---
Mike wandered through the dark streets of the city with no destination in mind.
His steps were heavy, and his eyes remained fixed on the card in his hand—
a hollow, anxious, uncertain gaze.
Should he really go see the man whose name was written there?
Or should he keep running… just as he always had?
As he walked, awareness slowly slipped back into him.
He hadn't realized where his feet had taken him—
back to the same old neighborhood he once lived in.
The place he tried to bury in his memory.
The place holding every piece of pain he never wanted to face.
Suddenly, in a way he didn't understand, he remembered the house.
The house of the man who raised him.
The man who had been a father to him…
until Mike ran away like a coward back then.
His chest tightened.
He didn't bother making excuses.
He didn't tell himself he was just a child.
The truth was far simpler, and far crueler:
He ran… because he was afraid.
He inhaled deeply, as if the air refused to enter his lungs.
Then he made his decision.
He would go there.
With a heart heavy with sorrow… and a rage turned fully toward himself.
Every step dragged a memory behind it.
Every corner reopened an old wound.
The street was pitch black—even the lamps had long died—
and yet he remembered the way perfectly.
He remembered…
and remembered…
as though every step whispered:
"This is what you ran from."
---
He arrived.
At the end of the narrow alley stood a small, ruined house…
the house where he had spent ten whole years.
The house where the only man who ever cared for him… died alone.
Mike stood still, as if time had frozen around him.
The walls had collapsed further.
The smell—rancid, foul—was stronger than ever.
Weather, birds, trash… everything had only made it worse.
He took slow, trembling steps forward.
He didn't know what to do.
He desperately wished—
that someone had found the old man,
that someone had taken him away,
that someone, anyone, had buried him.
But wishes do not change the past.
---
When he pushed the door open, it groaned like an ancient dying cabinet.
He entered…
And there he was.
On the same bed.
In the same position.
A decaying corpse—barely recognizable—
insects crawling across it,
rats gnawing at what was left,
and the unmistakable stench of death filling the air.
Mike froze.
Then collapsed to his knees as if his soul had shattered.
He couldn't hold his tears anymore.
They fell—fast, hot, merciless.
Tears of anger.
Tears of regret.
Tears of a child who abandoned
the only man who ever loved him—
and left him to die alone.
Mike cried…
cried like he never had in his life.
Cried with a pain that crushed the chest—
And in that dark alley…
there was nothing but the sound of his sobs,
and the past collapsing over him.
---
Arthur slid through the Void Realm with a speed that tore the air around him apart.
His eyes were fixed on the crimson screen chasing him in the silent darkness.
[Remaining Lifespan: 3 days.]
He didn't pay much attention to the number.
Right now, he was heading to the only place capable of giving him more time…
the hidden dungeon buried somewhere within the abandoned plains of the Loraice Continent.
A dungeon that was supposed to be discovered by one of the main heroes —
the very character he admired the most… the one he always felt resembled him more than any other.
The system spoke, its voice soaked with worry:
[Arthur… you know this place is guarded by one of the Abyss's Messengers. And that messenger… has been waiting for a new vessel to possess. You are nowhere near strong enough to fight it.]
Arthur murmured darkly, "I know… but it's the only option I have. And maybe… it'll help me break one of my curses."
While speaking with the system, he spotted the terrifying sight ahead.
Even if he forgot most of the game's main quests… this place was impossible to forget.
Here, the game buried his favorite character.
Here… the hero(Not the hero of light) fell, and evil devoured his soul.
---
Arthur emerged from a dense black storm and stood before a stone wall that looked completely ordinary.
But once he activated his Eye of Insight and pushed a bit of mana, the rocks began trembling as if awakening.
The wall cracked… shrank… then split open like an ancient elevator door.
And the moment it fully opened, a stench of decay blasted through —
as if thousands of corpses had been left to rot in suffocating air.
Above the smell came a deep, echoing voice, like a creature swallowing souls:
[At last… you've arrived, Defier of Fate. I knew you were coming. And the reason you seek… lies with me. Come closer… let me see if you are worthy.]
Arthur whispered to the system:
"What does that title mean? And why does it know me?"
The system replied sharply:
[Because… they recognize those whose fates are written. Every Lord and Messenger knows who is destined… and when they will appear.]
Arthur didn't respond.
He stared into the darkness — darkness that somehow felt like it was smiling at him.
