Not the peaceful silence that comes before sleep, but the dead stillness that settles after death has finished its work. Destruction stretched in every direction. The earth was shattered like broken glass, dried blood turning black inside its cracks. The battlefield was littered with broken weapons—swords that once split mountains now buried in dirt. The sky burned crimson, as if the blood of the gods themselves had stained the heavens.
At the center of this vast graveyard lay a single boy.
His name was Kaelen Vesper.
Ash and dust covered his body. His clothes were torn to rags, and a wound in his chest was deep enough to kill any ordinary man instantly.
Suddenly, his fingers twitched.
"Argh—!"
Kaelen's eyes snapped open. Breathing felt impossible, as if his lungs were filled with burning ash instead of air. Memories crashed into his mind—clashing swords, screams of despair, and the final moment when he looked into the eyes of that Celestial Being.
"I'm… alive?" he muttered weakly, his throat dry.
He tried to move, but lightning-like pain surged through his body. The last battle returned to him clearly. In a world where people were born with Divinity and Bloodlines, Kaelen had been nothing. A Zero. A man rejected by fate itself. And yet, that same Zero lay here while princes and grand mages had already turned to dust.
"I saw it…" Kaelen clenched his fist. "The angel of death pierced my heart. Then why am I breathing?"
At that moment, a voice echoed inside his mind—cold and inhuman.
[Ding!]
A glowing blue screen appeared before his eyes.
[Initialization Complete: 100%]
[The Forbidden Soul 'Kaelen Vesper' Synchronized]
[Activating the God-Eater System]
Kaelen's eyes widened. "A system? Is this an illusion?" He reached out, but his hand passed straight through the screen.
[Warning: Your previous body was destroyed]
[Reason: Deficiency of Divine Talent]
[Solution: Rewriting Genetic Code — Breaking the Mortal Limiter]
"What nonsense is this?!" Kaelen shouted. "What limiter? I trained my entire life! I did everything a human could!"
[Exactly.]
The system replied.
[You reached the peak of humanity. But humanity itself is a cage. To survive what is coming, you must cease to be human.]
Agonizing pain erupted within him. His bones cracked. His DNA was rewritten. Golden and blue light flowed through his blood.
"AAAGHHH!"
His scream echoed across the empty battlefield.
[Evolution Process: First Awakening]
[Absorbing Lingering Mana from the Battlefield]
[New Attribute Unlocked: Void Essence]
When the pain finally subsided, Kaelen knelt on the ground, gasping. Something had changed. His vision was sharper than ever—he could see every grain of dust floating in the air. His body looked lean, but a terrifying power churned within him, ready to explode.
The screen displayed his new status:
Name: Kaelen Vesper
Race: Proto-God (Evolving)
Level: 1
Strength: 45 (Previous: 10)
Agility: 50 (Previous: 12)
Stamina: ∞ (Transient)
Skill:Heart of the Defiant — Pain does not weaken you; it sharpens you.
"Proto-God…" Kaelen laughed bitterly. "The power I chased my entire life… I obtained it only after death?"
Before he could think further, the ground trembled. From the ruins emerged a colossal shadow—an Abyssal Scavenger, a monster that fed on corpses, its body as tall as a building. Three crimson eyes locked onto Kaelen.
Once, he would have trembled in fear.
But now—
Kaelen opened his palm. Blue flames danced across his hand.
[Mission: The First Meal]
[Objective: Kill the Abyssal Scavenger]
[Reward: Devour its Essence and Rank Up]
A strange smile curved Kaelen's lips. He stepped forward, his speed so great that a storm of dust erupted behind him.
"You were right, System," Kaelen said as he leapt into the air. "Being human was a prison. And now… I've broken the cage."
His fist slammed into the monster's face.
"Evolution… has already begun."