"The dead may sleep, but their dreams still echo in the hearts of the living."
Aether
In the silence of dawn, Aether sat before a small fire surrounded by rebels—outcasts, failed hunters, hybrid beastkin, and cursed contract-holders. They had gathered from across shattered regions, hearing whispers of a man who devoured gods.
The Black Serpent Banner waved behind him.
"I'm not your king," Aether said.
"I'm not your hero either. I'm just like you. Broken. Betrayed. But alive."
"If you're here to watch me burn the heavens—then raise your swords. But if you're here to change your fate—then stand beside me."
The crowd roared.
"For the God-Eater!"
"For freedom!"
"For vengeance!"
Aira approached quietly afterward.
"You gave them something to believe in."
Aether nodded.
But his eyes… were distant.
"I need to go somewhere first."
"Where?"
"Where she was born."
Elvélin, once the radiant homeland of the elves, now lay in ruins.
Dead trees glowed faintly. The air shimmered with the remnants of long-lost spells. The stench of blood lingered beneath the perfume of ancient flowers.
Aether walked slowly, holding the shattered pendant Nahida once wore.
"She told me her people sang to the moon," he whispered.
"And danced to the wind…"
Aira followed him in silence. She knew this wasn't her moment.
They reached a clearing.
A single grave.
Marked with Elvish runes:
Nahida of the Golden Leaf.
Daughter of the Forest. Light of the Lost.
Aether knelt beside the grave.
"I changed time to save you. I failed."
He set the pendant down.
His fingers trembled.
"But I will burn every world they rule… until no one else suffers like you did."
Tears escaped his control.
For the first time since his regression… he allowed himself to cry.
Aira stepped behind him.
"She wouldn't want you to destroy yourself."
"Then she shouldn't have loved me."
Silence.
Then Aira leaned down, wrapped her arms around him from behind.
"I'll love you anyway."
Aether didn't move.
But he didn't pull away either.
That night, the moon turned golden.
Aether dreamed.
He stood in the forest again—but whole, pure, and young.
Nahida stood in front of him. Smiling. Not angry. Not sad.
"You came," she said.
"I never left."
She placed a hand over his heart.
"Then go. Live. And when the war ends… come find me again."
He reached out—but she faded.
Aether awoke with power flowing through him like a rising tide.
SYSTEM EVOLUTION COMPLETED
Class Upgraded: Abyss Sovereign → Devourer of Law
Passive: "Reality Breaker" – Your existence now warps the system itself.
New Skill: Graveheart Surge – Convert grief into power. Every death you mourn grants you stacking strength.
He whispered to the wind.
"Nahida… watch me now."
He stood, flames of darkness crackling around him.
Aether returned to his people.
And the first battle began.
A fortress-city called Iron Veil, once a place where system traitors were tortured, now stood in his path.
He raised his hand.
"We do not knock. We break."
Aira summoned a celestial bow of starlight. Oroboros morphed into a twin-headed dragon.
The rebels charged behind Aether.
One slash.
The gate cracked.
A second.
The sky darkened.
Third—
"GRAVES DON'T FORGET!"
He shattered the entire fortress wall with a warcry that echoed across realms.
Children were freed.
Old hunters wept.
And one woman—tattooed with system burn marks—knelt and kissed Aether's hand.
"They said you were a monster," she sobbed.
"But even monsters can save us."
He looked at his bloodied palm.
"No. I'm not your savior…"
He turned to the rising sun.
"I'm your final weapon."
And behind him, Aira whispered:
"Then let me be your shield."
She took his hand.
Broadcasts across lower and middle realms were overridden.
A single message blinked everywhere:
SYSTEM ALERT
"Aether has taken Iron Veil."
"Aether has broken Rule 47: Rebellion Suppression."
"Aether walks toward the Divine Throne."
The gods and system overlords began to panic.
The Void Reaper… stirred.