Infront of the imperial Capital,
Millions had gathered to witness the execution of the worst Heretic in the history of Eloria.
Thousands of priests from various faiths stood united, chanting divine mantras. It echoed through the air like an ominous hymn.
All eyes were faced toward the massive execution platform, where that heretic's neck rested beneath a raised blade.
The Heretic was the Patriarch of the Noctvain family, one of the seven great families in the Empire.
"To think my brother did so much for these people....." The Patriarch of the Noctvain family, Aether von Noctvain said while clicking his tongue.
This is his second life. In his previous life, he was born on Earth, and after a tragic accident, he died.
As he died, he saw a vision. He saw his brother in a starlit void. His brother spoke of a prophecy; that Aether was the destined one and would be reincarnated in another world. Aether was filled with questions, but none were answered.
After that, he reincarnated in the empire as the heir to one of the seven great families, the Noctvain family. From there he lived as Aether Von Noctvain.
When he came of age, he set out on a journey to fulfill his destiny. Along the way, he gained immense power and formed unbreakable bonds with many companions.
In time, he was hailed as one of the strongest knight in the world.
But after following the path his brother had carved, Naoki's heart shattered with a brutal truth.... That Prophecy was a lie, crafted by Celestial beings who feared his brother's power.
When Naoki learned that his big brother had been deceived and discarded, He could no longer control his anger.
As a mere mortal, he committed the unthinkable, he killed a celestial being. But the one he struck down was only a subordinate of the true mastermind.
Before he could reach the true mastermind, The Heavenly Principle took notice of him.
Though the heavenly principle had lain dormant for thousands of years, Aether's action wake it from its silence.
It placed a curse upon him, sealing away his mana and leaving him vulnerable. Just then his comrades betrayed him and sided with the Celestial beings.
Meanwhile, Taking advantage of his vulnerability, several celestial beings descended to overwhelm him.
As a mortal who spilled divine blood, he was dragged to a platform, where judgment awaited.
Now, stripped of his power, betrayed by those he once trusted, and bound in chains. He could only watch as the hour of his execution drew near.
Now, standing before the cheering crowd, Aether clicked his tongue in annoyance.
Then his gaze shifted to the side, toward his companions. Every single one of them wore a strange grin on their face.
Aether's eyes narrowed.
They were his cherished friends, but to think they were the puppets of the celestial beings. It was truly heartbreaking.
Their betrayal hit him harder than he expected. Just Then...
Boom!
A loud explosion rang out. Aether turned toward the source of the sound.
Boom!
Another explosion came from a different direction.
Boom. Boom.
Multiple blasts echoed throughout the capital. Chaos erupted as battles broke out across the plaza.
He couldn't sense who was fighting, his mana was sealed. But his heart sank with worry.
After some time, the sounds of battle began to fade. The clashes grew fewer.
Clang! Clang !
The crowd stood frozen in tension, until a voice rose above the silence.
"We've subdued the rebels. There's no need to panic."
The one who spoke was none other than Zeke, the Mercenary King. One of Aether's companions who had betrayed him.
"Bring those heretics!" Zeke commanded.
Knights moved, clearing a path through the blood-stained ground. And then, the aftermath of the battle unfolded before Aether's eyes.
His breath caught. for the first time, his calm expression twisted into fear. His heart started beating heavily, as if it would burst any moment.
Ba dum! Ba dum! Ba dum! Ba dum!
He saw dead bodies scattered throughout the battlefield.
Many had fought for him, specially the warriors from the Noctvain family, the household he was reincarnated. people who still believed in him.
Aether was the Patriarch of the Noctvain family, one of the Empires seven great family.
But his gaze locked onto the center of it all.
There stood a middle-aged man in luxurious knight armor, holding a spear high in a victory pose.
Aether had never seen this man before.
But what shocked him...no, what broke him was what hung from the tip of the spear.
Four severed heads.
As his eyes focused, blood began to weep from them.
Because those heads belonged to his siblings.
In this world, Aether had two sisters and three brothers. His eldest sister had been killed long ago. That had left him with four remaining siblings, his triplet younger brothers and a younger sister.
And now, even they were gone.
drip...drip...
As blood streamed from his eyes, Aether heard a familiar voice calling out through the chaos.
"Aether!"
He looked up and saw her.
Cierra von Ophelia.
His fiancée.
"I'll save you," she cried.
She was fighting her way through the knights, her body soaked in blood, her movements desperate and wild.
"I'll save you at any cost. And we'll be togeth...."
