The cold steel bit deep into Kael Ardyn's chest, and the world around him blurred into crimson shadows. Betrayal tasted bitter far more so than the blood spilling from his wound.
"Traitor!" he spat, struggling to rise, but the guards closed in, their faces masks of cruel satisfaction. The empire's once-great Mage General was no more than a broken man on the stone floor of the royal courtyard.
"Let this be a lesson to those who defy the throne," sneered Lord Veydran, his voice dripping with malice. Kael's vision dimmed. The last thing he saw was the proud face of Prince Kairon, eyes cold and unyielding.
Then, nothing.
---
Light pierced the darkness, painfully bright and unfamiliar. A pounding in his head, but it was not agony something else stirred deep within him.
Kael's eyes snapped open to a world of muted colors and feeble light. He was no longer in the royal courtyard, no longer the mighty general. He lay on a narrow bed in a small chamber, weak and trembling.
His reflection in a cracked mirror revealed the truth a sickly boy, barely ten, with pale skin and hollow eyes.
"No…" he whispered, voice cracking. "This can't be… I'm… reborn?"
A cold voice echoed inside his mind, resonant and commanding:
"Soul Devouring System activated. Commence soul absorption to increase power."
Kael sat up, confused but burning with resolve. A fading glow from the corner drew his gaze a dying rat, weak and twitching.
"Your soul will become mine," the voice said.
Hesitant but driven by survival, Kael reached out, and as his trembling fingers touched the creature's fading life, a surge of power exploded inside him. Memories, strength, instinct all flowed into him like a raging river.
He staggered back, gasping, but stronger than before.
The system's HUD flashed before his vision:
- Soul absorbed: Bandit rat
- Stats increased: Strength +5, Vitality +7
- Skill unlocked: Keen Senses
A new world was opening. But one question burned hotter than any flame:
Who had sent him here? Why?
---
Later that day, Kael ventured outside the crumbling manor, his body still fragile. He stumbled into a girl tending herbs in a garden her face gentle, eyes sharp.
"Elira Valen," she said softly, catching his fall. "You need care, young lord."
She moved with a quiet grace, touching his forehead with cool hands, a soothing balm warming his skin. In her presence, Kael felt a flicker of peace.
"Why do you help me?" he asked, voice hoarse.
Her eyes held secrets. "Because the past binds us more than you know."
Before he could respond, a shrill scream shattered the calm. Bandits swarmed the manor's gates.
Kael's heart thundered. His soul burned with new power, and the voice inside urged him forward.
"Kill. Devour."
He drew his trembling hand back and struck the nearest bandit with a raw, untamed force. The bandit fell, eyes wide in shock.
Kael knelt over the corpse, channeling the system's power again. The world tilted as he devoured the soul, power flooding his veins.
He was no longer just a sickly boy. He was a devourer, reborn for vengeance.
And his journey had only just begun.