The sky burned black.
Ash fell like snow across the ruins of a once-living world. Towers lay crumbled. Rivers ran red. The gods were long dead. And still, the monsters kept coming.
At the center of it all stood a man — or what was left of one.
He had no arms.
His body was wrapped in scars, inked with glowing tattoos etched by forgotten gods.
A white blade floated near his back, burning with a divine aura, responding only to his will.
His long white hair hung blood-soaked and matted over dull gray eyes, the kind that had seen too much and hoped for too little.
He stood tall, still. Behind him, a small voice trembled.
"Dad… you should've left me."
The girl, barely sixteen, lay against a broken slab of stone, her legs gone. Her EX-Rank strength meant nothing here. Not anymore. Her blood pooled beneath her, but her voice held no fear — only sadness.
"You should've run."
"I did," he said quietly. "A hundred times. But I always came back."
There were no tears in his eyes. Not anymore.
His name was Caelum Ashveil, and for sixty years, he had fought alone in a world devoured by darkness.
A father, a protector, a warrior cursed by divinity and fate.
And now, only one enemy remained.
From the shadows emerged a being not meant to exist.
A humanoid creature, impossibly tall, its skin like obsidian, its mouth stretching into an inhuman grin. It had three eyes — two where they belonged, and one burning red on its forehead.
It stared at the broken man and the dying girl, and it laughed.
"How charming. A father of ants, protecting another ant. Pathetic. Disgusting. Endearing."
Caelum didn't wait. He moved.
No arms. No hesitation.
The sword flew into his mouth, clamped between his teeth, the white aura blazing like a dying star.
He charged.
"DIE, YOU MONSTER—!"
But he was far too tired.
Too old.
Too late.
In one motion, the creature's hand sliced through the air — faster than thought.
SLASH.
Two heads hit the ground.
The father's.
The daughter's.
Side by side.
Her eyes still held a smile.
His… tears that refused to fall.
And then—
The world cracked.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE]
"The cries of the unfortunate have been heard."
"The gods weep for the forgotten."
"A second life has been granted."
REJOICE.
TRANSFER COMPLETE.
Welcome to Earth, Caelum Ashveil.
**Live a life without her… if you can."