The twin purple moons of Origin didn't bring light; they brought madness. As the Lords watched the sky, the Nightfall Surge hit with the force of a tidal wave. Thousands of monsters slammed into the shimmering territory shields across the Umbral Expanse, their claws screeching against the magical barriers like metal on glass. The sound was a discordant symphony of hunger and desperation.
[Channel 86]
[User881]: "WTF, I thought the shield was solid! They're staring at me! I can see their teeth!"
[User: Richie Rich]: "Listen, I'm trading meat for wood. Build your Halls now, or you won't survive much longer!"
[User: HollowSmile]: "The screaming outside... it sounds like music, doesn't it?"
[User: NullSignal]: "Ignore him. If you survive the trial, you become Prime Lords and can return to Earth. Stay focused."
[User: Elias Crowe]: "The population is down to 80,000. 20,000 people died so far. Stop talking and build."
[User: Mercenary Kim]: Monsters just jumped me from the dark! They're stronger than before!
[User881]: HELP! HELP! I LEFT THE SHIELD— (The message cut off mid-line. No follow-up.)
[User: Fangbound]: Night hunting is for fools.
[System Notice: Nightfall Surge has begun]
-Monster aggression increased.
-Mutations active.
-Nocturnal entities emerging.
Warning: Operating outside the territory during nightfall is strongly discouraged.
The air changed- not gradually, but all at once. It pressed down like the world had drawn a slow breath and decided not to let it go. Leo felt the crawling tension slip under his skin.
The sky wasn't like Earth's. There was no sunset; instead, a deep Purple haze bled across the horizon, staining the clouds like a wound. Shadows stretched unnaturally long, clinging to rocks like living things.
'Nocturnal terrors,' Leo thought calmly. 'One of Origin's cruelest filter.'
A scream tore through the encampment.
Leo turned just in time to see the goblin sprinting toward the barrier, arms full of wooden planks, eyes wide with panic. Behind it, a blood-eyed beast lunged from the darkness.
The goblin crossed the boundary a heartbeat before the creature smashed against the shield, snarling in frustration.
Leo chuckled lightly.
"Looks like the zombie didn't make it."
The goblin collapsed at his feet, sobbing and clutching the wood as if it were a holy relic. Outside, more monsters began to circle the territory, their claws scraping uselessly against the barrier. The sound was constant, a rhythmic grinding that would have driven a normal man to madness.
Leo glanced at Malphas. "Isn't this the perfect time to hunt?"
"My Lord," Malphas rumbled, his hand resting on his dormant artifact blade. "The Nightfall Surge amplifies the instinct to kill. For those of our blood, stepping beyond the shield now would be... intoxicating. I fear your young heart would be lost to the frenzy."
Leo smiled, sensing the restraint in Malphas's tone. "Relax. I was only asking."
Before Malphas could respond, the ground trembled.
[Ding!]
[Territory Upgrade Successful]
Current Rank: Settlement (Lv 2)
Population Cap: 2 / 50
Expanded Territory Radius
New Blueprints Available
Guardian Blessing Strengthened
New Feature Unlocked:[Basic Recruitment] — Call upon the lost souls of the origin to serve your banner.
A ripple spread across the land, pushing the territory boundary outward. The mini map expanded, revealing deeper forest to the south and rocky terrain to the west.
As the upgrade completed, most of the monsters recoiled from the sudden surge of territory energy, retreating into the safety of the deep shadows. A few lingered at the edge, howling in frustration at the vanishing of their prey before finally melting away into the woods.
"Well," Leo said, stretching slightly, "let's dismantle the harvest."
There were several shadow wolves, an E-rank boar, and most notably, the massive Gloom-Stinger Spider pinned cleanly through the head.
[System Prompt: Multiple Corpses Detected. Dismantle? Yes/No]
Leo pressed [Yes]. Red light swirled, dissolving the bodies into orbs of energy.
[Loot Summary]
Shadow Wolf Pelts (x4)
Hardened Beast Hide (x3)
Monster Meat (x60 Units)
Gloom-Stinger Chitin (x2)
Gloom-Stinger Venom Gland (x1)
Gold (x60)
Aether Core (x1) - E-Rank
Total SE Gained: 33
Leo picked up the Aether Core. It pulsed with a faint, crystalline light. Unlike SE, which was currency for the Archive, the Core was raw power for him. By absorbing it, he could manually increase his own level.
"Tomorrow, we go together," Leo told Malphas. "I have the inventory space, and you have the blade. We'll double this haul."
''As you command, My Lord,'' Malphas replied, a faint resonance of approval in his tone.
Though his vampire body was tireless and his hunger was sated, the mental fatigue of the transition from a university student to a Lord of Origin finally began to weigh on Leo. He sat at the base of the Seraphine statue, watching the purple moons track across the alien firmament. The first day had been bought in blood, but it had yielded a fortune that most Lords would envy.
By dawn, the human channel had slowed, fear giving way to cautious cooperation.
[User: HollowSmile]: If we survive this… we really can go back, right?
[User: NullSignal]: Someone from our channel recruited a werewolf.
[User: MoonPetal]: Night is terrifying… I watched my soldier dragged into the trees.
[User: IronLedger]: Build territory fast. Trade meat for resources.
[User: Elias Crowe]: Don't think twice to kill others, bcz they won't.
Leo stared into the blue light of the regional chat, its reflection in his eyes. He didn't close the window. Instead, he watched the casualty count climb. 20,000 dead. The number was so vast it felt abstract, yet every frantic message was a scream for a life he knew was already gone.
Since the moment he had hit the water of the river back on Earth, Leo had caged his emotions in a cold, dark place. He had traded his tears for survival and his fear for bloodlust. But in the silence of the night, the lock finally snapped. The sheer, crushing weight of his new reality, the murders he had witnessed, and the one he had just commissioned- flooded his system.
He looked away from the screen, tilting his head back toward the alien sky. The purple haze bled across the horizon like a slow-moving infection. As the caged emotions finally broke free, a single, hot tear escaped, burning a path down his cold, pale cheek. For one fleeting second, the Progenitor vanished, leaving only a boy mourning the life he would never have again.
'This is the last of it,' he promised himself. 'The last of the human I used to be.'
**
When the sun finally broke over the horizon, Leo returned to his wooden throne. He ignored the frantic chatter of the regional channels and focused on the Primordial Gacha.
Each star tier displayed a faint vision.
One-star showed beasts and fodder creatures.
Two-star revealed armored soldiers and lesser champions.
Higher stars… were blurred, distant, forbidden.
Below each banner, probability and pity details glowed faintly.
And below it, a note.
Note: Loyalty varies by race, authority, and summoner status. Bloodborn races are affected by the Progenitor title -- Absolute Loyalty.
'So that's the title effect,' Leo thought.
He checked his reserves.
[Current Sanguine Essence: 36]
Leo exhaled slowly. "Let's start small."
The air in the hall grew cold. Three pillars of dark light pierced the floor, and as the radiance faded, three new servants stood before him.