The Valley of Lost Bones didn't smell like death. It smelled like nothing. Just the dry, chalky scent of ancient calcium grinding against stone, carried by a wind that felt like it was stripping the skin off your bones.
Evan Grey lay face down in the grey dust, his breathing ragged.
His ribs were broken—a parting gift from the Grey Tower guards who had tossed him off the cliff. They hadn't even bothered to use their weapons. Why waste durability on a No-Class? A kick to the chest was cheaper.
"Trash," his uncle had said, watching from the cliff edge. "You shame our bloodline. Die quietly, Evan. It is the only contribution you can make."
Evan's fingers curled into the dirt. The pain was blinding, white-hot jagged lines shooting up his spine, but it wasn't the pain that kept him conscious.
It was the anger.
It was a cold, dense weight in his gut. He thought of the Awakening Ceremony three days ago. The crystal ball remaining dull and grey. The laughter of the High Nobles. The look of relief on his family's faces when they realized they could just dispose of him to save face.
Die quietly?
"Screw... that," Evan wheezed, blood bubbling past his lips.
He forced his eyes open. The sky above was a mocking, brilliant blue.
"If the world... wants me gone..." He tried to push himself up, his arms trembling violently. "Then the world... is wrong."
The shadows in the valley seemed to deepen. The wind stopped.
For a moment, the world held its breath.
Then, a sound rang out. Not in the air, but inside his skull. It sounded like a heavy iron gate slamming shut, followed by the grinding of gears that hadn't moved in a thousand years.
[ SYSTEM DETECTED. ]
[ ANALYZING HOST COMPATIBILITY... ]
[ SOUL STATE: BROKEN. ]
[ WILLPOWER: CRITICAL. ]
[ EMOTIONAL RESONANCE: PURE HATRED. ]
[ COMPATIBILITY: 100% ]
A pane of black light, darker than the deepest void, shattered into existence before his eyes. It wasn't the soft blue glow of the standard Awakening interface. This was jagged, dripping with a crimson mist.
[ CONGRATULATIONS, HOST. ]
[ YOU HAVE AWAKENED THE FORBIDDEN SYSTEM: APOCALYPSE ENGINE. ]
[ RANK: SSS ]
Evan stared at the floating text. He should have been terrified. The legends said this system turned men into monsters. It was the reason for the Pact. It was the reason armies burned cities to the ground just to catch a rumor of it.
But Evan didn't feel fear. As the energy rushed into him—cold, sharp, and smelling of ozone and blood—he felt something else.
Relief.
[ SYSTEM INITIALIZATION COMPLETE. ]
[ CURRENT STATUS: DYING. ]
[ GENERATING FIRST QUEST... ]
[ QUEST: FIRST BLOOD ]
[ OBJECTIVE: Survive the Valley Scavengers. ]
[ REWARD: Devour Module Unlock. ]
A low growl vibrated through the ground.
Evan turned his head. Emerging from the bone piles were three Rot-Wolves. Their fur was matted with dried gore, their eyes glowing with a starving, manic green light. They could smell the fresh blood on him.
They didn't just want to eat him. Beasts in the Valley were corrupted by Origin Flux; they hated everything that lived.
[ PASSIVE TRIGGERED: HATRED ABSORPTION ]
[ ENEMY DETECTED: ROT-WOLF (E-RANK) ]
[ EMOTION DETECTED: HUNGER / MALICE ]
[ STAT MULTIPLIER ACTIVATED: +50% STRENGTH. ]
The pain in Evan's ribs vanished, replaced by a surge of adrenaline so potent it felt like liquid lightning. He stood up. His bones popped and snapped back into place, forced realigned by the violent surge of energy.
The lead wolf lunged.
Evan didn't dodge. He didn't have the technique. He didn't have a class.
He stepped forward and drove his fist into the wolf's open maw.
Crack.
The sound echoed through the silent valley.
[ SYSTEM NOTICE: USER HAS ENGAGED COMBAT. ]
[ THE ENGINE HUNGERS. ]
Evan grinned, blood staining his teeth. "Come on then," he whispered to the remaining wolves, raising his hand. "Hate me more. Make me a god."