"Oh, ho, ho, lookie what I found here, brother!"
A sinister voice pierced through Sylas's dormant thoughts, jolting his mind awake.
'I… I am alive?'
He tried to open his eyes, but to no avail.
He tried to speak, but no words came out.
"My, my, what a pretty boy," a different voice came through. "With the war raging on, we haven't had any bitches in a long time, but this one looks female enough, so why don't we brothers get ourselves some deserved relief??"
"Haha, Saunders, you're truly my brother! I was thinking the same exact thing!"
Sylas couldn't see his surroundings, but he wasn't stupid. He could understand the language the two unknown men spoke, and he also understood that their intent was anything but good.
'Wait, the language… it can't be…'
Sylas's mind flashed in surprise as long-lost memories suddenly returned to him.
This language was the very same one spoken by the denizens of his past world—a world that should've been destroyed thousands of years ago when he ascended!
If it was here now, being spoken by someone other than him and his family, then could it be possible that… that he traveled back in time!?
[The story of Sylas Skyfall]
It begins on a small blue marble floating in the Milky Way, where he was a normal college student living a totally average life.
However, after being hit by a strangely white truck on his way to visit his deathly ill sister, Sylas's short-lived life came to an abrupt end.
But God had a different plan in mind, and with a start, he found himself waking up as a newborn on the Star Drift Continent.
In this lifetime, he spent the first twenty years living as one of the lowest-class members of society. His days mostly consisted of scouring battlefields for the loot found on fallen soldiers, hoping to bring back whatever he could for his sick mother and sister at home.
The years that followed were extremely cruel, for his sister was captured by local bandits and sold off to the highest bidder before she even became of age. Some time later, he ultimately learned that she killed herself, ending her life before the chronic illness that ailed her could do the job first.
After that, all Sylas had left was his mother.
Although overcome with grief, he refused to let his emotions get in the way of protecting his mother. Therefore, it was with a will bordering on insanity that he wiped away the last of the blood-stained tears and steeled his resolve.
He altered the course of his fate with his own two hands, using his blood, sweat, and tears to claw his way up from the very bottom—eventually finding himself thousands of years old and the God of War of a Kingdom from a higher Realm.
'Star Drift Continent… I'm actually back here.'
Sylas could hardly believe it himself, but there was no way to deny the reality before him.
He had returned more than 3500 years into the past.
To a period in time when his name did not echo throughout the world.
To a time when he possessed none of his planet-shaking might or untouchable prestige.
He was now a nobody.
And yet… he could hardly contain his excitement.
"Wait, brother, before we act rashly, we should make sure that he's not an Imperial soldier."
The first scavenger, Saunders, seemed hesitant.
However, his brother, Carter, did not share the same sentiment.
"You're being too cautious, brother. Do you honestly think an Imperial soldier would be left on the battlefield like this after the conclusion of a major battle? They always retrieve the corpses of their fallen soldiers, every last one."
Saunders's brows eased up at the reassurance of his brother. His gaze then turned lustful as he leered at the seemingly unconscious Sylas.
"So that means we can have our fill?"
"Keke, of course, dear brother!"
Both of the unsavory characters, skinny and tall, no longer kept their distance from Sylas. They leaned right up on him, already reaching for his lightly armored clothing in an effort to rip it off.
'These deplorable lowlifes,' Sylas thought coldly, urging his body to move, for his eyes to open.
Yet his body ignored his commands.
And just as it seemed he might really experience something truly unspeakable, a mysterious phenomena appeared before him in the form of a glowing red rectangular box. His vision returned to him in the same moment, joined by the sounding of an unfamiliar robotic voice.
[Soul Reaper System has awakened]
[Your first Mission: Reap the Souls of the two Scavengers that aim to do you harm]
[Reward: Evolution to Rank 1 Reaper, Soulkon Ability: Reaper's Scythe]
'A System?' His thoughts spiraled, before ultimately settling into a dangerous calm. 'This… changes things.'
Sylas was quick to adapt to this mind-boggling development, and as information pertaining to this system and its various features surged into his mind, he remembered a scene from many, many years past.
[Earth, 3500 years prior]
"Sylas, if ever you were to awaken with a system, what kind of system would you want it to be?" a blurry-faced young man asked with a playful smile, wearing a school uniform.
"A system?" Sylas's past self repeated, his attire also that of a student.
"Yeah, you know, like the thing you see in games and comics! My favorite kind of system is the one where you slay monsters, complete missions, gain EXP, and level up!"
Sylas's recollection of ancient memories became fuzzy when he reached this part, with the last thing filtering through being his answer to that strangely familiar young man's silly question.
"If I were to choose a system to awaken with, well… it would have to be one that sounds cool."
"Sounds… cool?" The other boy's expression froze. Then he burst out laughing. "You see, this is why you're my best friend—…"
Then the memory feed cut off.
'Who would've thought that the whimsical, unserious answer I gave back then would actually end up coming true today.'
It only took thousands of years.
"Well, would you look at that, brother. The pretty boy is awake!" Saunders laughed with a disgusting smile. "This'll make things far more exciting!"
"Good morning, sunshine," Carter, the other brother, squatted next to Sylas's expressionless face. "You may or may not know where you are right now, but such useless information won't really matter for what's going to happen next—…"
SPLURT!
Without even giving the lascivious man a chance to speak any further, Sylas lodged a pointed metal shard into his throat. The ash-covered battlefield was littered with many such metal shards, each a fragment of weapons that were shattered and scattered throughout the ages.
