It had been raining for three days straight.
The small apartment was dark except for the faint blue glow of a monitor, where a single message blinked on the cracked screen:
[ACCOUNT TERMINATED – VIOLATION OF CONTRACT TERMS]
Aris Kaien stared at it without emotion.
His fingers hovered above the keyboard, trembling slightly.
Another account banned. Another failure.
Once, he was known as Kaien, the number one strategist in Realm Wars Online. Sponsors, fans, tournament winnings — he had it all. But fame was fickle. When the company shut down his team over "unethical gameplay tactics," everything crumbled overnight.
His savings vanished in lawsuits.
His girlfriend left, saying, "You can't live inside games forever."
And now, even his apartment rent was three months overdue.
He leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes.
The hum of the city outside was drowned by thunder.
Then — a sudden ding from his holo-mail.
Riku: "Yo bro, I told you to stop moping. Have you seen the new VR title dropping today?!"
Aris: "Not interested."
Riku: "C'mon, man. It's the real deal. Martial World Online. Full neural sync. You literally feel the wind, fire, pain — everything. You could use a restart."
Aris: "Games don't fix real life."
Riku: "Maybe not. But it's better than drowning in it."
Aris smirked faintly. Riku had always been the optimist in their trio. The third member, Lira, joined the chat next.
Lira: "Aris, get your lazy self online. You're still the best gamer I know. This game's economy is player-run — you could make a fortune."
Riku: "Exactly. Worst case, you log out. Best case, you rebuild your life."
Aris sighed. "You two never give up, huh?"
Riku: "Nope."
Lira: "We start tonight."
And just like that, a dying gamer agreed to one last login.
Later that night...
Aris lay inside the VR capsule, watching the synchronization lights flicker.
The system voice echoed gently:
[Welcome, new user. Neural link initializing. Please relax.]
[Would you like to import your preferred avatar?]
He hesitated.
Then, quietly: "No. Start from zero."
[Acknowledged. Generating new profile...]
The darkness swallowed him whole.
Virtual Space — Initialization Chamber
Light bloomed around him. He stood in a vast white room, surrounded by floating data runes. A female AI appeared — elegant, with mechanical wings.
"Welcome to Martial World Online, Player Aris Kaien. Please select a starting class."
Several holograms appeared — Swordsman, Mage, Healer, Ranger, Monk.
He scrolled lazily, unimpressed. "Doesn't matter. Just put me anywhere."
"Random assignment confirmed."
A sudden glitch flashed across the interface.
The AI's eyes flickered red for a split second.
"Warning: Unstable connection detected."
"Attempting to reroute player to Beginner's Zone…"
Then the voice distorted.
"Re—re—route fail—error—dimensional breach detected—"
The world shattered.
Somewhere beyond the system…
Aris fell through a void of light and shadow. Fragments of worlds, code, and divine energy spiraled around him.
He screamed — not from fear, but from the raw pressure crushing him.
"Wha—where the hell am I?!"
Below him, a battlefield stretched across the horizon — not pixels, not polygons, but reality itself.
Demons, hundreds of meters tall, roared in unison. The sky bled crimson as 72 pillars of darkness pierced heaven and earth.
Opposing them — four luminous colossi.
A Phoenix of burning gold.
A White Tiger cloaked in lightning.
A Black Turtle with mountains upon its shell.
An Azure Dragon coiling through the stormy heavens.
Aris's mind blanked.
This wasn't a game zone — this was a divine war.
He tried to log out.
[ERROR: Logout function unavailable in this area.]
The Demon Lord of the 72 Thrones emerged, a black figure with a broken crown of light.
"The age of divinity ends here."
The Phoenix's voice thundered in reply.
"So long as one breath of creation remains — divinity will never die!"
Flames, lightning, stone, and water collided in an explosion that tore reality itself.
Aris covered his face — but too late. The divine shockwave struck him, burning through every cell, every byte of his existence.
And then… silence.
The four beasts turned their fading gazes upon him.
"A mortal… still alive?" murmured the Dragon.
"Let him… inherit what we could not protect," the Phoenix whispered.
"Our essence will not fade," rumbled the Turtle.
"Let balance endure," growled the Tiger.
Their lights fused into a blinding sphere that enveloped Aris. He screamed as divine power surged through him — pain, fire, and enlightenment all at once.
Then everything vanished.
[SYSTEM BOOT: Beginner Zone - Eloria Plains]
Aris awoke face-first in grass, the smell of soil filling his lungs. Birds chirped. Wind danced.
"I… survived?"
He sat up slowly. Around him, low-level players were farming slimes and rabbits. To them, it was just a game. To him, it was rebirth.
A golden notification blinked before his eyes:
[SYSTEM MESSAGE]:
Divine Bloodline Detected.
Partial Synchronization Completed.
Divine Energy Containment Activated.
Warning: Host Level Insufficient for Full Power.
Restriction Applied — Unlock at Level 500.
He blinked again, stunned. "Level five hundred?!"
The next message made him freeze.
[Title Acquired: Successor of the Divine Beasts]
Effect: All Stats ×1000 (Sealed)
Bonus: Divine Trial Unlocked.
"Reach Level 10 to begin your first Divine Trial."
Aris exhaled, laughing under his breath.
"I logged in to escape my life… and ended up inheriting godhood. Just my luck."
He opened his inventory. Nothing. No weapons. No gold. Just a single glowing feather — pulsing faintly with golden heat.
When he touched it, a whisper echoed in his mind.
"Burn… rise… begin anew."
The Phoenix's voice.
He clenched his fist, determination blazing in his eyes.
"Fine. I'll play your game, gods. Level 500, right? Then I'll climb higher than that."
Behind him, on the horizon, thunder rumbled — and for just an instant, the shape of the Azure Dragon's eyes shimmered across the clouds, watching.