Chapter 1 – The Hero They Threw Away
Blood.
Fire.
Screams.
The Demon King's castle was collapsing. Walls split apart, raining debris into the burning courtyard below.
Kael Vorrath clutched his sword, standing behind the "real" heroes as they clashed with the Demon King's elite guards. Holy light burst from their blades, painting the battlefield in blinding gold.
Kael's own blade… was dull. His skill, Aprysol, gave him no strength, no magic, no hope.
To them, he was dead weight.
A tag-along.
A joke.
Still, he followed. Step after step, slash after slash, until they reached the heart of the castle—a cavern where the Demon King's summoning sphere pulsed with unnatural light.
A single strike from the party's leader cracked the crystal. Another shattered it completely.
The sphere's glow died. The world grew silent.
For one fleeting moment, Kael believed it was over.
He was wrong.
The floor split open, revealing a swirling vortex of violet energy. The wind howled, pulling in shattered weapons, broken stones… and blood.
Kael stepped back instinctively—
Then felt a hand on his back.
"Sorry, Kael," a voice whispered, cold and careless. "You're not needed anymore."
He turned just in time to see their faces.
No guilt.
No hesitation.
Only relief.
They pushed him in.
The last thing Kael saw was their smirks before the vortex swallowed him whole.
The Dead World
Kael awoke to the stench of death.
The ground was cracked black stone. Rivers of ash cut through the land. The sky churned in a storm of red and violet lightning.
A roar shattered the silence.
From the mist emerged a dragon—molten scales glowing, eyes burning with hatred.
Kael charged out of instinct, swinging his sword. The blade shattered against its hide.
The dragon's claws ripped into him. Flames devoured his flesh. His body fell apart before he even hit the ground.
Darkness claimed him.
The Awakening
Cold.
Endless cold.
Kael's eyes snapped open. His wounds were gone. His body was whole again.
A deep, alien voice echoed in his mind.
[Eternal Void Core – Stage 0: Activated]
A black heat surged through his veins. His fear drained away, replaced by something else.
Something hungrier.
From that moment, Kael stopped being the hero they threw away.
And began becoming the monster they should have feared.