Elias woke to the sound of breathing that wasn't his own.
Shallow. Wet. Uneven.The kind of breathing that belonged under blankets or behind doors—not directly beneath him.
His eyes snapped open.
He expected sterile white ceilings and a hospital's humming machines.He expected the slow beeping that had followed him through most of his previous life.
Instead, he saw an unfamiliar ceiling—wooden beams, chipped paint, and a crooked lamp that swayed slightly on its chain.
Everything felt wrong.
His heartbeat was too fast.His limbs too light.His entire body too… young.
He pushed himself upright and immediately felt the difference.His hands were small.His legs shorter.His voice, when he whispered—
"Where… am I?"
—was the voice of a child.
A ten-year-old child.
He scrambled to the edge of the bed, confusion battling panic. His fingers clawed at his hair—
Dark. But streaked with white.
Not natural white.Not dyed.But glowing—faintly—as if catching light that wasn't in the room.
A cold ripple crawled across the apartment.
The breathing beneath the bed grew louder.
Elias froze.
The air thickened.The shadows under the furniture darkened, like ink spreading in water.
Then—
A whisper slithered into his head.
"…he sees me…"
Elias's blood iced.
Very slowly, he leaned over the bedframe.
Darkness pooled beneath it—thicker than shadow should be.
Then fingers curled over the boards.
Too long.Too thin.Bending at angles no human joint ever should.
Elias jerked back against the wall, heart hammering against his ribs.
Before panic could take him completely—
DING.
A glowing blue-gold screen unfolded in midair.
Elias stared, mouth open. He expected hallucination. A dream. Shock.
But the letters sharpened into clarity:
[SYSTEM INITIALIZING…]
[HOST SOUL FOUND][TRANSMIGRATION COMPLETE][HOLY-ARCANE FUSION SYSTEM ACTIVATED]
His breath hitched."Trans… migrated?"
More text unfolded:
[STATUS]
Name: Elias ?????? Ignatius NephalisAge: 10Race:Partial Nephalem (Dormant)Holy Power: 3% (Locked)Arcane Capacity: 8% (Unstable)Magic Potential: SSSEmotion State: Elevated Fear / Memory Fragmentation
Elias didn't even get to reread the words.
Because the creature under the bed pulled itself further into the light.
An arm slid out, joints bending backward.Skin gray-blue like drowned flesh.Jerked, twitchy movements like a puppet pulled by invisible strings.
Then something like a head emerged—shrunken, skull-like, hollow sockets glowing faint yellow.
Elias opened his mouth to scream—
The system chimed again:
[WARNING]
Demonic presence detected.Rank: F (Lowest Tier)Status: Starved / Seeking VesselThreat Level: Moderate
The creature dragged itself out fully, hissing a breath so cold Elias's teeth chattered.
"…fresh…""…open…"
His stomach dropped.
"Help," he whispered. "Somebody—"
DING.
[FIRST QUEST: SURVIVE]
Objective: Repel or destroy the demon.Reward: Skill unlock (random)Penalty: Death / Soul corruption
A cold wave of dread washed through Elias.
"YOU want me to fight that?! I'm ten!"
The demon lunged.
And the system responded with the only mercy it could offer:
[HOLY INSTINCT ACTIVATION: FEAR OVERRIDE]
Heat burst through Elias's veins.
Holy heat.
His hair glowed white at the roots.His eyes bled molten gold.Light crawled under his skin like fire in glass.
The demon skidded to a halt, recoiling violently.
Elias didn't understand what he was doing.He only felt the instinct:
Push the light out. Burn the darkness away.
The demon lunged again.
Elias screamed—
Golden fire erupted from his body.
Light engulfed the creature. It shrieked, twisting, skin boiling into ash, bones cracking, form peeling apart like shadow being torn by the sun.
Three seconds later—
There was nothing left.
Only ash.
Only silence.
Only a trembling, gold-eyed boy gasping on the floor.
The system chimed softly:
[QUEST COMPLETE]
Reward: Holy Perception (Basic)+1% Holy Stability+1% Arcane Stability
The screen dimmed as Elias slumped back on the mattress.
He was alive.Somehow.
But for how long?
The system expanded one last line:
[Advice:]
Obtain a wand.Avoid attention.Train.More demons will come.
Elias curled up slowly, hands shaking.
He didn't know who he was.He didn't know why he was here.He didn't even know his own surname.
But one thing was clear:
This world wasn't safe for him.
And he wasn't safe for it.