He stepped forward and said:
"I have nothing to lose. Either I walk out alive… or die trying."
---
The moment he entered, he felt as if he were sinking into a bottomless well.
He walked… and walked… and walked.
But no matter where he turned, there was nothing.
Not even the Eye of Insight revealed anything.
Total silence.
Complete emptiness.
A sensation like the world itself had swallowed him.
He asked the system:
"What is this place? Where are the monsters? The Abyss traps?"
But… no answer.
"System? … System?!"
The voice was gone.
The interface vanished.
Everything disappeared.
He kept walking aimlessly until the darkness slowly shifted — perhaps only because his eyes had adapted.
When his patience finally ran out, he lifted his hand to activate Instant Gate.
But a cold, deep voice echoed from the void:
[You lost patience quickly, Defier of Fate.]
Arthur replied flatly, "Thanks to you… Who are you?"
The Messenger laughed — a sound like wind howling through a grave shaft:
[Different… you're truly different. I don't know how you got here or what you're doing… but you're after that item, aren't you?]
"That's part of it."
[And the other part?]
"None of your business. Now get me out."
[Such insolence… didn't your parents teach you manners?]
Arthur didn't respond.
But he could feel the voice right in front of him, despite seeing nothing.
[How boring… I thought your soul would tremble just a little.]
"Seems you were disappointed."
[I admit it. You fear no dimensional void… and that intrigues me. What life did you live? You're human… or half-human… yet you carry the gaze of someone who sees nothing worth fearing.]
Then the messenger whispered, its tone demonic:
[Who are you? And why do you reek of an Abyssal Lord?]
Arthur stopped.
His eyes shifted instantly — deep violet slitted pupils carved by a frozen white glow.
He spoke quietly, yet the sound carried destruction:
"Enough. If you don't release me… I'll tear your home apart, stone by stone."
The messenger screamed:
[No! If you leave… everything will be ruined! My plans will collapse! You must stay — at any cost!]
But before it could finish—
Arthur slammed his hand on the black floor and activated his skill:
• Ravenous Devour — Max Level
Dozens… hundreds… of purple-black maws burst around him, devouring everything —
the walls, the darkness, the ground… even the messenger's voice.
[Aaaaaah! Stop! STOP— NOOOOO!]
The entire realm trembled… shattered… collapsed—
Then—
Silence.
---
Arthur opened his eyes to distorted voices in his head.
[Arthur? Arthur?! What happened? Are you still there?!]
He exhaled slowly.
"Yes… I'm still here."
The system's screen appeared:
---
[Arthur's Data — After Devouring]
Name: Arthur Gray [Mike]
Age: 13
Rank: Civilian — Unclassified
Race: Human (Corrupted)??? [Undefined Error]
Condition: Strong — Dying Slowly
Curses: 4
Compatibility: 57.18%
---
Updated Stats
• Strength: 41.49%(E)
• Magic Power: 35.88%(E)
• Mind: 5.05%(-F)
• Endurance: 40.80%(E
• Intelligence: 75.66%(C)
• Luck: 18.55%(F
• Mana: 35.88%(-E)
• Charisma: 80.00%(+C)
---
Elements
• Shadows
• Corrupted Lightning
• Corrupted Nature
• Corrupted Fire
• Water
All elements carry the Corruption trait.
---
Main Skills
• Eye of Insight — 2
• Iron Will — 4
• Ravenous Devour — Max
• Lightning Steps — 2
• Instant Gate — 1
• Shadow Manipulation
• Corrupted Vines
• Corrupted Shell — 1
• Destructive Lightning — 1
• Krypton Berserk Mode — 1
---
Arthur closed the panel with a dull expression.
"Even after absorbing the messenger's power… I got nothing."
But the system screamed in shock:
[YOU… what did you do exactly?!]
Arthur didn't answer.
Because ten massive beasts appeared before him —
all of them Dark-White Rank — Five Stars.
Arthur smiled — a smile that crushed morale.
His body ignited with Berserk Mode.
Lightning sparked beneath his feet.
He lifted his sword and said:
"Come… I need plenty of you to extend my lifespan."
Then he dashed toward them like a storm of lightning and corruption — smiling…
as if he were enjoying the catastrophe about to unfold.
---
The decision to add ranks like A, B, and C will include skills and weapons.
Monsters will be ranked by star.