The stench of the Sylverian Lower Ring was its own kind of punishment. Rotting food, feces, stale blood, and desperation. Jorik—once known as the Sword King—breathed it in like incense. He leaned against a crumbling brick wall, bones aching, heart calm.
"Eight years old, huh," he muttered, feeling the hollowness of his body. "Light, but fast. Flexible. Still growing."
His body might've been young, but his instincts were ancient.
Around him, the slums writhed with life—if you could call it that. Starving orphans fought rats for meat. Addicts lay twitching in alleyways. And thugs in patchwork armor stalked the narrow corridors of cracked stone and timber, hunting for coin, blood, or worse.
A loud slap echoed through the alley.
Jorik turned to see a burly man with a rusted machete striking a child—no older than five—across the face.
"Didn't pay the rat tax," the thug growled.
The Sword King within Jorik stirred.
He walked forward, silent as breath.
The thug turned, blade raised.
"Oi, you want some too, ya—"
Jorik struck.
He moved with no warning. No wasted motion. He took a rusted iron nail from the ground and buried it in the man's throat with surgical precision. One second. One strike. The thug collapsed in a gurgle of blood and disbelief.
The other urchins scattered. The five-year-old stared, trembling.
"Take his boots," Jorik said coldly. "They'll sell for bread."
He turned away.
Something pulsed in his chest. A warmth. A presence.
> [Soul Compatibility Detected...]
Jorik stopped walking.
> [Initializing Soulframe Interface...]
[System: KING'S BLOOD]
"Only those with the blood of kings and souls of conquerors may wield this fate."
His eyes widened.
> [Welcome, Soul Identifier: Jorik Vaelgard | True Name: Unknown | Soul Type: Monarch-Revenant]
[Synchronizing soul memory… complete.]
Lines of gold etched themselves into his vision.
A translucent screen appeared in front of him:
---
Name: Jorik Vaelgard
Race: Half-Elf (Sylverian)
Age: 8
Titles: Phantom Spider, Reincarnated Sword King
Class: —
Soul Class: Revenant Monarch
Affiliation: None
Status: Starving, Fatigued
HP: 32 / 115
MP: 44 / 140
STR: 9
AGI: 18
INT: 22
VIT: 6
DEX: 14
CHA: 8
LUK: ???
---
> [SYSTEM FUNCTIONALITY UNLOCKED]
[You may now access: Soul Gear | Quests | Bloodline Awakening | Skills | Kingdom Foundation Tree]
Jorik blinked.
"…So this is my second chance."
And it came with rules.
With power.
With a system.
He exhaled slowly.
"I guess retirement was never in the cards."