Blood.
It trickled down Kael's face, warm and sticky, mingling with the cold rain soaking through his torn uniform. His hands trembled—whether from shock, rage, or exhaustion, he couldn't tell anymore. All around him, the bodies of monsters lay scattered. He had fought tooth and nail for them. For them. And yet...
They stood there, the very people he bled for, eyes cold, distant—afraid of him.
"Is that all of them?" asked Ceres, wiping his blade clean as if Kael had just been another enemy to slay. His silver armor glinted under the lightning-lit sky, and his voice held no trace of guilt.
Kael's breath hitched.
"What… What are you doing?" he rasped, trying to rise, but his knees buckled.
A swift boot slammed into his chest. Kael coughed violently, a sharp pain in his ribs telling him something had cracked. He looked up and saw Vera, the healer—the one who once swore she'd never let him die.
"You went too far, Kael," she said coldly. "This power of yours… it's not human anymore."
"I used it to save you!" he shouted, voice raw. "I dammit, I protected you! I almost died for you!"
"That's exactly the problem," muttered Ceres. "You are no longer useful. You are unpredictable. You are Dangerous."
Behind him, the others murmured in agreement. One by one, the people Kael had called friends, comrades, family… turned their backs.
"Kael Vireth, by the order of the Royal Guild and the High Circle, you are hereby stripped of your rank, your rights, and your name," Ceres announced like a judge passing sentence. "You are now forsaken. May the gods have mercy, especially on you."
They left.
Just like that.
Kael remained there, broken, bleeding, forgotten, Abandoned.
Hours Later
The forest was silent now. The rain had stopped, but Kael hadn't moved. He stared blankly at the dark clouds above, his mind spiraling.
Was it because of the forbidden spell? Because he killed that Chimera alone when they were about to die?
No. It wasn't what he did. It was what he became.
A weapon.
A reminder that he was too different.
His hand brushed against the silver insignia of the guild—now cracked and worthless. It fell from his grasp into the mud.
Kael closed his eyes. "They… all left me, they all..... abandoned me."
"Would you like to leave them… behind too?"
Kael jolted.
A voice. Not from outside—but from within. It slithered into his mind, velvet and venom all at once.
"You did everything for them, and they discarded you like garbage. You gave love. Loyalty. Blood. And in return? Betrayal."
"Who are you?" Kael whispered.
"A better question: What do you want, Kael?"
He hesitated. What did he want? Revenge? No… something more. He wanted power—power to make sure this never happened again. Power to change the world. To tear it down if he had to.
"I want... to be the one they can never betray again."
"Then let's make a deal."
Before he could respond, the world around him darkened. The forest faded, replaced by a vast red void filled with whispers, writhing shadows, and a distant scream that never ended.
A figure emerged—tall, cloaked in ash and smoke, eyes burning like twin embers of a dying star.
"I am Lucivar, Lord of the Forgotten Flame. Make this pact, Kael, and I shall gift you a system born of sin. In exchange, your soul will be mine in 666 days. But in that time… you will become more than man. More than myth. You will be fear. Hope. Hate. Salvation. Whatever you choose to become."
"And if I refuse?"
"Then rot in the mud, unloved and forgotten."
Kael looked down at his mangled hands. His future was already taken from him. His name erased. His life? Meaningless.
But a new one—that, he could take.
He clenched his fists.
"I accept."
[SYSTEM INSTALLING…]
Welcome, Kael Vireth.
You are now bound to the Devil System.
Sin Points: 0
Nightmare Gauge: 0%
Rank: Forsaken
Primary Sin Detected: Wrath
Unlocking Wrath Skill Tree…
Begin transformation sequence?
Kael's body convulsed. He screamed as flames erupted beneath his skin—scorching, reshaping, empowering. Horns cracked through his skull, his eyes glowed a burning red, and a glyph burned across his chest, pulsing in sync with a new, dark heart.
When the pain faded, Kael stood—stronger, heavier, alive in a way he had never felt before.
He looked at his reflection in the puddle.
A devil stared back.
And for the first time in days…
He smiled.
End of Chapter 1