"Gurggleee…"
Horror and astonishment filled the eyes of the scavenger as he could barely process what just happened.
One second, he was bent down next to a seemingly defenseless pretty boy, ready to take a bite—and the next, he was suffocating on his own blood, staggering.
"…"
With a blackened icy gaze, Sylas picked up another—thinner—metal shard. He took a step in Carter's direction, then another, and another—until eventually, that shard found itself inserted through his right ear, sticking out the other ear.
Just as Carter's horrified face fell backward and hit the ground with a thud, a uniquely robotic sound rang out in Sylas's head.
[You have reaped the life of a Level 2 Scavenger]
[Obtained 3 Souls]
Although pleased with this boon, Sylas only briefly gave any of his attention to it.
After all, there was still one more life to reap…
"!!!"
The other scavenger's eyes went wide.
He had no idea what just transpired!
One second, his brother was alive, and the next, he wasn't.
The hell was this shit!?
However, seeing the raven-haired man's deathly still gaze turn toward him, Saunders frantically shouted, "Stay back!" while backing up himself.
Sylas, not listening to the scavenger's command, moved in his direction, his pace steady.
"I told you to stay the fuck back!!" Saunders stopped retreating, instead taking up arms as he lunged at Sylas with a silver dagger.
'He's faster than I am,' Sylas noted, realizing that his current body was incredibly weak, weaker than he remembered.
Even so, the difference in skill more than made up for the lack of physical attributes.
"You killed my brother, and now I'll kill you!!" Saunders announced as he viciously aimed for his opponent's neck.
Sylas's expression remained as cold as ever, and with a calculated sequence of movements, he slipped around the incoming dagger, following up with a quick gobbler punch.
"Clang!"
The silver dagger dropped from the scavenger's hand as he stumbled backward. Clutching his throat, he stared at Sylas with horror-filled eyes.
How did he do it!?
Why was he able to get one over on him even though it seemed like his speed and strength were lower!?
Before he could find out the answer, Sylas's expressionless face somehow appeared right in front of him. What followed were three slashes to the weakest, most vulnerable parts of his body: his eyes, his head, and his lower extremities.
Saunders died on the spot, filled with many grievances.
As homebodies of the ravaged battlefields left behind by the everlasting war between the Great Empire and the Seven Nations Alliance, Saunders and Carter had witnessed many of the worst acts committed during wartime. They had also survived many seemingly hopeless situations, expecting this encounter to be no different.
Never would they have imagined the random raven-haired man to end both of them within the span of a single minute…
The smell of iron and sulfite pervaded the senses. But for Sylas, the stomach-churning smells were the least of his concern.
What stole more of his attention were the flashing crimson red screens consuming his vision.
[You have reaped the life of a Level 3 Scavenger]
[Obtained 7 Souls]
[Souls: 10/10] - [Breakthrough!]
[You have leveled up!]
[Strength +2]
[Dexterity +2]
[Defense +1]
[Spirit +3]
[Free Stat Points +3]
[You have completed the Quest: First Kill]
[Allocating Rewards…]
[You have evolved!]
[Rank 0 —> Rank 1]
[Mortal —> Fledgling Reaper]
[Strength +10]
[Dexterity +10]
[Defense +10]
[Spirit +10]
[Free Stat Points +10]
[Acquired Soulkon (Reaper's Scythe)]
Staring at the lifeless head rolling away from the gruesome scene, Sylas blinked. At the same time, his whole body experienced a grand metamorphosis, as all aspects of his existence received massive upgrades. His physique also changed along with his evolution and level up: he grew an inch, his skinny arms gained some muscle, and his overall appearance transformed into something more menacing, akin to a hanging scythe ready to fall.
"It really is just like a game," he mused, feeling that his raw strength alone had become more than five times what it once was.
After his initial reincarnation 3500 years ago, he didn't take training very seriously. It wasn't until after his sister was taken away that he truly understood the cruel reality of his new world, also understanding what he had to do to survive here.
At this point in time, his strength should've amounted to less than your average adult. However, after undergoing his evolution from Mortal to Fledgling Reaper and leveling up once, he felt like even lifting hundreds of pounds with a single hand would pose little trouble for him.
"Oh yeah, shouldn't there be some sort of system interface or something—?"
Responding to his desire, a bigger, redder digital screen flashed in front of him.
BLING!
[Soul Reaper System]
[Name: Sylas Skyfall]
[Rank: Level 2 (Fledgling Reaper)]
[Souls: 0/30]
[Strength: 15]
[Dexterity: 16]
[Defense: 14]
[Spirit: 21]
[Free Stat Points: 13]
[Soulkon(s): Reaper's Scythe (F-)]
"Ah, so there is indeed one," Sylas smiled, appearing quite eerie in the middle of a blood-stained battlefield. "And from the looks of it, this system is bound to be an incredibly exceptional one."
He already knew everything about his system from the initial memory transfer, but seeing was believing—and he very much liked what he saw.
"Skaaa—!"
Just then, a blood-curdling howl resounded. It immediately put Sylas on edge, as his instincts screamed at him, alerting him of something that could pose a threat to his life.
"From what I remember, other than the occasional scavenger or injured soldier, there should be nothing else in this area. However, that howl belonged to no scavenger or soldier."
"That is unless… Is IT already happening?"
His eyes narrowed, his killing intent solidifying.
"It looks like tonight is going to be a long night."
He then vanished, taking with him all the valuables of the scavengers as well as the silence of the scene.