Death did not come with thunder.
It came with silence.
Arjun lay on the cold hospital bed, staring at the cracked white ceiling above him. The faint hum of machines was the only sound left in the room, their rhythm uneven—like a heart that had already begun to forget how to beat.
His body felt distant. Heavy. As if it no longer belonged to him.
"So this is it…" he thought.
No dramatic final words.
No tearful goodbyes.
No miracles.
Just exhaustion.
Seventeen years of life—short, fragile, unfinished.
A weak smile tugged at his lips.
"What a joke," he whispered. "I didn't even get a second chance."
The machine beside him let out a long, flat sound.
And the world faded to black.
Darkness swallowed him whole.
But it did not feel empty.
Instead, it felt watchful.
Arjun felt himself falling—not through space, but through something deeper. Memories surfaced and shattered around him like glass.
Regret.
Loneliness.
Anger he never voiced.
Dreams he never reached.
Then—
A voice echoed.
"Do you desire power?"
His eyes snapped open.
He stood in a vast void, endless and starless. Before him floated a colossal figure cloaked in shifting shadows, neither male nor female, neither god nor demon.
"I'm… dead, aren't I?" Arjun asked calmly.
"Your former world has rejected you," the being replied. "But another calls for you."
Arjun clenched his fists. "So this is reincarnation? Like those anime stories?"
A faint amusement rippled through the void.
"If you wish to name it so."
The being raised a hand. Symbols ignited in the air—ancient, glowing, terrifying.
"The next world is cruel. Magic devours the weak. Kings fall like insects. Heroes die screaming."
Arjun met the being's gaze.
"Good."
The entity paused.
Arjun's eyes burned with something dark. "I was weak once. I don't want kindness. I want strength."
Silence followed.
Then—
"Very well."
The void shattered.
Pain exploded through his body.
Arjun screamed as air rushed into his lungs, raw and cold. His senses overwhelmed him—smells of earth and iron, the sound of distant howls, the weight of gravity pressing him down.
He gasped, rolling onto his side.
"Where—"
Rain poured from a crimson sky.
He lay in a forest soaked in darkness. Trees twisted unnaturally, their bark black like burned flesh. The air itself felt hostile, heavy with mana.
Before he could move, glowing text burned into his vision.
⟡ System Initialization Complete ⟡
Welcome, Bearer of the Black Star
Unique Authority Granted
❖ Abyssal Core (SSS Rank)
❖ Infinite Mana Flow
❖ Skill Assimilation (Passive)
❖ Death Resistance: Active
Arjun froze.
"…A system?"
His heart pounded.
He had read stories like this. But this—this felt real.
Suddenly, pain surged through his chest. A black sigil carved itself into his skin, glowing faintly beneath his collarbone.
Memories flooded his mind—this body's memories.
Name: Arjun Noctis
Status: Outcast Noble
Fate: Executed in three days
Arjun sucked in a sharp breath.
"So I didn't just reincarnate," he muttered. "I replaced someone."
A growl echoed nearby.
He looked up.
From the shadows emerged a monstrous wolf, its eyes glowing red, saliva dripping from jagged fangs. Its mana was violent, crushing.
A Dreadfang Beast—a creature far beyond what a normal human should face.
His instincts screamed to run.
But his body didn't move.
Instead, something inside him answered.
Power surged.
The world slowed.
Black energy wrapped around his arm like living smoke.
Without understanding how, Arjun raised his hand.
"Die."
The word wasn't loud.
But the air shattered.
A wave of darkness exploded forward, erasing the beast instantly—no struggle, no sound. Where it stood, nothing remained but scorched earth.
Silence returned.
Arjun stared at his hand, trembling.
"…I did that?"
Text appeared again.
Skill Acquired: Void Erasure (SS Rank)
Condition: Activated subconsciously
A quiet laugh escaped his lips.
Then it grew louder.
He laughed until tears burned his eyes.
"In my last life, I couldn't protect anyone," he whispered. "I couldn't even protect myself."
He stood, rain washing over him.
"This time," Arjun said, eyes glowing faintly black, "I'll crush this world before it crushes me."
From the edge of the forest, unseen eyes watched him.
Among them—
a silver-haired girl wrapped in a torn cloak, gripping a broken sword, her gaze fixed on him with fear… and awe.
"The Black Star…" she murmured.
And fate began to move.