torn air, and collapsing heavens. The Chaos Crown System was accelerating, breaking divine rules as it absorbed fragments from each attack.
> [Divine Core Sync: 18%...]
One by one, the avatars began to fall.
Only the priest of Ra remained, floating above the battlefield like a miniature sun.
"You should have never returned, Lucifer," he said, eyes burning gold. "This world has moved on."
Lucifer stood on the shattered steps of the ruined altar, body bleeding light and shadow. "No, it hasn't."
He raised his hand.
A massive sigil of chaos appeared behind him, pulsing like a second heart.
"It was waiting for me."
> [System Fusion Unlocked: Chaos Domain Lv.1 – Authority: Annihilation]
A wave of darkness burst outward.
The solar priest screamed as his divine light was swallowed whole—his figure torn apart by the rising domain.
When the energy cleared, only one man stood among the ruins.
Breathing slowly.
Alone.
Victorious.
Lucifer.
> [Warning: A True God is Descending.]
[Pantheon Alert: Zeus – Olympus Throne Signature Detected.]
[Threat Level: EXTINCTION CLASS]
Lucifer looked to the sky as a new crack split the heavens.
Lightning poured down like a waterfall. Divine drums echoed across realms.
And through the breach, a monstrous figure descended.
Ten feet tall, eyes blazing with godfire. A beard of white lightning. Robes made of living clouds.
Zeus.
The true one.
"You…" he thundered. "Were supposed to stay gone."
Lucifer narrowed his eyes, voice calm.
"You were always afraid of me."
The god raised his hand. The world trembled. Oceans shifted. Mountains knelt.
But Lucifer simply stepped forward.
His crimson wings exploded from his back in a burst of chaos and fire.
And then—
> [Chaos Crown Override Initiated.]
[Title Awakening: The Fallen King]
[Divinity Unlocking: 22%… 31%… 46%…]
Lightning clashed against chaos as the sky turned red.
And just before they collided—
Black.
Everything went black.