The stars blurred overhead as reality bent around Seth's body.
There was no light. No tunnel. No parting clouds.
Just a sharp rip through existence itself—as if reality had been slashed open by his will alone.
And then he was falling.
Through worlds, through dimensions, through echoes of time and memory, until finally—
BOOM.
He landed.
Feet first. Knees bent. Concrete cracking beneath his boots.
The scent of steel, smog, and panic filled the air.
"Earth..."
It was night, but the sky glowed with red tears—giant cracks in space hanging above city skylines like thunderclouds bleeding light.
He looked around.
Buildings. Highways. Neon signs flickering. But everything was… wrong.
Too quiet in some places. Explosions in others.
And in the center of it all, towering in the middle of the city, stood a spiraling rift of black and crimson—a Gate.
Earth, One Year Later.
They called it The Awakening.
A year ago—just days after Seth vanished—a phenomenon swept across the globe. Rips in space began forming. Towers of monstrous energy poured into the world, each one labeled a Gate.
From inside came beasts. Dungeons. Warped realms twisted by divine influence.
And then... the people began to awaken.
Humans developed powers. Skills. Weapons.
They called themselves:
SLAYERS.
[ SLAYER SYSTEM ACTIVATED ]
Name: [UNKNOWN]
Rank: [UNAWAKENED]
System Type: [Combat-Specialized Interface]
Objective: Enter Gates. Conquer Realms. Grow Stronger.
All Slayers had a system.
It mimicked the divine structure Seth had seen in the other world. Combat-based leveling. Skill absorption. Stat growth.
There were thousands of Slayers now—most of them struggling to survive, a handful becoming heroes.
But the strongest?
The world ranked them.
F. D. C. B. A. S. SS. SSS.
A numerical ladder of power, influence, and danger.
Slayers who could barely fight were marked F-rank and sent into easy Gates.
SSS-rank Slayers could level cities—and were worshipped like demigods.
But even they…
Couldn't scratch the surface of divine power.
And that's what made Seth different.
I don't need a slayer system, he thought. I am the system.
He moved silently through the ruined streets. Sirens blared in the distance. Helicopters hovered. Giant screens on buildings flashed warnings.
"GATE LEVEL: RED. CITYWIDE LOCKDOWN. SLAYER RANK A OR ABOVE MAY ENGAGE."
He turned a corner and found a unit of soldiers guarding a perimeter.
One man barked orders: "Where the hell is the S-Rank team?! We've got creatures pouring out by the dozens—someone get the Tower Division on the line!"
"Tch. Weaklings." Seth's eyes scanned the open Gate.
A grotesque centipede-like creature slithered out, its body glowing with divine corruption. Around it, screams echoed as civilians tried to escape.
The creature was powerful—at least to them.
To Seth?
It was trash.
"Let's test the waters."
He vanished.
Literally.
One second, a breeze passed the soldiers.
The next, the creature's head hit the ground—its soul torn apart by the Red Moons.
[ Divine Essence Absorbed: Minor Gate Beast ]
No usable Chains obtained.
Power negligible.
System unmoved.
"Wh-What was that?!"
"The monster—it's dead?!"
The soldiers turned. A few Slayers skidded to a stop behind them, panting.
"Did someone beat us to the kill?!"
"Who—?"
Seth emerged from the shadows, his daggers dripping faint crimson light.
"...You all look busy. I'll handle the rest."
"Wait—identify yourself!"
"What's your rank!?"
He looked over his shoulder with a faint smile. "Rank? I'm forgotten."
He stepped through the Gate.
Inside the Gate – A Divine Echo
The inner realm of the dungeon pulsed with spiritual pressure. The air was thick. Monsters stirred.
The other Slayers would've needed a team.
Seth walked in alone.
What followed wasn't a battle. It was a massacre.
His crimson blades tore through abominations like paper. Each swing, each stab, each grin—it was surgical violence.
His system remained quiet, unimpressed by their low divine rank.
Until the final chamber.
There, a beast lingered.
Not a monster.
A Watcher.
Clad in golden armor, one glowing eye burned with celestial hatred.
"You," it growled. "You're the anomaly. The Chain-Eater."
"Heh. So you've heard of me."
"You should not exist. You were meant to be forgotten."
Seth raised his daggers.
"Yeah, I get that a lot."
The battle lasted twelve seconds.
Twelve seconds of perfect dodges, blinding speed, and divine-ignoring strikes.
When the Watcher died, Seth looked at the pulsing light above its body.
[ Divine Essence Acquired – Watcher-Class Deity Fragment ]
Chain Creation: 8%
Chain Type: [Suppression – Under Evaluation]
Warning: Your existence has been detected by the Divine Pantheon.
He stood in the silent ruin of the Gate's core.
"...And so it begins."
The Gate collapsed behind him.
Back on Earth, dozens had witnessed his arrival, his power, his disappearance.
And they whispered:
"Who the hell was that?"
"Was that a new SSS-Rank?"
"No... he wasn't registered..."
"Is he even human?"
High above Earth, the gods watched. Their divine domains stirred.
One voice echoed across realms, trembling with rage.
"He returned. The Godslayer lives."