It was the first thing he felt.
Aether gasped as he shot upright from his bed, drenched in sweat. His heart thundered like a war drum in his chest, and his lungs burned as though he had drowned in fire.
He clutched his chest, panting.
"…Nahida…?"
The name fell from his lips like a prayer — like a curse.
He looked around. The cracked ceiling above. The worn-out furniture. The smell of rust and mold in the air.
His tiny, broken-down room in the outer slums of Eridale.
The place he had lived in before everything began.
His hands trembled.
He scrambled to the dusty mirror on the wall and stared into it.
What looked back was not the Aether who had once stood at the top of humanity.
No scars.
No hardened muscles.
No glowing runes branded by god-tier monsters.
Just a skinny, 17-year-old boy with dull brown eyes and shaggy black hair.
He was back. Ten years in the past.
"…It worked," he whispered, wide-eyed. "I really came back…"
SYSTEM INITIATED
Suddenly, a dark screen flashed in front of his eyes, glitching like a corrupted interface. It pulsed with black and crimson veins, alive and sentient.
[Beelzebubb Devour System] Activated.
Welcome back, Aether.
All stats reset.
Current Level: 1
Class: Devouring Vessel [Sealed]
Rank: E (Trash)
Skills: [None]
Energy Core: Inactive.
Hunger: 1%
New Trait Unlocked:
Devour – Consume enemies, items, or skills to grow stronger. No limit. No restrictions. No morality.
Hidden Condition Triggered:
You have returned to the timeline 10 years before destruction.
Mission: Devour fate. Reclaim what was stolen.
Aether exhaled, cold sweat running down his spine. It wasn't a dream. It wasn't a hallucination.
The Beelzebubb System was real. And it was his only weapon in this cursed life.
He clenched his fists.
"No one will take her away from me this time. Not the guilds. Not the invaders. Not even the gods."
In this world, every awakened human formed a Contract with a monster, beast, or demon. These entities were called Familiars or Pact Beasts, bound by ancient summoning codes hidden within the dimensional rifts.
Awakeners were ranked from E to SSS based on their compatibility and potential:
E – Weakest, often rejected by even minor monsters.
D to B – Average combatants, used in cities and border patrols.
A – Elite guild level.
S – National-level threats.
SS/SSS – Only a few existed. Legends.
Skills were also ranked:
Bronze → Silver → Gold → Platinum → Diamond → Mythic → God-level
Each Familiar had levels from 1 to 100, gaining traits and evolving as the bond deepened.
Aether, back then, had contracted with a Slime — the lowest of the low. Weak, stupid, useless. And his skill?
"Sticky Bind [Bronze]"
Useless.
He was mocked, bullied, and discarded by the world.
But this time…
"I'll devour every mockery. Every chain they put on me."
Aether stepped out of his room and headed to the school plaza where the Awakening Ceremony was about to begin.
Thousands of students were gathered — all 17 years old, ready to awaken their first pact and receive their class from the Awakening Crystal.
He saw them.
Saber. Elena. Vex. Roan. The same people who would one day murder him.
They were just kids now. Laughing. Mocking him like before.
"Hey, it's the slime guy! Ready to fail again, Aether?"
"Don't trip on your own tears, trash."
He didn't respond.
He simply walked to his place in line — calm, distant, like death itself wrapped in flesh.
His turn arrived.
The crystal glowed as he stepped forward.
Scanning soul…
Detected: Corrupted Pathway
Class: Devouring Vessel [Locked]
Contract Beast: None
Rank: E
Compatibility: 0.1%
The crowd burst into laughter.
"0.1%? Even slimes don't want him!"
"Gods, is he cursed?"
"Total trash!"
Aether only smiled.
"You'll regret laughing."
Aether returned to his room and closed the door. His breathing slowed. He sat cross-legged on the floor.
"System," he whispered. "Open Devourer's Path."
Hidden Command Unlocked.
Feeding Mode: Active.
Nearby Target Detected:
[Cracked Awakening Crystal Fragment] – Energy Residue Present.
Consume?
He smirked.
"Devour it."
Confirmed.
Devouring...
Skill Gained: [Awakening Surge – Bronze]
Energy Core Activated.
Trait Unlocked: False Awakening – You can mask your true class.
Level Up: 1 → 3
Hunger: 5%
The weak would remain weak.
But not him.
He was Aether — the Devourer of Fate.
This was no longer their story.
This was his.