Darkness.
Not the peaceful kind that cradles a sleeper's dreams, but a choking, endless void—a silence so deep it screamed.
Lucian floated in that nothingness, his awareness a drifting ember in a sea of cold. Pain lived here, pain without source, without edges. Just existence and agony.
Then something tore through it—a breath. Not his, but the world's. A sharp inhalation. Air.
And suddenly, so did he.
Lucian gasped.
Fire raked down his throat. His lungs, unused for an eternity, burned with each inhale as though breathing acid. He convulsed. Metal clanged around him.
Chains.
He snapped open his eyes, blinking against the oppressive gloom. Shadows danced across cracked stone walls, etched with dark sigils that pulsed like hearts. The chamber was massive yet suffocating. A dome of grey-black rock stretched above, lit only by the dim flicker of dying torches. They burned blue—unnatural, ghostly—and sputtered like they feared what they illuminated.
Lucian was suspended in the center of the room by iron restraints bolted into a ritual platform. His wrists and ankles bled slightly where the cuffs bit into him. Runes slithered across the metal, glowing faintly red, whispering to each other in dead tongues.
The air stank of sulfur, blood, and old power.
Across from him stood a man. Cloaked in crimson robes, embroidered with golden threads shaped like twisting serpents, he watched with reverence and fear. His eyes—pale gray, cold as a winter's moon—studied Lucian like one would an unpredictable god.
"He awakens," the man whispered, voice echoing through the chamber like a funeral bell.
Lucian's gaze sharpened, focusing despite the pain. His pupils narrowed. "Where… am I?" he rasped. His voice, fractured and dry, cracked the silence.
The man stepped forward. "You are in the catacombs beneath St. Aramis Cathedral. New York City. Earth."
Lucian's brow furrowed. New York? Cathedrals?
His thoughts were fractured glass, but slivers of memory returned. Wings of gold. Fire falling from the stars. Betrayal. Then… nothing.
He tugged against the chains. They held.
"You bound me," Lucian growled, fury simmering. "Do you know who I am?"
The man smiled with unsettling calm. "Lucian Morningstar. The First. The Fallen. We summoned you from the Pit, pieced your essence back into flesh. You are incomplete… but alive."
Lucian's glare darkened. "You dare… resurrect me like some lab rat?"
"We dared," the man said with quiet pride. "Because the world needs you."
As Lucian's rage coiled, a sound—not of the room, but inside his skull—chimed like a bell made of data.
[SYSTEM ONLINE]
Host Identified: Lucian Morningstar
Status: Rebirth Phase — Power Level: 3%
Divine Path System Activation: Incomplete
A glowing interface shimmered before Lucian's eyes—transparent and alien. His jaw tightened as he read it.
You have been chosen. Reclaim your throne, walk the Divine Path, and reshape the world in your image.
Daily Quest: Tempt the Unworthy (0/1)
Reward: +1% Sin Domain Access | +50 EXP
"What is this mockery?" Lucian spat.
The robed man's face lit with curiosity. "You… see something?"
Lucian ignored him. More data unfurled in the air.
[Codex Access Unlocked: Sin Domains]
Primary Affinity: Wrath — Locked
He stared at the screen, and it shifted with his thoughts. Power pulsed at the edges of it—potential he could feel but not touch.
A low, bitter laugh rumbled from his throat.
"Of course," he muttered. "Even damnation finds new chains."
The system chirped again:
Notification: Sin Accumulation = 0%
Tip: Engaging with mortals may increase Temptation Quotient.
Lucian's teeth flashed in a grin devoid of humor. "Tempt the unworthy? This world truly is lost."
The priest took a hesitant step forward. "Your presence alone is reshaping the spiritual currents. Already, rifts tremble at the edge of existence. You are the catalyst."
Lucian's head tilted. His eyes, glowing softly now with crimson fire, narrowed as he studied the priest more closely.
"You're afraid," he observed. "You speak as a believer, but you tremble like prey."
The man stiffened. "We are acolytes of the Crimson Rite. We—"
"Silence." Lucian's voice no longer cracked. It commanded. "You brought me here. For what? To use me? To chain the Devil and call him weapon?"
"No." The priest hesitated. "To unleash you."
Lucian arched an eyebrow.
"The world is fractured," the priest continued. "Faith is dead. Sin reigns unchallenged. The gates of Heaven are sealed, and Hell… watches. We don't need salvation. We need reckoning."
Lucian's smirk returned. "And I am to deliver it?"
The priest nodded. "You are the hammer, the crown, the fire."
Lucian's voice dropped, seductive and terrifying. "And what makes you think I won't start with you?"
A flicker of panic danced across the man's face. He stepped back.
Lucian strained against the chains again. This time, the runes flared angrily, emitting a screech that made stone shudder. Power sizzled through the air like lightning.
Warning: Host Power Exceeds Binding Threshold
Lucian grunted. Cracks spider-webbed through the runes on his cuffs.
The priest paled.
"I can feel it," Lucian whispered. "This body… frail, yes. But the fire remains."
He leaned forward, just enough to bring his face inches from the edge of the ritual circle. His eyes locked onto the priest's.
"Tell your flock," he said softly, "that the Devil walks the Earth again."
And then the room began to quake.
The torches flared high, casting wild shadows as an unseen force surged through the air. The runes shrieked. The ritual circle hissed and sparked.
Lucian's grin widened.
"Run, little priest," he whispered. "Before I remember what your soul tastes like."
The priest turned and fled, crimson robes billowing behind him.
Lucian leaned his head back and laughed.
The system beeped once more:
Quest Progress: Tempt the Unworthy (1/1)
Reward Gained: +1% Sin Domain Access | +50 EXP
Sin Domain: Wrath – Unlocked
Power flared in Lucian's chest like a second heartbeat. The chains groaned. The stone cracked.
And somewhere, in the city above, a child screamed as a Hellgate opened for the first time in a thousand years.
Lucian's smile faded into something darker.
He was reborn.
And the world would burn.