Chapter 1 - The fall of the Darven farmily

The sky was crimson, and the sun burned a bright orange-red, like the last spark of light before a dying flame was extinguished.

The ground was no different.

Blood covered the earth as far as the eye could see, and the metallic smell of it filled the air with every breath.

The Darven family estate had become a slaughterhouse.

Bodies were scattered across the courtyard and halls. Men dressed in black moved through the ruins, killing anyone who was still breathing and stabbing fallen bodies to make certain they were dead.

“Search every room!”

“Find the head of the family!”

“He can't have escaped!”

Their voices echoed throughout the estate.

But beneath the chaos, hidden behind a concealed wall, was a secret room.

The room was dimly lit by several candles that burned with an unnatural green flame. No ordinary fire could produce such a light.

Inside stood a man who appeared to be in his late twenties.

He had a handsome face and a masculine yet slender build. His thin nightwear was soaked in blood, and his right hand tightly gripped a katana. His fingers had dug so deeply into the iron handle that his knuckles had turned white.

His left arm was gone.

Blood continuously poured from the wound.

His face was pale, and his body trembled from exhaustion. Anyone looking at him would have thought he could collapse at any moment.

Yet he remained standing.

Not because he still had the strength.

Because he had the will.

In front of him was his son.

A boy of perhaps eight or nine years old.

Kael desperately tried to stop his father's bleeding with crude bandages. His small hands trembled as he worked, tears gathering in his eyes.

“Kael…”

The man spoke softly.

“I can't be saved. You know that too.”

Kael shook his head and continued wrapping the bandage around the impossible wound.

“Dad, I'll stop the bleeding. Just wait. The healers—”

The man chuckled softly.

There was warmth in his smile, but also unbearable pain.

He took a heavy breath.

“Kael, please.”

The boy finally looked up.

“For me… for your mother… and for our entire bloodline…”

His father's voice became firm.

“You must live.”

Kael froze.

“And you must kill those bastards from the Northern Empire.”

The man's eyes burned with hatred.

“They must be the ones who attacked us.”

He looked down at his missing arm.

“I am no longer capable of fighting properly. I have enough mana left for only one more attack.”

Slowly, he removed a ring from his middle finger and placed it onto his index finger.

“Listen carefully.”

“I can hold them off for about thirty minutes. After that, I will die.”

Kael's eyes widened.

“Run as fast as you can toward the portal I always told you to stay away from.”

“The portal…?”

“Yes.”

His father pointed toward the hidden passage.

“Once you reach it, there will be a button inside. Destroy it.”

“The portal will disappear, and no one will be able to follow you.”

He paused, struggling to breathe.

“I wrote everything you need to know in a book stored inside the space ring.”

“There should be enough supplies for you to survive for almost a year.”

Kael stared at him in disbelief.

“But Dad…”

“It is dangerous in there.”

His father's expression became unusually serious.

“But we have no other choice.”

He placed a trembling hand on Kael's shoulder.

“Even I, a Level 70 expert, probably couldn't survive there for long.”

“So be extremely careful.”

“You'll learn everything else from the things inside the ring.”

A deafening explosion suddenly shook the room.

BOOM!

The door was blasted apart.

Men dressed in black rushed through the smoke.

The father immediately stepped in front of Kael.

“GO!”

Kael stumbled backward.

His father pushed him away with his remaining hand.

“Kael, RUN!”

The katana in his hand began to glow.

“Revenge your mother.”

His voice thundered through the room.

“Revenge our family!”

Kael's eyes turned red.

“DAD!”

He didn't want to leave.

Every instinct in his body screamed at him to stay.

But his father had already turned toward the approaching enemies.

The katana flashed.

A black-clad warrior fell.

Then another.

Then another.

His father moved like a wounded beast backed into a corner, cutting through the attackers despite the blood pouring from his body.

But there were too many.

A sword pierced his chest.

Another struck his side.

Then another.

Blood splattered across the floor.

Yet he continued fighting.

Kael stood at the entrance to the portal, tears streaming down his face.

His father looked toward him.

Their eyes met.

“GO!”

Kael clenched his fists.

“I'll avenge you, Dad!”

His voice cracked.

“I'll kill every single one of them!”

He turned and entered the portal.

The moment he crossed the threshold, the world around him twisted.

His vision blurred.

His stomach churned.

The sensation of his entire body being dragged through something beyond his understanding made him dizzy.

But Kael didn't care.

He turned around one last time.

Through the fading portal, he saw his father's final moments.

His father was standing among the corpses of his enemies.

A sword had been driven through his chest.

Blood dripped from countless wounds.

Yet he was smiling.

Kael had never seen that smile before.

It was peaceful.

His father looked at him.

“I'm sorry, son…”

A single tear rolled down his cheek.

“For not being strong enough…”

His voice trembled.

“…to protect you.”

Then his father closed his eyes.

The mana within his body erupted.

Kael's eyes widened.

“DAD!”

The world outside the portal disappeared in a tremendous explosion.

Kael desperately reached toward the fading image.

But it was already too late.

He turned around.

In front of him stood an ancient stone altar.

On it was a strange mechanism with a single button.

His father's final instruction echoed in his mind.

Destroy it.

Kael smashed his fist into the mechanism.

CRACK!

The button shattered.

The portal collapsed.

The connection to the outside world vanished as though it had never existed.

Silence filled the forest.

Kael stood motionless.

Then his legs gave out.

He collapsed onto the grass.

He looked up.

There was no sun.

No moon.

No stars.

Only an endless, pitch-black sky.

Kael slowly clenched his fists around the grass.

His entire body trembled.

His family was gone.

His mother.

His father.

His relatives.

Everyone.

He was alone.

A single thought repeated inside his mind.

I wasn't strong enough.

Kael buried his face in the grass.

He cried.

He cried until his throat hurt.

He cried until his eyes could barely remain open.

Eventually, exhaustion overcame him.

He fell asleep.

But Kael didn't know that he was being watched.

Deep within the darkness of the forest, countless pairs of red eyes emerged.

One pair.

Then another.

Then dozens.

Then hundreds.

Creatures hidden within the darkness stared at the small human lying helplessly on the ground.

Their bodies were covered in dark energy.

Saliva dripped from their mouths.

They slowly began moving toward him.

Then—

The ring on Kael's finger released a terrifying aura.

The entire forest seemed to freeze.

The creatures stopped.

Their bodies trembled.

Whatever was contained within that ring was something they instinctively feared.

One by one, the creatures retreated into the darkness.

Kael remained completely unaware.

He slept.

Alone.

After what felt like an eternity, Kael finally opened his eyes.

For several seconds, he didn't move.

Then he slowly sat up.

The first thing he noticed was the darkness.

The second was the countless animal footprints surrounding him.

Kael looked around.

He was still alive.

Somehow.

He lowered his head and stared at his hands.

His father's face appeared in his mind.

Then his mother's.

Then the faces of everyone he had lost.

Kael slowly clenched his fists.

He didn't know where he was.

He didn't know what monsters lived in this forest.

He didn't know why his father had been so afraid of this place.

And he certainly didn't know what secrets were hidden inside the ring.

But one thing was certain.

Kael Darven was no longer the son of a powerful family.

His family was dead.

His old life was gone.

And in this endless, unknown darkness…

He would have to become strong enough to survive.

Strong enough to return.

And one day—

He would make the people responsible for destroying the Darven family pay.