Before she could finish, a spear tore through her face. With a brutal pull, her head was severed.
The man who severed her head was none orher than that unknown luxurious amor knight.
The unknown knight finally open his mouth. mockingly he said
"Opps, I should've let her finish. Now I look like the villain in some tragic love story"
His smile stretched far too wide, almost reaching his ears. It was unnatural. Twisted. A smile filled with pure evil.
Aether's eyes turned blank. His consciousness trembled, drifting between reality and madness.
He had lost his sister back on Earth. So when he came to this world, he made a promise to protect his sister in this world.
But he had failed.
He has triplet brothers. bright, kind, full of admiration for him. One of them once said with a grin:
"My friends at the academy were talking about superheroes. I told them about you Even if this world exploded, my brother would save everyone and told them about your powers. Now the whole academy wants your autograph. Hah…it's hard to be hero's brother."
"Hahaha…"
Aether had laughed so hard that day. That moment… it felt real.
He truly wanted to be the hero they believed in. But he wasn't a hero. He was cursed.
"If only I hadn't been their brother… they might still be alive."
Everyone who cared about him is dead.
Everyone he held dear, gone or betrayed him. Even the world itself had turned its back.
"I'm just a castaway of fate…"
Aether looked up at the sky. Filled with rage.
His mana was still sealed by the Heavenly Principle. And yet, through sheer will alone, he forced open his eyes to see beyond the veil.
He could see them, the Celestial beings looking at him, mocking, laughing.
Mana began to surge in his pupils, unstable and furious.
"It's your fault…all of you…I'll kill you…I'll kill you…I'll kill youuuuu!"
[ Abyssal energy Awakening....10%]
Dark, sinister mana erupted from his body. so thick, so malevolent it made the ground tremble.
The apostles of the Celestial Beings and even his former companions staggered backward in shock. They knew his mana was sealed. But
"Wasn't his mana blocked?!"
The unknown knight, the one in luxurious armor broke out in a cold sweat.
"Shit."
He sensed something was horribly wrong.
Without hesitation, he rushed toward the platform, intending to behead Aether before it was too late.
Then time stopped.
The world froze in place.
Colors drained from reality, leaving everything in shades of ash and silence.
Only one figure moved.
Aether von Noctvain
He rose from the execution platform, slowly ascending into the sky, emotionless.
[ Abyssal energy Awakening....90%]
His mouth moved, over and over.
"I'll kill you… I'll kill you… I'll kill you… Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill…"
His voice was hoarse, echoing endlessly into the dead air.
Then, he screamed.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa. I'll killllllllllllll everyoooooonnnnnneeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee"
His cry tore through the timeless void. The dark aura around him exploded outward, Pitch-black mana erupted behind him, swirling like an inferno that clawed at the sky.
[ Awakening as the Incarnation of the forgotten God]
A crown of burning shadows glowed around his head, and his hair rose like a mane of black fire.
He sat cross-legged above the desecrated battlefield.
Upon witnessing this, even the Celestial beings trembled in fear.
"I… imposs… impossible…" one stammered.
"H-How can that being…?" another whispered, falling to his knees.
"The incarnation… of the Forgotten God."
These Celestial beings,known as demigods. Each possessed the power to destroy entire universes. Yet now they trembled, as if their very existence might be erased at any moment.
Even Celestial beings had to submit when faced with something far above them.
Aether was the incarnation of the forgotten God. an ancient sovereign reborn from the void, whose name had long since been erased from mortal memory. His very presence made the air tremble, as if the world itself still remembered to fear him.
As the Celestial beings trembled, every living human on the ground suddenly exploded, their bodies ripped apart by an invisible force.
Blood gushed across the shattered earth in torrents, pooling around the corpses until the battlefield ran red like a river of sacrifice.
He was no longer merely human. He was an avenging deity risen from the depths to drown the world in darkness and ruin.
And then…
BOOM.
The entire world shook.
The skies collapsed. The earth fractured. The sun vanished. Like a black hole ripping through existence, his hatred consumed everything.
Mountains crumbled. Oceans boiled. Cities were erased in an instant. As if even time itself screamed.
It only took a single moment and Eloria (this world) ceased to exist.
Not even a spark of dust remained.
Only darkness.
Even the Celestial Beings, those who masquerade as gods trembled.
They can destroy things but to erase existence itself…that lies beyond even their divine reach.
And in that moment, they beheld something far more terrifying than chaos.
They witnessed
the wrath of the castaway of fate.
The incarnation of the forgotten God.