The plaza vanished.
Sound, light, and gravity tore away, and for a moment I existed in nothing.
I floated in a void without shape or color. Only my heartbeat remained, pounding through the emptiness like a drum.
A crimson symbol appeared in front of me.
It hung in the darkness and pulsed like a living heart. Every beat sent ripples through the void.
A voice rolled across the emptiness. It sounded neither male nor female. It sounded like judgment.
[System evolution initiated][Status display opening]
A bright interface unfolded in the air.
Name: Aiden CrowAge: 18Alignment: VillainSin Points: 700Abilities: Presence (basic), Sin Mark (locked)Reputation: UndeterminedFear index: 12 percent
The numbers glowed as if cut from red light.
[Choose an evolution path]
[Path one: Fear]Break the will of crowds. Turn masses into trembling servants.
[Path two: Domination]Bend individuals until they cannot stand without you. Turn enemies into kneeling followers.
Fear controlled cities.
Domination ruled empires.
I did not hesitate.
"I choose Domination."
The crimson symbol shattered. Red shards dissolved into smoke and curled around my hands.
[Path confirmed][Sin Mark unlocked]Description: Place a mark on the soul of your target. Their strength becomes your strength. Their will becomes your chain. Their resistance becomes agony. Their loyalty becomes absolute.
[Warning: The first mark permanently reshapes the target. Choose carefully]
The void ripped open.
Sound crashed back into me. Screaming. Cameras. Security shouting into radios. The world slammed into place like a door.
I was standing on the stage again.
Lucas still knelt where he had fallen. His eyes were wide and unfocused. Sweat rolled down his face. He looked like a king who had just realized his throne was nothing but painted wood.
Heat burned in my palm.
I raised my hand.
A symbol glowed in the center of my skin, the same crimson pattern I had seen in the void. It flickered like metal fresh from a forge.
Lucas stared at it with naked horror.
"What did you do to me?" he asked. His voice shook.
I stepped toward him. Stage lights stretched my shadow long behind me.
"I have not done anything yet," I said quietly. "This is only the beginning."
The crowd whispered, restless and electric. Cameras zoomed in. Journalists shouted questions. The air tasted sharp, like blood and fear.
The system flickered again at the edge of my vision.
[Optional task detected][Leave the stage without looking back][Reward: 10 percent increase to fear index]
A king does not explain himself.
A king does not run.
A king walks away while the world tries to understand.
I turned from Lucas and walked down the stairs.
My steps were steady.
The crowd parted without touching me. People stumbled back, eyes wide, hands shaking. Some stared at me with horror. Others with something close to awe.
All of them watched.
Phones recorded every moment. My name rolled through the square like distant thunder as people shouted, whispered, cursed, prayed.
At the edge of the plaza, the sky twisted.
Clouds spun around a center of deep red light. A chill rippled through the crowd. People grabbed at their throats as if an invisible hand had pressed against them.
Something old and powerful was watching.
[Fear index increased][New passive effect unlocked: Aura of Ruin]
The air around me trembled. The people closest to me dropped to their knees. Some cried out without knowing why. Others watched with terrified fascination.
Power radiated from beneath my skin.
Real.
Heavy.
Addictive.
"Aiden."
I stopped.
My chest tightened before I even turned. I knew that voice more intimately than my own heartbeat.
Evelyn Black.
She stood just beyond the last ring of spectators. Her hair fell loose over her shoulders. Her academy jacket fit her like armor. The lights caught the rim of her badge, turning it into a thin ring of gold.
She looked determined.
And shaken.
She stepped closer, eyes searching my face as if trying to find someone she remembered.
"What happened to you?" she asked. Her voice trembled.
I studied her. Her eyes moved over my expression, desperate for reassurance, for warmth, for the man she thought she knew.
I offered none.
"Life happened," I said.
Confusion flickered through her gaze. Then worry. Then something far more dangerous.
Curiosity.
She reached out a hand as if approaching a wild animal.
"If you are struggling," she said, "talk to me. Let me help you."
The words were soft. Carefully chosen. Meant to soothe.
They tasted sweet.
Sweet enough to rot teeth.
The system whispered against my mind.
[New target detected: Evelyn Black][Potential influence: Extreme][Recommended strategy: Emotional infiltration][Reward: Access to hidden bloodline awakening]
The universe was offering me a blade and pointing at the softest place to strike.
I stepped close enough that our breath mingled. The plaza roared around us, but for a moment it felt distant.
"You want to help me?" I asked.
She nodded slowly. Her eyes softened without her consent.
"Then watch," I said. "Do not look away again."
Her expression cracked. Just a little. As if someone had tapped thin glass.
She felt something.
She did not know whether to fear it or reach for it.
The system pulsed.
[Sin surge triggered]
Thunder rolled across the sky. Lights around the plaza flickered.
I turned from her and walked into the night. The wind pulled at my stolen hospital gown as the darkness swallowed me.
Behind me, the plaza fell apart. Reporters shouted. Civilians screamed. Someone wailed that the sky was bleeding. Security yelled for lockdown.
The world had changed forever.
And this was only the first step.